"Last time you saw me, you ran faster than anyone else."
Yoru's light, orange-scented taunt was like an invisible needle stabbing viciously into the Death God's nerves.
Though it might not have nerves.
"Hah—"
The Death God's ghastly pale face twisted painfully.
Its ghostly hand reaching toward Yoru suddenly froze.
In those hollow eyes, there was actually a very human emotion: Fuck, it's you again.
It remembered.
A few years ago, in this same shitty village.
It had taken a job to collect the Fourth Hokage's corpse. Easy work, good pay.
Then this bastard had shown up out of nowhere. Not only had he confronted it head-on, he had even stuffed some unknown soul into it like takeout, forcibly exploiting a loophole in the system!
After that incident, its colleagues in the underworld had laughed at it for three whole years!
Its performance report had become a joke throughout the entire underworld!
"Wretch! What are you standing there for?! Kill him for me!"
Seeing the Death God looking as cowardly as though it had seen a ghost, Hiruzen Sarutobi was so furious he nearly failed to catch his breath.
He frantically burned what little life force he had left, trying to force the Death God into action.
"Roar—!"
Under the contract's binding force, the Death God let out an unwilling, soundless roar.
Its ghostly hand, which had stopped in midair, once again seized Yoru's soul with an aura of death that could devour everything!
"You still dare attack? Looks like last time's lesson wasn't deep enough."
Watching the ghostly hand come at him, the smile on Yoru's face slowly faded.
There was no trace of mockery left in those pitch-black eyes.
Only icy, bone-chilling indifference remained.
"I was planning to play with you a little longer."
Yoru shook his head,