I Didn't Hear You Clearly (Third Update!)

Although Shinji wore a mask, Mother Spider Demon was still frightened by his sharp gaze and stumbled backward repeatedly.

Shinji didn't hurry to finish her off. Instead, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and walked toward her. "How did you invade this place?"

In an instant.

Mother Spider Demon's expression went blank under the control of the Mangekyō's Dojutsu. She murmured, "I..."

But in the blink of an eye, she regained her senses and stared at Shinji in terror. "W-what are you? How can you control me?"

Shinji stopped advancing and frowned slightly.

His opponent had broken free of his illusion in an instant. And it didn't seem like she had escaped on her own; it was more as if someone had awakened her.

Whoosh.

Just then, a dark shadow appeared at Shinji's feet.

He didn't need to look up to know something was hurtling down from above. The shadow before him was cast by the moonlight falling on his opponent, so he leaped backward.

Boom!

As soon as he dodged, a huge figure crashed into the spot where he had been standing.

The ground cracked with a rumble, and the fissures spread in every direction like a spiderweb, reaching more than ten meters away in an instant.

"There's another demon!?"

Shinji was taken aback.

He had assumed there would only be one intruder, which was why he had held back earlier and tried to interrogate her with an illusion. He hadn't expected another demon to be hiding on the mountain.

Judging by its size alone, he recognized it as Father Spider Demon, from the demon family on Mount Natagumo.

Meanwhile, a figure slowly emerged from the bushes on the other side.

Shinji glanced out of the corner of his eye. "The third demon, Older Sister Spider Demon!"

Rustle.

Just then, a demon with a human face and a spider's body slowly lowered itself from a large tree behind Shinji, dangling from a strand of Spider Silk.

"The fourth demon, Older Brother Spider Demon!"

Shinji's expression grew even more serious.

Not only had four demons appeared in a row, but all of them had powerful Chakra. It seemed they had all devoured living beings from the Shinobi World.

Older Sister Spider Demon covered her mouth and giggled. "Another one delivered right to our doorstep!"

Older Brother Spider Demon asked, "Why does he smell so delicious?"

Father Spider Demon, with a spider's face and a human body, snarled, "I can't wait to tear him apart!"

As Father Spider Demon snarled, Mother Spider Demon, Older Sister Spider Demon, and Older Brother Spider Demon instinctively moved in, subtly surrounding Shinji.

These demons don't play fair!

Shinji grumbled inwardly.

This was the Shinobi World, which should have been his home turf, yet he was being ganged up on by a bunch of invading demons. Who could he even complain to about that?

Just as Shinji was preparing to unleash his full strength, all four demons suddenly looked toward the depths of the forest.

Shinji followed their gaze.

In the dark woods, a small figure slowly approached.

"Lower Rank Five, Rui!"

This time, Shinji wasn't surprised. Once the four demons had appeared, it was only natural that Rui—the real leader of the demon family on Mount Natagumo and one of the Twelve Kizuki, Lower Rank Five—would show up too.

What he hadn't expected was that the strongest demon to have invaded the Shinobi World so far would start trembling the moment he saw Shinji.

The composure he'd shown while walking over was gone. He practically roared at the four demons, "Quick, stop him!"

Father Spider Demon hurriedly said, "I can kill him!"

As Rui retreated into the forest, he shouted, "Fools! He's like the Lord—a person who has come infinitely close to the Gods! Even if you're reduced to ashes, hold him off for as long as you can!"

The four demons froze in unison. When they looked at Shinji again, their expressions had all changed.

"What..."

Shinji was also a little stunned.

Lower Rank Five had made a composed entrance like a final boss, yet the moment he saw Shinji, he had shouted and fled.

But Shinji quickly realized that Rui had probably recognized his identity as the 'Lantern Bearer.'

In other words, Rui hadn't been driven off by his Mangekyō Sharingan, but by his identity as the 'Lantern Bearer.'

Realizing this, Shinji immediately understood that Lower Rank Five was the key to getting information. He abruptly used his 'Breathing Technique' and chased after him at top speed.

The four demons were caught off guard. Shinji slipped right through their encirclement and charged into the forest.

Rui fled toward the mountaintop with Shinji in pursuit.

The four demons followed close behind Shinji, trying to hold him back.

But they couldn't match Shinji's speed with his 'Breathing Technique' at full power. Instead of closing the distance, they fell farther and farther behind.

As they raced in pursuit, Rui and Shinji soon reached the mountaintop.

Turning to see Shinji still hot on his heels, Rui was so furious he could barely contain himself. "A bunch of good-for-nothings who can't do anything right!"

Shinji asked, "Why did you invade this place?"

Rui stared at Shinji warily, as though he had made up his mind about something, then suddenly flung both hands upward.

As he raised his hands, the four demons let out heart-wrenching screams in the distance!

Shinji furrowed his brows and wondered, What is he doing?

Then four streams of blood flew in from afar and eerily flowed into Rui's body.

In an instant.

Rui's originally small body swelled rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he had grown to two meters tall, and his lower body had transformed into that of a spider, sprouting eight legs.

He absorbed the four demons' power? No, their power was originally given to them by Rui. He's taken it back. He's going to fight me to the death!

Shinji grew wary.

He didn't let Rui's fear of him make him careless.

Rui had now reclaimed all the power he had given the demon family on Mount Natagumo, making him a true, fully realized Lower Rank Five. And with Chakra in his body that was every bit as abundant as a Jonin's, no one could say just how powerful he had become.

Perhaps the strength of his peak form gave Rui some confidence. With the resolve to die, he roared, "Blood Demon Art: Thread Rotation!"

In an instant, strands shot from Rui's fingertips, weaving together in midair into a vast, rotating web that swept down over Shinji.

Everything in its path—trees and rocks alike—was as fragile as tofu beneath the blood-red web, instantly shredded into fragments.

As Shinji dodged again and again, the space available to maneuver grew smaller and smaller.

He had also tried cutting through the blood-red web with a Kunai to break out, but the moment the web touched the steel Kunai, it snapped in two. Alarmed, he immediately abandoned the dangerous idea.

Seeing Shinji trapped by his Blood Demon Art and about to die beneath the web, Rui was overcome with delight. "You're far weaker than I imagined. It looks like I'll earn merit for the Lord today!"

Before Rui could finish speaking,

a yellow phantom projected itself from Shinji's body.

In the blink of an eye, the phantom took the form of a half-body giant clad in armor, like one of the Gods. It instantly burst through the razor-sharp blood-red web, which could easily slice through a Kunai.

Then the half-body giant thrust out its hand, seized the stunned Rui, and lifted him up in front of Shinji.

Shinji stared coldly at Rui. "What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."