Night fell,
"Heh heh heh~~ Xiao Yie,"
"All right, all right, don't get too excited. You have school tomorrow."
After calming her excited older sister and pulling her into her arms, the two beautiful girls, now changed into their pajamas, drifted off to sleep in the luxurious bed.
Mm,
At last, some peace and quiet.
On the bedside table, the catfish that looked like a doll closed her eyes.
Although Akihi Yu planned to make use of Amame Ei, she had no intention of taking advantage of a friend. Besides giving her the most precious healing ninjutsu in this world, she had even put on this little act and left the clone the island government had named "Earthquake Catfish" by her side as a bodyguard.
She had even taken a little risk and used a "bet" to get Madam Nagisa to accept Amame Ei. That should be enough.
After setting the clone's command to "obey Amame Ei," Akihi Yu withdrew her attention from it.
?
The moment her attention returned to her original body, she felt something tighten around her neck.
She tilted her head and saw Akiyu Sora's lovely face. With the girl asleep, the usual "arrogance" had vanished, leaving only vulnerability.
Don't put your arm on my neck, hey~~
Rolling her eyes, she moved the girl's arm away.
Although plenty of people thought sleeping with someone in your arms was very romantic,
if you actually spent the whole night with someone's arm and leg pressing down on you, you'd need to book a massage therapist the next day.
But as soon as she moved the arm away, the girl clung to her again, this time using both arms and legs.
This...
Forget it, forget it.
With magic protecting her, there was no chance her blood vessels would get compressed and cut off.
Akihi Yu simply closed her eyes and continued with her—
training.
She couldn't help it. Her cheat was that "every time she fought using ninjutsu, she gained a certain amount of proficiency." Conversely, if she wasn't fighting, the proficiency she gained was extremely low.
That was why, even though she used Illusion Technique the most, it still hadn't leveled up. Earth Release, on the other hand, had broken through to C-rank first after a major battle.
To break through with her other ninjutsu, she'd have to crank up the intensity.
That was fine, too. There was joy in fighting others.
Chuo Ward,
As its name suggested, it lay at the very center of Tokyo Metropolis's twenty-three wards.
Together with Minato Ward and Chiyoda Ward, it formed the heart of the island nation.
It was the center of the island nation's economy, information, and commerce. The Bank of Japan and the Tokyo Stock Exchange were both located in Chuo Ward.
Every day, enormous amounts of wealth flowed through here—wealth that ordinary people could never earn, even if they had worked nonstop from the Stone Age to the modern era. The famous Ginza was the ward's landmark district: stocks, dividends, champagne, luxury cars, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, and, in the beguiling atmosphere of the night, plunging necklines. No, wait—socialites.
Unlike the carnal, brazen nightlife of Shinjuku's Kabukicho,
Ginza's "socialites" prized elegance, erudition, and refinement. Like the finest luxury goods, they were playthings reserved for the powerful.
Beyond this glittering, materialistic district stretched vast docks built on reclaimed land. Countless shore-side container cranes were at work, as goods from all over the world converged here, becoming the decorations at banquets, the ornaments on wrists, and the echoes of strings of numbers.
As the people of neighboring Minato Ward liked to put it, everywhere in Tokyo except Minato Ward, Chuo Ward, and Chiyoda was the countryside!
Bunkyo Ward?
Schools belonged in "remote" areas.
Shinjuku? Shibuya?
They were just places where "ordinary people" pretended to enjoy luxury. They were too low-class to matter.
And yet all this prosperity depended on Tokyo Bay, and its countless docks running day and night.
Many "office workers" from Chuo Ward had to take a boat home to Koto Ward at night. After all, dockworkers like them couldn't afford to live in Chuo Ward, where every inch of land was worth a fortune.
At the bustling Harumi Pier, fishing boats came and went, bringing in all kinds of catches. A figure in a trench coat and round hat stood by the pier, swallowing hungrily at the sight.
"So many fish,"
"Yeah, yeah,"
"We can eat until we're stuffed—"
The figure was wrapped in a "trench coat" that had been fashionable last century and wore a matching bowler hat from the same era. Like a hitman from the heyday of the American Mafia, he gazed at the huge hauls being unloaded on the pier, unable to keep from drooling.
How long would it take to eat all that~~
Whoosh,
Just then, a layer of white mist silently appeared on the pier.
The fog spread in every direction, and it was incredibly dense. In the blink of an eye, it covered several hundred meters around them, making the people on several fishing boats unloading their cargo nearby shout in alarm.
"Is there a heavy fog today?"
"What kind of freak weather is this?"
As the workers grumbled, the trench-coated man standing by the pier spun around.
"Something's wrong!"
"That smell..."
"Careful, there's an enemy—ah!"
