Naruto: I Have Cursed Spirits!

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Several Suna ninjas performed hand seals simultaneously.

The battle had fully begun.

A violent gale swept across the battlefield. Various ninjutsu interwove together.

"ROAR!" A ground-shaking roar echoed.

Suna and Ame ninjas charged toward each other.

Blades clashed. The sound of metal striking metal reverberated through the sky.

Shiratori knelt on the ground. The cursed energy in his hands quickly healed the wounds on the injured ninja.

The Suna ninjas had a very clear target. They desperately suppressed the Ame ninjas, continuously pressing toward the central figure, Shiratori.

In front of Shiratori, Tetsuma roared as he swung his black iron umbrella.

Facing off against two ninjas at once, his body was already drenched in blood. But he seemed numb to the pain, mechanically defending against their attacks, using his body and the black umbrella to shield Shiratori.

Kuroi drew both his blades. A flash of black light, and two huge wounds split open on a Suna ninja's chest.

In the middle of the chaos, Shiyu clashed his kunai against the magnetized arm of a Suna ninja.

Sparks flew.

He heard a sharp cracking sound. His expression changed as he looked at the kunai.

A crack had appeared on it.

The Suna ninja let out a cold laugh. Another Suna ninja silently slid in from the side, slashing Shiyu's ankle before he could react.

Blood sprayed.

Shiyu stumbled and fell awkwardly to the ground. His Achilles tendon had been severed.

Seeing him fall, the Suna ninjas closed in like sharks scenting blood, ready to strike.

Shiyu clenched his teeth and shut his eyes.

The pain never came.

He opened his eyes to find Rika's massive body standing in front of him. Before the kunai and shuriken could land, she had already crushed them into useless scrap with her bare hands.

Blood mist burst continuously in front of his eyes.

Suddenly, the pain in his body began to fade. He turned and saw Shiratori. The wound on his ankle instantly healed.

Shiratori smiled at him. A surge of power welled up inside him, and Shiyu stood, wielding his twin blades and rejoining the battlefield.

Shiratori's gaze swept over the Ame ninjas standing protectively before him.

They were already nearing their limits.

Just like Tetsuma, who still desperately held off the Suna ninjas. His movements with the black iron umbrella were growing slower and slower. The umbrella, once resistant to swords and spears, was now covered in deep scars from countless weapons, pitted and stained by poison.

The thousand steel needles hidden along its rim had all been expended.

Every Ame ninja bore various injuries. Though not fatal, they had clearly weakened them.

The Suna ninjas outnumbered the Ame ninjas. If the battle continued like this, there would only be one outcome, the Ame ninjas' defeat was inevitable.

A wind blade sliced across Kuroi's arms, instantly bursting open bloody wounds. Blood dripped endlessly onto the ground, and his twin blades fell with a clang.

His arms trembled, he no longer had the strength to lift the swords again.

Mizukusa's lips had turned purple; her movements could no longer keep up with her brain. Her aching, powerless hands hesitated for just a fraction of a second, and in that moment, a Suna ninja seized the opening.

Steel wires wrapped tightly around her wrists.

Shiyu panted heavily.

With every breath, a stabbing pain pricked his lungs like needles. He formed hand seals again, but his chakra was nearly depleted. Overusing his chakra made his vision go black in waves. His legs felt as if the bones had been pulled out, he couldn't stand.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

A high-pressure air bullet tore through the air and, in the blink of an eye, pierced through his body.

Several bloody holes burst open across his torso. His expression went blank. When his body crashed heavily to the ground, the pain finally surged in.

Blood poured rapidly from his wounds. He could feel his life draining away along with it. There were no more Ame ninjas left who could stand and carry him back to Shiratori.

All the Ame ninjas were already overwhelmed. They might have wanted to move, but their bodies were no longer responding.

"Shiratori…"

Kuroi tried to get up, only to fall face-first into the mud the next second. The remaining chakra in his body could barely keep him from blacking out. He wanted to take Shiratori and escape, but it was simply impossible.

Still, he refused to give up, crawling and falling repeatedly.

The Suna ninjas surrounded them in a circle. The fear in their eyes had vanished, replaced by mocking gazes.

Shiratori held onto his hand.

Kuroi clutched his wrist tightly. "Run! Run!"

Shiratori looked around at the Ame ninjas, each one more battered than the last. Cold rainwater, mixed with blood, ran down their faces.

Their eyes were all fixed on him, each gaze sending the same signal as Kuroi's: Run!

Would Shiratori run?

Of course not.

He had come to this battlefield to harvest emotional energy.

And this? This was far from over.

The next wave of emotional energy hadn't even started yet!

How could he possibly run?

Would he just give up this opportunity served on a silver platter?

"I won't run."

"I told you, I would protect you."

Shiratori held Kuroi's hand, his voice steady despite the chaos. His gaze swept across every Ame ninja looking at him.

[Affection values detected]

[Kuroi: +1000 points]

[Tetsuma: +1000 points]

[Shiyu: +1000 points]

[Additional inputs processing...]

The system notifications chimed steadily in his mind.

[Total affection accumulated: 83000 points]

[Energy transferred to Rika]

[Development progress: 58.6%]

"Protect them?"

The Suna ninjas couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You can't even protect yourself!"

One of them glanced up at Rika above Shiratori and said coldly, "That monster will die with you."

"Of course…" they changed their tone.

"If you're willing to serve Suna, maybe… we'll let you live."

One of the Suna ninjas narrowed his eyes.

"Your medical ninjutsu has some value."

"Live or die, make your choice."

He raised his long blade and slowly wiped the blood off it.

"I will survive… as a ninja of Ame."

Shiratori looked at the Suna ninjas in front of him.

"And you, will die."

"Hahahahahahahahaha…"

The Suna ninjas burst out laughing.

A kid, saying such words to nearly ten trained ninjas?

How could that not be laughable?

Even with a monster helping him, how could he possibly stand a chance?

Then, their laughter stopped instantly.

It was as if the world had been muted.

Absolute silence.

Only the sound of breathing and heartbeats remained.

A suffocating wave of killing intent, thick like wet cement, instantly sealed off every Suna ninja's nose and mouth.

A crushing fear seized their minds.