The Feel Was Pretty Good

Although Chen had known for a long time that the system had no interest in acting like a decent person, he hadn't expected it to interfere at a time like this.

At that moment, an enraged Yomi charged toward Chen.

His actions only made Chen more wary.

After all, for the vast majority of ninja, ninjutsu was their greatest strength. Losing their left arm would basically mean they could no longer use ninjutsu.

In this situation, Chen would have chosen to run.

Yomi's abnormal behavior left Chen deeply puzzled, so he immediately put some distance between them.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A ten-meter-wide fireball appeared and shot straight toward Yomi. Yet Yomi charged right through it.

Though large patches of his body were charred black, he seemed to grow more ferocious with every exchange.

"Is this Moryo's power?"

"That's right!

"You should be proud that you've made me use my master's power. You're going to die today!"

As he spoke, Yomi charged straight at Chen.

Just then, Yomi's severed left arm on the ground sprang to life and grabbed Shion, who was clinging to Chen's back.

Shion had been holding on to Chen with her own strength, but how could she compare to Yomi? Especially now that Yomi was using some of Moryo's power.

The severed arm yanked Shion away. Seeing this, Chen knew he had to save her.

So Chen feinted, creating an opening to put some distance between himself and Yomi, then charged straight toward Shion.

"Trying to save the Shrine Maiden? Don't forget, I'm your enemy!"

"Fire Release: Fire Breath!"

A torrent of flames erupted. If Chen chose to save Shion, he would inevitably be swallowed by the flames. If he didn't, Shion would be.

Yomi had forced Chen to choose between the two.

Seeing this, Shion couldn't help closing her eyes. As far as she was concerned, no one would die for a stranger.

So she was the one who would die.

Maybe this is for the best. Then I can see Mom.

Shion thought this to herself, but after waiting for a long time, she still hadn't felt the pain she expected.

She opened her eyes in confusion, only to find herself in Chen's arms.

"You saved me?"

"Do you see anyone else here?"

Chen was at a loss. Was Shion stupid or something?

"You're hurt?"

Shion was utterly confused. As far as she could tell, in that situation either she would die or Chen would be swallowed by the flames.

"It was only a C-rank technique. I'm not that weak."

Even as he said this, the back of Chen's coat was scorched black.

At the critical moment, Chen had used a Shadow Clone to perform the Substitution Technique, using a rock to block most of the flames while the clone hid behind it.

By the time the flames had destroyed both, they had lost most of their power, so Chen had naturally escaped injury.

"Hold on tight. Let's deal with this disgusting guy first."

Chen spoke as he looked toward Yomi.

Yomi's arm had already regenerated, but whatever connected it to his body looked like a tentacle monster. It was utterly disgusting.

"Damn, did you already implant Moryo in yourself at this point?

"Why be a person when you can be a beast?

"How bored are you?"

Chen couldn't help grumbling.

"Kid, you have to die!"

Yomi roared and charged at Chen.

Seeing Yomi transformed into a monster, Shion was so frightened that she burrowed into Chen's arms, as if she wanted to crawl inside his body.

Chen couldn't help feeling a little helpless. Shion's actions were restricting his movements, but he couldn't exactly toss her aside.

"Fine. I'll let you see my new technique."

An Asauchi appeared in his hand, and flames sprang up along its blade.

"Flowing Fire Blade!"

The flaming blade struck Yomi, cutting through him and his tentacles in one blow. The wound gave off the rich aroma of roasting meat.

"Too bad. It's still not powerful enough."

Chen was a little disappointed. The attack had looked impressive, but its actual power was only on par with a Great Fireball.

Still, he had only just developed the technique, so it was hardly likely to work perfectly right away.

"Hey, wake up. The sun's up."

As he spoke, Chen gave Shion a smack on the butt.

He had to admit, it felt pretty good.

"You—you! What are you doing?"

The smack made Shion's face turn bright red. She was only a child, but she was still a girl.

And people in the Naruto World matured early, so Chen's action was undeniably—

"Come on, get down. I can't move with you clinging to me like this."

Shion climbed down, looking both embarrassed and angry as she glared at Chen. He didn't pay her any mind.

"Get on."

Chen crouched down to let Shion climb onto his back so they could keep moving.

But then Shion noticed the injury on his back.

"You're hurt..."

"Oh, you mean my back? It's just a scratch. I'm fine. Hurry up and get on. Don't you want to see your mother?"

"I..."

Shion fell silent, as if something had crossed her mind. Just then, an unexpected change took place.

Yomi, whom Chen had cut in half, suddenly stood up. Before Chen could react, Yomi fled at incredible speed.

The sudden turn of events caught Chen off guard. He had no time to stop him.

"Ding! System notification: Mission to kill Yomi failed!"

The system's voice sounded, and Chen immediately realized things had gone badly. After all, the mission penalty was being buried alive.

But Chen was ultimately a step too slow. A violent explosion erupted, and the ground beneath him and Shion collapsed. Before either could react, they fell into the chasm.

"I think I went a little too far this time. Maybe I should give him a better reward for the next mission."

Chen and Shion both fell unconscious. The system's voice rang out, and that wasn't all: the system projected a body into the outside world.

It looked like the body of a little girl about Chen's age.

Chen had no idea what was happening outside. It took him a long time to wake up, and Shion was in his arms.

Clearly, as they fell, Chen had instinctively shielded her with his body.

But their position was extremely awkward. Just then, Shion also stirred awake, and the first thing she saw was the strange position they were in.

"Don't look!"

Shion's face turned bright red. She tried to struggle, but she was surrounded by earth and rocks, with no way to get free.

"Don't move around. The ground just collapsed. If you move, it might collapse again, and we could end up buried even deeper.

"Are you hurt?"

Chen understood why Shion was acting this way, but this wasn't the time to worry about that.

"I—I think I'm fine."

"Good. Hold on to me."

As he spoke, Chen held Shion close to keep her safe in case anything else happened. At the same time, he silently cursed the system again.