Chapter 121: So Weak
Bridge of Giant Wood
Whoosh—!
A flash of blue-white light, and a massive group of 120 giant children suddenly appeared on the bridge.
"Huh? Where is this?"
"We're out? We're really out?"
The children were all a bit dazed, their eyes blinking in the night air. They had been in a dark, foul-smelling dungeon, and in a single instant, they were outside.
"Buli!"
Ayla, who had been waiting with the other parents in a state of sheer terror, screamed her son's name.
Buli also saw his mother standing with the King and the army. A smile of pure, unadulterated joy instantly appeared on his face as he broke from the group and ran towards Ayla. "Mommy!"
At this moment, the dam of parental fear broke. Dozens of other parents surged forward, shouting names.
"Elga!"
"My boy! You're safe!"
"Mommy! Daddy!"
The giant children, who had been trying to be brave, all burst into tears and ran to their parents. The bridge, which had been a silent, tense military staging ground, erupted into a cacophony of joyous, weeping reunions.
The Giant Legion members were also a bit stunned; they had been prepared to march to their deaths for a chance to rescue the children, and they had all suddenly appeared here, safe and sound.
Ayla held Buli in a crushing hug, checking him for injuries. "Buli, how did you all suddenly appear here? Are you hurt?"
Upon hearing this, Buli immediately became excited, his tears forgotten. "It was Brother Ren! I'm telling you, Brother Ren is super amazing!"
The other children, now surrounded by their parents, also started talking all at once, trying to explain what had happened.
"He was like fwoosh!"
"And zip! And all the bad men fell down!"
"He was wearing a white coat and he was so cool!"
"And he had yellow hair!"
"No, he was a big demon with wings first!"
"He went clang! clang! and they all just... just..."
The children had a very limited vocabulary for what they had just witnessed, so their descriptions were just "whoosh," "swish!" and "clang!"
But everyone generally understood that Ren must have used some kind of spatial magic, similar to instantaneous movement, to teleport all 120 children back at once.
The Giant King now understood why Ren had them wait here. He looked at the celebrating families, his heart aching with gratitude.
"Where is Ren?" he boomed, his voice quieting the crowd. "Did he not come back with you?"
Many children shook their heads, looking confused.
Buli, however, looked proud. "Brother Ren said he wants to deal with the bad guy who abducted us before he comes back."
Everyone was slightly moved upon hearing this. Not only did he bring the children back safely, but he also intended to eliminate future worries, staying behind alone in the heart of the enemy's fortress. Such a spirit was truly rare and commendable.
"He stayed?" one of the generals whispered in awe. "That little human... he stayed to fight for us?"
The Giant King looked at his people, at the children now safe in their mothers' arms. He then looked at the dark, looming fortress of the Troll Kingdom across the chasm.
"Women and children," he commanded, "quickly return to the Capital! Men!"
He drew his massive, two-headed battle-axe, a weapon the size of a house, and pointed it toward the enemy. "That human Mage has shown more honor than all of us! He saved our legacy! He fights for our children! He bleeds for our kingdom! We will not let him die alone!"
He slammed the butt of his axe on the stone bridge, sending a shockwave through the air. "We will storm the Troll Capital, and we will bring our hero home!"
"OH OH OH OH OH OH OH!!!"
All the giants raised their weapons and cheered, a deafening roar of 10,000 warriors ready for war. For the past few months, they had been suppressed and humiliated due to their children being held hostage. But now, the children were back.
It was time to let those foolish Trolls know the consequences of angering giants.
All the giants ascended the Bridge of Giant Wood, a wave of steel and muscle, and charged towards the Troll Kingdom. The Troll Kingdom's guard legions stationed there, seeing the tidal wave of furious giants charging, immediately met them in battle.
"Kill them!"
"KILL—!"
Troll Capital Dungeon
"Impossible!" Mr. Teru shrieked, his voice echoing in the dungeon now empty of children. "Spatial magic requires precise control over space-time accuracy! It's simply impossible for anyone to directly teleport that many people, especially such large giant brats, that far! You must have taken them into your magic space!"
The Elbaf Capital and the Troll Capital were quite far apart, and Mr. Teru simply didn't believe anyone could teleport people that far in an instant.
"Believe it or not!" Ren, still in Minato's form, said with a calm smile.
He had actually just taken a sharp, ragged intake of breath himself. In that one instant, a full third of his magic power was directly drained.
He originally thought his magic power was high enough, but now it seemed far from sufficient. The Flying Thunder God Technique, such an advanced space-time ninjutsu, was cheap when teleporting just himself. But teleporting 120 other beings—giant beings at that, even if they were children—consumed a monstrous amount of mana. He was exhausted.
"It doesn't matter how you did it, human!" the Troll King roared, his eyes red with fury. "You've lost me my leverage! Seize him!"
The Troll King immediately issued an order to his subordinates, the massive troll guards who had been standing by.
