I Was the Type to Get Even

Sorry!

He silently apologized,

then faced the familiar teachers and principal, striking a pose and crouching low. Beneath his black cloak, he concealed his hands as they formed seals.

Body Flicker Technique!

A reward he had received recently, after four years.

Soul Power surged through the muscles in Naruto's calves. He stamped down hard, and his figure blurred once more. The gravel-covered ground beneath his feet split with a web of cracks,

and amid the ground's shrill wail, Naruto shot forward like a bolt of black lightning!

The terrifying speed made the people in front of him all take half a step back, gasping.

Principal Fuqi stamped down hard, sinking into the ground as his fourth Spirit Ring lit up. As a defensive Spirit Master, he fixed his gaze on the figure before him, then turned his head slightly and shouted to the others behind him.

"Watch out! He's an Agility-Attack Type Spirit Master!"

The moment the words left his mouth,

the black lightning in the corner of his eye had already vanished. Principal Fuqi whipped around, aghast. Before he could even locate his opponent, the hairs all over his body stood on end again.

Behind him?

When had he gotten there!?

His senses picked up a powerful source of Soul Power wavering behind him. Principal Fuqi spun around in terror.

Reflected in his pupils, the cloaked stranger had one arm raised high. A ball of azure Soul Power spun at high speed, stirring up waves of air.

It wasn't a Martial Soul?

No Spirit Rings had appeared beneath his feet, either, so it wasn't a Soul Skill. Was it a Self-Created Soul Skill?

Principal Fuqi's mind raced, but he had no time to react. The stranger swung down his arm, and the azure orb slammed into the enormous golden bell.

Boom!

A deafening crash rang out.

The golden bell shattered, and the air currents swept Principal Fuqi off his feet. He flew several meters before hitting the ground hard, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He could no longer fight.

The surrounding Soul Elder teachers were dumbstruck. If even their Soul Ancestor-level principal had fallen in one move, what chance did they have?

Their morale shattered, and they retreated several steps.

The stranger glanced around but paid them no heed. He vaulted over their line and charged straight toward the classroom building.

Who was this stranger?

What was he after?

Principal Fuqi clutched his heaving chest as someone helped him sit up. Confusion filled his eyes. His opponent had held back just now. Was he not after the academy?

Then what was he after?

As Principal Fuqi wondered, the stranger's actions gave him the answer.

The stranger raced along the wall as if it were level ground, his target clear. He charged straight toward Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, who stood in terror behind the window.

"Xiao San, get out of here! He's after me!"

Yu Xiaogang turned and shouted to Tang San beside him!

At last, he had grasped that inexplicable sense of familiarity in his mind. That Soul Power was so similar! The stranger had to be connected to Bibi Dong. He was after Yu Xiaogang!

"Teacher!"

Tang San's eyes were bloodshot as he clung desperately to Grandmaster's hand, trying to get his teacher to leave with him.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth, mustered all his strength, and shoved Tang San away. Tang San stumbled several meters and fell. Just as he tried to get up, he saw the blood-red god of slaughter bearing down behind his teacher, visible through the clear window.

Bang!

The window behind Yu Xiaogang exploded. He could already glimpse shards flying past him.

At that moment, time seemed to slow. He gave his disciple one last, slight nod and a faint smile, and Yu Xiaogang couldn't help feeling a pang of sorrow.

Dong'er... How did it come to this between us...?

With a mournful sigh,

Yu Xiaogang flung his arms wide and turned resolutely, charging at the stranger!

He could die, but he would never let Dong'er hurt his disciple!

Thud!

Like a speeding truck slamming into a roadside bollard.

The stranger didn't slow down. He wouldn't even spare Yu Xiaogang a glance; his eyes were fixed solely on Tang San!

Yu Xiaogang, who had blocked his path, did nothing but provide Tang San with a bit of emotional support. The god-of-slaughter-like stranger ignored him completely and sent him flying into a bookshelf, where he disappeared beneath a pile of books.

