I Won't Give You a Chance

Lin Qing's anger wasn't just because Xiaotao's mother had died.

After all, they'd only met once and spent three days together on the ship. They hadn't formed any particularly deep bond.

There were two reasons Lin Qing had decided to act:

From a rational perspective, after killing all six ninjas, Lin Qing had found a recent "shipping manifest" in the office. It showed that two powerful members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had gone out to deliver and collect goods.

In other words, only one member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was currently stationed in Mirage City.

In a one-on-one fight, Lin Qing had a chance to kill him and earn a large number of Soul Shards.

He didn't want to let this opportunity pass.

And from an emotional perspective...

This was the kind of thing no human being should ever do!

They locked people in cages so small they couldn't even stand up straight, used fear and hunger to crush their dignity, treated them like playthings to violate and abuse...

Even the Nazis hadn't been this bad!

If Lin Qing simply dusted himself off, pretended he hadn't seen anything, and turned to leave,

then he wouldn't be Lin Qing.

Thump—thump—thump!

Lin Qing's heart beat steadily and powerfully. As if sensing his resolve, Star Platinum, standing behind him, grew more solid and vivid, like a divine being descended into the world.

Lin Qing raised a hand and pointed.

"Smash them."

Ora!

Star Platinum tore the cages apart like strips of noodles.

Ora! Ora! Ora!

In less than ten seconds, every cage had been opened.

"You're free," Lin Qing said.

The more than four hundred people who had been kidnapped and imprisoned looked at one another. Their longing for freedom battled their fear of the Kirigakure ninjas.

At last, someone tremblingly took the first step—

"Let's see who dares come out today!"

A furious shout rang down from above.

Bang!

The skylight shattered, and a towering figure dropped from the ceiling.

He had unruly orange hair, green markings painted across his face, bandages wrapped around his neck, and sharklike teeth. An even larger sword, wrapped in bandages, was strapped to his broad back.

Suikazan Fuguki.

He was the member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen left behind to guard Mirage City. He wielded the Ninja Blade Samehada and was a true powerhouse who had made a name for himself on the battlefield.

Suikazan Fuguki raised his hand and flung a kunai toward the prisoner who had mustered the courage to step forward first.

Though Suikazan Fuguki looked like a crude, brawny brute, no one who made it this far was a fool. He meant to kill one person to frighten the rest.

Otherwise, if more than four hundred people surged out like a pack of mad dogs, even Suikazan Fuguki couldn't possibly catch them all.

A hand appeared, catching the thrown kunai with ease.

Lin Qing had saved the prisoner.

But the prisoners' longing for freedom gradually faded from their eyes.

They recognized the "sir" before them.

They fell silent, despair quietly taking root in their hearts.

The prisoners retreated into their cages, knelt on the ground, and lowered their heads, afraid to meet Suikazan Fuguki's gaze. As if that would keep them safe, as if it would spare them further inhuman torture.

But just then—

"Stand up. Don't kneel."

The voice, infused with Ripple, reached the hearts of more than four hundred prisoners.

They all raised their heads, looking at Lin Qing's slender figure as he faced Suikazan Fuguki alone.

Xiaotao murmured in bewilderment, "Could there really... be hope?"

Besides Suikazan Fuguki, four more ninjas leaped through the broken skylight.

They had been drinking and carousing nearby with Suikazan Fuguki. They'd sensed that someone had died inside the processing plant and rushed over. Seeing the destroyed cages, the four Kirigakure ninjas broke out in a cold sweat.

If the "goods" escaped, Suikazan Fuguki might survive, but the Fourth Mizukage would definitely hold the rest of them to account.

They'd be dead for sure.

At the thought, the four ninjas looked at Lin Qing with murderous intent.

"I never thought anyone would actually dare break in. And I certainly didn't expect someone to be stupid enough to try to free the prisoners."

Suikazan Fuguki was tall and powerfully built. Standing on a raised platform, he lowered his gaze and looked down at Lin Qing without a trace of warmth. His low voice brimmed with authority.

"Which family's ninja are you? Have you no sense?"

"You think you're the only clever one? No one else has acted. Why do you think that is?"

Politics.

Power plays.

Careful calculations.

And... weighing the pros and cons.

"Tell me who your master is. If you cooperate, I can have your master send someone to claim your body. At least... we can have your name carved on the village monument."

Utter arrogance.

Yet neither the four Kirigakure ninjas nor the prisoners in their "cages" thought there was anything wrong with Suikazan Fuguki's words.

In their eyes, he was the very image of invincibility.

Every gaze fell on Lin Qing, waiting for his answer.

Language was one of the things that set humans apart from animals.

Lin Qing liked using words to negotiate and reach agreements.

But today, he didn't want to speak.

Lin Qing's gaze was calm, like a pitch-black river of the underworld, reflecting Suikazan Fuguki and the four Kirigakure ninjas.

Because they didn't deserve to be called "human."

Lin Qing took a step forward.

His footfall was light and steady. A faint, flickering golden light, like lightning, appeared beneath his feet.

Whoosh—

A gust of wind swept through, and Lin Qing appeared in front of a Kirigakure ninja.

Ripple Breathing surged to its full power. The sound of Lin Qing's heartbeat boomed in the ninja's ears like a war drum as Lin Qing swept out with a knife-hand, slicing open the ninja's throat.

