From Danmachi to God of Ninja

Chapter 74: Chapter 74

Just as Kiriya was about to investigate further, that gaze vanished.

It felt almost like some monstrous beast had been patrolling its territory and happened to glance at him in passing.

But...

Was that really all it was?

"Interesting. I didn’t expect work to come knocking the moment I left camp."

The corner of Kiriya’s mouth lifted slightly as he murmured to himself.

"Huh? Kiriya-sama, what did you say?"

Guy and the others had not heard him clearly, so they asked.

"Nothing. I just feel like it’s been a while since I last came outside, even the scenery looks nicer than before."

Kiriya laughed it off and casually changed the subject.

The three kids were still too inexperienced.

They could not hide their emotions well yet. If he told them someone was watching, their expressions might give something away and cause unnecessary trouble.

And so, the group kept moving at high speed.

Before long, they entered a stretch of rolling hills.

Dense forest covered the entire area, giving it a wild, ancient feeling, as if this place had not been touched by human hands in years.

"Stay alert. A place like this is perfect for an ambush."

Kiriya gave them a reminder, and only after the three kids prepared themselves for battle did he leisurely step in first.

At the start, Guy, Genma, and Ebisu were extremely cautious.

Their formation stayed tight and proper.

But as the group continued deeper and nothing happened, the three naturally began to relax a little.

’Maybe we’re overthinking it?’

That thought had just appeared in Ebisu and Genma’s minds when—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The gray-brown bark on a tree behind Ebisu suddenly shifted. Several "snakes" shot out, aiming to wrap around the kids and bind them tightly.

"Careful!"

Guy reacted the fastest. He kicked out like lightning, trying to knock the snakes away.

Unfortunately, he was still half a beat too slow.

All he could do was watch as those snakes slipped past him and shot toward Ebisu and Genma.

"What?"

Only then did Ebisu and Genma notice the attack. They reached for their kunai to defend themselves, but it was already too late.

’We’re dead.’

That thought flashed through both their minds, and in that instant, their lives actually began flashing before their eyes.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

At that moment, Kiriya’s figure suddenly appeared between the three of them.

His sword had left its sheath at some point, turning into cold flashes of light that sliced the attacking "snakes" into several pieces.

The severed bodies fell to the ground, and only then did everyone see what they really were.

They were not snakes at all, but thin cords made from some unknown material.

Kiriya, however, understood at once.

He already had a good idea of who had come.

The three kids had survived by the skin of their teeth, and cold sweat broke out across their backs.

Only one question remained in their minds.

Who the hell had attacked them?

"Stop hiding like a rat and come out," Kiriya said coldly.

"Hmph. Kids these days don’t have much skill, but they sure talk big."

With that cold snort, a figure stepped out from behind a large tree.

The man was tall, his entire body covered by a black cloak.

His skin was dark, his long hair reached his shoulders, and most of his face was hidden behind a mask, leaving only a pair of green eyes exposed.

The newcomer was none other than a future core member of Akatsuki.

The famous tentacle monster, stitched-up freak, and money-loving grandpa himself—

Kakuzu.

Of course, at this point in time, this money supremacist had not yet joined Akatsuki.

He was still a proper bounty hunter, working hard toward the noble goal of making more money.

"Whoa, who’s this guy? He looks weird," Guy immediately shouted.

"Idiot, shut up!"

Genma and Ebisu broke out in cold sweat.

According to common sense in the shinobi world, the stranger someone looked, the more bizarre and dangerous their methods usually were.

Besides, the killing intent clinging to this man’s body was thick and heavy, as if he had soaked in a pool of blood for years.

There was no telling how many lives were on his hands.

Against someone this dangerous, it was better to talk less.

"Looking at your forehead protector, you’re not from Kirigakure," Guy shouted anyway. "We don’t have any grudge against you, right? Why attack us?"

"Heh. In the shinobi world, grudges don’t matter nearly as much as people think."

Kakuzu chuckled and pointed at Kiriya.

"I’m here for money! That brat’s head is worth quite a lot right now."

His obsession with money was exposed instantly.

Of course, there was another reason he did not mention.

Kiriya’s heart.

As the only known shinobi in the current world to have awakened Wood Release, the rarity of his body went without saying.

Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear allowed him to steal the hearts of others and gain their ninjutsu.

Naturally, he was interested in Wood Release.

And even if he could not use Wood Release himself, that did not matter.

The title of "Wood Release kekkei genkai holder" alone would be enough to make many villages pay heavily for materials.

Besides the bounty for Kiriya’s head, Kakuzu could make another huge profit.

Whoosh!

While Kakuzu was speaking, Kiriya had already flashed in front of him. His sword came down with heavy force.

"Take this!"

Kakuzu raised an arm from beneath his cloak and easily blocked Kiriya’s sword.

Clang!

The blade struck his arm with the crisp sound of metal hitting metal.

The three kids were shocked to discover that Kiriya’s sharp sword had not even cut the man’s skin.

"So hard!"

"How did he do that?"

"That body... is he really human?"

"Kid, I was already guarding against that move."

Kakuzu let out a cold laugh.

