The Birth of a Monster

After a night of rain, the clouds finally parted, and the group resumed their journey toward the Land of Lightning.

At dusk, the Senju ninja followed the noblewoman's directions and arrived at their destination: a small town on the outskirts of the region.

This place was plagued by perpetual thunder and lightning. Even on clear winter days, bolts could be seen dancing across the sky, accompanied by the occasional rumble of thunder as thin, silver streaks of electricity wove through clouds stained yellow by the setting sun.

It was the first time Senju Kyogawa had ever witnessed such a peculiar sight.

Upon their arrival, the noblewoman's father came out to greet them. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, sporting the trendy "chonmage" hairstyle of the era and a long beard, giving him a kindly appearance.

The moment Senju Kyogawa saw the old man's hairstyle, he couldn't help but close his eyes; he truly found the chonmage to be an eyesore.

The old man invited the Senju ninja to stay at his estate for the night.

Since it was already late and the ninja were exhausted from their long journey, they accepted the invitation.

"Yo, my dear grandson! I haven't seen you in so long, I've missed you to death!" As soon as the old man saw Xiao Xi step out of the carriage, he rushed over, scooped the boy up, and eagerly kissed his little cheeks.

Xiao Xi, who had previously worn a vacant expression, suddenly looked like a normal child the moment the old man approached, his eyes bright and lively.

Tickled by the old man's beard, Xiao Xi giggled, dodging the man's chin to avoid being scratched while simultaneously reaching out to tug at the long, coarse whiskers.

Senju Kyogawa watched for a long while, but he couldn't find anything amiss in their interaction; they looked just like any ordinary grandfather and grandson.

Senju Kyogawa climbed onto the roof, lay back on the tiles with his hands behind his head, and stared blankly at the darkening sky.

A moment later, he heard a sound beside him. Turning his head, he saw Senju Chenghe.

Senju Chenghe sat down next to Kyogawa and asked, "Aren't you going to eat? Everyone noticed you were missing, so I came to the courtyard to look for you. I didn't expect to find you up here watching the scenery."

"Aren't you eating either?" Senju Kyogawa countered.

"I had some dry rations before we arrived, so I'm not hungry yet. What about you? You're at the age where you're still growing, aren't you? Don't you want to go eat some meat?" Senju Chenghe suddenly remembered something and added with a smile, "I recall you went out to catch fish to eat not long ago. There's fish tonight, too. Won't you go have some?"

Hearing this, the corner of Senju Kyogawa's mouth twitched. He knew Senju Chenghe was teasing him.

However, he couldn't bring himself to laugh. The closer it got to nightfall, the more intense the sense of unease in his heart became.

He couldn't help but say to Senju Chenghe:

"I still feel like something is wrong. My heart has been racing."

Senju Chenghe frowned as he looked at him, but this time he didn't refute Kyogawa. He remained silent for a moment, released his chakra to sense the surroundings, and finally replied:

"Perhaps you're right. I feel like something is very wrong here."

Meanwhile, deep beneath the small town, a bloody ritual was taking place in a hidden underground chamber.

The dim, cavernous space was lit only by a few kerosene lamps, and several blackened, bloody handprints were faintly visible on the walls.

A group of people stood in a large circle. Their foreheads, cheeks, and chins were smeared with a thick layer of blood, mixed with what appeared to be bits of viscera, the color already darkening to a bruised hue.

The flickering firelight occasionally illuminated their faces, their eyes filled with a madness as terrifying as that of a vengeful spirit.

Inside the circle lay a dozen heads, which, upon closer inspection, belonged to children no older than five or six.

In the very center lay a naked boy. His eyes were closed, and blood flowed from his limbs into four grooves in the floor, eventually pooling around the circle of heads.

After a while, blood began to seep from the boy's seven orifices, and his complexion turned deathly pale.

Looking closely, the boy was none other than Xiao Xi, who had been playing with his grandfather just moments before!

Once the blood had drained from Xiao Xi's limbs, the people on the outer perimeter began to chant in a frenzied state. As soon as the chanting ended, they all moved in unison to slit their own throats.

Only after they collapsed did the true shape of the strange formation reveal itself: the path of the blood was slowly forming a "manji" symbol with a scythe at its base.

At that same moment, the lightning in the sky suddenly turned an eerie, demonic purple-red. A thick bolt of this violet-red lightning struck directly toward the underground chamber.

The lightning tore through the earth, incinerating the people below into charred husks and leaving nothing but a sea of blood.

In the distance, the moment Senju Kyogawa and Senju Chenghe saw the purple-red lightning, their sense of unease reached its peak.

Senju Kyogawa bolted upright, unable to catch his breath. His heart hammered against his ribs, and a wave of panic washed over him, leaving his hands and feet numb.

[Ding! Warning! Warning! Unknown force detected! Unknown force detected!]

[Emergency mission issued!]

[Host, please locate the source of the unknown force immediately so the system can destroy it!]

What the hell! You issue a mission now? And you don't even give me a cheat code, System? Senju Kyogawa cursed inwardly.

[Host, please refrain from harboring rebellious thoughts and actively complete the hidden mission! There will be generous rewards upon completion!]

"BOOM!" Another bolt of purple-red lightning struck.

In an instant, deafening roars erupted from every corner of the town. They were sounds made by human throats, yet they carried the wild, savage nature of beasts.

This was immediately followed by the screams of men, women, and children.

The previously peaceful estate was suddenly filled with a cacophony of roars, screams, and shrieks. The doors to the reception hall were thrown open by several panicked maidservants.

"What is this!" Senju Chenghe, having seen what was happening, couldn't help but scream. He had been about to head down to investigate, but he froze in terror.

Senju Kyogawa looked closely. The Senju ninja who had been drinking and laughing in the room just moments ago were now all deathly pale, their mouths hanging wide open, their fingernails grown long and turned a pitch-black color.

These were no longer humans! They were monsters!

System! System, come out! What are we supposed to do about these monsters!

As his thoughts reeled, several maids were overtaken by the "evil spirits" and had their necks bitten. In an instant, the maids were assimilated as well; their complexions turned a ghastly, bruised pale, their fingernails grew wildly, and they turned to hunt the remaining living.

[System! At least give me a cheat code! Don't play dead, System!]

Within mere seconds, there was no one left alive in the courtyard except for Kyogawa and Senju Chenghe.

The monsters below seemed to have finally discovered the two figures on the roof, and one by one, they struggled to climb upward.

Fortunately, these monsters did not seem to have inherited the ninjutsu the Senju ninja had mastered in life, and they only followed their instincts to tear at the prey before them.

Senju Kyogawa had just begun to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the monster that had just bitten the maids suddenly open its mouth wide, drool dripping down its chin to reveal sharp teeth, and a dark red object as thick as an adult's wrist suddenly shot out!

It was the monster's mutated tongue!

The direction the tongue shot toward was precisely where Senju Kyogawa stood!