Only when blood sprayed into the air did the ninjas and prisoners react. They stared at Lin Qing in disbelief.

He'd attacked!

He'd really attacked!

Without the slightest hesitation.

"Bastard!"

The Kirigakure ninjas roared.

Suikazan Fuguki glared furiously and hefted the great sword from his back. "You brat! I gave you a chance!"

He leaped high into the air. The bandages wrapped around the blade came loose, revealing the fearsome Ninja Blade Samehada. He brought it crashing down toward Lin Qing's head.

The blade came down with a rush of wind. If it hit Lin Qing, it would either kill him or tear away a layer of flesh.

Lin Qing stood perfectly still, as if too terrified to move.

The Kirigakure ninjas grinned viciously, eager to see Lin Qing chopped into a bloody pulp by Samehada.

The prisoners squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear the sight. In their despair, their hearts sank to the bottom.

Suikazan Fuguki's lips curled into a grin, revealing his sharklike teeth.

"Die!"

Just as he was about to cleave Lin Qing in two, their eyes met for a fraction of a second.

Suikazan Fuguki couldn't find the slightest trace of fear in Lin Qing's eyes. Nor was there any acceptance of death. Instead, there was...

Anger and calm.

He could hardly imagine how those two completely different emotions could coexist.

Suikazan Fuguki wasn't unfamiliar with that look. He'd seen it before.

Where was it?

Suikazan Fuguki had no time to think. He poured even more strength into his great sword.

Bang!

Samehada slammed into something like a wall.

No. With Suikazan Fuguki's strength, he could have cleaved through a wall.

It was as if he'd brought his sword down on a mountain. The blade stopped a step away from Lin Qing, and no matter how hard Suikazan Fuguki pushed, Samehada wouldn't move another inch.

Under the tremendous strain, Samehada, which had a life of its own, let out a mournful cry.

Crack—crack—

Cracks appeared along Samehada's blade, as if an invisible hand were squeezing it tight, about to crush it.

"Th-this... what kind of ability is this? Is it a genjutsu?"

Suikazan Fuguki surged chakra through his body, trying to break the genjutsu. When some of his chakra gathered in his eyes, he saw...

A massive Evil Spirit.

"You said you gave me a chance?"

Lin Qing stared at Suikazan Fuguki, who was only an arm's length away.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe in returning the favor—"

He raised his right hand and pointed at Suikazan Fuguki. The golden gleam deep in his eyes grew brighter.

"I won't give you a chance."

Star Platinum yanked Samehada away and dragged Suikazan Fuguki in close. It clamped one hand around his neck, then raised the other high. One by one, its five fingers curled into a fist.

Ora!

With just one punch, Suikazan Fuguki's face twisted to the side.

The three Kirigakure ninjas stared at the scene, their minds completely blank.

The prisoners, who had closed their eyes because they couldn't bear to watch Lin Qing die, opened them again, their mouths hanging half open.

Suikazan Fuguki, mighty as a god, had fallen into the losing position!

In the past, they wouldn't even have dared imagine it.

Now Lin Qing was showing them through his actions:

No one was invincible. And besides...

The real fight hadn't even begun.

"I'm not going to take advantage of you.

"There are four hundred people here who've suffered at your hands.

"One punch for every person. If you're still alive when I'm done,

"I'll leave."

Lin Qing spoke calmly. But that very calmness was like a handful of salt thrown into Suikazan Fuguki's wounds. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Don't underestimate me! I'm Suikazan Fuguki!"

His orange hair suddenly grew, each strand stiffening like a porcupine's quill as it shot toward Lin Qing.

Suikazan Fuguki planned to force Lin Qing back first. After that, he'd be free to choose whether to fight or retreat.

But—

Ora! Ora! Ora!

Star Platinum unleashed dozens of punches in succession, shattering every strand of hair flying toward them.

Then it swung both arms around and yanked hard. With a sickening ripping sound, it tore all the hair from Suikazan Fuguki's head.

His bloodied scalp was exposed, the skull beneath faintly visible.

"AAAAAAAH!!!!"

Suikazan Fuguki let out a piercing scream.

"Can't take it when it's happening to you?" Lin Qing asked.

"I'll kill you!"

Suikazan Fuguki rapidly formed Hand Seals with both hands, ready to unleash Water Release Ninjutsu.

Star Platinum grabbed his mouth and forced him to swallow the technique.

It drew a deep breath, gathering strength with the inhale. Then—

Ora! Ora! Ora!

Ora! Ora! Ora!

Ora! Ora! Ora!

A full four hundred punches rained down on Suikazan Fuguki in just a few seconds.

At that moment, he remembered.

He remembered when he'd seen that same look in Lin Qing's eyes—a mixture of fury and reason.

During the Third Shinobi World War, the madman named Might Duy, his body wreathed in crimson flames, had worn that very expression as he swung his fists at them.

Back then, Suikazan Fuguki had escaped, surviving to this day with fear buried deep in his heart.

Now, the fists from ten years ago...

Had finally landed.

Ora!

Star Platinum threw one last punch, striking Suikazan Fuguki's face, which was already unrecognizable. It sent him flying into the wall with a heavy crash. The wall splintered, leaving a human-shaped crater, and he was embedded deep within it.

Like a mural.

"Suikazan Fuguki slain. Obtained 450 Soul Shards."