Evil Ghost

"Lin, Lin Qing!"

County Magistrate Senmura took half a step back, shielding the others behind him.

Lin Qing's fearsome reputation had long since spread throughout the Land of Water. County Magistrate Senmura had not expected Lin Qing to be within his jurisdiction, let alone that he would dare to barge in like this!

After the shock...

Came wild ecstasy!

If he could assist the two Seven Ninja Swordsmen in slaying Lin Qing, this would undoubtedly be a monumental achievement.

County Magistrate Senmura had long since paid enough tribute to the Daimyo, but his inability to secure a promotion had always been due to a lack of "merit" that could convince the masses.

Now, that merit had delivered itself to his doorstep.

Great fortune, absolute great fortune!

County Magistrate Senmura issued an order to Dire Wolf, "Assist the two lords and kill the traitor Lin Qing!"

"Yes!"

Dire Wolf drew his ninja sword and crouched low. On the other side, two or three guards ran toward the rear to notify the samurai stationed in the county town and gather reinforcements.

Biwa Juzo hoisted the Kubikiribōchō onto his shoulder: "You're Lin Qing? The missing-nin from Konoha... do you know Might Duy?"

Lin Qing had no intention of answering the question; the longer the delay, the more samurai and ninja would arrive to provide support.

"Kill one first!"

Lin Qing took a deep breath, Ripple energy swirling around him. The horse beneath him neighed again, hot steam venting from its nostrils.

Lin Qing pulled the reins, and the horse vaulted over the ruined walls, galloping at full speed. Man and horse, like a war chariot, charged toward County Magistrate Senmura, who was cowering at the very back.

"Kid, you're looking down on me a bit too much."

Biwa Juzo's sinister voice appeared right beside Lin Qing's ear. A whistling sound tore through the air as the Kubikiribōchō swung in a wide arc toward Lin Qing.

Yet Lin Qing did not even look at him, merely saying calmly:

"Is there a problem?"

Hearing this, a surge of fury flared up in Biwa Juzo, and the speed of his swing increased by several notches.

But this was the moment Lin Qing had been waiting for.

Star Platinum suddenly manifested, throwing a punch. Lin Qing gripped his blade with both hands, slashing horizontally from the other direction.

Man and Stand launched an attack on Biwa Juzo simultaneously.

When Lin Qing said he would kill one first, he did not mean County Magistrate Senmura.

A "civil official" like that could be killed at any time.

What mattered were Biwa Juzo and Raiga Kurosuki.

As long as he could kill one of them first, the battle tonight would be much easier to fight!

Clang—

The blades collided, sending out ripples of long, echoing metallic rings.

Two slender blades, featuring reverse edges, blocked the great sword Lin Qing had swung horizontally.

It was Raiga Kurosuki!

Faint blue electrical currents flickered across his skin. As a master of Lightning Release, Raiga Kurosuki could unleash extreme speed in combat with the help of his Kiba.

Raiga Kurosuki sneered: "Killing that trash Suikazan seems to have made you a bit arrogant. I'll now—"

Before he could finish, he heard a "hissing" sound.

He saw that the bandages wrapped around the blade in Lin Qing's hand were actually venting silver-white flames, burning the bandages away completely.

A straight, massive, sharp-edged, pitch-black blade appeared before everyone's eyes.

At this moment, an increasingly surging power, beyond human imagination, poured continuously from the blade, pressing down on Raiga Kurosuki until he couldn't breathe.

"What... what kind of sword is this?!"

Black Blade: Ruin.

Under the Blade Master's exquisite craftsmanship, the interior of the Blade of Ruin contained exactly one hundred and eight meridians, mimicking the human body's breathing for the Ripple.

Once Ripple energy was injected, it received an exponential amplification. Lin Qing did not know sword techniques; this was a pure crushing force of power, speed, and reaction.

Raiga Kurosuki lasted less than half a second before being sent flying.

Dire Wolf, who had just prepared to rush over to provide support, froze in place.

One strike!

He had not expected that the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen, in a two-on-one situation, couldn't even block a single strike from Lin Qing before being sent flying!

It was simply too terrifying!

Raiga Kurosuki, flying through the air, barely managed to stabilize his body. He swung Kiba in mid-air, and two silver-white lightning bolts traveled along the blades into the sky.

This is the power of the Kiba, capable of generating and manipulating lightning.

Rumble—

Rolling thunder emerged, and a streak of lightning descended into his hand.

Lin Qing cast a glance at it.

Isn't this just a lightning rod?

Raiga Kurosuki held his long blades high, their edges flickering with electric light. The moment he landed, he thrust the blades into the earth.