The intelligence from the underground exchange had made it very clear that Kiriya was extremely fast and skilled with a sword.

From the moment they met, Kakuzu had already finished forming his hand seals, precisely to deal with Kiriya’s surprise attack.

"Earth Release: Earth Spear."

However, when Kakuzu raised his head and looked at Kiriya’s face, he froze for a moment.

Kiriya’s eyes had changed from black to wine-red, and two tomoe spun inside them like fish circling in water.

"Sharingan?"

Kakuzu was stunned for an instant.

Then he was overjoyed!

"Good! That means I can sell you for even more."

With that, he threw a punch.

But Kiriya’s speed was above his.

Before the fist could land, Kiriya kicked Kakuzu hard in the chest.

The heavy force sent Kakuzu flying backward, he smashed through a tree before finally stopping.

"What?" Kakuzu was shocked.

He had not expected one casual kick from Kiriya to carry that much force.

Kiriya clicked his tongue, looking disappointed.

"I thought you’d be some terrifying big shot, but that’s it?"

"Don’t get too arrogant, brat!"

Kakuzu’s gaze turned cold enough to freeze.

"When I fought your First Hokage, you weren’t even a thought yet."

"What? He fought the First Hokage-sama?"

The three kids were stunned all over again.

Who was the First Hokage?

He was the man who had practically ended the Warring States Period by himself and created the era of ninja villages.

He possessed overwhelming strength that could suppress the entire world and was honored as the God of Shinobi.

And this man had fought him?

"Whoa. Then how old is this guy?" Guy blurted out.

"Is that the important part?" Ebisu wanted nothing more than to smack him and fix his brain.

"Someone who fought the First Hokage-sama and survived until now must be insanely strong. Kiriya-sama is in danger!"

The three kids immediately grew tense.

Hearing Kakuzu brag about his old achievement, Kiriya felt speechless.

"You threw a shuriken from eight hundred miles away and still have the nerve to call that a fight? Why don’t you just say you’re Madara while you’re at it?"

The three kids: "..."

"Is... is that what happened?"

Guy scratched the back of his head and muttered, "That sounds kind of lame when you say it like that."

Ebisu and Genma nodded in unison.

The way they looked at Kakuzu now carried a faint trace of pity, as if they were showing concern for a hundred-year-old man with dementia.

"Foolish, brat! Let’s see if you’re still smiling once I tear your hearts out."

As Kakuzu spoke, he fully activated Earth Grudge Fear.

After that brief exchange, he had confirmed that this kid’s speed and strength were both troublesome.

If he did not go all out, taking him down would not be easy.

Large sections of Kakuzu’s skin split open.

Countless black threads surged from his mouth and from the wounds across his body. They forced his cloak apart and poured down like a waterfall, spreading in every direction.

The sight was bizarre and, more importantly, disgusting.

"Holy shit! This hair monster became a demon."

Kiriya cried out.

"Whoa, it’s a hair monster!" the three kids shouted.

"Hair monster?"

Veins bulged on Kakuzu’s forehead, and his whole body shook with rage.

This was supposed to be an intimidating boss transformation full of pressure!

But after these brats opened their mouths, the entire atmosphere collapsed through the floor, and all the menace was gone.

"Die!"

Kakuzu shouted, and the threads around him suddenly surged outward, turning into sharp blades that stabbed toward Kiriya and the three kids.

"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Sixfold."

Kiriya turned into a streak of lightning.

In the blink of an eye, he cut apart most of the Earth Grudge Fear threads.

His speed left Kakuzu stunned.

The intelligence from the underground exchange had only said that Kiriya was "very fast," but Kakuzu had never had a real sense of what that meant.

Now that he was seeing it himself, the speed was genuinely startling.

Seeing Kiriya take a stance as if he were ready to charge straight at his core, Kakuzu did not dare be careless.

The threads across his body squirmed violently, and several pitch-black monsters wearing strange masks jumped out, spreading around Kiriya to form an encirclement.

"Whoa, more monsters!"

"What are these supposed to be? Ink monsters?"

"You three, fall back."

Kiriya hurriedly gave the order.

These kids were way too carefree.

They were still making comments at a time like this.

Were they not afraid of getting caught in a ninjutsu blast and losing their little lives on the spot?

"You want to leave? Not happening."

Kakuzu sneered and commanded two of the masked monsters beside him to launch ninjutsu.

"Fire Release: Searing Migraine."

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage."

One was a Wind Release technique that stirred violent gales. The other was a high-temperature, wide-range Fire Release technique.

Each was already a powerful ninjutsu on its own.

But when the two combined, they produced a terrifying reaction, and their power multiplied explosively.

"Combination Ninja Art: Flame Wind Chaos Wave."

Seeing the boundless storm carrying blazing fire sweep toward them from every direction, the three kids felt their bodies go cold.

They could not dodge nor defend.

At that moment, they finally believed Kakuzu’s claim that he had once fought the First Hokage.

A ninjutsu of this scale could not be faked.

Just as they were about to see their grandparents waving from the far side of the Sanzu River, a voice suddenly sounded from behind them.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."

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I’ll be increasing the Chapter released starting from monday.