Naruto thrust out his arm, and the azure orb lit up, illuminating the entire workshop!

Rasengan!

Tang San, who hadn't yet managed to get up, froze in place. The azure orb in his pupils rapidly grew larger, and the surging air lifted his hair, but his body could no longer react.

The gap between them was too vast. Even if he used his Hammer Spirit, it would be useless!

At this rate... he would...

Die!

Bang!

It was as if the sky had been torn open. A faint bolt of thunder streaked across the heavens, but no one noticed it just then. Everyone at the scene looked up at the ordinary-looking classroom building.

The top floors and roof of the entire building exploded. Thick smoke billowed as debris scattered and pattered down over the Training Ground like rain.

Was it... over?

The same thought flashed through everyone's minds.

"Ah..."

A faint, helpless sigh came from the workshop, now reduced to rubble.

Tang San bent over and coughed several times. He looked up and saw a tall figure in a tattered cloak standing before him like a mountain, shielding him as the smoke slowly dispersed.

Slivers of sunlight streamed through gaps and holes in the ruins, backlighting the figure so Tang San couldn't make out his face. But the bond in his blood told him the answer.

"Dad?"

Tang Hao glanced back at Tang San.

After confirming he was unharmed, he turned around and glared fiercely at the assassin before him.

The man looked full of regret as he swayed, barely managing to stay upright. Looking down, Tang Hao saw that his right arm and half his chest had vanished beneath the punch he'd just thrown.

The man should have been dead, yet not a drop of blood flowed from the wound.

Like some sort of ghost?

Tang Hao frowned. Without even summoning his Martial Soul, he folded his arms and looked down at the stranger with an arrogant glance. "Kid! Who are you? Why did you try to hurt my son for no reason?"

"Why put on an act? Anyone who didn't know better might think you were a good person."

Naruto sneered, unafraid as he stared at Tang Hao, who was built like a bear, doing his best to keep himself standing.

Across from him, Tang Hao's frown deepened. He silently searched his memories, but there was no one like this among the people he'd crossed in the past. Maybe the stranger was someone's descendant...

But Tang Hao shook his head, too lazy to investigate something so pointless.

He reached out, about to crush the man's skull,

when—

Whoosh!

Tang Hao's eyes widened slightly.

Several blades of cold light shot from Naruto's hand in every direction!

Naruto twitched his fingers. Several thin wires snapped taut, tracing graceful arcs through the air as they whistled toward Tang San behind Tang Hao!

Shurikenjutsu!

Clatter!

A flash of cold light crossed Tang Hao's eyes. His hands blurred before Naruto could follow them.

In the blink of an eye, the dozens of Kunai and Shuriken vanished without a trace. All that remained was Tang Hao's fist, clenched so tightly it crackled, and metal fragments spilling between his fingers.

So this was a Titled Douluo...

Seeing the feeble trick, Tang Hao tilted his head and sneered.

"Still not giving up?"

"Can't help it. I'm the type to get even."

Naruto smiled too and continued tugging at the steel wires dangling from his fingers.

Tang Hao's gaze turned cold, but a trace of amusement lurked within it.

He was waiting to see what other tricks the stranger had, when the smile on his face suddenly froze. His pupils shrank to pinpricks as flames inexplicably flared up around the man. A bright red character for "explosion" appeared beneath Naruto's cloak.

This was...

Boom!!

It was like the heavens had been struck by lightning!

The residents of Nuoding City cried out and scattered in every direction, ducking their heads as they fled, then glancing around until they finally spotted the fireball rising in the distance.

When the rumbling stopped, the crowd immediately began chattering.

"What was that?"

"Whose house collapsed?"

"Were Titled Douluo fighting?"

Amid the panicked crowd, Naruto stood still as he absorbed the memories of his Shadow Clone. He shook his head with a hint of regret, sighed, then adjusted the light pack on his back and turned to run toward the city gate.

Time to skedaddle!