Chapter 453: You Can’t Fool Me

Chapter 453: Chapter 453: You Can’t Fool Me

The moment the words left his mouth, Kagami realized he had said the wrong thing.

Phrases like ’developed pretty well’ were evaluations he commonly used when assessing his clones. Using something like that to compliment another person was obviously rather inappropriate.

"It’s been too long since I complimented a girl. I really am out of practice..."

Looking at Kurenai, whose face had turned bright red as her anger only grew, Kagami sighed inwardly.

He waved his hand and, looking slightly awkward, tried to explain, "Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant to say just now was that your breasts are pretty nice—uh... no, that’s not what I meant either. What I’m trying to say is..."

It would have been better if Kagami hadn’t tried to explain at all.

The moment he did, Kurenai swung a slap at him and shouted angrily, "Shameless bastard!"

Kagami casually blocked the incoming slap and grinned smugly.

"At that speed, you’ll never hit me."

"You!"

Furious and embarrassed, Kurenai yanked her hand back and turned away from him.

Realizing that every attempt to explain himself was only making things worse, Kagami couldn’t be bothered anymore. In any case, he had saved Kurenai’s life. It wasn’t as though he owed her anything.

So he said indifferently, "If your body has recovered, hurry up and leave."

At that moment, Kurenai spotted her bloodstained shirt lying nearby. As she put it back on, she asked quietly, "Why did you save me? What exactly are you after?"

"After something!?"

Kagami chuckled.

"Don’t misunderstand. I only saved you because I wanted to interfere with Orochimaru’s plans."

In truth, Kagami’s primary objective in this battle against Orochimaru had been to prevent him from finding any clues concerning the Totsuka Blade.

As for rescuing Kurenai, aside from the fact that she was his subordinate, Kagami had also wanted to use saving her as an excuse to initiate the battle.

That way, he could conceal the fact that Kamigami was also searching for the Totsuka Blade, completely distancing the organization from the artifact so that the sharp and perceptive Orochimaru wouldn’t notice anything suspicious.

Additionally, testing the Type-A Wind Release clone’s actual combat capabilities was another objective of this battle.

So, in this rescue of Kurenai and confrontation with Orochimaru, Kurenai herself accounted for only about one-third of Kagami’s reasons. The real priorities were the Totsuka Blade and testing the Type-A Wind Release clone’s combat capabilities.

Kurenai stared intently at Kagami.

"You can’t fool me!"

"Hm?"

Kagami was baffled.

Kurenai lowered her head and continued on her own, "I don’t know how Orochimaru managed it, but I saw him summon the First and Second Hokage with my own eyes. The First’s Wood Release and the Second’s Water Release couldn’t possibly have been fake. If all you wanted was to stop Orochimaru, there was absolutely no reason for you to divide your attention to protect me while fighting opponents that powerful! And... you... you even threw yourself in front of me and took the Second Hokage’s ’Water Severing Wave’ in my place..."

The more she spoke, the quieter Kurenai’s voice became, until the last few words were barely audible.

Kagami said helplessly, "Uh... I think you’ve misunderstood."

The reason he had taken the Second Hokage’s reanimated body’s Water Severing Wave for Kurenai was, firstly, because this Type-A Wind Release clone possessed the Shikotsumyaku to protect its body. Kagami had been confident that he could withstand the Water Severing Wave at very little cost.

Secondly, whenever he was controlling a clone, his fighting style was naturally much bolder.

If he had been using his original body at the time, there was absolutely no way he would have taken such a risk.

Kurenai secretly glanced at Kagami. Her gaze lingered for a moment on his white hair and Byakugan before she abruptly changed the subject.

"You’re from the Hyuga Clan, aren’t you? Then why do you possess so many Kekkei Genkai?"

Kagami curled his lips.

"Secret!"

Having his mask damaged during the battle and exposing his Byakugan had indeed been an accident.

Kagami was getting a bit of a headache over it now. He had no idea how he was supposed to prevent this information from leaking.

After all, Kurenai was a member of ANBU. Once she returned to the village, she would undoubtedly report everything that had happened in full detail.

And when that happened, the Hyuga Clan might very well become the second great clan of Konoha—after the Uchiha Clan—to become entangled with Kamigami.

Kurenai said quietly, "My captain is also a member of your Hyuga Clan. Maybe the two of you even know each other."

Kagami didn’t answer. He turned his head away and silently began considering how he should deal with the information leak.

Seeing Kagami remain silent, Kurenai assumed he simply didn’t want to talk about his clan. She thought to herself, "Could he have some kind of conflict with the Hyuga Clan? Is that why he left the clan and joined Kamigami?"

Pfft—

Suddenly, while Kagami was still lost in thought, he spat out another large mouthful of blood without the slightest warning!

Startled, Kurenai hurried forward and supported him.

"Are you all right? Is it from your earlier injuries?"

Kagami waved his hand.

"I’m fine."

Although he had expected the Kekkei Genkai disease to flare up sooner or later, he had still underestimated its severity. In just half a day, he had already coughed up blood four or five times, and every single episode had come without the slightest warning.

Naturally, Kurenai knew nothing about the Kekkei Genkai disease.

She assumed Kagami was coughing up blood because he had been injured by the Second Hokage’s Water Severing Wave while saving her earlier. So, almost instinctively, she reached toward his chest to check the injury.

Kagami stopped Kurenai’s hand before it could reach his chest.

"My condition is none of your concern. Hurry up and leave. This place isn’t safe!"

"Fine! I won’t concern myself with it!"

Kurenai angrily turned her head away.

A moment later, however, she asked, "By the way, what’s your name? You saved my life this time, and I’ll definitely repay this debt someday!"

Since the information concerning this Type-A Wind Release clone had already been exposed anyway, there was even less value in keeping its codename secret.

So Kagami replied,

"Kamigami—Furin!"

"Furin..."

Kurenai silently repeated the name several times. After giving Kagami one final look, she leapt away and disappeared from the dome of the ruins.

Watching Kurenai’s departing figure, Kagami rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I’m Kurenai’s captain. Once she gets back, I’ll definitely be the first person she reports this to. Is there some way I can tamper with the information...?"

......

Inside a dimly lit base.

Seeing Orochimaru return to the base looking travel-worn and exhausted, Kabuto, who had stayed behind, immediately went up to greet him.

"Lord Orochimaru, why do you look so terrible?"

Orochimaru replied with a gloomy expression, "I ran into a troublesome opponent!"

Kabuto was somewhat surprised.

Across the entire shinobi world, there weren’t many people whom Orochimaru himself would describe as troublesome. Curious, Kabuto asked, "Was it someone from Akatsuki?"

Orochimaru had no desire to elaborate and waved him away.

"Leave. I need to rest."

Kabuto didn’t dare disobey and quickly replied, "Yes!"

After Kabuto withdrew, Orochimaru walked over to a hidden compartment. Forming a hand seal, he released the sealing formula protecting it and took out a scroll.

Written clearly across the scroll were large words:

Chimera Technique.

Hiruko’s strength had increased dramatically because of the Chimera Technique. It would obviously be a lie to say that Orochimaru wasn’t even slightly envious.

However, after analyzing the Chimera Technique, Orochimaru had gained a very clear understanding of the forbidden technique’s flaws and hidden dangers. As a result, his interest in it had diminished considerably.

But today, he had once again suffered a crushing defeat—this time at the hands of Kamigami’s Furin.

In his frustration, Orochimaru couldn’t help but begin wondering whether his previous judgment of the Chimera Technique had been a little too hasty...