NOVEL WEB Chapter 62: Calm Before the Storm
Unlike the other bosses, the ghost boss emerged by accumulating the energy absorbed from the ghosts, taking the form of a gigantic green specter, covered in chains that spread across its body, with six arms and two legs – this time, a bipedal creature.
But that wasn't all. Even at first glance, Tanaka noticed several heads on the torso, some even scattered across the body, as if trying to escape. These skeletal, white heads, with a terrifyingly sinister appearance, were wrapped in chains around their necks, seemingly pulling them back into the creature.
However, before he could act, he was immediately enveloped by the Flaming Rasen-hariken, which drained his MP while imprisoning him at the center – literally in the eye of the hurricane.
'It's the first time I haven't been scared in this dungeon...' Tanaka randomly thought as he controlled the skill.
[You have gained 1 level in <Flaming Rasen-hariken>! The skill has now reached level 11!] [You have gained 1 level in <Rasengan>! The skill has now reached level 19!]
Tanaka blinked. He had seen this notification a few times while in this dungeon. The fact that he leveled up so many times in such a short period was understandable, considering everything.
By the way, even 100 meters away from the flaming hurricane, Tanaka was sweating a lot. Even he couldn't avoid being affected.
<Boss> LV50 <Prison Ghost King>
MP: [819,293/1,680,000]
Making a hand seal, Tanaka created 10 shadow clones. Soon, his clones began to create a normal Rasengan, and under psychic control, he made them float, then using Precise Throw, fired them like cannonballs from a warship towards the boss.
"Boom! Boom! Boom...!"
Constant sounds echoed as the boss was pelted.
Even though it was almost out of his control, Tanaka was still able to create a breach with his psychic power for the attacks to pass through. It was narrow but effective.
"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkkkk!"
The ghostly roars made Tanaka's hair stand on end. It was even worse than the ghostly roars he had seen in movies.
'Damn, if I wanted to make a movie with this, it would be a hit for sure...' Tanaka thought randomly as his mind returned to normal when a gamer's mindset relieved his fear.
The boss began to get more and more agitated, crashing against the 'walls' of the hurricane, trying to escape, hitting with its arms and chains, but this only caused it to be engulfed and start spinning again, and before it could escape, under Tanaka's control, it was engulfed by the hurricane once more.
Meanwhile, Tanaka's clones resumed their attack.
[You have gained 1 level in <Rasengan>! The skill has now reached level 20!] [You have gained 1 level in <Flaming Rasen-hariken>! The skill has now reached level 12!]
Tanaka narrowed his eyes. The boss's life (MP) was finally nearing its end.
[You have gained 1,431,500 EXP!]
[You have obtained <Soul Stone – Rank A+> x1]
[You have obtained <Recovery Potion – Rank A> x4]
[You have obtained <Phantom Prison Chains - Rank A> x1]
[You have obtained <Skill Book: Ghost Prison - Rank A> x1]
[You have obtained 1,500,000 ryō]
"Fuuuh~"
Now that the boss was defeated, he felt more relieved. Although he claimed he wasn't so terrified, his phobia began to manifest more frequently as he faced that grotesque creature. Anyway, his expression changed as he looked at the rewards.
'This skill and item...' He recalled how it seemed like ghosts were trying to escape the boss's body and pretended he didn't see that.
Knowing it would take some time to reach his destination, Tanaka decided to clear all the dungeons for the day.
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January 30th, Tuesday. While it was snowing in the Land of Fire, after Tanaka arrived in Amegakure, it was raining heavily, and the temperature was very cold.
Before reaching the base, while still assuming the appearance of Ace, he created a fire barrier around himself. Besides preventing the rain from hitting him, this barrier served as a new form of defense, although not as robust as a spiritual barrier. However, this fire barrier also kept him warmer on this cold day.
Due to the heavy rain, visibility was even difficult for people. However, for 'Ace,' who was using the Byakugan, this was nothing.
And the reason for using it without a real necessity was to level up the skill. The more he used it, even if only a little, he gained EXP. His goal was to evolve the Sharingan and Byakugan in the near future. And, if possible, to fuse the two into one.
Having the fusion of both in their final evolutions, with the Sharingan becoming the Rinnegan and the Byakugan becoming the Tenseigan... What would be the result of such a fusion?
But, would he be able to achieve this just by leveling up these Doujutsus?
Well... As much as he thought and believed it to be plausible, the truth was that it was still uncertain. After all, it wasn't as if there was any example to serve as a basis for his theory. However, he believed it was feasible, and the chances should be greater than 50%.
In moments like this, flying in a straight line with not much to do other than let his mind wander... Tanaka missed having a smartphone and the internet. Wouldn't it be amazing to read a novel, watch an anime, etc., while flying through the sky?
Just imagining it made his mind wander again as he pictured himself doing so. Not to mention, there were several novels he was following, or even series...
"Fuuuh~"
'Well, not everything is a bed of roses. At least in this world, I have powers I could only dream of having one day...'
If he had to choose, he would still prefer his current life, though there were some things he missed from the modern world.
Spotting the base created by his clones, Tanaka set these thoughts aside as he increased his speed.
Just as a precaution, he switched the fire barrier to a spiritual barrier. It would be confusing if they thought a fireball was falling toward them and one of the clones attacked him.
From the sky, he could see the base, which was a fenced-off area. It was similar to a gated community with a gatekeeper. Guarding the entrance and exit was 'Killua.' Meanwhile, the base itself had a barrier created that should be strong enough to prevent attacks at the Kage level from easily breaking through.
Although he was far from being a specialist in Fuuinjutsu, now that he had started learning from Akane, even now being taught through the shadow clone, his level had become high enough to create something of this level. Though one of the clones needed to stay behind to sustain the barrier that was linked to the three clones.
As for the houses, they were mostly built using stone style, while some wooden ones had only been restored.
Due to the heavy rain, it seemed like there were no inhabitants, but the reality was that there were at least 200 people living there. It was a small community, but all of them were war victims who had lost their homes and families.
Most had been saved by 'Yami,' while others by Tatsumaki, Hanako, 'Zephyr,' and 'Killua.'
Killua, seeing his arrival, didn't even raise an eyebrow.
Though he was on watch, it was a mere formality, and he knew the main body was arriving. The open map itself had signaled that a very large green light was approaching, and it was easy to deduce not just because he recognized the new transformation, but also because it was unlikely that someone standing out so much would be an ally.
"You're here," Killua said excitedly.
Landing in front of Killua, 'Ace' nodded: "Hmm, how are things?"
Upon hearing this question, Killua became serious: "Just as you predicted, Hanzo is acting strangely. He sent several capable ninjas to the Wind Country's border and sent three ninjas who seem to be heading toward the Stone Country."
"So, just as I thought, it's possible they're planning something against Uzushiogakure..."
At this moment, Tanaka observed that Hanzo wasn't as extravagant with his 'Explosive Tags.' The amount he was shown using in the anime during fights was absurd.
Now... Where did all those 'Explosive Tags' come from?
A place where there were many and that was destroyed with everything stolen was precisely 'Uzushiogakure.'
Now, with the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Mist Village being silent in this war for so long... What's the real reason for that?
Although they had some minor participation, it was as if they hadn't...
And, with the retreat of the Hidden Sand Village, Stone Village, and with what was happening to Konoha... Wouldn't this be the best time to act against Uzushiogakure?
"What will we do?" Killua asked.
||- Note -||
- Chapter 84 is already released on Patreon!
- patreon.com/Tozoku