The air around Haruki twisted and rippled violently as if a stone had been thrown into water, creating circles of black waves.
A hand tore open space, slowly appearing before the Sand Shinobi.
Ryomen Sukuna lazily kneaded his neck, glancing at Haruki on the ground.
"Ah," Ryomen Sukuna's lips curved into a smile, "How pathetic!"
"Is that how he talks to me, his Curse Spirit Mother?"
Haruki questioned the System.
"...Dear, if you have any complaints, please express them directly to your Curse Spirit~"
Haruki: "..."
Never mind then.
"As a father, I can't argue with my son."
Haruki cleared his throat in his mind.
"..."
"Who is he?"
"He...how did he appear?"
"Is it a Space Ninjutsu?"
"..."
The Sand Shinobi recovered from the chilling killing intent, staring at Ryomen Sukuna in shock.
"No matter!"
"Kill that brat first!"
The Sand Shinobi's eyes revealed a sharp killing intent as they charged towards Haruki.
Pfft—
Blood splattered all over the Sand Shinobi.
The Sand Shinobi's pupils rigidly shifted to their side.
Their companion, who had just taken a step towards Haruki, was cut into three pieces by an invisible sharp blade.
Ryomen Sukuna raised an eyebrow, his tone relaxed: "Did I tell you to Move?"
"Ding!"
"System detected Sand Shinobi A's Fear Value +1000."
"Ding!"
"System detected Sand Shinobi B's Fear Value +1000."
"Ding!"
"System detected Sand Shinobi C's Fear Value +1000."
"Ding!"
"..."
"Currently collected a total of 15000 Fear Value, activating Curse Spirit No. 004 — Forest Incarnation, Hanami."
"Hanami (15%)"
Haruki glanced at Ryomen Sukuna and asked in his mind: "System, didn't you say that only emotions generated towards me could be collected?"
This was clearly the Sand Shinobi's fear of Ryomen Sukuna, right?
"Informal explanation: Dear, didn't you say Ryomen Sukuna is your son? What's his is yours~"
"Formal explanation: As the Curse Spirit Mother, Curse Spirits are a part of you, so emotional value generated towards a Curse Spirit is equivalent to emotional value generated towards you."
Haruki: "..."
He accepted the informal explanation.
Ryomen Sukuna's scarlet pupils boredly swept over all the Sand Shinobi.
He casually raised his hand and waved it lightly.
There was no sound.
There were no fancy Moves.
All the Sand Shinobi were instantly cut into neat, smooth-edged three pieces.
Bloodlines appeared on the Sand Shinobi's faces.
Their astonished expressions were even frozen on their faces.
Whoosh—
Blood, like spilled red paint, gushed out from countless cuts, instantly dyeing a large area red.
The Shinobi's body parts fell simultaneously like building blocks.
Sukuna lightly flicked his fingers, as if just dusting off a bit of dirt.
Haruki: "..."
He averted his gaze.
But no matter where he looked, there was only blood and corpses.
Ryomen Sukuna stared at Haruki and scoffed, his playful gaze fixed on Haruki.
"Too weak."
It was unclear whether he was referring to Haruki or the Sand Shinobi.
Ryomen Sukuna's figure disappeared before Haruki.
Haruki stroked Rika: "You're still the well-behaved one."
Rika's sweet voice entered Haruki's ears.
"Yuta..."
"Rika likes Yuta..."
Watching Rika's shy demeanor, Haruki let out a deep sigh.
"Forget it, you go back first too."
Rika reluctantly lingered for a moment, then transformed into black mist and entered the ring.
There was still a wave of emotional value to harvest, so Haruki walked over to Yushishi's side.
Yushishi had only one breath left.
If he didn't use Reverse Technique soon, once Yushishi's last breath was completely gone, even Reverse Technique would be useless.
Haruki placed his hand on Yushishi's chest.
Green light enveloped the fatal wounds on his body.
"I will save you all!"
"I will definitely save you all!"
Tears dripped onto Yushishi's face.
Haruki sniffed, afraid his snot would follow.
That would be too damaging to his image!
"..."
Yushishi felt the drops of water falling on his face.
Why was this rain warm?
What recovered before his vision was his hearing.
He heard a familiar crying sound.
It was Haruki.
Was he still safe?
Yushishi struggled to open his eyelids, and the child's tear-stained face appeared in his vision.
It's good that he's alright.
Yushishi breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll save you! Don't sleep!"
Hearing the child's anxious shouts, Yushishi curved his lips.
"Ding!"
"System detected Yushishi's Love Value +1000."
"Ding!"
"Your companion Curse Spirit, Rika Orimoto, has increased to Rank 58.7%."
The wounds on Yushishi's body gradually healed.
Haruki quickly rushed to the next severely injured Rain Shinobi.
Yushishi propped up his upper body from the ground, a wave of dizziness washing over him.
Although his wounds had healed, the lost blood could not be replenished.
Yushishi steadied himself, stood up, and walked towards Haruki.
As soon as he took a step, he was stunned by the scene before him.
It was all blood.
The blood almost formed a vast lake.
Dark red blood covered the entire ground.
It was like a dark red carpet had been laid out.
Body parts were mixed in the pool of blood, and the foul smell was nauseating.
What happened?
Yushishi quickly noticed the overly smooth cut surfaces of the body parts.
How was this done?
Who was it?
Yushishi looked at Haruki.
Haruki was currently treating the injured Rain Shinobi.
"Rin," Yushishi squatted beside Haruki, his face pale and bloodless, looking frail, which was true, but his simple movements were unaffected. He looked at Haruki and asked, "What happened? Who killed the Sand Shinobi?"
Haruki maintained the movements of his hands, his lowered eyelashes trembling, but he said nothing.
Noticing Haruki's unusual reaction, Yushishi's heart sank.
"Don't be afraid."
Yushishi gently comforted him: "Did you do it?"
Yushishi didn't believe Haruki could kill so many Sand Shinobi, but there was no one else besides Haruki.
All the Shinobi of Amegakure were unable to fight anymore.
And now there was only Haruki.
Who else could it be besides him?
Haruki shook his head, then nodded.
Yushishi didn't understand Haruki's meaning.
"Ding!"
"System detected Muteki's Gratitude Value +2000."
"Ding!"
"Your Curse Spirit Land God has increased to Rank 53.6%."
Muteki slowly regained consciousness.
His gaze fixed on Haruki.
This was the second time.
Haruki had saved him a second time.
Something suddenly flashed through Muteki's mind.
It was the scene he had witnessed before losing consciousness.
His pupils trembled: "Rin, who was that Shinobi?"
Haruki glanced at Muteki. When Ryomen Sukuna attacked the Sand Shinobi, many Rain Shinobi had not yet fallen unconscious.
"He's not a Shinobi."
Haruki pursed his lips and said softly.