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Chapter 52
As for Ling Yu, he stood frozen on the spot as if he hadn't heard the word "demon" at all.
Lowering his head, he stared at the blood splattered everywhere on the ground. An uncomfortable feeling rose in his chest.
"So this… is what killing feels like?"
Ling Yu, who had always been sheltered within Konoha, was seeing another ninja's blood for the first time. He was truly beginning to understand the cruelty of the ninja world.
Originally, he had only wanted a cool, intimidating entrance to shock everyone. He never expected to go this far.
The bloody scene made even him feel queasy—almost to the point of vomiting.
But there was no denying it: he had successfully terrified the entire group. Even these battle-hardened Cloud ninja felt fear deep in their bones.
Seeing that Ling Yu wasn't making any further moves, some of the stronger Cloud ninja began to stir.
"Run! Run now!"
As soon as the first one shouted, every ninja reacted. They turned and fled toward the Land of Lightning at maximum speed.
"I'm never coming back to Konoha again! Too terrifying!"
"I actually provoked a demon…"
"Mom, save me!"
The Cloud ninja scattered in panic, screaming into the sky as they ran—faces full of relief at having survived.
"Hm?"
The sudden shouts snapped Ling Yu back to reality. Looking at the fleeing ninja, he felt a little dazed.
Looks like the effect was stronger than I thought. I scared off a whole group of Cloud ninja.
"Damn it! Some of them are still trying to pull a fast one."
When he noticed one Cloud ninja carrying a sack while others shielded his escape, Ling Yu cursed inwardly.
A few strands of red hair peeked out from the sack's opening. Judging by the size, it could only be Uzumaki Rina inside.
"Stop running! Put Rina down!"
Scooping the unconscious Kushina into a bridal carry, Ling Yu kicked off the ground and chased after the fleeing group.
A high-speed pursuit unfolded across the treetops. For a moment, Ling Yu's superior strength gave him a slight edge in speed.
Just as he was about to close the distance—
"Quick! You two, hold him back!"
The jonin carrying the sack barked orders at the two ninja beside him.
"Yes, Captain!"
The two immediately turned, kunai in hand, and charged toward Ling Yu.
"Shinra Tensei!"
With Kushina in his arms, Ling Yu couldn't attack directly. He used the Rinnegan's repulsive force to deflect their first wave.
"Almighty Push!"
Taking advantage of the brief opening while the two recovered, Ling Yu set Kushina down safely, then turned toward the fleeing ninja carrying the sack and activated the Rinnegan's attractive force.
"Got her—Rina's safe."
Opening the sack, Ling Yu lifted Rina out and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damn it!"
Now without a hostage, the jonin quickly spun around. Standing on a branch, he watched Ling Yu warily, clearly thinking of ways to reclaim the captive.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Jumping to the ground, Ling Yu created one shadow clone to guard the two girls, preventing any sneak attacks.
"Come on!"
Then Ling Yu walked forward boldly, beckoning the remaining Cloud ninja with a taunting finger.
With no more worries holding him back, he could finally go all out. Right now, he wanted to test just how strong jonin really were.
"Attack!"
The jonin's eyes burned with resolve.
In an instant, several more Cloud ninja leaped down from the trees behind him.
Ninja truly adapted quickly. After a short period of adjustment, they had mostly shaken off the earlier terror of facing Ling Yu.
Under their leader's command, they rushed forward with kunai drawn.
"Four jonin, seven chunin… looks like today's gonna be fun."
Ling Yu narrowed his eyes. Slowly, he drew Kyōka Suigetsu from his inventory. His sharp gaze swept across every Cloud ninja present.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Snake!" "Lightning Style: Lightning Leopard!" "Super Sonic Thunder Blade!" "Die!"
In an instant, every Cloud ninja unleashed their techniques. Attacks converged on Ling Yu from every direction with no blind spots.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu!"
Just as the barrage was about to reach him, Ling Yu released the initial release of his Zanpakutō.
"What?! It vanished?!"
The moment they saw their attacks hit nothing, before the Cloud ninja could even process—
"AH!"
One chunin's throat was suddenly slit. His body stiffened and collapsed.
"First."
"AH!"
Another chunin's heart was pierced clean through. He fell with a look of utter disbelief.
"Second."
"Where is he?! Where'd that brat go?!"
Eyes wide, the strongest Cloud ninja frantically scanned the surroundings—but couldn't find even a trace of Ling Yu.
"Third!"
This time, a ninja was cut clean in half at the waist.
The emotionless voice rang out like the reaper himself, slowly corroding every Cloud ninja's mind.
Now, the remaining ninja stood back-to-back in pairs, bloodshot eyes darting wildly around them, not daring to relax for even a second.
No one knew who would die next. In the silence, the frantic pounding of their hearts became the loudest sound.
In this moment, they were plunged back into the terror they had felt when Ling Yu first appeared.
"Fourth."
A kunai pierced straight through a head. The dying ninja's lips twitched one last time before going still.
"Damn it! Come out! You damn brat—come out if you dare!"
Watching his subordinates die one by one in inexplicable ways, the strongest Cloud jonin finally snapped.
These were comrades he had fought beside for years—now effortlessly slaughtered by a child.
"Oh? I'm right here. What are you going to do about it?"
A figure of 'Ling Yu' suddenly appeared in front of the strongest jonin, shrugging casually.
"Die!"
"Super Sonic Thunder Blade!"
A triumphant grin spread across the jonin's face as he thrust his sword straight into 'Ling Yu's' chest.
Afraid it wasn't enough, he pulled the blade out and stabbed again several times.
"Hahaha! Brat, you're still too green!"
"Is that so?"
Ling Yu's flat, emotionless voice came from behind him.
"What?!"
The strongest jonin's grin froze. He whipped around—only to see the real, unharmed Ling Yu standing right behind him.
"Ah… Captain… why…?"
Suddenly, the hand gripping the sword was seized by another.
A voice he knew all too well whispered in his ear. The strongest jonin's body trembled as he slowly turned his head.
The 'Ling Yu' figure had vanished. In its place stood one of his own dying subordinates—hand gripping his sword, eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at his captain.
The wound in the subordinate's chest had been inflicted by his own blade.
"AAAH! You damn brat!"
Having personally killed a subordinate who had followed him for years, the strongest Cloud jonin's mind finally shattered.
Staggering, he drew his sword again. Turning around, his bloodshot eyes locked onto Ling Yu.
"Die!" He raised the blade to strike.
Shunk—
A bloodstained katana pierced straight through his heart from behind.
"What a pity. The moment you raised your hand against me, the only one who was going to die… was you."
Ling Yu gave a light glance at the jonin now lying on the ground—eyes wide open, dead without ever understanding how he died. There was no ripple of emotion in Ling Yu's heart.
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