"I finally found you, monster!" Hiroko's voice shook with fury.
His eyes locked onto the towering figure before him. The giant stood, armored from head to toe, the corpse of the legendary mountain bull at its side.
Hiroko's breath caught. His ancestral scrolls spoke of that beast — a creature said to shake continents with each step, one even his forefathers barely survived. Yet here it lay, split open with a single clean strike.
How…? Hiroko's mind reeled. If this monster truly crushed mountains, why didn't the earth tremble? Was the battle over before the bull could even react?
A cold chill crawled down his spine as the giant turned, its gaze locking on him. Eyes glowed faintly, an ancient light that reduced Hiroko to an insect in its shadow.
Hiroko bared his teeth, rage overriding fear. With a wordless cry, he lunged.
(Ymir's POV)
The bull's meat still lingered on my tongue — roasted flesh, rich stew from its organs. A satisfying meal.
Then I heard it. A voice I had been expecting.
"I finally found you, monster!"
I smirked. So, he's arrived. Sooner than I thought.
I rose, towering over Hiroko without trying. I didn't mean to intimidate him — I knew a man like him would never flinch, not even if Death itself came knocking. But inside me, something stirred. Excitement.
At last… a worthy opponent.
Explosions burst around me, clouds of smoke choking the air. My sight was swallowed whole, but training had honed me beyond vision. I closed my eyes and listened — to the tremor of footsteps, the whisper of steel, the shift in the air.
A blade nicked against my armor. A clone. Clever. The real Hiroko went for my eyes. I let him. Dodged just enough to make him believe he had a chance.
Then I swung. My sword cleaved shadows apart, but Hiroko was gone — smoke bombs and trickery again.
"A chief ninja indeed," I muttered, grinning.