Slaying the Monster

From beginning to end, he had never formally taught Mira and the others any magic. He had only taught them how to condense magic power and given them a body-tempering method.

But when he left, Hodrian told Chiba that Mira and her two younger siblings had excellent magical talent and had a certain chance of "awakening." The magic they awakened would undoubtedly suit them best and yield the greatest returns in cultivation, which was why he had not taught them any actual magic.

As for Alili, his magical talent was simply too poor, so Hodrian really did not know what magic to teach him.

But the guy was full of energy and anticipation all day long, and Chiba could not bear to tell him the truth. So every day, he demonstrated the thirty-six forms of Shadow Flame Splits the Heavens for him a few times and taught him how to exert force along the way.

The dignified boss of a street gang was as well-behaved as a good little boy in front of Chiba.

Chiba also learned from Alili that over the past week, those teams of mages had gone up the mountain to hunt the monster, only to end in failure.

"Are you really going?" Mira asked, standing at the door with a worried look.

Chiba nodded, then smiled and rubbed the girl's head. "Don't worry. From what they said, the monster's only stronger than a C-rank mage at most. The old man said that with my strength, I can beat a B-rank mage."

"..."

Mira was still a little worried.

"I'm off, then. I'll be back in a little while," Chiba said with a gentle smile.

With that, he turned to Alili. "Take me to the church."

"Right away, boss!"

Alili scampered ahead of him to lead the way.

But Mira could not shake her unease.

It was like... an omen of an approaching storm.

The church.

"Alili, who told you to bring this person to the church?" Bobbit, the blond priest, said with a gloomy expression.

Alili said, "Cousin, the boss is here to help us get rid of the monster."

"Him?" Bobbit looked disdainful. "A guy who isn't even a mage thinks he can beat the monster?"

Chiba was very uncomfortable listening to Bobbit's contemptuous words. He frowned and said, "At least I'm stronger than those mages you hired."

Bobbit snorted. "If you hadn't ambushed them, do you think you could have beaten mages with your witchcraft?"

"???"

I ambushed them? Witchcraft?

You certainly have a vivid imagination.

Chiba could not be bothered arguing with this magic-above-all-else guy. He headed straight for the back of the church and said, "Open the door. Let me go up the mountain through the back and kill it. Otherwise, if the monster comes down the mountain, the villagers will be the ones to suffer."

The look in Bobbit's eyes shifted, and then he smiled coldly. "Hmph! If you want to get yourself killed, no one's stopping you. God won't bless someone as ill-mannered as you."

"Alili, wait here. I'll be back soon."

Chiba walked over to the back door, pushed it open, and headed toward the mountain behind the church.

As he walked along the mountain path, Chiba looked around for traces of the monster.

But an aura that made him extremely uncomfortable constantly permeated the mountain behind the church.

"Another human here to die?"

Suddenly, a sinister voice sounded beside Chiba's ear. A black gorilla then leaped out from who knew where and towered like a mountain before him, its face ferocious and its eyes scarlet.

"Are you... the monster that's been wreaking havoc around here?" Chiba smiled.

That line really makes me sound like a hero fighting for justice.

Or maybe Ultraman beating up a little monster?

"Brat, before you die, tell me your name!" the gorilla said, baring its teeth, its eyes crimson.

"I'm Hashirama Senju!"

As his low shout fell, pale blue Chakra enveloped Chiba's palm. Chakra then burst from his legs, and he shot forward, punching the gorilla in the chest!

But it did not budge!

The gorilla stretched its ferocious mouth into a grin. "Brat, is that all the strength you have?"

With that, it grabbed Chiba in one hand and hurled him away.

But when "Chiba" hit the ground, he vanished on the spot.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

As the clumsy-sounding words fell, six Shadow Clones identical to Chiba appeared among the treetops.

With Chiba's current mastery of Shadow Clones, he could create six at most when he was not being serious, and nine at most when he was. In fact, even using the Shadow Clone Technique seriously was not too much of a burden given his current total Chakra reserves. There was simply no need to create that many.

Let me show you the power of Uzumaki... bah! Uchiha Sa... Chiba!

"Wind Release, Gale Palm!"

They clapped their hands together, and a surging gale blasted from their palms. Three of Chiba's Shadow Clones sent the other three flying.

"Boom!"

The three clones slammed into the gorilla with a deep, thunderous crash, knocking it back several steps!

"Damn it!" The collision hurt the gorilla, and it roared at the sky. But at that moment, the three Shadow Clones did not disappear. Instead, each clapped his hands together.

"Wind Release, Gale Palm!"

The three Shadow Clones struck the gorilla's belly with Gale Palm. Three immensely powerful blasts of wind continued to batter its stomach, sending it flying more than ten meters and crashing through several large trees.

Body Flicker Technique!

Chiba's original body and his Shadow Clones appeared in an instant more than five meters from the gorilla. Then the three clones simultaneously used Gale Palm to hurl Chiba like a shot put.

"Wind Release, Gale Palm!"

His serious-mode Wind Release was also half again as powerful as his normal Gale Palm. He struck the gorilla's belly with his palm, and it abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood. It crashed through several more large trees before coming to a stop.

The Shadow Clones disappeared, and Chiba used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the spot where the gorilla lay. After taking several Gale Palms in a row, the large black gorilla's abdomen had caved in, and blood poured from its mouth.

"Who... are you...?" the gorilla asked in horror.

"Madara Uchiha."

Chiba smiled brightly and quickly formed Hand Seals.

"Fire Style! Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge fireball, half again as large as usual, spewed from his mouth and burst into flames around the gorilla.

The gorilla was burned pitch-black and lay motionless.

"Phew, that finally took care of it."

Chiba wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a breath.

He had used almost everything he had. Those were nearly his strongest means of attack.

And now, he had used up nearly half the Chakra in his body.

If only I had a Jinchūriki's Chakra, enough to keep using Gale Palm without stopping. I just don't know if this world has Tailed Beasts.

By rights, it should. Isn't Chakra said to originate from the Chakra Fruit on the God Tree? This world has Chakra, so it might also have a God Tree planted by the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

But...