When Li Xi drew it, he was speechless. The Eight Inner Gates were broken apart for no reason. In the end, he was also fortunate that it wasn't one draw per gate, otherwise, Li Xi would have cried himself to death in the toilet.
The second ninjutsu was even more peculiar: "Summoning Technique: Rashomon."
Rashomon was a type of summoning technique. Ninjas could use their own blood to summon Rashomon, which existed between the human world and hell. In the original work, it appeared three times. The first time, Sakon and Ukon of the Sound Four summoned a single Rashomon to defend against Kiba and Akamaru's combined ultimate move, Twin-Headed Wolf. As a result, one was heavily injured and the other fainted, and Rashomon was knocked askew.
The second time it appeared was when Orochimaru fought Naruto in his Four-Tails state. The Triple Rashomon was blown to smithereens by a small Tailed Beast Bomb, and Orochimaru was dragged down with it, ending up headfirst. If this had happened to anyone else, it would have been a certain death. Only a tenacious existence like Orochimaru could survive. Of course, Rashomon might not seem very powerful here, but one had to realize that being able to withstand a strategic attack like the Tailed Beast Bomb already placed one at the pinnacle of the world.
The third time was when the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, fought Uchiha Madara. The Five-Layered Rashomon deflected the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
In summary, Rashomon was a purely defensive summoning technique. The stronger the ninja, the more Rashomon they could summon.
Li Xi's current strength allowed him to summon two Rashomon gates, dozens of meters high, with a thickness of several meters made of pure metal. A city gate was like a grandson to it. Thinking about its size, one could imagine how terrifying its defense was.
Of course, it had its drawbacks. It couldn't move, and after blocking an attack, it would dissipate on its own without the ninja dismissing it.
The task of submitting Kassero earlier was a duplicate submission, so only the completion rate was counted, bringing Li Xi's task completion rate to eight times. With two more completions, he could be promoted to a C-rank mercenary, but he lost two lottery opportunities, which was a great pity.
Now, as long as he completed one more C-rank mission, Li Xi could be promoted to a C-rank mercenary and receive the promotion mission reward. This was very simple; he just needed to capture another member of the Assassin's Alliance.
He sent out his shadow clones and continuously received information. On the first day, he visited all the potion shops in the city, pretending to buy potions, and examined all the potions. He found nothing.
On the second day, he searched all the magic shops again, but still couldn't find any potion with a similar smell.
On the third day, Li Xi broadened his scope. He searched through general stores, herbal shops, private clubs, and bars – anywhere a medicinal smell might be found. Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing.
Ais watched Li Xi, his brow furrowed and his eyes unfocused. She held him tenderly in her arms, her gentle affection warming his heart filled with killing intent.
Everyone in the city knew about what happened at the Mercenary Hall three days ago. The residents of Kado City praised Li Xi as a hero, the hero of Kado City. But Ais had seen Li Xi's uncharacteristic behavior these past few days. Although Li Xi hadn't explicitly stated what happened, Ais wasn't foolish. She had figured out what had occurred afterward. In Ais's eyes, Li Xi wasn't a hero, just an ordinary person willing to give everything for his master and friends.
"Don't be too anxious. They have been active on the continent for so many years, and their concealment methods are unparalleled. You can't solve this alone."
He sniffed the fragrance emanating from Ais. Li Xi understood the logic, but he couldn't accept it. People leave their names, and geese leave their calls. They had been in Kado City for so long and had planned so many things; how could there be no trace at all?
Kassero, who had been captured and brought to the Mercenary Guild, had not concealed anything and had confessed everything he knew. However, it was all useless information; it was clear he was only an outer member of the Assassin's Alliance.
After receiving the intelligence, Li Xi didn't believe it at first. Instead, he went to see Kassero. After seeing Kassero's appearance, Li Xi was sure that Kassero had revealed everything he knew, down to the number of hairs on his body.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Why are you back so early today? Have you finished handling things?"
Ais stroked Li Xi's head. "I have some news for you. The City Lord's mansion has discovered traces of a puppeteer, and they are selecting people to pursue. I came back to ask if you want to go."
"Discovered traces of a puppeteer?"
As the first person to engage with a puppeteer, Li Xi knew a little more information than others. There were no puppeteers in Kado City. Logically speaking, if a puppeteer didn't want to be found, no one could find them. Now, they were so easily discovered, and there was such a grand pursuit. Something felt off.
"Are you going?"
Ais shook her head. "Kado City still has many things that require my attention. I don't have time to go."
"Then I won't go either. I just feel that something is not right about this." Li Xi said with a heavy heart.
"Then stay home and protect me. I, a weak woman, need a strong person like you to protect me in these chaotic times."
Li Xi looked at Ais, whose cheeks were flushed, and his desire surged. He scooped Ais up and headed straight for the bed. "If you want me to protect you, you'll have to pay some commission."
For the next few days, Li Xi stayed at home, living a life of shameless indulgence with Ais every day. Meanwhile, Madam Evira would occasionally visit, selflessly contributing her culinary skills.
However, every time Li Xi saw Madam Evira, he would be reminded of her graceful figure he had seen that night. Sometimes, he would subconsciously compare her with Ais, only to find that Ais, who had just experienced such intimacy, was indeed slightly inferior.
