The players were all stunned. "Ah, wh-what is this???"
"Is this Ninjutsu??? Why is it different from ours??"
"Isn't our Ninjutsu supposed to be the strongest???"
Every player's entire worldview came crashing down at that moment.
After fighting the Ninja Beasts, they had all thought their Ninjutsu had reached the pinnacle.
At the very least, they should have possessed respectable fighting strength in the Shinobi World.
But after facing Youzhi, they discovered a shocking truth: they were actually this weak!
They had vastly overestimated themselves and vastly underestimated their enemy.
Take their Fire Release Ninjutsu, for example. They could only produce a little fireball the size of a basketball.
It could do damage, but it couldn't kill in a single hit.
Youzhi's Fire Release, on the other hand, was like a sea of flames.
The gap was astronomical.
Ridiculous. Absolutely freaking ridiculous!!
But none of the players gave up. Instead, their fighting spirit surged.
Emperor of Sinking and the others had all been carefully selected by the system. No one could match their dedication to studying combat games or their passion for them!
Difficult fights were what made things fun!
The surviving players seized the chance to attack again.
"Ants!" Youzhi laughed wildly.
He grabbed his kunai and darted among the four remaining players like the Grim Reaper.
His blade rose and fell.
With several wet thuds, blood spilled across the ground.
All nine ninja were dead!
"Heh, what a bunch of trash!"
Youzhi's face was filled with arrogance.
He had never experienced a battle like this before.
As a Genin, the missions he usually took were merely noncombat assignments.
Even on combat missions, he only followed behind Jonin and Chunin, serving as little more than cannon fodder.
When had he ever killed this many ninja?
It thrilled him.
Of course, there was another reason for his excitement.
After killing so many ninja, he would surely receive a generous reward when he returned to his village!
At the thought, Youzhi's lips kept curling upward.
He was already imagining how these kills would help him make a name for himself in the Land of Grass.
"Charge! Everyone, charge!"
Just then, a voice suddenly reached Youzhi's ears.
Youzhi looked up.
When he saw what lay before him, he froze. He was utterly dumbfounded!
Because he saw another nine ninja charging toward him.
Of course, reinforcements weren't what stunned Youzhi.
They were far too weak to face him head-on.
Even another thirty would be useless!
Youzhi was perfectly capable of killing them all.
Whether in chakra reserves or Ninjutsu, they were on entirely different levels.
Of course, combat awareness mattered most.
Whatever else might be said about Youzhi, he had fought over a dozen battles, large and small, many of them struggles to the death.
As for players like Emperor of Sinking, they had gained plenty of experience fighting the Giant Wolves, but those were still only Ninja Beasts.
Their intelligence and ability to act were far inferior to those of normal ninja.
However many came, they would only be handing him kills!
But what shocked Youzhi was that these reinforcements looked exactly like the ninja he had just killed.
Youzhi rubbed his eyes at the sight.
His expression turned extremely ugly.
"Genjutsu?"
At that moment, Youzhi wondered whether he had fallen under an enemy's Genjutsu. Otherwise, how could he be seeing something so unreal?
"How is this possible? I clearly just killed them."
Youzhi looked down again. The bodies of Emperor of Sinking and the others were still on the ground, so who were these people standing before him?
Was it really Genjutsu?
"No... impossible!"
Youzhi shook his head sharply. How could a shabby little mountain village like this have ninja capable of using Genjutsu?
It simply wasn't realistic!
Besides, even if they did, they wouldn't use it on him.
He was just a lowly Genin. Was he even worth using Genjutsu on?
But what exactly was going on?
Youzhi didn't understand, nor could he imagine an explanation.
All he could do now was fight!
"No matter how many of you come, no matter what tricks you pull, you'll all die by my hand, you trash!"
Youzhi snorted coldly and hurled an Explosive Tag.
Bang!
With a deafening blast, the Explosive Tag detonated instantly, blowing two players into bloody chunks.
He wasn't finished. A moment later, Youzhi appeared among them like a ghost, his kunai rising and falling again as he took one player's life after another.
But just then, Emperor of Sinking appeared out of nowhere. "Eight Extremes Collapse!"
With a furious roar, Emperor of Sinking gathered chakra into his arm and slammed his palm viciously toward Youzhi's chest.
There were simply too many people, and Emperor of Sinking had appeared so unexpectedly that Youzhi hadn't noticed him at all. Now, he had no time to dodge.
Bang!
Eight Extremes Collapse struck his chest, and Youzhi felt as though a massive boulder had slammed into him.
Crack!!
He could distinctly feel one of his ribs break.
"Damn you!"
Youzhi flew into a rage.
These ants, these worthless fools, had actually injured him.
Unforgivable!
With a backhand strike, he drove his kunai viciously into Emperor of Sinking's neck.
Blood spurted out with a wet squelch. Emperor of Sinking was unmistakably dead.
But at that very instant, One Sword Opens Heaven suddenly arrived!
"Lightning Release: Lightning Technique!"
Crack!
Driven by chakra, a bolt of purple lightning as thick as a thumb appeared.
Before anyone could react, it struck Youzhi's wounded chest, adding insult to injury.
Although One Sword Opens Heaven's Lightning Release was feeble and weak.
Damage was still damage, however slight.
In his fury, Youzhi ended One Sword Opens Heaven's life once again.
Clutching his chest, Youzhi kept sucking in sharp breaths from the stabbing pain.
Fortunately.
The injury wasn't serious!
Looking at the players' bodies strewn across the ground once again, Youzhi drew a deep breath.
Just as he thought everything was over, another wave of shouting suddenly erupted!
He looked into the distance, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
Because he saw Emperor of Sinking and the other eight come back to life yet again.
Now they were charging toward him once more, their eyes red.
"Wh-what the hell is going on?"
Youzhi completely panicked.
He didn't understand. He couldn't make sense of it. What on earth was happening?
Why were there ninja who could keep coming back to life?
He had never heard of such a thing!
Could it be...
Had he really fallen under Genjutsu??
Whatever the explanation, this wasn't something a mere Genin like him could handle!
Youzhi turned and ran!
At that moment, his earlier mockery and disdain vanished, replaced by grim apprehension and fear.
Run. I have to get out of here!
Report what's happening here to Lord Kusakage!
Have him send the main force to wipe out Hidden Jun Village!
Before you continue