After a night, the rain gradually stopped, and the group set off again for the Land of Lightning.
By dusk, the Senju ninja had found their destination according to the noblewoman's instructions. It was a small town on the border.
Thunder and lightning raged here all year round. Even on clear winter days, flashes of lightning could still be seen dancing across the sky, accompanied by rumbling thunder now and then. Thin, silvery bolts darted through the clouds, which had been dyed yellow by the setting sun.
It was the first time Senju Kyogawa had ever seen such a strange sight.
When they arrived, the noblewoman's father came out to receive them. He looked to be around fifty or sixty years old, with a hairstyle popular at the time called a "chonmage" and a long beard. He seemed very kind.
The moment Senju Kyogawa saw the old man's hairstyle, he couldn't help closing his eyes. He truly thought the chonmage was painfully ugly.
The old man invited the Senju ninja to stay the night at his estate.
Since it was already late and the Senju ninja had traveled a long way, they were indeed rather tired, so they readily accepted the invitation.
"Ah, my precious grandson! I haven't seen you in so long. I've missed you terribly!" As soon as the old man saw Xiao Xi climb down from the carriage, he hurried over, picked him up, and gave his little cheeks several enthusiastic kisses.
Xiao Xi, whose expression had been blank, looked like an ordinary child the instant the old man approached. His eyes came alive.
Tickled by the old man's beard, Xiao Xi giggled. He dodged the old man's chin to keep it from rubbing against his face, but couldn't help reaching out to grab his long, grown-out beard.
Senju Kyogawa watched them for a while, but couldn't see anything wrong with how they interacted. They looked like an ordinary grandfather and grandson.
Senju Kyogawa climbed onto the roof, lay on the tiles with his hands behind his head, and stared blankly at the sky as it gradually darkened.
After a while, he heard a sound beside him. Turning his head, he saw Senju Chenghe.
Senju Chenghe sat down beside Jingchuan and said, "Aren't you going to eat? No one saw you just now, so I came out to look for you. I didn't expect you to be up here enjoying the view."
"Aren't you eating either?" Senju Kyogawa asked in return.
"I ate some rations earlier, so I'm not hungry yet. What about you? You're still growing, aren't you? Don't you want to go eat some meat?" Senju Chenghe suddenly seemed to remember something and added with a smile, "I remember you went out to catch fish not long ago. They're serving fish tonight too. Aren't you going to eat?"
Hearing that, Senju Kyogawa's mouth twitched. He knew Senju Chenghe was teasing him.
But he really couldn't laugh just then. The closer night drew, the stronger the unease in his heart became.
He couldn't help telling Senju Chenghe:
"I still feel like something's wrong. I've had this uneasy feeling the whole time."
Senju Chenghe frowned as he looked at him, but this time he didn't contradict Jingchuan. After a moment of silence, he released his chakra and sensed the area for a while before finally replying:
"Maybe you're right. I feel that something's very wrong here."
At the same time, a bloody ritual was underway in a hidden underground chamber somewhere in the town.
A few oil lamps hung in the dim but spacious underground room. Several blackened bloody handprints were faintly visible on the walls.
A number of people stood in a large circle. Their foreheads, cheeks, and chins were smeared with thick layers of blood, with what looked like bits of viscera mixed in. The blood had already begun to darken.
The flickering light occasionally illuminated their faces. Their eyes were as terrifying as those of vengeful spirits.
Inside the circle lay more than a dozen heads. On closer inspection, they all belonged to children around five or six years old.
At the very center lay a naked boy with his eyes closed. Blood flowed from his limbs into four grooves in the floor, then gathered around the circle of heads.
After a while, blood began to seep from the boy's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, and his face grew paler and paler.
On closer inspection, the boy was none other than Xiao Xi, who had been playing with his maternal grandfather just moments ago!
When the blood in Xiao Xi's limbs had nearly run dry, the people around the outer edge suddenly began chanting in a frenzy. Once they had finished, they all slit their own throats in unison.
Only after they fell did the shape of the strange formation finally become visible. Where the blood had flowed, a swastika with a sickle at its base was slowly taking shape.
At the same time, the lightning in the sky suddenly turned an eerie purplish red. A thick bolt of purplish-red lightning struck toward the underground chamber.
The bolt pierced through the ground and charred everyone below into blackened lumps, leaving only blood covering the floor.
In the distance, the unease in Jingchuan and Senju Chenghe's hearts reached its peak the instant they saw the purplish-red lightning.
Senju Kyogawa shot to his feet and held his breath. His heart was pounding, panic coursed through his body, and his hands and feet began to go numb.
[ DING! WARNING! WARNING! UNKNOWN FORCE INVADING! UNKNOWN FORCE INVADING! ]
[ EMERGENCY MISSION ISSUED! ]
[ HOST, LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE UNKNOWN FORCE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THE SYSTEM WILL DESTROY IT! ]
[What the hell! You're issuing a mission now? You're not even giving me a cheat, System?] Senju Kyogawa cursed inwardly.
[Host, please do not resist. Please make every effort to complete the hidden mission! A generous reward will be given upon completion!]
With a rumble, another bolt of purplish-red lightning struck down.
In an instant, earth-shaking howls rang out all over the town. They came from people, but carried the feral savagery of beasts.
Then screams rang out from men and women, old and young alike.
The estate, which had been peaceful just moments ago, suddenly filled with overlapping howls, screams, and cries of agony. Several panicked maids shoved open the doors to the reception hall.
"What is that?!" Senju Chenghe shrieked in shock when he saw what was happening. He had been about to go downstairs and investigate, but now he froze in terror.
Senju Kyogawa took a closer look. The Senju ninja had been drinking and chatting in their rooms just moments ago, but now every one of them had turned greenish and gaped wide-mouthed. Their fingernails had grown much longer and turned pitch-black.
How could they still be human? They were clearly monsters!
[System! System, come out! What do I do about these monsters?!]
As his thoughts reeled, several maids were caught by the "evil demons." They sank their teeth into the maids' necks, and in an instant the women were transformed too. Their faces turned deathly pale and dark, their fingernails grew wildly, and they went after the living.
[System! At least give me a cheat! Don't play dead, System!]
In just a few seconds, there was no one alive in the courtyard except Jingchuan and Senju Chenghe.
The monsters below seemed to have finally spotted the two on the roof. One by one, they struggled to climb up toward them.
Fortunately, these monsters didn't seem to have retained any of the ninjutsu the Senju ninja had learned in life. They could only obey their instincts and tear into whatever prey was in front of them.
Senju Kyogawa had just begun to relax when one of the monsters that had bitten several maids suddenly opened its mouth wide. Drool streamed down its chin, and sharp teeth showed. A dark-red object as thick as an adult's wrist suddenly shot out!
It was the monster's mutated tongue!
The tongue shot straight toward Senju Kyogawa!
Before you continue