Numerous trolls, larger and uglier than the ones at the bridge, rushed towards Ren, holding crude, massive wooden clubs.
"Hmm..." Ren looked at the charging behemoths. "Minato is built for speed and precision, not for brawling with giants. For these big guys, it's more suitable to let that old man take the stage."
"Release."
The Fourth Hokage's Take Over faded.
"Take Over Magic: Edward Newgate!"
As the Take Over Magic activated, Ren's body didn't just change; it erupted with presence.
His body slowly began to grow larger, though still human-sized. His ninja clothes transformed into a simple uniform, covered by a massive, flowing white coat with a pirate's emblem on the back, draped over his shoulders. His handsome, god-like face became that of a stern, powerful old man. A huge, crescent-shaped white mustache appeared below his nose, curving upwards.
In his hand, a colossal bisento—a bladed spear—appeared. It was Murakumogiri, one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords.
Although Ren's height was still several times smaller than the trolls, at least he didn't have to look up too much at these guys. The sheer, overwhelming aura of the man was what mattered.
"Transformation?!"
Ren's transformation greatly astonished these brutes who hadn't seen much magic; they hadn't expected him to be able to transform.
At this moment, a troll rushed in front of Ren, raising a huge wooden club with both hands and smashing it down towards Ren's head.
Ren didn't even flinch. He simply raised his palm with one hand.
Bang—!
Ren steadily caught the huge wooden club. The troll's arm vibrated from the impact, but Ren didn't move a single inch.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!"
The troll's greenish-black face turned red with effort, trying hard to press the club down, but Ren still didn't budge. It was like trying to push over a mountain.
Then, Ren exerted force.
Crack—!
The huge wooden club, made of wood as hard as stone, was crushed in Ren's hand like a piece of tofu.
This was Whitebeard, the Strongest Man in the World. Even Kaido, the "Strongest Creature," would call Whitebeard a 'monster-strength old man.' Big Mom also held great reverence for Whitebeard's power. During the Marineford War, Whitebeard easily blocked attacks from giant ships and giants with one hand. In terms of pure, raw strength, almost no one was Whitebeard's match.
[Akarin's Note: Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate, his weapon Murakumogiri, and his Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor-Tremor Fruit) power are from the anime/manga 'One Piece'.]
"What?!"
Ren's casual, one-handed crushing of the club startled many of the trolls. This club was made of rock-iron wood, as hard as iron, yet it was crushed by the opponent like that.
Buzz—!
Then, Ren clenched his fist. A white, transparent, bubble-like shield of vibration enveloped it.
Ren stomped his feet, leaped lightly, and struck the troll with a powerful punch.
—!
Crack crack—!
The air in front of Ren shattered like a mirror.
A terrifying shockwave erupted from Ren's fist.
"Cough—!"
Blood overflowed from the troll's mouth and nose. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell to the ground, unconscious before he even hit the floor.
Rumble—!
Crack crack—!
The terrifying shockwave did not stop there. It traveled past the troll, shaking everything in front of Ren's fist.
The ground shattered. The walls of the dungeon cracked. The violent vibrations traveled up, and the entire Troll King's palace tilted, causing large chunks of architectural debris to collapse from the ceiling.
"Waaahhhhh!"
"Waaahhhhh!"... Everyone in the Troll King's palace who hadn't been killed by Ren's earlier explosion screamed and scattered, fleeing in terror.
"What?!"
Mr. Teru, who had been standing with the Troll King, was startled by the sight before him. Was this guy a monster? To possess such terrifying destructive power! This wasn't a Mage; it was a natural disaster. He immediately wanted to escape.
However, he had already been targeted by Ren, and Ren would not let this guy get away.
Ren gripped Murakumogiri with both hands, adopting a powerful sword-swinging stance.
Buzz—!
A white, transparent vibration shield enveloped the massive blade of Murakumogiri.
As Ren swung with force, a fierce, invisible slash accompanied by a terrifying, world-shattering shockwave emanated from the blade.
Boom boom boom boom boom!!!
The slash was unstoppable, and the shockwave shattered everything in its path. Under the dual effect of the slash and the vibration, everything in front of him—trolls, stone pillars, the far wall of the dungeon—was destroyed.
"Waaahhhhh!"
Mr. Teru had no time to dodge. He was hit by the very center of the attack, and his body was instantly split in two by Ren's single strike.
"Hmm? Dead?"
Ren walked over and prodded Mr. Teru's corpse, confirming that the guy was indeed as dead as could be.
"What's going on?" Ren frowned, releasing the Take Over. "Is this guy really the leader of the Black Magic Cult? Why is his strength so weak?"
Ren was genuinely perplexed. He hadn't expected Mr. Teru, the priest, the mastermind behind the abduction of the giant children, to be such a weakling who could be killed with one blow. He had been expecting a real fight.
It was truly disappointing.
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