The breeze carried away the remnants of the night, and as the first rays of sunlight touched the ground in the morning, everything began to awaken.
In the Hokage's office, Namikaze Minato lay on his desk. As the morning light filtered through the window, he slowly opened his eyes.
He had spent the past few days in the office, not even returning home. With Sarutobi Hiruzen leading a team to Wufang City ahead of time, reports from the front lines arrived one after another.
One moment, there was news of demons being discovered again; the next, reports of how many had been slain.
As these mysterious creatures emerged, Konoha gradually gathered more information.
From the intelligence available at this stage, a so-called Demon King stood behind them, though Konoha had yet to ascertain his true identity.
Their understanding of demons deepened.
All demons originated from the Demon King. Ordinary people who were injected with his blood would transform into demons, with their strength determined by the amount of blood received. A clear hierarchy existed among them: the six strongest demons were known as the Upper Moons, ranked from "One" to "Six." Below them were the Lower Moons, also ranked from "One" to "Six."
These twelve demons formed the elite force under the Demon King.
Aside from the Upper and Lower Moons, there was no strict classification system for other demons. Their strength was roughly determined by the number of humans they had devoured. Konoha established a simple ranking system for these lesser demons:
Those who had consumed fewer than ten people were classified as "Weak." Those who had devoured between ten and fifty were labeled as "Evil." Those who had consumed between fifty and one hundred were categorized as "Fierce." Those who had devoured over a hundred, yet had not reached the level of the Moons, were designated as "Terror."
For ordinary weak demons, a single ninja was sufficient to handle them. Evil demons required the cooperation of at least two ninjas. Fierce demons needed a Chūnin-led team with one or two Genin for support, while Terror-class demons necessitated multiple Chūnin working together or a Jōnin-led team to eliminate them.
Among the Moons, the Third Hokage's team had only encountered a single Lower Moon Five, who was easily suppressed by Akimichi Chōza. In terms of combat effectiveness, the Lower Moons posed no real threat to Konoha's elite ninjas.
As Konoha's knowledge of demons grew, so did their understanding of their traits and weaknesses.
Those who transformed into demons lost their ability to use chakra. However, their physical capabilities were pushed to their limits, significantly enhancing their speed, strength, and reflexes, along with an astonishing regeneration ability. Conventional ninjutsu and genjutsu proved ineffective against them.
Although demons could no longer use chakra to perform jutsu, those who had consumed many humans would awaken unique abilities known as Blood Demon Arts. From Sarutobi Hiruzen's perspective, these abilities were akin to deeply buried bloodline limits.
Konoha also identified the demons' greatest weakness—sunlight. Under direct sunlight, demons would disintegrate into ashes. However, traditional Lightning Release jutsu seemed to have no effect on them, while the Uzumaki clan's abilities exhibited unique properties against them.
Despite this, knowing their weakness was an advantage. For ninjas, delaying an unkillable demon until dawn was a simple matter!
The Third Hokage's team had traveled from Konoha to Wufang City, eliminating every demon they encountered along the way. Traces of other demons were reported directly to Minato, allowing specialized teams to handle them. As their journey progressed, the team deliberately lured out and exterminated demons, leaving only the most elusive ones for Minato's forces to hunt down.
When Konoha, a well-oiled war machine, fully mobilized, the force it exerted far exceeded that of the Demon Slayer Corps. Furthermore, the basic capabilities of Konoha's personnel surpassed those of the Demon Slayers. Even their so-called Hashira were, at best, elite Chūnin with exceptional taijutsu skills.
Namikaze Minato remained stationed in Konoha. Since the Third Hokage's departure, he had stayed in his office, handling various affairs from dawn until nightfall.
As darkness deepened, the night sky became shrouded in thick shadows.
Under the moonlight, Uzumaki Raiden walked into the courtyard, leaning against the cherry blossom tree. He gazed at the starry sky for a long time before a faint smile appeared on his lips. Shaking his head slightly, he whispered:
"Never expected it would come to me."
"Did you think my house was remote and an easy target?"
Raiden shifted his gaze toward the courtyard gate. As soon as he spoke, two dark figures swiftly leaped over the courtyard wall, landing inside.
The intruders were two young men. One wore an elegant suit and a hat tilted forward, obscuring his face. The other was dressed as a ninja, carrying a ninja pouch at his waist but lacking a forehead protector. His eyes, unlike those of an ordinary person, bore the words "Upper Moon" and "Three" in his pupils.
"Who are you?"
Raiden folded his arms across his chest and asked, his gaze calm.
"This man is Konoha's shadow. It took some effort to locate his residence."
"My lord, if you can eliminate him, the dream of establishing a demon city will soon be realized."
The demon disguised as a ninja spoke to the suited man, his strange pupils filled with excitement. But to Raiden, his words were nothing more than blatant provocation—this so-called Upper Moon Three was merely using the suited man as a pawn.
"Kill me?" Raiden chuckled, as if he had heard something amusing.
"Uncle?!"
A startled voice rang out from the corridor. A small boy in thin pajamas stood there, eyes wide with shock as he stared at the scene unfolding before him.
