Leaping out from the flying dust, she narrowly dodged yet another attack.

Her movements were even more agile and nimble than monkeys in the forest, completely unfitting for a seventy-something-year-old's physical condition.

"Is it another illusion technique?"

This abnormal way of evading—the thought made Ruri silently grit her teeth.

Where exactly had the problem appeared?

She hadn't even sensed the moment he cast the illusion.

No matter how advanced the illusion technique, it always needed a trigger condition.

Besides, with the Sharingan, it shouldn't be possible for her to be affected by enemy illusions without reason.

And yet, even wielding the Sharingan, she was still at a disadvantage.

"Finally stopped, did you? Your chakra is terrifying. Glad the battle is here, if it were outside, I probably would've died already."

The Nameless Village Chief, blood seeping from his lips, walked up to Ruri.

In the Nameless Village Chief's vision, only raging fires surrounded him, while Ruri herself erupted with a chakra so unsettling it made his heart tremble, as if preparing to unleash some dreadful technique.

If that technique came forth smoothly, he'd likely be killed in an instant.

If he stopped it at this critical moment, everything would still be in time.

The villagers hadn't fled either; the cave's electrical equipment worked as usual, but they only dared to watch from a distant perimeter, not daring to come closer.

Seeing the Nameless Village Chief subdue the enemy with an illusion, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

The chief's namelessness was not only because he was its founder, but because he alone possessed the overwhelming fighting power to suppress all ninjas here.

Especially that mysterious and unfathomable illusion technique—said to be unbreakable.

Enemies who entered this realm, no matter how strong, could never defeat Nameless.

Nameless stood before Ruri, whispering softly:

"A ninja at your level would never surrender easily. I must use my strongest illusion to completely extinguish your excess desire for battle. Peaceful coexistence here is the only way to find happiness."

When he finished, he began forming seals at Ruri, a strange light flickering through his cloudy eyes.

He then held this sealing stance, using his illusion to influence Ruri's consciousness.

Ten minutes passed.

The chakra surging from Ruri's body still kept ordinary people at bay, showing signs of growing even more intense.

The Nameless Village Chief frowned.

This woman possessed an extraordinary craving for battle.

Why was she so obsessed with fighting?

Was fear not enough?

Only after half an hour did Nameless see Ruri's chakra transform into a stunningly bewitching blood-red, manifesting as a colossal crimson samurai wielding a blood-red giant sword.

Scarlet blood aura radiated from the giant sword, humming and trembling, ready to erupt into slaughter at any moment.

The enormous cavern trembled endlessly, chunks of rock collapsing downward.

Nameless Village Chief was drenched in cold sweat, his wrinkled old face twisted into a grimace.

Suddenly, Ruri's Sharingan regained its luster, fixing its gaze on Nameless.

The Nameless Village Chief could no longer hide his expression, terror etched across his face.

"Impossible!"

At the moment he shouted this, the blood-red sword light crashed down.

The bloody sword qi swept across, and everything before it was annihilated to dust.

The upper rock collapsed faster and faster, and the Valley of Hypocrisy would soon be reduced to a pile of ruins.

The Nameless Village Chief spat blood and fell to the ground.

Ruri had deliberately avoided his vital spots, letting Susanoo's sword qi brush past and still leave Nameless gravely injured.

That shockwave was never something a human body could withstand.

The villagers, too, were now fleeing in panic; it was no longer a scene conjured by illusion—everyone scrambled toward the outside.

Just as Ruri was about to speak, the fallen Nameless Village Chief coughed and shook his head, saying, "It's fine, go on."

He could see Ruri hadn't intended to kill him.

"If you don't leave, you'll die."

"Even if I die, it's better than the cruel outside world..."

His tone seemed to grow steadier, no longer that neurotic way he spoke before.

Ruri fell silent.

She could hear Nameless's weariness and contempt for the outside world.

Willing only to fulfill his wish for peace in this confined world. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Thinking this way, Ruri felt a sudden pang of guilt.

As if she'd made things much worse.

"Don't feel guilty. In fact, I should thank you for waking up this old man of a bygone era... Dreamt of peace for decades... It's time to wake up from this dream. Thanks to you, I remembered my original name."

"Is that so?"

"But even so, my family, friends, and enemies all perished in war. Even recalling my old name seems pointless."

"..."

"It's laughable, really. I meant to carve out a paradise of peace in a Ninja Realm riddled with war, but in the end could only use my illusion to sway the villagers, make them believe in this life... Valley of Hypocrisy... Perhaps, when I named this village, I was hoping someone would expose the falseness here..."

He had become the kind of person he used to despise most.

Nameless Village Chief smiled bitterly.

"Your illusion technique is truly remarkable."

Ruri praised him as such.

"Yet you broke it. Can you tell me—what did you see inside my illusion?"

The Nameless Village Chief looked at Ruri, curious.

"I saw nothing."

Ruri answered honestly.

"Nothing?"

"I won't lie to you; truly, I saw nothing. I simply realized I'd fallen into your illusion and was working to break it."

Ruri responded.

"You... have nothing you fear?"

"No."

The brisk reply stunned the Nameless Village Chief; then, he burst out laughing, laughing so hard he shed tears.

Really, all these years, and he couldn't live as thoroughly as a young girl.

No wonder she could escape his illusion. To a ninja without any fear, his illusion meant nothing.

Especially to those with painful and regretful pasts; the more they'd be ensnared by his illusions, have their consciousness erased, turned into his puppets.

"A life without fear—I envy you. If only I'd been as brave, facing that bloody tragedy head on... Maybe..."

Sadly, there's no medicine for regret.

Ruri didn't speak, simply listened as the Nameless Village Chief told his story.

"The Blood Mist Faction left yesterday, claiming they'd return, but they just wanted to use me as a shield. I doubt they'll ever come back."

"Where did they go?"

Hearing Nameless mention official business, Ruri quickly asked.

"Heard from my men—they seem to have headed toward the Land of Earth. You can pursue them that way."

Ruri nodded, then bade farewell to the Nameless Village Chief:

"The place is about to collapse. I'm leaving now, take care."

"As you wish... Still, this truly is a fateful encounter."

"Fateful?"

Ruri, walking toward the cave entrance, paused.

The Nameless Village Chief gazed at the falling rocks above, his eyes growing more vacant.

"Yes, Sharingan... It's been ages since I've confronted an Uchiha Clan ninja. In the past, I'd fought one who broke all my illusions; it was the first time I'd ever been defeated in genjutsu. That Uchiha ninja's name was Madara. He must be a famous ninja in the Ninja Realm by now... To beat me in genjutsu, he couldn't possibly be unknown..."

"..."

Ruri was silent.

This guy—when exactly did he establish the Valley of Hypocrisy? He's lived far too long.

"That Madara you speak of is already dead. In a way, he died indirectly by my hand."

With that, Ruri strode out without looking back.

She didn't turn to see the Nameless Village Chief's expression.

Rock after rock fell, and there were no more sounds behind her.