The Gelel Stone's Abilities

When he heard about the Gelel Stone, Heide's expression immediately darkened.

Having failed to obtain the Book of Gelel, he did not know the name "Gelel Stone," but he was certain that the Gelel Stone the other party mentioned was the strange blue stone in his possession that contained immense power.

Moreover, judging by the other party's manner, they had basically confirmed that he possessed a Gelel Stone. It seemed there was no point in trying to deny it.

"I don't know how you found out that I have a Gelel Stone, but since you came here, leave your life behind!" Heide waved his hand, and the three subordinates beside him charged at Minamoto Takuya.

Minamoto Takuya formed a hand seal with one hand and created three Shadow Clones, each one choosing an opponent and moving to meet them.

"Hm? Is this the power of ninja?" Heide was somewhat amazed by the sight. Naturally, he had heard of ninja before, but he had never witnessed their methods of combat.

Watching his three subordinates remain locked in battle with the other party's clones, neither side able to gain the upper hand, he could not help but say,

"I don't believe I've offended you, sir. Why not leave now? I'll pretend none of this ever happened."

At this point, Heide was beginning to feel uneasy. It seemed like he had run into someone far beyond his league.

Minamoto Takuya ignored him and instead observed the abilities of Heide's subordinates.

Compared to ninja, their Taijutsu was at most on the level of newly promoted Chunin. For Minamoto Takuya, dodging their attacks was effortless.

The three Shadow Clones moved through the battle as though taking a leisurely stroll. Even though they only evaded and did not attack, their opponents could do nothing to them.

"Do you have no other abilities?" Minamoto Takuya suddenly asked. The reason he had not attacked was because he wanted to see what they could do.

He remembered that in the Original Work, they had lightning attacks that could be used without hand seals, as well as Genjutsu and other abilities. Yet now that their Taijutsu was completely ineffective, they still had not used any of them.

Seeing that they apparently intended to rely solely on such basic Taijutsu, he found it rather dull.

"I see. You haven't obtained the Book of Gelel yet, so you can't skillfully wield the power of the Gelel Stone." Minamoto Takuya quickly understood why.

Minamoto Takuya looked at Heide. Since they could not display those abilities, there was no need to keep holding back. He might as well end this quickly.

The three Shadow Clones' movements changed completely. Their earlier leisure vanished, replaced by fierce aggression. Within moments, they sent all three opponents flying, smashing through the walls and leaving them sprawled amid the rubble.

Heide narrowed his eyes. He felt both fear and greed for the Book of Gelel mentioned by Minamoto Takuya, but was it already too late to beg for mercy?

He quietly raised his hand, intending to launch a sneak attack while the other party was underestimating him.

Bang!

The Gelel Stone embedded in the back of his hand fired an attack like an air cannon at Minamoto Takuya.

However, Minamoto Takuya merely shifted slightly to the side, and the air cannon missed him, ultimately striking the outer wall and leaving a hole the size of a basketball.

"Looks like you're more proficient, but the power seems pretty mediocre." As Minamoto Takuya spoke, his figure suddenly vanished from Heide's sight.

Heide's eyes widened as he looked around. His body was also dyed black, transforming him into a monstrous humanoid whose exact animal form could not be identified.

He tried to locate his opponent, until Minamoto Takuya's voice sounded by his ear again—right in front of him...

"Is this the Gelel Stone? It doesn't seem all that special."

He slowly and laboriously turned his head back, only to see the other party holding a Gelel Stone and examining it. That Gelel Stone looked painfully familiar—it was the one embedded in the back of his hand.

Then he saw his hand, which was now gone and bleeding profusely, along with the severed hand lying on the ground...

"Aaaaargh!!"

The piercing pain instantly struck his heart, and Heide screamed.

"Too noisy." Heide's screams made Minamoto Takuya frown. A faint breeze swept past, accompanied by a Wind Blade, and Heide could no longer make another sound.

Meanwhile, the three subordinates Heide had sent flying stood back up. Their bodies had mutated just like Heide's.

One had turned into a werewolf, one into a bat-like monster, and the last into an ape-man.

They exchanged glances and saw that their leader, Heide, was dead. They immediately lost any desire to continue fighting Minamoto Takuya and tried to flee.

Unfortunately, Minamoto Takuya had no intention of letting them go.

"I promised someone I'd take care of all of you," Minamoto Takuya said. Ordinary people could be spared; they could neither obtain Gelel Stones nor trace Timothy's family. But these few were another matter.

As they looked at the three Shadow Clones blocking their path, the bat monster flew directly into the sky, intending to escape.

The Shadow Clone watched it without any intention of pursuing. Just as the creature sighed in relief and rejoiced over its ability to fly, it sensed a terrifying fluctuation of power.

Mysterious Peacock Method: Dragon Snake!

A tangible mass of chakra surged from behind the Shadow Clone, forming a terrifying giant serpent. Using the air as ground, it slithered rapidly toward the bat monster at incredible speed.

The bat monster's eyes widened. Its wings beat so fast they left afterimages, yet it was still completely unable to match the giant serpent's speed.

At last, under the bat monster's terrified gaze, the giant serpent opened its enormous jaws and swallowed it whole.

On the ground, the werewolf knew it could not escape and could only make one last attempt. It opened its huge mouth and unleashed terrifying sound waves.

The Shadow Clone facing it frowned. A sound-wave attack? It was rather noisy. It immediately formed hand seals.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

A violent gale scattered all of the opponent's sound waves. Several Wind Blades rode within the gale, slicing straight through its body.

As for the last ape-man, it had no special abilities. It was simply exceptionally strong, so it charged at the Shadow Clone and raised its massive fist.

Facing the ape-man's powerful attack, the Shadow Clone threw a punch as well.

Monster Strength!

Bang!!

The large and small fists collided, but the side with the larger fist was sent flying instead. It crashed into the wall, leaving behind a pool of blood and shattered stones.

After doing all that, the three Shadow Clones dispersed.

Minamoto Takuya looked at their corpses and shook his head. They were average. Any Chunin could probably handle them, so long as they were somewhat careful.

In the Original Work, even after they obtained the Book of Gelel, a Special Jonin would have been enough to deal with them.

So the Gelel Stone's destructive power was really only average. Its main use was enhancing the body.

Minamoto Takuya was not particularly disappointed. He had never expected much from the Gelel Stone's destructive power in the first place. What he valued was the restorative power it provided.

Before long, he inspected the three monsters' corpses. They also had fragments of Gelel Stones in their bodies, but the fragments had already fused with their flesh and could not be removed. What a waste.

Then Minamoto Takuya stretched lazily. Next came the looting.

After all, the other party had been a major businessman, so he possessed quite a bit of wealth.

See? The money he had handed out before had now returned to him in even greater amounts!

Next, it was time to search for the Gelel Ore Vein!