"Who are you? Damn you, what did you do to Ang? Let him go!" a little girl with a few freckles on her face shouted at Chen.
"Beidou, don't come over!" Seeing the little girl actually try to—
At that moment, the other ninjas in the village noticed something was wrong and gathered around. When the Star Ninja saw Chen holding one of their village's children hostage, they angrily surrounded him.
"Who are you? You dare trespass on the territory of Star Hidden Village and take one of our people hostage? You've got some nerve!"
"Enough. Stop shouting. I have no interest in your village. You'd better get out of my way, or I can't guarantee what'll happen." Chen looked at the Star Ninja surrounding him and spoke disdainfully.
"Bastard, you're surrounded, and you still dare run your mouth! Whoever you are, we'll capture you first, then hand you over to Lord Red Star. Attack!"
"Everyone, stop! Don't... don't do anything rash. None of you are a match for him." Seeing the Star Ninja about to attack Chen, Ang hurriedly tried to stop them. He knew how strong Chen was. Even their strongest ninja, Lord Red Star, had been no match for him—let alone these Star Ninja, whose abilities only reached the ranks of Chunin and below.
"Ang! What are you saying? We're no match for him? Don't joke around. He's just a snot-nosed brat. I could take on ten kids like him. The fact that he took you hostage only proves you're useless."
"Hahaha! Ang, are you afraid we'll hurt you if we attack him? Don't worry. We won't even give him the chance to hurt you. We'll finish him off in an instant."
"Hahaha... Ang really is a coward! But I guess that's to be expected. He's just a little kid, after all! Hahaha!"
The Star Ninja paid no attention to Ang's warning. They thought he'd been beaten by Chen and was making him sound powerful to save face.
"Hmph! Enough talk. Let's take this brat down. Stay back—I can handle him alone." One of the Star Ninja stepped forward and addressed his companions, then sneered contemptuously at Chen. "Kid, I don't care who you are. You're not escaping from me!"
"Bastards! Idiots! Lord Red Star wasn't a match for him, and he's already been killed! Do you really think you're stronger than Lord Red Star?" Seeing the Star Ninja continue to mock Chen without knowing what they were in for, Ang was furious and anxious. He shouted at them.
"Y-You said what? That's impossible!"
"Ang... What nonsense are you talking about? How could Lord Red Star..."
"You fool! If you keep spreading lies like that, we won't let you get away with it!"
When Ang told them that Red Star had been killed, some of the Star Ninja were angry, some furious, and others simply couldn't believe it. They remained skeptical and didn't fully accept what Ang had said.
"Are you done? Forget it... I've lost patience. Natsuhi hasn't come out, so I'll just have to force her to. Let's destroy this village. Heh!" Watching the Star Ninja yammer on, Chen no longer wanted to waste time.
Seeing Chen about to make a move, Ang panicked. "Y-What are you going to do? Stop!"
"Idiot!" Chen sneered, then slowly closed his eyes. He abruptly opened them again. The Three Tomoe in his irises had vanished, replaced by a pattern resembling a hexagram.
"Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"W-What is that? What's happening to his eyes?"
"Those eyes... Just looking at them makes my skin crawl..."
"Why do I feel this way? What kind of eyes are those?"
The moment the Mangekyō formed, the Star Ninja before him could no longer remain calm. Those who met Chen's gaze felt a chill run through them, a fear that came from deep in their souls, even though they had no idea what the Mangekyō Sharingan could do.
"D-Damn it! We... We'll attack together! Kill him!" The pressure of the Mangekyō drove these Star Ninja, whose abilities only reached the ranks of Chunin and below, to the brink of panic. They barely thought it through before charging at Chen with kunai in hand.
Facing the many Star Ninja charging toward him, Chen did nothing. One arm remained locked around Ang, while the other hung at his side. He made no move at all.
"Whoever you are, you're dead!"
Just as the Star Ninja's kunai were about to pierce Chen, a visible mass of grayish-white Chakra suddenly appeared around him. It formed the shape of a human rib cage and swiftly enveloped him. The kunai thrust at Chen struck the Chakra instead, stopped by the layer surrounding him.
"W-What is this? What in the world is that?"
"Is this the Mysterious Peacock Method? How could it possibly look like this...?"
The Star Ninja stared in horror at the rib cage surrounding Chen and cried out in fear.
"So this is my Susanoo? It's grayish-white. I wonder what abilities its Perfect Form will have. I can't wait to find out. Hmph! The Mysterious Peacock Method? To compare Susanoo to your so-called Mysterious Peacock Method is sheer arrogance. You lowlifes are lucky to witness an ability I've just acquired. This is my first time using it, so you trash will make perfect targets for a test run."
"Susanoo? W-What is this? Could it be that when he fought Lord Red Star, he still hadn't used his full strength? How is that possible... Who is he?" Ang stared in disbelief at the Susanoo enclosing him too. What an impossible sight.
"Quick, kill him!" After their initial terror, the Star Ninja attacked Chen again, but it was all in vain. Whether they used Shuriken, kunai, or ninjutsu, Susanoo blocked every attack. They couldn't harm Chen in the slightest.
"Hmph! It's useless. Whatever kind of attack you use, whether ninjutsu or Taijutsu, it won't do you any good against Susanoo's absolute defense. And Susanoo's abilities aren't limited to defense..."
As soon as Chen finished speaking, a huge arm made of bones suddenly took shape on Susanoo's right side. It clenched into a fist and slammed into the Star Ninja in front of it. Caught off guard, several were killed or injured, and the ground where the fist struck was left with a small crater.
"W-What kind of monster is that? It can defend itself, and it... it can attack with such incredible force! Damn it, we can't win..." Seeing the destruction Susanoo had caused, Ang felt utterly helpless. He turned to his friends and shouted, "Beidou, Mizuna, get out of here! Leave now! We can't beat him. Go!"
"No! How can we leave you behind? We have to save you, Ang!" The little girl named Beidou felt afraid, but she still spoke with determination.
"Idiot! Get out of here!" Ang screamed at them, knowing none of them stood a chance against Chen. Fighting him would only get them killed.
"Hmph! Those who get out of my way live. Those who stand in my way die!" Chen controlled Susanoo and raised its fist once more, bringing it down on the gate of Star Ninja Village. The punch smashed the gate to pieces, and he continued toward the heart of the village.
"He's going into the village! Quick, stop him! We have to stop him, no matter what!" One of the Star Ninja saw Chen heading into the village and reacted immediately, ordering the others to counterattack. But Susanoo grabbed him in one hand.
"Hmph!" Chen snorted. Susanoo clenched its hand, crushing the Star Ninja to death, then casually tossed down the corpse. It was so horribly mangled it was barely recognizable.
"Kazama! D-Damn it, everyone, stop him!"
Just as the Star Ninja prepared to attack Chen again, Susanoo changed once more. Another arm made of bones grew from the rib cage, and a skull appeared as well. It looked like a gigantic demon, though it was only its upper body.
Seeing Chen's Susanoo evolve yet again, the ninjas of Star Ninja Village were dumbfounded. Only one thought remained in their minds.
"T-This is terrifying... We... We can't beat this monster..."
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