Whats with these numbers?

Shin had parted ways with Schnee and headed towards Fuji, but the formation of demon foxes he found around the mountain made him raise a brow . Almost all units were around level 700, with 6 or 7 tails . For Shin it was nothing special, but for this world it was close to a natural disaster .

Such monsters were now surrounding Mt . Fuji . They were also clearly expressing hostile intentions .

Kuu!! Tamamo, not here!!

Thats true, I cant pick up any presence that could be hers . Whats this about, anyway? There are the 8-headed Orochi and Munechika on top of Fuji . No matter how many boss-level monsters you gather, with their fighting power theyre just going to get annihilated .

The gap between the level 900 Munechika and the level 700 demon foxes was just too large . Thats what their difference in fighting power meant .

Because of the demon foxes large numbers, Munechika could maybe suffer some injuries, but if they fought they would be surely exterminated .

Despite that, the demon foxes were unmistakably heading towards the mists covering the mountain .

Hmm?

Among the demon foxes climbing up Mt . Fuji, Shin detected a small presence moving up as well .

It was not being attacked despite being right next to the demon foxes, so it was likely to be an ally .

Shin thought it could be Tamamo, and asked Yuzuha for confirmation, but she denied that possibility .

Yuzuha, Im going to see this sneaky one before dealing with them . What are you going to do?

. I feel a bad presence from there . Yuzuha, go there . Shin, go to Fuji .

After a short pause, Yuzuha turned to a direction different than the mountain .

Will you be fine by yourself?

Leave it to Yuzuha!!

Yuzuha hopped down from Shins shoulder, transformed into little girl mode, and puffed up her chest .

Shin would have been worried until a while ago, but her level was now higher and her control over her powers were much better .

Shin looked at Yuzuha, who was looking back at him with straight and honest eyes, and nodded .

-got it . Take these with you, just in case .

Shin took an accessory that would take damage instead of the user and items to heal status ailments from the item box .

Yuzuha took them, put them in her robes, then ran off in fox form .

OK, time to do my part .

After whispering to himself, Shin went on his way .

While concealing his presence with Hiding, Shin drew closer to the dot moving among the demon foxes .

When he came close enough to see, he spotted a man clad in black ninja wear head to toe .

The name displayed via Analyze was Rokuhara Kai, the man who was with Juugo .

Shin jumped in front of Kai and deactivated Hiding .

!?! You are the man from that time!?

Kai reacted to Shins sudden appearance by drawing his ninja blade . He was clearly wary of Shin after recognizing him .

Do you mean, the time at Aokigahara?

Who can say!

Before even an attempt to conversation was made, Kai casted a magic spell towards Shin .

What flew towards Shin was the flame-type magic skill Fireball . It was a basic offensive magic, widely used by beginners and experts alike .

However, magic used by a ninja like Kai, whose job leaned more towards physical attacks, could not work on Shin .

The Fireball flying towards Shin vanished into nothingness just before hitting him .

If possible, Id like to know why you are doing this .

. to once again spread the flames of war in Hinomoto .

-Im surprised to receive an answer . But why? I hear that there is much to lose in the flames of war . What would you gain in doing this?

Shin did not expect any answers, but as he received one instead, he expressed another doubt .

. . Hinomoto has had continuous conflicts, all within this small island country . One needed to be strong, lest everything be taken away from them . Because of that, in those times everyone was strong . But now the people forgot those times of war, and became weak . The Brave Ten as well, none of them can even match sir Kankurou now, they are just brats with nothing more than their Returned Ancestor status going for them . If peace continues on like this, Hinomoto will eventually grow weak .

As someone who saw the continents adventurers and soldiers, I can tell you that Hinomoto soldiers are clearly stronger than them .

Shin said what he honestly thought . Even in Balmel, a city exposed to the dangers of the Floods monster hordes, the soldiers quality was lower than Hinomoto .

It is not enough for soldiers to be strong . The lords governing its domains, the soldiers serving under them, the people inhabiting its landsall of them need to be strong, or a small country like Hinomoto has no future .

Even so, is setting monsters on the people an acceptable way? It would just cause a burden on those precious soldiers and citizens .

If they fall because of something like that, it means that they were worth that much in the first place . This was one of the truths in the era of wars .

You speak as if you saw it with your own eyes .

Based on his experiences until now, Shin thought that Kais race was Human .

Humans have short life spans . No one from this race could have witnessed the age of wars and still be alive .

Because they showed it to me .

They showed it?

The one who controls these beasts did . They seem to have different goals, but no matter if we are being used or not, our wish will be fulfilled .

Kai spoke while pointing at a Blue Tail among the demon foxes surrounding them .

Shin never heard of abilities allowing the user to see the past, but before that, he could not know if the past Kai saw was the truth or not .

I will not accept a unification scared of sacrifices . Hinomoto will become a strong country only if the truly strong rule over it .

The man called Ichinose Juugo is already dead . Even so, do you continue?

Do you think I would stop now?

I suppose not .

Kais killing intent grew more intense . In response, Shins hand reaches to the katana Moonless at his waist .

. . I did not think it would be possible to talk like this . Are you sure it was fine to leak all that information?

It makes no difference . Dead men tell no tales .

That man might be you though, you know?

That is fine too . The strong live, the weak perish . That is all .

Even his own death was an acceptable outcome . Kais eyes as he said so were straight and true, despite the haziness within them .

were the days of peace so painful?

. .

Shins last words were the only ones Kai did not reply to .

Wielding his ninja blade, Kai disappeared into the shadow of a Red Tail .

The monsters surrounding Shin were 3 Red Tails and 3 White Tails . The former were around level 600, the latter level 700: all boss-class monsters .

