Haruto Saito might be the most unforgettable person in Terado's entire life—without exception!
Terado was strong! Fearless! Incredibly intelligent! His willpower was terrifying! From the very first assassination mission he ever carried out, he had never failed. He should have been a legend. He should have risen from being the number one assassin of the Rain Ninja to the number one assassin in the entire ninja world. If that day, he had successfully killed Tsunade and Jiraiya, he would have become a legend.
But at the final moment, he failed!
He won the battle, but he lost to Haruto Saito!
He still remembered Haruto's last words before everything went dark: "Villains always die because they talk too much!"
Though Terado was still alive, he wasn't in a state much better than death.
Since being captured, Terado had replayed that battle in his mind countless times. He constantly questioned himself—Why did I lose? Where did I go wrong? Terado was the kind of person who always reflected on his own failures.
"It's me, Lord Terado. We meet again."
Haruto Saito looked at Terado with a smile. Though he addressed Terado as "Lord," it was clearly a taunt. Haruto had a habit of calling anyone stronger than him "Lord," regardless of whether they were friend or foe.
Terado stared at Haruto, his expression void of joy or anger. There wasn't even a trace of resentment in his eyes—only a glimmer of curiosity.
Haruto took a few steps forward before pausing. He turned back to look at the masked Anbu ninja, Oni Shin. "Lord Oni Shin, if I get too close to him, will I be in danger?"
"Lord Danzo placed nine layers of sealing jutsu on him. He cannot use chakra at all, and his physical strength has been restricted to that of an ordinary person. In theory, he cannot harm you," Oni Shin replied, arms crossed. "But… be careful."
There was a distinct seriousness in Oni Shin's warning.
Haruto could tell—Oni Shin was extremely wary of Terado. Even though Terado was now no stronger than an average civilian, his mind, his intelligence, and even his words alone could be dangerous weapons.
"Understood." Haruto raised an eyebrow and confidently strode toward Terado.
Terado was sitting cross-legged on a grass mat in the depths of the cell. Haruto walked until there was barely two meters of space between them, then lowered himself to sit cross-legged as well, facing Terado directly.
"Shall we have a chat?" Haruto said, smiling.
Terado's eyes remained locked on Haruto, still showing keen interest. Haruto's True Sight ability registered his attitude as hostile, yet Haruto couldn't sense any real killing intent from him.
"You don't feel like talking to me?" Haruto asked again.
Terado remained silent, simply watching him.
Haruto gazed back, falling into silence as well.
The two locked eyes.
Haruto continued to smile.
The prison fell into absolute silence, so quiet that even the drop of a pin could be heard. The air grew heavy with tension. Standing near the cell door, Oni Shin suddenly felt a wave of unease. He couldn't even explain why—just an instinctive feeling.
"You lost to me. Don't you have anything to say?" Haruto finally spoke.
Terado suddenly lifted his right hand, his fingers slightly pinched together as if signaling Haruto to pay attention. Then, with his thumb and middle finger—
Snap!
A crisp snapping sound echoed through the cell.
Haruto's expression froze for a second. Then, his face drastically changed. His pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes widened.
Terado had just replicated Haruto's ability.
Haruto's Hypnosis Magic, an S-rank forbidden jutsu, was a form of mental attack. The process of casting it was highly structured—every movement precise and necessary. That night, Haruto had snapped his fingers at the final moment, drawing Terado's attention.
Now, Terado had flawlessly replicated that sound!
The length, the frequency, the exact pitch—everything was identical to Haruto's original snap.
The only difference was that Terado couldn't use chakra, so it was nothing more than a sound.
"Holy—" Haruto stared at Terado in disbelief.
This guy had only heard the snap once. Then he was immediately hypnotized and lost consciousness. And yet, he had perfectly remembered the exact sound and replicated it with absolute precision!
Haruto's hand and Terado's hand were different in size, muscle composition, and fat distribution. That meant that to reproduce the exact same sound, Terado had to precisely adjust the pressure, angle, and motion of his fingers.
This man… was a monster.
With just his hearing alone, he had completely memorized and reproduced a perfect sound. That level of memory and bodily control wasn't something a normal human should be capable of!
As Haruto's expression shifted, Terado's lips curled into a smirk. His gaze toward Haruto became playful.
"Lord Oni Shin, I think we should just kill him now," Haruto said without hesitation. "This guy is too dangerous."
"No. Don't do anything reckless," Oni Shin replied coldly.
"Fine." Haruto shrugged. In truth, he was just voicing his shock.
But looking at Terado again, he no longer felt like smiling.
"Your mental attack ability is truly unique. It surprised me," Terado finally spoke. "But let me warn you—don't use it on me again. I will learn it. And that would be dangerous… for everyone here."
"Don't try to scare me. Your chakra is sealed," Haruto replied.
"But my mental energy is not," Terado said with a grin.
Mental energy was the foundation of consciousness. If Terado's mental energy were sealed, he would lose consciousness entirely. But as long as he remained awake, he could still use it.
"Lord Terado, your threats are getting boring," Haruto said. "You should know—I can kill you easily."
"Then do it! Kill me!" Terado's smirk widened into something almost manic.
"I would, but the guy back there won't let me." Haruto pointed a thumb toward Oni Shin.
"Heh." Terado chuckled. He glanced briefly at Oni Shin before turning back to Haruto. "I know you people won't kill me. But you should also know—the longer I stay alive, the more dangerous it will be for all of you."
This guy… his thought process was insane!
Haruto wasn't even sure if Terado wanted to die or wanted to live.
"Lord Terado, since you're so confident, how about you cooperate with me for a bit?" Haruto said, raising his hand in a snapping gesture. "Let me try hypnotizing you. Whether it works or not doesn't matter. You claim you can learn it, but I don't believe you! Want to test it out?"
This was a ridiculously weak attempt at goading him.
Terado gave Haruto a bizarre smile and said, "Kid, do you take me for a fool?"
"No, I think you just have a few screws loose." Haruto spread his hands in a half-joking gesture. "With lunatics like you, sometimes the dumbest methods actually work."
Terado's eye twitched slightly. Then he grinned wider. "Kid, aren't you afraid that if I do learn it, I'll use it against you?"
"I already told you—I don't believe you can learn it." Haruto shrugged.
Terado continued grinning, watching Haruto in silence for a few moments before finally saying, "Kid, you're interesting."
"Are we playing, then?" Haruto asked. "Think of it as a game. It's not like you have anything better to do, right?"