Wandering aimlessly in the world, Shigeo couldn't help but recall the time before he met Orochimaru.

Those were days that were too painful to recall, and Shigeo never wanted to be like that again.

Unfortunately, finding the next place to stay is not an easy task.

Even Orochimaru, who once promised to help and paid great attention to Jūgo, no longer valued him as much as before after his value dropped greatly.

Shigeo sometimes thought that people like himself should not appear in this world. It was ridiculous that he was born as a human being but was labeled a murderer.

…

Sasuke realized that something was wrong but did not ask for help yet. He just reported the progress of the mission and possible speculations back to the village step by step.

At the same time, he was getting closer to his goal step by step. It was really helpless when he had no clue. Since he had revealed his true colors, it was only a matter of time before he was found out.

During his careful observations over the past few days, Sasuke was surprised to find that not only the birds, but also the fish swimming in the water and even the squirrels jumping around in the treetops were quietly monitoring the nearby area.

It took Sasuke nearly three days to thoroughly figure out the locations and frequencies of the abnormalities in the surrounding area and marked them on the map. Then he could judge at a glance the approximate range of the enemies that were centered on a certain point, spreading out in all directions and moving continuously westward.

"It's around here!"

It was a low hill with not much cover around it, so there weren't many places to hide.

Despite his rough judgment, Sasuke did not act rashly. Instead, he lay in a low bush for most of the day. It was not until dusk when visibility was poor that a few chirping sparrows flew over from a distance. Squirrels, wild wolverines, and even pangolins all appeared at the entrance of the cave that Sasuke was watching.

“It’s out!”

Sasuke's eyes were fixed intently on the person who emerged from the ground.

"It's yours!"

The person who came was not the hideous-looking murderer as people imagined, but a burly young man with a handsome face. Although he looked young, it could be seen from his somewhat wrinkled face that his actual age should be a little older than he looked.

He has a head of messy orange hair and looks quite energetic. The innocence in his eyes and the smile on his face when facing small animals make this person's temperament extremely contradictory.

"He looks like someone I could communicate with!"

Although this person is very suspicious, it would be too arbitrary to judge him as a murderer. We must ask him carefully. If he is not a murderer, we can also get some information by the way.

Just as Sasuke was stunned for a moment, the bird in Jūgo's hand was frightened and suddenly flew away.

"Who's there?"

Jūgo looked at where Sasuke was hiding with a sullen look on his face.

Now that he had been discovered, Sasuke had no choice but to reveal himself.

"Who are you?"

The fierce aura of Sasuke, dressed in ANBU attire, made Chougo a little afraid.

"I was looking for a murderer who committed evil in this country and accidentally found this place. So, what are you doing in such a remote place in such cold weather? Can you tell me the reason?"

Although his tone was lighthearted, Sasuke's body was tense and he would start a fight if anything went wrong.

"Murderer?"

Shigeo, who was extremely sensitive to this title, suddenly felt an impulse in his heart.

"Are you here to cause trouble too?"

He had already realized the sadness of this, and it was not the first time that Shigeo, whose body had been controlled by unconscious brutality and he had committed many evil deeds, had been attacked. Few of his former enemies had been able to escape unscathed.

"Leave now!"

"What?"

Sasuke burst out laughing.

"It seems like you admit it? I'm really lucky that I found you just before I was about to give up."

"Get out of here or I'll kill you!"

Shigeo's pupils began to turn bloodshot and he didn't like killing people at will, but unfortunately, in this situation, it would be difficult to resolve the situation peacefully.

Now that we have found the real culprit, it means that the person on the other side is the murderer who killed people and massacred the entire village. It is definitely not possible to make him surrender with just a few words.

He drew the sword from his waist and held it across his chest. The red blade of the sword was as dazzling as blood, causing Shigeo to give up the idea of ​​avoiding the killing.

The clarity in his eyes gradually faded, and he touched his forehead with his right hand to cover his eyes. A strange laugh came out of his throat, and red and black runes continued to emerge from his slightly trembling body, which covered most of Jūgo's body in a blink of an eye.

"Is this a curse? How is it possible?"

It was originally just a promotion mission, but I didn't expect to encounter something very similar to myself.

"Who are you and what is your relationship with Orochimaru?"

Sasuke asked carefully, intending to get some information out of his opponent, but unfortunately, Jūgo had long since stopped listening to others.

While Sasuke was stunned by surprise, Jūgo leaped up and punched Sasuke in the head with a heavy punch.

"Murderer, is this what you mean?"

With Sasuke's speed, it is basically impossible to hit him so easily. A purely physical attack is not as threatening as imagined in the face of Sasuke's overwhelming speed.

"You've lost your mind? Then I won't be polite either. I hope you can wake up in time before you die. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that I will save your life."

Sasuke will not be afraid of this kind of guy who has basically lost his self-awareness and acts entirely on instinct, no matter how strong or powerful he is. As long as he deals with him carefully, even if he cannot win, he will definitely not be defeated.

During the few moments of rising and falling, Shigeo could no longer maintain his human form.

His hands were like heavy hammers, and there were several sharp spikes from his elbows to his wrists, which were obviously not decorations. The vital parts of his upper body were covered with keratin-like armor, and his head had several sharp horns, cracked corners of his mouth, sunken eye sockets, and a forward nose bridge...

"This impressive and terrifying appearance really looks like the evil ghost in the legend!"

There is no doubt that this guy is his target.

Sasuke closed his eyes and flew backwards to avoid the smoke and dust stirred up by his opponent's attack. When he opened his eyes again, a pair of three-magatama Sharingan appeared, lightning flashed around his body, and the lightning armor began to show its power. His speed, which was already faster than Jūgo, increased again. The edge of the Chidori Blade in his right hand had been sharpened, ready to chop down the enemy.

"Repent for the innocent civilians you killed, you pathetic monster."

The lightning sword swung, cutting off a large piece of the armor on Jūgo's right arm, before he had time to block.