Knowing Ponzu, there was a high probability this young man was a survivor from her village.
As soon as Kaizen realized this, he immediately stopped attacking.
Instead, he signaled for Natsu and Uchiha Sasuke to keep restricting the young man's movement.
Kaizen wanted to get some information out of him first.
"You know Ponzu?"
"You're from her village?"
"What happened there?"
However, the moment Ponzu's name was mentioned, the young man's expression twisted even further.
He pressed his hands tightly against his face, trembling.
"Why?"
"Why?!"
As his emotions spiraled out of control, the plant vines entwining his body suddenly grew wildly, healing his wounds at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At the same time, his aura surged rapidly—what had been around a B-level strength just moments ago instantly jumped to A-level.
The young man's figure blurred and vanished.
The sudden burst of speed caught even Natsu off-guard.But it made sense—their guard had been focused on protecting Kaizen.
The youth, however, wasn't aiming for Kaizen.
Instead, he charged toward the wooden house nearby—the one where Ponzu had entered earlier.
"Boom!"
The impact blew the cabin door to pieces as the young man stormed inside.
But he froze the moment he got in.
The house was empty.
No Ponzu. No sign of anyone.
Not even a note left behind.
The young man's body stiffened in shock.
Kaizen glanced at Natsu.
Natsu inhaled sharply, then thrust his arm forward.
"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"
A blast of flames surged out, engulfing the entire cabin.In seconds, the wooden house was ablaze.
A figure burst out of the inferno—it was the young man.
His clothes had been reduced to ashes, but strange secretions oozed from the vines wrapped around him, forming a shield that the flames couldn't immediately consume.
The young man stalked out of the fire, eyes burning with fury, and locked onto Kaizen.
"Where is she?"
His voice was rough and distorted.
"Who are you talking about?" Kaizen asked calmly.
"Ponzu! Where is she?!"
"What do you want with Ponzu?"
"I'm going to kill her!"
"Why?"
"There's no reason! I just want to kill her!"
Kaizen stared at him, unshaken.
"In that case, I can't tell you where Ponzu is. Unless you give me a reason."
The young man's face darkened further.
"If you don't tell me... you die!"
He lunged forward, a massive surge of aura erupting from his body.Before he could close the distance, the plant vines he controlled lashed out toward Kaizen.
Natsu clapped his hands.
In the next instant, Kaizen and Natsu switched places.
Instead of Kaizen, the young man charged headfirst into a blast of Natsu's flames.
The vines sizzled and turned to ash.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sasuke appeared behind him, attacking without hesitation.
Two A-rank fighters flanked the young man from both sides.
Despite his boosted strength, the youth couldn't hold his ground for long.He quickly fell into a disadvantage.
The flames from Natsu formed a natural barrier, while Sasuke supplemented the attack with his own fire techniques.
Kaizen kept his distance, calmly analyzing the situation.
Something about the young man's state was wrong.
At first, he had been coherent, with clear purpose.
But the moment Ponzu's name came up, something inside him snapped.
His hatred overwhelmed him.
Kaizen furrowed his brow.
With Ponzu's strength, it was unlikely she could have seriously harmed someone this powerful.Why was this young man so desperate to kill her?
Moreover, his mental state had become even more unstable after finding the empty cabin.
Now he wasn't even thinking like a normal human anymore.
The vines had completely engulfed his body, leaving only a pair of eyes visible.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun, Mangekyō patterns swirling in his pupils.
The young man faltered.
Uchiha were masters of genjutsu.
Sasuke's illusions might not rival Itachi's or Shisui's, but against someone this mentally unstable, they were more than enough.
...
Taking advantage of the opening, Natsu charged.
His flame-wreathed fist slammed directly into the young man's jaw.
"Crack!"
The sound of bones fracturing echoed loudly.
The young man was lifted clean off the ground, suspended in midair.
Vines lashed out toward Natsu, but—
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke's enormous fireball scorched the vines away.
Natsu remained unharmed.
Fire could not burn the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"Boom!"
The young man crashed heavily to the ground.
Natsu landed on his chest, pinning him down.
Kaizen stepped closer, voice cool and firm.
"Have you calmed down now? Can you tell me why you're hunting Ponzu?"
For a brief moment, the young man—battered and dazed—seemed to settle.
But the second he heard Ponzu's name again, madness flared back in his eyes.He let out a low, guttural growl, more beast than human.
The vines grew even more rapidly, writhing and twisting across the ground.
Kaizen's face darkened slightly.
"Altan!"
In a flash, Altan materialized and lifted Kaizen into the air using her floating ability.
From above, Kaizen saw the entire area—Natsu and Sasuke included—completely engulfed by thick, spreading vines.
"If you don't tell me... you'll all die!"
The young man's voice rang out, deeper and more distorted than before, echoing eerily through the tangled vines.
Kaizen sighed lightly.
"It seems you won't listen until you're thoroughly beaten."
"An A-rank Nen user, huh? But one who forcibly boosted his aura at the last minute."
He looked at Natsu.
"Natsu!"
Flames burst forth from Natsu's body, and the vines recoiled instinctively.
He crouched low.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous kick-off, Natsu leapt high into the air, soaring above the battlefield.
Twin flames appeared in his hands.
"The left-hand flame merges with the right-hand flame!"
The roaring fires combined, turning from red to dazzling gold.
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