"Hey, Kazuma, what's going on here? Weren't we here to find someone? Why does it feel like we've stumbled into a monster's lair?" Tenme shouted, swinging his katana to deflect a crossbow bolt powerful enough to pierce stone. The strange part was it wasn't fired from any siege weapon.
Instead, it shot from the shoulder of a beast shaped like a hound.
For some reason, just as the enormous creature initially prepared to attack them, it vanished without warning, replaced by an array of smaller creatures that began their assault. Among them were bone-armored hounds with crossbows mounted on their shoulders, regenerating blue-scaled serpents with two heads, and monstrous birds in the air that dropped explosive feathers...
It was bizarre!
"This doesn't seem like any natural creation!" muttered Shiko, frustrated as her poisoned senbon proved useless against the endlessly regenerating blue-scaled serpent. The monster simply abandoned its poisoned body parts and regenerated anew.
"An artificial creation, perhaps?"
Kazuma punched a beastly hound flying through the air, agilely dodging the incoming explosive feathers. Surveying the creatures around them, he smirked, "Looks like we're in the right place!"
"This is a welcoming party, then?" Tenme couldn't help but quip.
"What? Tenme, were you expecting the host here to offer us tea and sweet cakes? If someone tried breaking into my place uninvited, I'd treat them to my full hospitality—whether they could handle it or not."
Seeing her poisoned senbon were ineffective, Shiko switched to a short katana. After all, as a skilled jonin, close combat was hardly her weakness.
"Fair point… but Shiko, isn't that a strange stance to take?" Tenme replied, slightly bemused.
"Hmph. What's the problem? We're uninvited intruders anyway, so let's not pretend otherwise—it'd be shameless."
"Fine, fine! Uninvited guests it is."
Tenme shrugged, unwilling to argue further. "But Kazuma, what now? Should we get rid of these pests?"
Initially, the creatures' bizarre abilities caught them off guard. But as they learned the creatures' techniques, the threat level dropped significantly. A group of high-ranking jonin could hardly be felled by beasts that only acted on basic commands and instincts.
"No need for you two to interfere," Kazuma said, narrowing his eyes. "Step back. Since our hosts want a demonstration, let's not disappoint them, or they might not even agree to meet us."
"Wait, seriously? That technique? Is your body up for it?" Judging by Tenme's expression, he remembered something unpleasant.
"Enough talk!" Kazuma snapped, forming hand seals and casting Earth Style: Rising Earth Spears. Massive stone spikes erupted from the ground and walls, injuring both the bone-armored hounds and the two-headed serpents. Even the low-flying birds were struck by the unexpected spikes.
Seeing this, Tenme and Shiko took the hint and slipped away.
They understood this high-level Earth Style was just a time-buying appetizer; the main course was yet to come!
Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Kazuma created three clones that sprang into action without needing instructions. They immediately defended against the monsters' renewed attacks, shielding Kazuma's real body to buy him more time.
Yes, he needed time.
Kazuma was preparing a forbidden technique known as Wrath of the Sky, stolen from the Tsuchigumo clan. Its strongest wielder once used it to destroy a large town, an attack-enhancing forbidden jutsu unleashing unparalleled destructive power.
Depending on the time allowed for preparation, the jutsu's destructive scale could vary, but it demanded Kazuma remain still to absorb natural energy from the environment. Unlike chakra, natural energy was wild and prone to instability—too much movement risked triggering a catastrophic outburst, something Kazuma intended to avoid.
Fortunately, he wasn't here to level Mount Mirou.
He had another objective.
After about three minutes, his chakra-depleted clones were destroyed one by one by the monsters. As the final obstacle was cleared, the creatures swarmed toward Kazuma's real body.
Then—
A blinding white light erupted.
It was as if a miniature sun had risen from the ground.
In that instant, the darkened world shrouded by endless clouds was flooded with brilliant light. The creatures' shrieks and growls fell silent, along with any trace of life—or even remains.
When the light faded, only Kazuma stood atop a lone stone pillar amidst deep craters where the creatures and terrain had once been obliterated, the sheer devastation rivaling the might of a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The term "forbidden technique" was no exaggeration.
Deep within Mount Mirou lay a palace built into the mountainside. This sprawling palace was eerily quiet—no people, insects, birds, or plants to be found. As far as the eye could see, the only thing left was the cold, gray stone, standing in silence, enduring the elements year after year.