Ten days later, the weather had begun to turn cold. The people sent to pursue the puppeteer finally returned. Li Xi's main body was still at home, indulging in intimacy with Ais every day, but his shadow clones had never stopped working.
These people who had been out for ten days returned dejected, having found nothing.
The next day, another piece of news arrived: traces of the Assassin's Alliance were found in an unnamed cave outside the city. The people of Kado City immediately pursued them.
"I feel like the Assassin's Alliance is definitely plotting something. These messy rumors are all smoke screens they've released."
"My thoughts exactly."
Li Xi hugged Ais, his eyes unfocused. "Since they can create smoke screens, so can we."
"How do we do it?"
After these few days of truly intimate contact, Ais found Li Xi to be very intelligent. His words were always insightful, but he lacked knowledge in many high-level areas, which made him passive in many situations.
"I believe they must hate Lord Mourinho to death and want to get rid of him quickly."
"So, you want Lord Mourinho to lure them out?"
Li Xi smiled slightly. "Why lure them out? Isn't throwing stones to test the way better?"
The next day, everyone in the city saw a dragonkin covered in dark red dragon scales fly over the city and land in a certain spot within the city. Then, a violent tremor that the entire city could feel occurred, as if a minor earthquake had struck. People standing on the street lost their balance and fell.
The earthquake-like tremor lasted for less than a sand clock, and then Mourinho flew away, holding someone, under everyone's gaze.
The streets were filled with people looking up at the sky.
"That must be someone from the Assassin's Alliance."
"I think so too."
"I wonder if Lord Mourinho takes disciples. It's rare for Kado City to have such a strong individual in hundreds of years."
"Tsk, how do you know Lord Mourinho is from Kado City? Couldn't he be from Abi City?"
The next day, the dragonkin Mourinho's figure flew into Kado City again, and then Kado City began to sway like a ship on the sea.
When Mourinho flew away, the people below still looked up at him with longing.
On the third day, Mourinho appeared again. For these three days, every time Mourinho appeared, a large crowd would gather, like fans chasing a celebrity, but there were many unfamiliar faces among them.
Li Xi stayed at home, carefully reviewing the memories transmitted by his shadow clones. During Mourinho's three appearances, a total of 13 people appeared repeatedly outside. Under the tracking of the shadow clones, 12 people were not suspicious, but only one was highly suspect.
Although his face looked unfamiliar, his physique had not changed. Li Xi saw a shadow of that man in the standing collar windbreaker.
"Little mouse, I don't believe I can't catch your tail."
At this moment, the man in the windbreaker, after having scouted the intelligence, was followed by dozens of shadow clones. These shadow clones played various roles: father and son, husband and wife, a family of three, and even small vendors hawking goods along the street. Li Xi alone could perform an entire street. Even if the man in the windbreaker recognized some of them, he would surely not believe that the people behind him were all fake.
Just as Li Xi was fully tracking the man in the windbreaker, Ais brought accurate news. "This time, the exact location of the puppeteer has been discovered. The news has been confirmed. Are you going?"
Li Xi felt a moment of dizziness. If only one person's traces had been found, Li Xi might have attributed it to their efforts. Now, finding two at once—could it be such a coincidence?
"I'm not going, and you shouldn't go either. Something is wrong here." Su Nan Novel Network
Ais had listened to Li Xi last time, but this time the news was indeed accurate and undisputed.
"The force mobilized this time is very large, and it's guaranteed to capture the puppeteer. The Bishop has appointed me to represent the Mercenary Guild, and I cannot refuse."
Looking at Ais's determined gaze, Li Xi didn't argue. Instead, he returned to his room, took out a large chest, half a person's height, and handed it to Ais. "This is my secret weapon. It cannot be stored in a spatial ring. I have other important matters to attend to now and cannot accompany you. If you encounter danger, the contents of this box can protect you."
Ais solemnly took the chest, slung it over her back, and set off.
Li Xi continuously received messages from his shadow clones and soon discovered that the man in the standing collar windbreaker had also left the city.
Once outside the city, the man in the standing collar windbreaker stopped hiding his identity and, using the same peculiar movement technique as Soros, shuttled through the shadows, quickly distancing himself from Kado City.
Li Xi flew directly into the sky and tracked the man in the standing collar windbreaker with his super vision.
At this point, the man in the standing collar windbreaker clearly intended to lure Li Xi out of Kado City. Since it was just a shadow clone, would Li Xi still fear him?
He dispersed all his shadow clones and Li Xi transformed into Mourinho, following him from afar in the sky.
The man in the standing collar windbreaker ran for more than half a day, covering several hundred kilometers from Kado City, and finally stopped in a lush forest. He then calmly looked at the dragonkin Mourinho in the sky.
"Kallia of the Assassin's Alliance greets Lord Mourinho."
Li Xi flapped his wings and descended from the sky. "You deliberately revealed your whereabouts to lure me out of Kado City?"
"Yes, sir. Your strength is too great. Only by leaving Kado City can we be at ease."
"So, the puppeteer revealing his traces was also deliberate. Your plan has begun, hasn't it?"
Kallia smiled and nodded. "Your wisdom is enough to shame scholars. Kado City has suffered so many losses, and its top experts cannot act. It is unprecedentedly weak. This opportunity is rare for us."