"Don't stop me! Hurry up and destroy that monster!" a ninja shouted after the restriction on his vocal cords was broken. Only after speaking did he realize he could make a sound again.
Aside from a few overly excited ninjas, the others still had fairly good combat instincts. Three tried to keep the shadows occupied, while another two attacked Zheng Fan with throwing darts. Naturally, Zheng Fan knocked them to the ground again.
The apparent leader finally understood the situation. Cupping his fist in his palm, he said to Zheng Fan, "Please help us destroy these three monsters. You may be very powerful, but shikigami that have lost their minds are extremely dangerous."
Zheng Fan smiled. "I'm more interested in why you came looking for me than in these shikigami. It seems you and that sorcerer weren't on the same side."
The ninja leader glanced at his teammates struggling on the ground and said bitterly, "We're nothing but defeated prisoners. We can't even tell you what you want to know, because only the chunin know those things."
Zheng Fan did not care who was making trouble for him. What interested him was the history, and the Six Paths Breakthrough technique these ninjas practiced.
"When did your ninja training methods first appear?" Zheng Fan asked.
The ninja leader froze at his question, then laughed with a hint of vindication. "Those arrogant fools. I told them long ago that they would bring disaster upon themselves, and now they really have. How dare they attack a Celestial Empire Cultivator? How dare they?" By the end, his voice was choked with tears. The ninjas lying on the ground wore all sorts of expressions. One weathered face was filled with rage, but its owner forced his emotions down.
Zheng Fan stared at the ninja leader