I Quit!

Boom.

Amid the rumbling, a yellow phantom projected out of Shinji's body. It instantly snapped the arm Hand Demon had grabbed, then transformed into a gigantic skeletal torso made of interlocking bones.

Amid the billowing dust, Shinji stood beneath the enormous phantom, looking like a god.

His scarlet eyes reflected the Mangekyō pattern of three interwoven black rings. Killing intent radiated from him!

Hand Demon was stunned. "W-what are you?"

Before Hand Demon could finish speaking, Shinji activated Susanoo and slammed a heavy punch down onto the demon.

Splurt!

Hand Demon's seemingly sturdy body was no match for Susanoo's terrifying Great Strength. With a thunderous crash, it shattered into pieces, sending flesh and blood flying everywhere.

The already blood-soaked courtyard became even more of a mess.

Yet only a few breaths later, the flesh in the crater began to squirm. It rapidly swelled and soon restored Hand Demon's original form.

"As expected of the 'Light'!" Hand Demon covered his mouth with a hand and giggled. "Ohoho! You can't kill me! You can't kill me!"

"Tch!"

Shinji didn't bother replying. He activated Susanoo again and slammed down another punch.

Just as before, Hand Demon was smashed to pieces.

But this time, Shinji didn't wait for Hand Demon to fully recover. The moment its flesh began to squirm, he swung another punch at it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Susanoo kept pounding the ground. The crater grew larger and larger, and cracks stretched dozens of meters away.

The surrounding buildings were affected one after another, collapsing in turn. Even the main hall, farther away, lost a corner as it crumbled.

After a while, Shinji stopped his assault.

Compared to before, the lump of flesh recovered much more slowly. Hand Demon eventually re-formed, but it was far smaller than it had been right after devouring more than a hundred guards.

"D-damn you!"

The weakness drained the crazed look from Hand Demon's face, replacing it with deep fear.

It had never imagined it would face a monster like this. Just meeting Shinji's Mangekyō Sharingan was enough to make it tremble with terror.

It wanted to escape. It wanted to keep eating people and replenish its strength. But Susanoo stood in its way, crushing all its hopes.

Hand Demon trembled and instinctively took a step back. "No! You don't even have a sword. How could I die at your hands?"

Shinji slowly walked toward Hand Demon. "You still don't understand what kind of place this is. Before long, you'll miss the sunlight and Nichirin Blades."

"He knows! He knows my weakness! I'm going to die!"

Hand Demon's pupils contracted sharply. Terror consumed its entire being, and its will crumbled in an instant.

Sensing that moment, Shinji didn't hesitate. He struck swiftly, activating Susanoo once more and swinging a punch at Hand Demon.

Boom.

Hand Demon's body shattered once again.

But this time, the flesh on the ground didn't squirm and gather itself back together. It dispersed into the air like ash.

[Invasion successfully stopped]

[Rift closed.]

Hearing the voice by his ear, Shinji sighed in relief and sank to the ground. The enormous Susanoo surrounding him vanished in an instant, too.

"Why is it my job—a remnant of the Uchiha—to protect the Shinobi World?!"

He was beginning to understand.

The so-called invasion was probably the invasion of the Shinobi World by beings from other dimensions, like Hand Demon.

And he, the "Light" Hand Demon had mentioned, was likely responsible for eliminating these invading beings and protecting the Shinobi World.

He understood, but deep down he still resented it.

He'd been inexplicably thrown into this place and inexplicably forced into a huge battle with a monster. Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, he'd already be in Hand Demon's stomach.

"Hey, I'll let this one go, but don't let it happen again! I quit!"

He didn't know whether that mysterious voice could hear him, but Shinji still shouted as loudly as he could.

[Scanning for spoils.]

[Analyzing spoils.]

[ Spoil identified: Basic Breathing Technique—Water Breathing]

Suddenly, a hazy ball of light appeared where Hand Demon had turned to ash.

"Huh? There's loot?"

Shinji walked over to the orb of light.

In Demon Slayer, Breathing Techniques strengthened the heart and lungs through controlled breathing, greatly increasing an ordinary person's speed and strength. They allowed frail humans to fight demons.

Since Breathing Techniques relied purely on breathing, there was no bloodline requirement to learn them. Anyone with enough talent and dedication could improve to some extent.

How much they improved varied from person to person.

Still, for Shinji, who couldn't yet use complicated techniques like Chakra Nature Transformation, this was undoubtedly a good reward. He reached out and grabbed the orb.

In an instant, fragments of memories from learning Water Breathing flowed into his mind.

At the same time, he understood why the reward for defeating Hand Demon was Water Breathing.

Hand Demon had clearly devoured more than a dozen swordsmen who had learned Water Breathing. The memory fragments of those swordsmen had already become part of its flesh.

[Calculating reward]

[Rating: E]

[Received the Shinobi World's blessing: Chakra (small amount).]

Numerous specks of light appeared all around him and flowed into his body one by one.

"Ahh..."

It felt as if someone had tossed his exhausted body into a hot spring. The sensation was so soothing he couldn't help crying out.

"The Shinobi World's blessing..." He paused, then thought, There are rewards, too!

The amount of Chakra that had just entered his body was nearly equal to what he'd had before. In other words, his Chakra had doubled in just a moment.

But recalling the mysterious voice's words, he caught on. "Hey, there's no need to emphasize 'small amount'!"

The "small amount" of Chakra had doubled his total reserves.

Did that mean his own Chakra reserves were only equivalent to a "small amount"?

He also noticed that he'd received an E rating. That clearly wasn't a good grade.

Looking around, he wondered, Was the rating affected by how much damage Hand Demon's invasion caused the Shinobi World? Or did the invasion last too long?

Crack!

Suddenly, a noise came from nearby.

"Is there a survivor?"

Shinji whipped around and looked toward the sound.

A small head poked out from the ruins of the main hall. The child blinked her big eyes and looked at him in the courtyard.

This is bad!

Realizing that his Mangekyō Sharingan had been exposed, Shinji tensed.

If this secret got out, neither Danzo in the village nor Orochimaru outside it would let him go.

Even villages and organizations that had nothing to do with him for the time being might hunt him down out of greed for his Mangekyō Sharingan.

That would be a serious problem.

So he hurried over to make sure.

When he reached the child, he recognized the small, dust-covered figure in the rubble. After taking a closer look, he murmured, "Those violet eyes... Is that Shion?"

Shion asked curiously, "Big brother with the red eyes, do you know me?"

"So this is the palace of the Land of Demons Miko."

Shinji muttered aloud, but inwardly he was torn.

Thank you all for the votes and tips. I saw so many familiar names—thank you so much!