The moment the Ninjutsu was released, Shichikon didn't even wait to see the results. He turned and leapt off the stone platform without looking back.
He intended to sprint away as soon as he landed, but he was blocked head-on by his subordinates who had swarmed over at the sound of the commotion.
"Boss, what happened?"
"What happened to the second leader? Why did you attack him?"
"Chief, what's going on up there?"
...
A barrage of questions poured in, which at this moment, sounded incredibly noisy and grating to Shichikon. In his eyes, these figures blocking his path had practically become life-claiming demons.
He was both anxious and furious, unable to voice his troubles, wishing he could tear all these idiots in front of him into pieces.
"Get the hell out of my way!"
Shichikon crudely shoved aside the person in front, his face contorted and his voice hoarse with urgency. "Damn it, don't block the way! Everyone move!"
Seeing the crowd moving slowly, his desire for survival overwhelmed everything else.
With bloodshot eyes, Shichikon gnashed his teeth and threw a punch, sending the bandit directly in front of him flying backward, knocking down a whole group of people.
He had to leave this place quickly. Yako was dead, and there was no point in staying. Alone, he couldn't possibly suppress that group of Rogue Ninja subordinates.
He had thought this ambush on the Konoha ninjas was a sure thing, but he hadn't expected to kick such a hard steel plate.
With thoughts in a chaotic mess, Shichikon finally broke through the crowd. Ignoring the startled shouts behind him, he sprinted desperately toward the cave's only exit.
However, reality often goes against one's wishes.
Just as the dim exit of the cavern was within sight, Shichikon's footsteps ground to a halt, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
At the cave entrance stood a youth, waiting at his leisure with his hands calmly in his pockets and a faint, ambiguous smile on his face.
Those blue eyes were particularly striking in the dim light, as if silently declaring: I've been waiting for you for a long time.
Seeing this scene, Shichikon's heart went cold, a sense of despair washing over his body like ice water.
Knowing he couldn't escape and having lost all hope, he dejectedly raised his hands and said feebly, "I... I won't run anymore. I surrender."
"Is that so?" Mamoru stood in place, unmoving, his tone flat and emotionless. "Then walk over here."
By then, Shichikon's subordinates had finally noticed Mamoru blocking the entrance and began to stir.
"Eh? Who is this kid?"
"How did he get in? Where are the sentries outside?"
"Boss, do you know him?"
...
Amidst the noisy discussion, the faint smile on Mamoru's face gradually vanished, his gaze turning cold as he stared at Shichikon ahead.
He saw Shichikon's eyes darting around. Although his hands were raised, his gaze was flickering and uncertain. Mamoru immediately understood that he hadn't given up and was still plotting something.
'Truly... someone who won't shed a tear until they see the coffin.' Mamoru snorted coldly in his heart, having lost his patience.
Not wanting to waste any more words, he raised his hand, opened his palm, and instantly fired Blue.
"Wait!"
Shichikon only had time to shout a single word before that irresistible force exploded upon him.
Intense pain instantly flooded his nerves. His limbs were easily mangled within the twisting force field of Blue, and his entire body was violently thrown back, slamming heavily onto the hard ground.
"Aaaaaah!"
An extremely shrill scream erupted from Shichikon's throat. He lay on the ground trembling violently, looking at his mangled limbs in disbelief.
Excruciating pain hit him in waves, yet his consciousness remained exceptionally clear, even fainting had become a luxury.
Seeing their leader meet such a miserable end, not one of the dozens of bandits occupying the cave dared to step forward to help.
Though they held weapons in their hands, they only stared in terror at the youth who looked like a god of slaughter. Unease and fear spread through the crowd like a plague.
Mamoru glanced indifferently at the rabble, not bothering with them. He paced forward a few steps, his gaze sweeping across the terrified faces.
He raised his voice. "I'm taking your boss with me. But don't worry—"
He intentionally drawled, his lips curling into a malicious arc.
"...your 'treatment' will definitely be no worse than his. I guarantee it."
As if to prove his words, Mamoru slowly straightened his arm and opened his palm. The next moment, a highly concentrated Chakra sphere appeared out of thin air in his palm, spinning rapidly.
But that was only the beginning, visible crimson energy began to pour frantically into it.
The pale blue Chakra sphere changed color at an alarming rate, turning into a blazing fireball like a miniature sun in the blink of an eye.
The convergence of energy didn't stop. The crimson light grew brighter and brighter, and the dangerous aura it emitted became increasingly suffocating.
The temperature inside the cave rose sharply. Heatwaves distorted the air around Mamoru, rolling outward in all directions and baking people's skin until it burned.
The bandits, who had been somewhat noisy, instantly fell silent. Even Shichikon's screams came to an abrupt halt. He stared with bloodshot eyes, looking in disbelief at the 'miniature sun' in Mamoru's hand that radiated an aura of destruction.
Under that terrifyingly high temperature, the caster himself should have been incinerated long ago.
What... what exactly does he want to do?!
This was the only terrified thought left in Shichikon's mind.
Mamoru used Infinity to perfectly isolate the heat, so he remained unharmed. But the orange-red miniature sun in his hand, which continued to accumulate power, turned the entire cave into a furnace.
The bandits finally fell into a total panic.
"Run!"
"Get out of the way! Don't block the path!"
...
Those who keenly sensed the mortal danger began to frantically push and shove their comrades, wanting to flee this death trap.
The crowd squeezed and trampled each other. Shouts and curses tangled together. The more anxious they were, the slower they fled, and the exit instantly became a bottleneck.
Shichikon could clearly sense that the 'miniature sun' contained enough terrifying Chakra to destroy everything.
He instantly understood Mamoru's intention, he wanted to wipe everyone here, along with this cave, off the face of the earth.
"You are the first audience for these grand 'fireworks.'"
Mamoru held the orange-red sun, condensed to its limit, high above his head. A malicious, bright smile appeared on his face as he laughed out loud.
"Ahahaha... May there be nuclear peace in this world!"
Before his voice finished, he slammed that 'miniature sun' full of destructive energy toward the center of the cave's ceiling.
The image of that orange-red orb of light slowly rising into the air seemed like a slow-motion shot of death descending in Shichikon's terror-distorted vision.
All surrounding sounds disappeared, and the flow of time seemed to slow down.
'How does he dare?'
'Is he not afraid of death?'
'Does he not even value his own life?'
'Madman! This is a complete and utter madman!'
'No... I don't want to die! I don't want to be buried with this lunatic!'
The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything, the excruciating pain of his ruined limbs was long forgotten. Shichikon screamed frantically in his heart, but his body was powerless, and he could only watch as that 'sun' rose into the air.
(End of Chapter)
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