[66] Ninjutsu

Kaoru, currently disguised as Hatoru Danzou, had known from the beginning that Oboro was following him, but he chose to ignore her. Let her witness the slaughter that was about to unfold. Kaoru did not hold back when dispatching his enemies. With the Eye of Judgement, his magical ability that allowed him to assess a person's character, he could see the amount of karma someone had. If the karma exceeded one hundred, to Kaoru, they were already worthy of death. Every sin was etched upon them, and Kaoru had no hesitation in eliminating them at the bar earlier.

Kaoru relied on this ability completely, especially in high-pressure situations like this one. To him, without the guidance of the Eye of Judgement, his decisions could be flawed, and he didn't want to risk a fatal moral error.

After leaving the bar, Kaoru walked through the dark alleys of Tokyo he knew so well, one of which led to Yomihara, an underground city known as a hub for supernatural crime. Yomihara was filled with all manner of creatures and illegal activities, including secret places like Under Eden, a brothel Kaoru had crossed paths with during a previous mission.

However, his focus now was the Chaos Arena. After wandering around for a bit, he finally found the arena he sought, and the fight had already begun. Curiosity enveloped Kaoru, and he decided to watch one round. Unfortunately, this decision led to deep regret.

In the arena, a female Taimanin was fighting against a giant Troll. From the outset, it was clear the woman had no chance of winning. The Troll was too powerful. The short battle ended with the woman's brutal defeat. But what stunned Kaoru was not the loss itself but what happened afterward. In front of a cheering crowd, the Troll continued with vulgar and disgusting actions, thrusting its hips over the lifeless woman's body.

Kaoru felt a boiling rage and disgust inside him. "I should have left immediately," he muttered, feeling foolish for deciding to watch. The scene confirmed the brutality of the Chaos Arena—this place was not just a battleground but a venue for humiliation and barbarity.

Not wanting to linger in the horror any longer, Kaoru took a deep breath and vowed not to repeat the same mistake. The Chaos Arena was not a place fit for anyone, especially not a Taimanin who had honor and responsibility like him. His main focus now was to put an end to all of this.

Kaoru realized that Oboro was still watching him closely. Instead of using magic in the usual way, he decided to do something unexpected—launch an attack using hand seals, just like a ninja from the Edo period. This move was made with the intention of surprising Oboro while also proving that the ninja arts he mastered were unlike any other.

Kaoru remembered his past as a hero in another world. In that world, magic was explained as a power derived from spirits, but Kaoru found that wasn't entirely true. Magic, to him, wasn't merely a plea for help from spirits. It was the manipulation of Mana—a force that could be used to create various wonders through spells.

Spells, according to Kaoru, were simply verbal commands that guided someone to form the desired magic. Fire, water, earth, and air could be created if one understood the mechanics behind those elements. However, spells could be eliminated if someone mastered the underlying concepts and processes of the magic itself. Kaoru was one of those who had achieved this advanced understanding.

With his expertise, Kaoru could improvise magic according to his needs. Now, using the hand seals he formed, Kaoru could unleash a technique akin to Ninjutsu—the mystical arts passed down by the ninja.

He took a deep breath, feeling the Mana flow through his body, and formed a hand seal signaling a lightning-based attack.

"Raiton: Kaminari no Tsurugi!" he shouted, and from the air, a long lightning sword appeared with a crackling sound. The bluish-purple light emanating from the weapon illuminated the narrow alley around Kaoru.

The thunder sword, hovering beside Hatoru, glowed with a deafening intensity, making the surrounding air vibrate. From Oboro's distant vantage point, her eyes widened beneath her mask. She hadn't expected her ally to use ninja techniques with hand seals—something she thought had long been extinct. Yet, here stood someone capable of reviving those ancient powers.

In the brief silence filled with tension, Hatoru issued a simple command.

"Go..." he whispered softly, almost inaudibly, but filled with power.

The lightning sword vibrated once more before shooting forward at the speed of light toward the Chaos Arena. The bluish-purple light trailed along the path, emitting an unstoppable destructive force. In an instant, the sword struck the center of the arena, followed by a massive explosion that shattered the night's silence.

Boom! The arena exploded, rumbling like a collapsing mountain. Spectators, participants, and the entire structure were obliterated in an instant. Lightning fire and dust filled the air, burning and leveling everything in seconds.

However, for Kaoru—still disguised as Hatoru Danzou—this was not an action filled with regret. To him, they had all been given a mercy not everyone could experience in this cruel world: a painless death. In his view, the participants and spectators of this arena were nothing but trash trapped in the underworld's cruelty, creatures with sins surpassing one hundred karma—a number that, according to Kaoru's Eye of Judgement, made them deserving of being erased from this world.

As the remnants of the explosion gradually subsided, Kaoru gazed straight ahead, his eyes cold and resolute. He felt he had done what needed to be done—ended the cycle of violence and inhumanity within the arena.

Oboro remained frozen in place, unable to take her eyes off Hatoru, who now stood atop a building amidst the ruins of the Chaos Arena. Admiration and fear filled her. "So, this is… his true power," she thought, unable to hide her awe. Hatoru, who had always appeared to be just an ordinary ninja, possessed far greater power than Oboro had imagined.

But before Oboro could reflect any further, something happened.

Hatoru suddenly flinched. Without warning, two shadowy figures rushed in from an unexpected direction. They moved with lightning speed, slicing through the air as they charged toward Hatoru. The first shadow wielded a long sword, while the second delivered a powerful punch aimed directly at Hatoru's chest.

Hatoru's reflexes kicked in. In a split second, he leapt backward, narrowly dodging the first attack. However, he couldn't avoid the second strike, which hit his shoulder, forcing him back a few steps. His face remained calm, but his eyes narrowed as he quickly assessed the situation.

Oboro, watching from afar, gripped the hilt of her katana. She was shocked. "Who are they? Could they be enemies from the Chaos Arena who managed to track Hatoru?"

Hatoru swiftly formed hand seals, the lightning energy he had used earlier to destroy the arena gathering around him once again. But this time, he didn't unleash a massive attack like before. He knew the opponents before him were different—faster and more skilled.

The first shadow swung its sword again, and this time Hatoru launched a counterattack. He moved his hands with lightning speed, creating another lightning sword, though smaller and more focused. "Raiton: Kaminari no Yaiba!" Hatoru shouted. The lightning blade flared brightly and instantly deflected the enemy's sword strike.

A loud clash echoed as the two blades met, lightning and steel sparking through the air, illuminating the dark night. The first shadow retreated, but the second gave Hatoru no time to breathe. Another swift punch flew toward him, this time targeting his throat.

Hatoru immediately unleashed another technique with a different hand seal. "Suiton: Mizugiri!" The attack sent a sharp blade of water slicing through the air, striking the second shadow with immense force. The second figure was knocked back but remained standing, clearly startled by the attack.

Oboro, watching everything unfold from a distance, was even more impressed. "He can use techniques from different elements?" she thought, her eyes unblinking.

This fight had only just begun, and Hatoru knew the enemies he faced were not ordinary warriors. They were trained hunters, perhaps from a faction he didn't recognize. But one thing was clear—they had come to kill.

With steady breaths, Hatoru prepared himself. He realized that to defeat them, he would need to use his full power. Just as the first shadow prepared to attack again, Hatoru ducked and smiled slightly.

"If you want to play... I'll show you a real game."