Naruto glanced out of the corner of his eye and fell silent for a moment.
To be honest, this amount of experience points—
Naruto truly didn't care for it.
Even if a hidden quest was triggered.
What good could a Black Iron-tier hidden quest possibly offer?
Naruto looked at Ayame's sincere eyes, tinged with a hint of pleading, then at the weary, frightened, yet hopeful survivors around him, all looking towards him, and the Kotetsu Castle in the distance, like a steel fortress.
"Forget it, I'll go through the plot once, see if there are any unexpected surprises."
"Anyway, I have to kill these Kabane."
Naruto thought for a moment, exhaled, and nodded, "Since that's the case, I will temporarily stay on the Kotetsu Castle."
"However, let me make one thing clear: I will not obey anyone's orders and will act freely. At the same time, if I have any requests or suggestions, I hope Miss Ayame will definitely agree."
Ayame's purple eyes immediately lit up. She excitedly clasped Naruto's hands and joyfully exclaimed, "Really? Then—that's wonderful!"
"With Mr. Naruto joining us, our Kotetsu Castle will surely be able to break through safely and successfully reach Kongokaku."
Kongokaku was the shogunate fortress of this small Far Eastern country, considered the safest place on the island nation.
Naruto saw that the sun had completely set, night had fallen over Aragane Station, and the unique roars of the Kabane echoed in the distance. He nodded and said, "You all get on the train first. I still have something to take care of. I'll be back before the Kotetsu Castle departs."
"Just—could you please let go of my hand first?"
"Oh!"
Ayame then realized she had been a bit out of line. As the eldest daughter of the Yotsukawa family, who governed Aragane Station, how could she hold a strange man's hand so intimately?
She quickly released his hand, her cheeks slightly flushed, and bowed politely, "Yes, yes, I was out of line."
After a temporary farewell to Ayame, Naruto quickly left the platform and headed towards the residential area.
At this time, Aragane Station was already shrouded in the shadow of death and flames.
After the 駿城 named Fusou Castle broke through the west gate of Aragane Station, the spread of the Kabane was much faster than imagined, already affecting most of the urban area.
In the distance, the hollow roars of the Kabane rose and fell, like a dirge from hell.
The air was filled with the smell of rust, blood, and a nauseating, unique stench of Kabane.
Naruto stood at a chaotic intersection, with several Kabane corpses lying at his feet, their hearts cleanly shattered and completely inactive.
Next to him stood a Shadow Clone; the Kabane corpses on the ground were killed by the Shadow Clone.
"After a normal Shadow Clone disperses, it cannot transfer the devoured life force to the main body; what is returned is still memories."
"But what if it's under the Sage Mode Cloak?"
Naruto clasped his hands, just like Senju Hashirama, instantly activating Sage Mode, his body covered in a golden Sage Mode Cloak.
Immediately after.
The Sage Mode Cloak extended a golden translucent Chakra tentacle, which fell like a blob of slime, instantly enveloping the nearby Shadow Clone from head to toe, somewhat similar to how Naruto in the Fourth Great Ninja War dispersed the Nine-Tailed Chakra Cloak to cover the Ninja World army in the original work.
This time, when the Shadow Clone killed the Kabane that rushed over and crushed their hearts, it indeed devoured a wisp of life force, which was then transmitted to Naruto's main body through the connection channel of Sage Art Chakra.
"It worked."
Naruto's eyes lit up, and a look of joy flashed in his azure eyes.
Since this method was effective, his efficiency in killing Kabane and devouring life force would greatly increase.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As if by magic, dozens, hundreds, even thousands of identical Narutos instantly appeared on the narrow streets and the ruined rooftops on both sides!
With Naruto's current Chakra reserves, even unleashing a thousand Shadow Clones at once was no problem.
"Disperse."
"Oh!!!"
At Naruto's command, hundreds of Shadow Clones responded in unison, their voices shaking the night sky!
The next moment, the Shadow Clone army charged towards the Kabane horde like tigers descending from a mountain!
The fighting style was simple, direct, and overwhelmingly efficient!
No Ninjutsu, no Genjutsu; each Shadow Clone, the moment it knocked down a Kabane, did not pause its movements. Its Chakra-covered hand, like the sharpest blade, precisely pierced into its glowing heart, brutally dug it out, and then crushed it!
Devour!
Then it lunged at the next target!!
Efficiency!
Extreme killing efficiency!
Wherever the Shadow Clone army passed, it was like a red-hot iron slicing through butter. Kabane fell in swathes like harvested wheat, shattered, and had their cores devoured.
The streets burned, merciless flames licking at the houses.
The once terrifying Kabane were diminishing at an astonishing rate.
A thousand Shadow Clones spread out like a giant fishing net.
The vast Aragane Station was the fishpond, and the countless Kabane were the "fish" the net was meant to catch.
After the Shadow Clones dispersed, Naruto continued towards the Yotsukawa family's lord's mansion.
Just as Naruto punched a larger Kabane, incidentally devouring its core life force—a clear, ethereal, and even somewhat innocent girl's humming suddenly pierced through the intense battle noise, coming from above.
Naruto abruptly looked up!
He saw a petite figure sitting on the edge of the eaves of a relatively intact, two-story abandoned warehouse nearby.
The Gekko just happened to penetrate a corner of the fire and smoke, falling on her like a spotlight.
It was a girl with short black hair, wearing a red-based obi, an orange butterfly-knotted obi sash, and a pink-based kimono.
She dangled her slender legs, her wooden clogs with blades rhythmically tapping the roof tiles, making soft "tap, tap" sounds.
In her hand, she toyed with a strangely shaped steam gun that gleamed with metallic cold light, its muzzle still emitting wisps of smoke.
On the rooftop not far below her feet lay several Kabane corpses whose hearts had been precisely pierced.
The heroine of the Kotetsu Castle world—Mumei!
Naruto paused his steps.
He had originally planned to go to the Senbon Torii on the mountainside of Aragane Station to try his luck at meeting Mumei, but he didn't expect to encounter her here.
Mumei seemed completely oblivious to the infernal scene of raging fire and the undead. She tilted her head slightly, and beneath her long eyelashes, a pair of pure, yet inhumanly indifferent amber eyes, like fine 琉璃 glass, overlooked Naruto and his Shadow Clone army, which was wreaking havoc. A naive, yet slightly mischievous smile played on her rosy lips.
"Wow~"
Mumei let out a surprised gasp, her voice clear and melodious.
"So amazing!"
"So many 'yous'! They popped out like fireworks! Is it Western magic?"
"And…"
Her gaze swept over several nearby Shadow Clones that were piercing and absorbing Kabane hearts, a hint of inquiry and curiosity flashing in her eyes.
"…Are you eating their hearts? How—what a strange 'person' you are."