Banner's death left Kusuna, Shizuku, Setsuna, and Yoshitai utterly shocked. Chen was simply too young.
But Chen had no intention of giving them much time to be surprised. After killing one man with Asauchi, he charged at Kusuna at top speed.
Faced with Chen's attack, Kusuna didn't dare underestimate him again.
"Earth Release: Earth Land Return!"
A wall of earth rose up, forcing Chen's attack to land against it.
But that didn't mean the attack was over.
"Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Technique!"
A clone appeared. Before Kusuna could react, it formed Hand Seals at top speed.
Aside from the blade in his hand, Chen was a ninja. Ninjutsu was part of his strength, too.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The enormous fireball rushed toward Kusuna from almost point-blank range. In the final moment, Kusuna also unleashed a technique.
"Earth Release: Earth Corridor!"
Kusuna intended to use Earth Release to build a corridor, diverting Chen's Fire Release elsewhere.
But that plan was far too naive. The Great Fireball Technique was already at LV2, and its power rivaled that of a B-rank ninjutsu. With Fire Style Mastery on top of that, it was even more powerful.
A mere C-rank Earth Release technique was obviously not enough to stop Chen's attack.
Besides, Kusuna was only a Genin. He'd merely gained some power through Yomi's underhanded methods.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
The Shadow Clone successfully destroyed the Earth Corridor with the Great Fireball Technique, while Chen took the opportunity to use Flame Bullet.
Though it was weaker than the Great Fireball Technique, Flame Bullet was faster. It was a newly learned technique, after all.
Poor Kusuna had no time to react before he was burned to ashes.
Ding! System notification: Successfully killed Kusuna. Received 100 points of Great Fireball Technique proficiency.
The system's voice sounded again. What puzzled Chen was why killing an enemy with Flame Bullet had increased his Great Fireball Technique proficiency.
But this clearly wasn't the time to dwell on that. With two men down, the rest of Yomi's group charged at Chen all at once.
"Wind Release: Wind Blast!"
"Fire Release: Flame Dance!"
"Water Release: Water Snake!"
Shizuku, Setsuna, and Yoshitai launched ninjutsu attacks at the same time, all aimed at Chen's real body.
There was no helping it. Chen was carrying Shion on his back, and his Shadow Clone couldn't make a living person appear. So Shion wasn't with the clone.
"Hold on tight. I'm not responsible if you fall."
At that, Shion clung to him even more tightly, afraid he might leave her behind.
"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!"
Dodging the incoming ninjutsu with his speed, Chen immediately cast a genjutsu.
The genjutsu section of the system display was completely covered in mosaics. Chen couldn't understand why. If it was only the Hell Viewing Technique, there was no need to obscure it, was there?
Yet this was the only genjutsu he could use, and that had always puzzled him. The system gave no explanation at all.
Shizuku, Setsuna, and Yoshitai were caught in the genjutsu. Seeing this, Yomi immediately released them from it.
"Who are you?!
"What did that Shrine Maiden offer you? I'll pay you twice as much!"
The outcome was still undecided, but losing two subordinates in quick succession left Yomi deeply frustrated.
If this continued, even if he managed to kill Chen, he'd have no followers left. He'd be useless to Moryo.
"To be honest, the reward she offered me really isn't much. But I've already accepted the job.
"This is my first mission. I can't just fail it, can I?"
Chen smiled. Shion, on his back, was extremely nervous. If Chen switched sides now, she'd have no way to fight back.
A Shrine Maiden's power was formidable, but only against Moryo.
Against a ninja, a Shrine Maiden's power was meaningless. And to a ninja, Shion was just a four-year-old girl.
"All I need is the Shrine Maiden's power. You're only protecting her on the way to Moryo's shrine, so we have no reason to fight.
"As long as the Shrine Maiden releases Lord Moryo from his seal, I won't harm her. Your mission won't count as a failure."
Yomi continued, hoping they could settle things peacefully now that he'd seen how strong Chen was.
"Is that so? But once Moryo comes back to life, if it kills me, won't I be the one getting cheated?"
Chen spoke calmly, as if he were genuinely wavering.
"How about this? I can see you don't belong to a ninja village. Why not follow me? Once Lord Moryo rules the world, you'll stand above everyone except him."
Seeing that Chen seemed tempted, Yomi continued his offer, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
After all, he'd witnessed Chen's strength. Given time, Chen would surely become a formidable force. If Yomi could control him then, he'd have a powerful weapon at his disposal.
"That's certainly a tempting offer. But what about your subordinates?
"They followed you before I did, so they have seniority over me. I doubt they'd agree to you putting me above them.
"Here's an idea: kill all three of them, and I'll hand the Shrine Maiden over to you."
"Blood Moon, what are you doing?!"
Shion was utterly shocked by Chen's words. She couldn't understand why he'd make such a choice.
"Shut up. Your reward was only a thousand ryo. He's offering me power."
Chen spoke harshly, and Shion was completely stunned, unable to believe what was happening.
Yomi's eyes lit up at Chen's words.
"My lord, we..."
Shizuku, Setsuna, and Yoshitai tried to speak, but Yomi suddenly attacked and killed all three of them in an instant.
After taking care of his three subordinates, Yomi was just about to speak when Chen was suddenly already right in front of him.
Asauchi in hand, Chen swung it down at tremendous speed.
Caught off guard, Yomi didn't have time to use a ninjutsu to defend himself. He could only dodge.
Yomi avoided being cut in half, but Chen still severed one of his arms.
"You dared to deceive me!"
Yomi clutched his wound, furious. Chen, however, looked completely at ease.
"A leader who can casually kill his own subordinates isn't someone worth trusting. Yomi, with intelligence like yours, are you sure you haven't eaten too much shit?"
"You!"
"Ding! System notification: Shizuku, Setsuna, and Yoshitai have been killed. Received 1,500 points of Great Fireball Technique proficiency.
"Great Fireball Technique level increased. Current level: LV3.
"Great Fireball Technique gained the Scorch effect. Targets hit will suffer additional burn damage, and will continue to lose chakra while the effect lasts."
The system's sudden announcement caught Chen completely by surprise. Most importantly, the Great Fireball Technique had gained an additional effect.
"Ding! System notification: Kill Yomi or suffer the penalty: buried alive!"
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