Monster Chi from Another World

The maple leaves were blood-red, and the entire Fishbeam Forest left Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu utterly stunned!

Each lifelike Fishbeam Tree looked like a work of art, the faces on their trunks seeming carved into the wood. It was hard to imagine that they had all grown naturally.

Standing atop the mountain, Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu prepared to continue onward. When they turned back, however, they found that the village chief had stopped walking.

"Lord ninjas, there are ghosts! It's these Fishbeam Trees! Please, you must burn them all!"

The old village chief suddenly looked somewhat crazed. His sunken eyes were wide open, and he appeared utterly hysterical.

A breeze swept past. The Fishbeam Forest seemed to come alive, its crimson maple leaves swaying with the branches as though greeting them. The sight was so eerie that Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu felt their scalps tingle.

Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu used Body Flicker to spread out in a triangle around the village chief, surrounding him as they drew their kunai and assumed combat stances.

"Th-this... Lord ninjas, what are you doing?!"

A glimmer flashed through the village chief's sunken eyes. He simply stopped pretending, his deadwood-like aged face filled with madness.

Ebisu said coldly, "An ordinary old man could not climb a mountain over two hundred meters tall without turning red or gasping for breath."

Kurenai Yuhi followed up, "Your disguise is far too crude. There are too many flaws!"

A cold gleam flashed in Masayo's eyes as he demanded, "Too many flaws is one thing, but you don't even seem to possess basic common sense. That makes this even more terrifying. What exactly are you?"

The village chief spread his hands, his expression unchanged. Even surrounded by Masayo and the other two, he showed no panic at all and laughed. "Hahaha... I would never bother learning about such foolish, inferior creatures as humans."

Boom...

Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from the village chief. The violent shockwave made Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu lose their footing, forcing them back several steps before they could stop. Even the white clouds in the sky were scattered by the force of that eruption.

The village chief's fingers twisted unnaturally into an extremely bizarre shape, and he let out a beast-like roar that resounded through the heavens.

Masayo, Ebisu, and Kurenai Yuhi instinctively covered their ears.

Masayo shouted, "Senior Ebisu, what is that thing? Do you know?"

Ebisu shouted back, "No idea, but it definitely isn't human."

"It's attacking!"

Kurenai Yuhi's cry rang out as vines as thick as palms suddenly burst from the ground and lashed toward Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu.

Whoosh!

The kunai in his hand flashed, instantly severing the vines winding toward him. He then used Body Flicker to leap backward and open up some distance.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Ebisu formed hand seals and used Body Flicker to leap into the air. With his right hand cupped by his mouth like a trumpet, he spat out fireballs that burned through the vines one after another.

Kurenai Yuhi formed hand seals, chakra surging through her body, yet the exposed village chief remained completely unaffected.

"What? How is that possible? Genjutsu doesn't work on it!"

Cold sweat formed on Kurenai Yuhi's forehead.

Bang!

More vines suddenly burst from the ground. Kurenai Yuhi's gaze sharpened, chakra gathering around her kunai. After cutting apart the vines binding her, she swiftly retreated.

Whoosh!

Masayo used Wind Body Flicker to close in, the Rasengan forming instantly in his hand before he slammed it heavily into the village chief's chest.

Bang!

The village chief's body was sent flying. Then, under Masayo's astonished gaze, he landed steadily on the ground. The wound in his chest caused by the Rasengan healed in an instant.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Masayo's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The Rasengan had likewise failed to inflict any real damage on the fake village chief.

The fake village chief slowly floated into the air. Countless dense vines burst from the ground like writhing tentacles, instantly sweeping up Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu and binding them tightly.

No matter how Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu struggled, they could not break free.

"Hmph. So the so-called ninjas of this world are only this capable? Hard to believe that these are the ones ruling this continent."

The fake village chief slowly floated before the three of them, cold, indifferent, and utterly devoid of emotion.

Masayo looked at the vines binding him and pretended to struggle, as though he were exerting all his strength.

"Is this ability to control plants like the First Hokage's legendary Wood Release?"

"Heh, don't confuse my power with that of your ninjas. But I heard you call that man the God of Shinobi, don't you? What a pity. I truly wish I could let you arrogant fools see our god."

Upon hearing Masayo mention the First Hokage, the fake village chief was filled with disdain. His contempt was like that of a human looking down on ants, brimming with arrogance.

Masayo gritted his teeth and asked with a scornful expression, "Heh, some monster from who knows where defeats a few nobodies like us and thinks it's invincible? You're overestimating yourself."

"Overestimating myself... Hahaha..."

The fake village chief revealed an eerie smile. His flesh tore apart before Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu's eyes, and a dark, sinister chakra suddenly erupted forth, leaving behind only a shriveled shell.

Rumble!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared across the sky. From the black clouds, a hornless dragon slowly descended. Up close, its body resembled a worm, and its mountain-like form descended from the heavens into the trio's sight.

"Chi... It's the legendary Chi!"

Ebisu cried out, his face filled with disbelief.

Kurenai Yuhi immediately asked, "Chi? Is that thing in front of us called Chi?"

Masayo frowned. After learning about the movie Princess of the Wind and Clouds, he had realized that some of the original films also existed here, so he had specifically looked into them. He explained, "Chi, Mi, and Mōryō are all monsters from another world. Among them, Mōryō was sealed by the priestess Miroku of the Land of Demons, while Chi and Mi were slain by Miroku."

Chi, Mi, and Mōryō... Masayo remembered that in his previous life, one of his friends had encountered this question on a civil service exam. That was how he learned that Chi, Mi, and Mōryō referred to three demons, not four. Unfortunately, that friend had ultimately failed the political review because a relative had once committed a crime and served time in prison. What a shame.

"Release!"

Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu formed hand seals. Now that Chi had revealed its true form, they basically understood what had happened to Fishbeam Village.

Bang!

Chi was gathering power in the sky. Its mountain-sized body loomed overhead, beastly eyes as large as moons staring at the three people who had suddenly vanished. It let out a furious roar before landing steadily on the ground.

Masayo and the other two, hidden outside the village, were completely dumbfounded. Only when the Shadow Clone returned did they come back to their senses.

"So huge!"

Even from so far away, Kurenai Yuhi could still feel the oppressive pressure emanating from that enormous body. She muttered softly.

Even a complete-body Susanoo might be no more than this. How did the priestess Miroku defeat this monster?