The boy was Namikaze Minato's youngest son, Namikaze Yoriichi. Since childhood, Yoriichi had exhibited terrifying talent, prompting Minato to entrust him to Raiden's care from the age of four. During the day, he attended the Ninja Academy, while at night, he stayed at Raiden's home, under the care of Akina Uehara, who taught him how to read.
Having woken up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, Yoriichi never expected to witness such a confrontation.
Not long after Yoriichi exclaimed, a noise came from the bedroom. Moments later, Akina Uehara, dressed in her nightwear, leaped out of Yoriichi's room, quickly positioning herself in front of him.
"Lord Raiden! I apologize—I failed to detect any intruders," she said, her expression guilty as she shielded Yoriichi.
"It's fine. Just protect Yoriichi and stay back."
"Their target is me. I'll deal with them myself."
While Raiden spoke, the silent young man in the suit finally raised his head. His scarlet eyes, which were not human, gleamed with vertical pupils as he fixated on Yoriichi.
Yoriichi, peeking from behind Akina, furrowed his brows in hatred. It seemed he recognized the suited man!
"Hey, hey, don't stare at my nephew like that."
"You'll scare the kid!"
Raiden took a step forward, positioning himself between them to block their line of sight.
"I'm not interested in you right now."
"If you want to die, don't be in such a hurry."
The suited man's voice was filled with impatience and disdain. Hearing this, Raiden's smile faded. His expression turned cold, and a terrifying aura instantly enveloped the entire courtyard.
Lightning suddenly split the night sky, striking the demon beside the suited man. In an instant, the Upper Moon Three was reduced to ash, unable to react.
Everyone was stunned. Even Akina and Yoriichi had never seen Raiden in action before.
The suited man, once arrogant, was now wide-eyed with shock.
"It seems it really was you. That saves me a lot of trouble."
Raiden saw the man's gaze and smirked. In the next instant, his figure vanished from sight. When he reappeared, he was already beside the young man in the suit.
The suited man's pupils shrank as he instinctively jumped back, but before he could fully react, a long blade pierced through his body. Violent lightning surged through him, enveloping his entire form.
Bright red blood spurted from the wound, but after a moment, its color darkened to black. The sudden change in the blood's hue made Raiden wary. Without hesitation, he quickly retreated, putting distance between himself and his opponent.
However, the long blade remained embedded in the suited man's body, and its surface began to emit a faint red glow.
"Hmph, a mere shadow?"
"I am immortal. Attacks like this are useless against me!"
The young man in the suit let out a wild laugh. He had already acknowledged Raiden's terrifying strength—his speed, power, and even that strange ability far exceeded expectations. However, there was one thing he was certain of: the opponent's attack had no effect on him.
If this was the case, then no matter how strong Raiden was, he couldn't kill him.
This realization filled him with a twisted sense of joy. The pressure of facing an overwhelmingly powerful opponent had suddenly vanished, leaving behind a feeling of invincibility.
"Haha, really?"
Raiden's smirk remained, but his eyes were laced with amusement, as though he were toying with the young man's delusion.
The once-arrogant suited man faltered. He didn't understand the source of Raiden's confidence. But in the next second, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of something—a red glow.
At first, the light was faint, but it gradually grew stronger, illuminating the entire courtyard.
"What… is this?!"
The young man finally located the source of the glow. It was coming from his chest—the very sword that had pierced him moments ago!
"This weapon is called the Totsuka Blade, the legendary sword of sealing," Raiden explained casually.
"To be honest, since I obtained this weapon, I've never truly needed its sealing ability."
"Because every opponent I've faced so far—I could crush them to ashes with my own hands."
"But you… You might actually serve some purpose for me and the village."
As Raiden spoke, a strong chakra began to surge around his left hand. Red energy rapidly condensed, taking the shape of a gourd.
With a wave of his hand, the sword embedded in the suited man's chest shattered. The fragments reassembled in mid-air, forming a massive ethereal blade. Raiden reached out and grasped its hilt firmly.
"Seal!"
Raiden uttered the command softly. A terrifying suction force erupted from the blade, pulling the young man toward it. No matter how he struggled, he was helplessly drawn in.
"Damn it! What the hell is this?!"
"You bastard! Bastard!"
"How dare you do this to me! I'll kill you!"
The suited man roared in fury, his face twisted in a feral expression. He bared his teeth and thrashed wildly, but it was useless. Realizing he was in danger, he gritted his teeth and activated a secret escape technique.
With a deafening explosion, his body suddenly split apart, releasing countless chunks of flesh that shot out in all directions.
But something was off.
The moment the flesh fragments neared the courtyard walls, they seemed to hit an invisible barrier and dropped lifelessly to the ground.
"You think you can escape on my turf?"
Raiden raised an eyebrow. With a swift swing of the Totsuka Blade, all the scattered flesh pieces were instantly struck by its sealing power. The fragments were drawn toward the gourd in his hand and sealed away completely.
"The Demon King… That man was the Demon King, without a doubt."
"But… the Demon King was… sealed before my very eyes?!"
Namikaze Yoriichi stared in stunned disbelief at Raiden's back.
The Demon King, a being who had plagued his world for so long, hadn't even lasted a single round against Raiden.
Could such terrifying power truly belong to a mere human?
For the first time, Yoriichi found himself questioning reality.
(End of this chapter)