"Thunder Burial: Banquet of Lightning!"

Streaks of lightning spread along the ground, snapping toward Lin Qing like venomous snakes.

The Dire Wolf also regained his focus, forming hand seals to summon three winged Ninja Wolves. The Ninja Wolves roared and charged forward together.

Raiga Kurosuki stared fixedly at Lin Qing.

His goal was not to kill Lin Qing, but to force him back temporarily, giving Biwa Juzo a moment to catch his breath.

However...

Lin Qing tilted his head slightly, and their gazes collided in the air for half a second.

Raiga Kurosuki's heart skipped a beat.

He saw through it!

Star Platinum grabbed Lin Qing with one hand and Biwa Juzo's blade with the other, exerting sudden force to hurl both of them out of the courtyard.

"What is he doing?"

The crowd in the courtyard was stunned.

Did he... run away?

But if he was running, why take Biwa Juzo with him? Could he have been so nervous that he saved the wrong person?

Only Raiga Kurosuki realized the truth, his heart sinking to the bottom of his chest—

"He is forcibly creating a one-on-one situation!"

The Dire Wolf suddenly realized the situation, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

How terrifying!

It wasn't just the immense combat power, but this level of calm tactical awareness.

After the first attempt at a forced kill failed, Lin Qing understood that it would be extremely difficult to kill anyone while surrounded by so many powerful enemies.

Therefore, he decisively left with Biwa Juzo.

Lin Qing was exploiting a time gap; he intended to kill Biwa Juzo before Raiga Kurosuki and the others could provide reinforcements!

"You chose to kill me first? It seems I've really been underestimated." Biwa Juzo said coldly.

"Is there a problem with that?"

The answer was the same.

Yet the state of mind was different.

Biwa Juzo felt no anger, for he understood clearly that Lin Qing had not underestimated him; rather, all enemies were treated as equals in Lin Qing's eyes.

Words were merely a means to disrupt an opponent's composure.

Now, such petty tricks were useless.

Consequently, the two fell silent, speaking no more.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Biwa Juzo's forehead.

The intelligence was wrong!

According to the reports, Lin Qing excelled at commanding an invisible Evil Spirit, while his true body did not use ninjutsu or taijutsu, and he could only summon one Evil Spirit at a time.

Biwa Juzo had speculated that Lin Qing possessed the abilities of a ninja beast summoner.

Wielding the Kubikiribōchō, Biwa Juzo was the most durable among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, so he had formulated a plan:

He would hold off the Evil Spirit, while the fastest among them, Raiga Kurosuki, would use his explosive speed to kill Lin Qing.

But no one had expected Lin Qing's close-quarters combat ability to be this formidable!

With the Phase Two Ripple combined with the enhancement of the Blade of Ruin, Lin Qing's frontal assault capability at full burst was, for a short time, in no way inferior to Star Platinum.

Biwa Juzo swallowed hard:

"This guy... he's simply a monster without any weaknesses!"

"No, there is still one weakness."

"Ninjutsu."

"As long as I wait for Raiga Kurosuki to arrive and we combine our ninjutsu, we can suppress Lin Qing. The top priority is not to be killed by him, but..."

Biwa Juzo stared at Lin Qing, who was walking toward him while carrying the Blade of Ruin in one hand.

His heart felt strangely hollow.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique."

Wisps of thick fog emerged, obscuring Lin Qing's vision as Biwa Juzo hid within the mist, concealing his presence.

Lin Qing waited for a few seconds before asking softly:

"Are you not coming to kill me?"

His voice echoed through the dense fog.

Standing a dozen meters away, Biwa Juzo snorted coldly in his heart; the Hidden Mist Technique was indeed the most suitable ninjutsu for assassination.

But from this moment on, he would not step within two meters of Lin Qing again.

"Since you won't come, then stand still and don't move."

"Don't move?"

Biwa Juzo did not understand what Lin Qing was talking about—was this another psychological tactic?

He hesitated over whether to change his position, fearing that Lin Qing might have some bizarre method to detect him while he was moving and was saying this on purpose.

Just then, a faint humming sound came from the sky, and Biwa Juzo looked up.

A series of "egg-sized" objects descended from above.

As they fell before his eyes, Biwa Juzo saw clearly what they were, and his face turned deathly pale.

They were dozens of Miniature Missiles!

BOOM—

The sky-high explosion of fire scattered the mist.

Dire Wolf, County Magistrate Senmura, Raiga Kurosuki, and the others hurried over just in time to see Lin Qing standing amidst the flames.

He looked like a devil who had just walked out of hell.