The water along the shore surged violently. Two columns of water swept over, instantly tearing the trench-coated man in half at the waist and then into three pieces. He fell onto the pier.
A figure holding an umbrella emerged from the water in the fog and looked down at the three battered pieces of trench coat.
"Stop pretending,"
"I know you're fine."
Whoosh, whoosh.
The moment the words left his mouth, two shadows suddenly sprang out from the tattered trench coat.
Whooosh—
A wooden club came crashing down with a howl. Before it even reached him, the fierce wind forced the sea to dip, making the person with the umbrella retreat to dodge.
Shing,
A flash of silver appeared before Kishida Jun's eyes beneath the umbrella: a razor-sharp blade.
Clang!
The umbrella swung up to block,
and the blade struck its surface with a metallic clang and a shower of sparks.
Thud, thud, thud,
Taking advantage of the momentum, Kishida Jun retreated several more steps, sending ripples across the sea. Once he had steadied himself, he looked at the two figures floating in the air before him, each about half a person tall.
They looked like weasels, but stood upright on two legs. One held a large wooden club in its claws, while the other gripped a sickle.
That appearance...
"Kamaitachi?"
In response to his tentative question, the weasel holding the club grinned.
"Wrong. We're the Kamaitachi Brothers!"
"I'm Itaro,"
"I'm Jirotaro,"
The weasel holding the sickle also revealed a humanlike "sneer."
"Guess where our little brother is?"
?!
Boom—
A tremendous force suddenly erupted beneath his feet. Kishida Jun leaped away at once, but still landed in a somewhat awkward position.
The worst part was that he had drifted down onto the pier!
"I'm Santaro,"
The third weasel, with empty hands and a clay jar hanging from a grass rope around his waist, emerged from the water.
"Human, we smelled your stench ages ago!"
"Chitter, chitter, chitter! You thought you could ambush the Kamaitachi Brothers?"
"Dream on!"
The three weasels—no, the "kamaitachi"—flew toward him out of thin air, forming a triangle around Kishida Jun.
This is bad, with three of them.
Facing three supernatural creatures, Kishida Jun frowned.
"Wait, we can talk—"
"Chitter, trying to stall for time?"
Santaro, the one with the clay jar at his waist, scoffed. He used a claw to pick something out from beneath the fur on his neck:
a fragment of stone hanging from a grass cord.
"You're after the 'Sessho-seki' we're carrying, aren't you, human?"
"And our goal is simple. We want—"
Shing,
Jirotaro, the one holding the sickle, appeared behind Kishida Jun like the wind and brought his weapon down in a vicious slash.
"Your flesh and blood!"
Splurt,
The sickle cut through the current Kishida Jun had created, drawing a spray of blood.
Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique
So fast!
With no time to think, Kishida Jun unleashed thick fog from his body. At full strength, the mist he created had become so dense that he couldn't see even a meter ahead.
But—
"Break!"
A howling gust of wind burst from Santaro's mouth, sweeping away all the fog and revealing Kishida Jun as he retreated.
Wind Release: Typhoon's Passing
This technique had been designed specifically to dispel the Hidden Mist Technique.
?
"Die, human!"
Wrapped in a visible whirlwind, Itaro, who was holding the wooden club, leaped high into the air and slammed his weapon down.
Boom!
The club struck the pier, sending dirt and stone flying and blasting out a crater as big as a bathtub.
Wind Release: Chaotic Airflow Dance
As Kishida Jun dispersed into a stream of water, he raised a finger:
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Jets of water whistled out like bullets, shooting toward the club-wielding kamaitachi.
At the same time, he opened the umbrella in his other hand. A swirling current spread across its surface like a huge shield, blocking Jirotaro's attack.
Not bad,
Akihi Yu, who was controlling the Kamaitachi Brothers in battle, nodded to herself.
This Kishida Jun was a real talent.
Unlike Tanimura Wataru, who hid in the sewers every day, Kishida Jun constantly searched for traces of the Sessho-seki. Whenever Akihi Yu revealed a target, he would rush over at once, and then they would have a fierce battle.
Kishida Jun was much stronger in both initiative and determination.
Even when there wasn't a fight, he kept training his water-control abilities. His diligence was enough to make even Akihi Yu admire him.
Despite being surrounded by three clones of the "same level," Kishida Jun could still just barely hold his own.
This is bad. They're too troublesome!
"Phew, phew, phew~~"
Just a few minutes later,
Kishida Jun leaned against a shipping container, panting,
blood dripping from wounds all over his body as he gritted his teeth and glared at the three kamaitachi before him.
"Cowardly! Three against one!"
"We're not human, so why should we care about playing fair?"
Itaro, carrying the large wooden club, lifted his chin,
"The Kamaitachi Brothers stand together,"
"Whether we're fighting one enemy or ten thousand, all three of us fight together!"
