Man-God

That night, we did not continue our operation. We simply cleaned up Hidden Cloud's temporary camp and used it as a place to rest.

Though it was mixed with a faint smell of blood, there was nothing we could do. There might still be other Hidden Cloud ninja nearby, so we could not make a big show of preparing a new shelter.

As for food, we made do with whatever was available in the camp to fill our stomachs.

It was not until nightfall that I noticed I had nearly crushed my sword hilt in my grip. Left with no choice, I replaced it with the hilt from another Hidden Cloud ninja's sword.

I had originally wanted to see whether there were any better ninja swords, but on second thought, mine had been given to me by the old Third Hokage. It should have been among the best, aside from custom chakra ninja swords and the Kusanagi Sword.

Looking at Furan, who had remained quiet the entire time, I could not help but feel heartache.

"Furan, if something like this happens again, you do not have to listen to me. If you can fight back, then fight back. If you cannot, shout for help to get my attention. Understand?"

"I understand."

It was good that she listened, but now this silly girl had become someone who only knew how to obey my orders again.

It seemed I still had a long way to go before Furan could become a normal little girl again. Slowly did it.

"I want to learn."

"Hm? Learn what?"

This was the first time Furan had taken the initiative to speak to me in days. If I could grant her request, I had to. This was one of the few times she had shown any independent will.

"The move that turns you into that form."

This... I really could not grant that. Where was I supposed to get a second Mythical Zoan Fruit?

"That would be hard for me to teach. How should I put it... it has to do with people having different... constitutions?"

"Then I want to learn that really fast sword technique."

Huh? She accepted that explanation just like that? The fast sword technique she meant should have been the Light Blade of the Sword God Style.

"That is the sword technique I am teaching you now. The move I used is called Light Blade, the ultimate technique of the Sword God Style. Its core principle is to strike at the enemy's vital points at the fastest possible speed. But do not rush it. You will master it gradually."

"I understand."

Early the next morning, I once again woke up early and gently moved Furan's hand aside. After my daily training, I prepared breakfast while checking the surrounding area for enemies.

Once everything was ready, I woke the sleeping Furan and continued on our journey.

We carefully avoided Hidden Cloud ninja while quickening our pace.

Several more days passed. We should have covered quite a considerable distance, yet we were still deep within the forest.

After all, Furan had never undergone specialized training. She had nothing but brute strength, and her traveling speed could not compare to that of a ninja.

At noon, just as we were preparing to rest beneath the shade and avoid the direct sunlight, I suddenly sensed someone else's presence.

"Do not move, Furan. There is someone nearby."

This time, I did not tell Furan not to make a sound, but she still cooperated by merely nodding without making any noise.

Very quickly, I used Observation Haki to pinpoint the newcomer's location.

But this person did not seem to have intended to hide his tracks in the first place. He merely slowed his footsteps and kept walking toward me.

Logically, even a Kage might not immediately discover my ability to conceal my presence, yet he had located me directly.

He seemed to be quite the expert.

"Stop hiding! I came for you! Golden-brown middle-parted hair—you are Qingyue, the enemy Lord Man-God ordered me to eliminate, right?"

Wait, wait. Man-God? Wasn't that from Jobless Reincarnation?

Could another reincarnator have been reincarnated as Man-God and come to this world? And he already knew my information!

Since hiding was useless, I could only finish him off as quickly as possible.

After confirming there was no one else nearby, I immediately transformed into my Fenrir form, drew my ninja sword, and gripped it tightly.

"You are Man-God's apostle? Why is Man-God targeting me? I do not think I have ever even met him."

Maybe I could draw out some information. This involved another reincarnator, after all. I certainly could not bring the corpse back to Konoha and have someone else investigate it for me.

"I will not reveal anything about Lord Man-God! He is the only god in my heart, and his orders are absolute!"

I had not gotten anything out of him. Without another word, the man slammed both hands against the ground, and more than ten sharp stone pillars erupted from the earth and shot toward me.

He did not even need hand seals at this point? Kisame really had it rough, then.

These stone pillars were not particularly strong or fast. I simply enhanced my Dragon Saint Battle Aura and swung my sword, easily shattering them into fragments.

"Brother, Man-God is not a good person. He gives you good advice and makes you trust him, but in the end, he will definitely screw you over until you lose everything!"

That was what Man-God was like in Jobless Reincarnation. If this reincarnator had become Man-God, he should have had the same personality, right?

Though I was not sure whether one could choose what to reincarnate into, I vaguely remembered making a wish after death and hearing a woman's voice that sounded more mechanical than Hill's.

"Even if Lord Man-God demands my life, I will offer it to him!"

Seriously? He had already been indoctrinated to this extent? Most likely, this reincarnator had intervened when he was at his most miserable and helped him turn his life around.

"Can you at least tell me why you want to kill me? I do not remember provoking this Lord Man-God of yours, and I definitely do not remember meeting you."

He was Man-God's apostle and definitely knew my information.

It would be bad if I rashly attacked with Light Blade and he seized an opening. When I used that move, my body's defensive capabilities became extremely fragile.

"Dying in confusion is indeed too pitiful. In that case, I shall at least tell you my name! I am Kanasi, the most loyal apostle of Lord Man-God and a rogue ninja from Stone Village!"

He had no intention of telling me any information at all. Fine, I would deal with him first.

I explosively unleashed my chakra, pushing my Dragon Saint Battle Aura to its limit, then coated my ninja sword with Armament Haki.

I remembered those guys in One Piece being able to swing out flying slashes. Maybe I could give it a try too...

After sheathing my ninja sword, the overflowing Armament Haki blackened even the scabbard. Then I let out a long breath and focused my mind.

One-Sword Style: Misfortune Harbor Bird!

I drew my sword at the fastest speed, combining Armament Haki and Dragon Saint Battle Aura to send a black slash flying at Kanasi with terrifying speed.

"So, just like the intel said, you use strange sword techniques!"

The Misfortune Harbor Bird slash struck Kanasi head-on with a thunderous boom. He did not even dodge a slash like this. Honestly, even an early-stage Susanoo could not withstand that strike.

Yet when the smoke and dust dispersed, Kanasi was completely uninjured, and his entire body was covered in black.

Armament Haki? No, it was different. This was...

"Steel Release, the Bloodline Selection bestowed upon me by Lord Man-God!"

Bloodline Selection? If I remembered correctly, Bloodline Selections in Naruto were extremely rare. They required the combination of three chakra natures.

The only one I could immediately recall was Third Tsuchikage Onoki's Dust Release, which seemed to combine fire, earth, and wind natures.

This Steel Release... judging by its concept, it should be fire, water, and earth natures, right?

"Die, enemy of Lord Man-God!"

As I thought, Kanasi slammed both hands into the ground again. Sharp steel pillars burst from the earth and rushed at me with the acceleration of a sports car taking off!