Yet, judging by the condition of these stone walls, this palace wasn't some ancient ruin from centuries past.
From the level of erosion on the outer walls, it seemed that this palace could be no more than twenty years old at most.
In fact, that was indeed the case. The master of the palace was actually not away but inside the palace. However, because the palace was so vast and had so few inhabitants, it looked rather lifeless.
At that moment,
Inside a room marked "Surveillance Room," a white-haired man, his hair as pale as early winter snow, sat silently on a cold stone seat, watching a large screen. The screen showed a battle unfolding at the edge of Mount Milou between a group of people led by Hema and a swarm of monsters.
The screen's feed was transmitted from cameras mounted on giant bird-like creatures flying overhead, capturing the action and sending it live to the palace's monitoring system.
At first,
The palace's master thought it was simply some rare entertainment.
However, the skill and ferocity shown by Hema's group made him realize these weren't the usual weaklings who wandered here by mistake. These people had come prepared. Yet, after some thought, he refrained from immediate action, letting his "precious pets" test their strength first.
Whether they were friend or foe, there was no harm in learning more about them.
Unfortunately, Hema and his team all wore wide-brimmed hats, and the giant birds had no particular skills in cinematography, making it hard to discern their identities. Plus, they didn't have any distinguishing marks.
But then,
The palace master's curiosity didn't remain unanswered for long.
"What… is that?"
The white-haired man's calm demeanor vanished. He stood up abruptly, staring at the screen filled with an overwhelming white light. Then, the feed cut off, the screen turning to static gray. It was clear that the creature with the camera had been destroyed, obliterated by the sudden burst of destructive power.
Of course, the loss of those monsters didn't matter to him.
They were merely expendables, products of time and effort but nothing irreplaceable.
What mattered was the nature of the power that had destroyed them. The destructive force… it was unheard of—or rather, he recalled hearing something similar long ago back in his village days.
The man dug through his memories, piecing together fragments of information until he formed a guess about the identities of these intruders.
"Let's see what you really are!" he muttered.
His voice echoed in the surveillance room,
But the palace's master, once seated before the screen, had vanished.
…
"Is it over?"
"For now, it seems."
"Just for now?"
Standing on the edge of a massive crater, Ziko called out to Hema, who stood on a rock column in the crater's center, "So, there's more fighting to come?"
"Hold on; let me get over there and explain."
Hema made a series of hand signs, using Earth Release: Earth Tremor Core to raise a pathway from the crater's bottom, allowing him to reach Ziko and Tenmoku.
"Ziko, you asked why it's just 'for now.' Is that really something you need to ask? Whether there's more fighting depends on our opponent's intentions."
"Cut the crap—I was asking if you're okay!" Ziko's voice dropped to a whisper.
She looked around cautiously, as did Tenmoku, who remained on high alert. Given the strange jutsu and forbidden techniques across the Shinobi World, no one could be too careful about eavesdroppers.
Even Hema could barely catch what she was saying.
"I'm fine! I held back on the force; it's not an issue," he answered shortly. This wasn't the time or place for details.
"That's holding back?!" Tenmoku exclaimed, glancing nervously at the crater. Even though he had seen the technique before, its impact was always startling.
With power like this,
It was a wonder the Shinobi World hadn't been completely ravaged by ninja battles!
"Not moving forward?" Ziko asked as Hema paused, looking uncertain.
"There's no need," he said. "Our target will probably show up soon… I doubt he'd miss this much commotion."
"Are you sure? Won't he just run the other way after seeing that kind of power?"
"Probably not."
Hema spoke with a hint of uncertainty.
"Who knows? Someone who hides and uses monsters to attack us can't be much of a threat," Ziko shrugged.
But—
Tenmoku suddenly tensed, his eyes locked on a raised stone in front of them.
"Well, well, young lady. Isn't it a little uncouth to speak poorly of someone behind their back?"
A white-haired man in a white robe with red eyes—not Sharingan, just plain red eyes—emerged from the ground like a ghost. "You certainly surprised me, but I'm not about to run away so easily."
Ziko didn't seem fazed, rolling her eyes in mock apology, "Oh, terribly sorry!"
The apology,
Was clearly lacking any real sincerity.
The palace's master hadn't expected such thick-skinned indifference. After a brief silence, he gave up on arguing with her and said, "Enough talking. Tell me why you're here, traitors of the Twelve Guardians. Your answer will determine your fate."
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