Jirotaro licked the blood from his sickle, his eyes roaming over Kishida Jun's body.
"Human, let's see how much more blood you can lose while fighting through a 'vessel.'"
At this rate, he'd lose. No, he'd die.
Kishida Jun was covered in wounds from all the slashes, and his situation was on the brink of disaster.
Itaro was immensely strong; the club wrapped in fierce wind hit with enough force to leave a huge crater with every blow. Jirotaro was incredibly fast, and his sickle could release Wind Blades, making him a serious threat at both close and long range. But the biggest problem was—
Kishida Jun's gaze fell on Santaro in the distance.
The clay jar hanging from his waist was full of Purple Cloud Ointment!
Kishida Jun had managed to wound Itaro and even Jirotaro during the fight.
But as soon as Santaro took ointment from the jar at his waist and applied it to the other two kamaitachi, their wounds began to heal right before his eyes.
The Kamaitachi Brothers
As an outstanding student, Kishida Jun had spent this time poring over all kinds of tales about gods and ghosts. Naturally, he had read the legend of the Kamaitachi: three creatures who acted together. The first tripped people, the second cut them, and the third treated their wounds with ointment.
So although the Kamaitachi had quite a reputation, in the island nation's legends they weren't considered particularly "evil demons." They only played pranks.
But now that he was facing the Kamaitachi Brothers for real, there was no way he could count on them to heal him.
If this fight went on, the odds were against him.
No, even running away—
"Chitter, chitter. Trying to make it to the sea?"
The three Kamaitachi blocked the way to the sea and looked at Kishida Jun with sneers.
"Human, don't even dream of it."
"Kill him!"
At Santaro's command, Itaro, clutching his club, and Jirotaro, holding his sickle, charged at Kishida Jun again!
Santaro could heal their wounds with his ointment, so they had no fear of trading injuries.
And this human, just as they'd said before—
How much more blood could he lose?
Thud!
His whole body slammed into a shipping container.
After Itaro swung his club and sent Kishida Jun flying like a baseball, he sank into the metal wall of the container. He could barely stay upright by leaning on his umbrella.
Was this the end?
Akihi Yu, who controlled everything, frowned.
It was true that the boy named Kishida Jun had fought hard, but he was outnumbered three to one.
It wasn't as if they were Genin of Konoha, each with a cheat and a Secret Technique.
"Is that it?"
Santaro, directing the fight, waved a claw in boredom.
"Finish him, Jirotaro."
"Leave it to me."
Jirotaro, sickle in hand, crouched low and braced to launch himself off the ground.
The next second,
he sprang forward as a blur, moving too fast for the eye to follow!
My turn—?!
Pfft, pfft, pfft—
"W-what?!"
Beside Kishida Jun,
the speeding Jirotaro came to a stop, his sharp sickle frozen in midair.
It wasn't that he wanted to stop. His entire body was covered in frost, leaving him unable to move.
"Demons will be demons. You didn't know what was written on the container behind me, did you?"
Kishida Jun, covered in wounds, lifted his head.
Did he look like someone who'd been driven into a corner?
He swept the tip of his umbrella across the container behind him, tearing through the metal. A cloud of white gas burst out and drenched Jirotaro from head to toe.
Combined with the water Kishida Jun had splashed onto him during the fight, the sickle-wielding Kamaitachi was almost instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.
"Liquid nitrogen."
This was a fishing port, and deep-sea catches had to be frozen for storage.
Besides flash-freezing the fish, they could also preserve them at a slightly below-freezing temperature by putting them in a mixture of ice and seawater.
That was what the liquid nitrogen in the container was for!
Bang!
Crash!
The umbrella slammed into the icebound Jirotaro,
shattering him into countless frozen chunks of flesh and blood.
?!
"Aaagh! Jirotaro, I'll kill you!"
Itaro, gripping his club, roared and charged at Kishida Jun.
"Itaro, don't be reckless!"
Santaro's warning came too late. Itaro was powerful but slow, so Kishida Jun nimbly dodged to the side. At the same time, he swept his umbrella behind him, and Itaro was swallowed by the torrent of liquid nitrogen.
"You're the only one left."
Kishida Jun, covered in blood, raised his umbrella and pointed it at Santaro, who had been directing the fight.
"So, are you going to run?"
"Chitter, chitter, as if I'd—"
The next second, Santaro suddenly opened his mouth and took a deep breath.
The inhalation was so powerful that even the mist around the battlefield began flowing toward him, and Santaro's body rapidly expanded.
When he'd swollen to his limit, Santaro suddenly smacked his belly.
Sky Refining Bullet!
A house-sized cannonball of air
burst from his mouth.
Before you continue