There were also other monsters of the demon fox species, but except those heading towards Shin, they were all proceeding towards the peak .

Thats a shame .

Shin spoke in response to Kais silence . The echo of these words was so cold, it would have ran chills down the spines of whoever heard them .

Shin then unsheathed Moonless while shifting his line of sight to the right .

As he drew a silver arc in the air with the blade, a sound of clashing metal followed and 3 kunai fell on the ground, split clean in half .

Even if he had concealed himself, Kais Hiding was inferior to Shins perception abilities .

Did you think you were hiding?

Shins line of sight uncovered Kais position .

Because Kai felt a chill down the back of his spine he turned towards the origin of this savage thirst for blood . Even though his facial expression became stiff, it also changed into a smile .

What I sensed that time was no lie, I see .

Even if he had accepted death as positive, some things could not be overcome .

The stench of blood Kai had sensed from Shin was not something that would emanate from someone who only battled against monsters .

It was proof that his hands were stained with the blood of countless people .

Kai looked downward towards the rattling sound that had reached his ears . He found his right arm, the one holding his blade, shaking .

The demon foxes around Shin too, intimidated by his killing intent, could not move .

Even the other demon foxes heading towards the peak turned towards Shin, their bodies trembling .

Heh, this is how true war must be .

Kai pulled out a round pill from his robe and swallowed it, then charged towards Shin .

Kais after-images split and attacked Shin .

It was a technique combining high-speed movement and illusions, by using the skills Ground Shrink and Mirage Dance . The round pill allowed Kai to move at a speed easily surpassing the average Chosen One .

This combination, which Schnee often uses too, served to enhance all of Kais techniques, also taking advantage of his boosted physical abilities .

However- .

A ninja should never attack from the front, come on .

Before Shins Moonless, it was all meaningless .

No matter how deftly Kai hid within the illusions, Shins eyes could see through them . Attacking him from the front was a poor strategy, no matter how boosted Kai was by the round pill .

In the blink of an eye, Shin closed in on one of Kais copies: it was the real one .

Even if wide-eyed in surprise, Kai tried to dodge with all his might . Maybe because of his long experience in battle, his body moved before he could think .

Thanks to this, the air-rending slash performed by Moonless stopped at slicing the ninjas left arm off .

I alone am no match, I see . -Attack!!

After Kais order, the demon foxes, frozen still because of Shins killing intent, started moving . They targeted Shin with fangs and claws, taking advantage of their large bodies .

They had already understood, from watching the exchange between Kai and Shin, that magic would not work .

Youre in the way .

The White tail and Red Tails claws were approaching Shin from both the left and right side . Shin responded indifferently by swinging Moonless .

Two silver flashes run through the air . As they disappeared, the HP of two demon foxes reached zero .

Their heads and front legs fell to the ground seconds later .

Katana-type martial skill Beast Hunt .

Thanks to the skills increased damage against animal-type monsters such as the demon foxes, two units fell with ridiculous ease .

Shin lightly swung Moonless, still not stained with a single drop of blood, and spoke .

I will cut down everything . Give up .

In the space of one single breath, Shin slayed the White Tail approaching from behind . He then took the killing intent he had been focusing on his surroundings to intimidate the monsters and released it to the fullest, without limiting it .

His opponent being shifted from humans to monsters, his intent also shifted from defeating to killing .

Differently from a bandit or ruffian, in Shins eyes Kai was acting with a clear objective .

He seemed to have been influenced by something, but as also displayed by Analyze, he was not under complete manipulation .

He did not know what the reason was, but Shin felt that for both Kai and Juugo, deep down their own will was behind their actions . After his conversation with Kai, Shins supposition turned into certainty .

If their will desired war and killing though, for Shin there was no other choice .

Excluding the monsters involvement, a commotion like this would have happened sooner or later .

For the present Hinomoto, their position was that of heretics . Their ways and thoughts would never be understood .

Even if in a contorted form, their love for their country was at the heart of it all .

That too was a way of thinking . But no matter what their reasons were, Shin would not accept Juugo and Kais way of doing things .

And thus, he cuts .

The killing intent emanating from his body, as chilling as a deathly cold breeze, spoke to those facing Shin, telling them to prepare to die .

After a life spent in the darkness, for my last opponent to be someone of such mightI am thankful .

A smile widening on his lips, Kai leapt and ran through Shins killing intent .

Normally he could have closed the distance in an instant . However Kais body, although boosted by the round pill, could not keep up with his mind .

Shin was looking in Kais direction, but did not move a step .

He held Moonless straight in front, its tip pointed forward, quietly staring at Kai . There were no openings in his stance .

Gwah

As he was running towards Shin, Kais legs creaked . His long battle experience told him that something was wrong with his bones . Then, as if provoked by that, his legs and arms produced strange noises .

I see the recoil has come .

Shin said while looking at Kai .

After looking at Kais status display, Shin had guessed what the pill Kai swallowed had to be .

Shins decision of cutting down Kai was out of compassion: having him destroy himself would have been too pitiful of an ending .

Its been awhile since I last saw someone use a forbidden drug .

But even if I did, look at me now .

What Shin called forbidden drug was actually an item with the official name of Miracle Drug of Blinking Life .

Using it would instantly raise all stats by several stages, but in exchange HP would decrease at a fixed rate, the player dying after a few minutes .

In addition, recovering lost HP or reviving right after dying was not possible: as penalty for dying, the player would also be forcefully transported to their hometown .

In the game, it was an item used only in battles between players .

Even if one defeated a boss using it, the system would prevent any EXP or loot gain, so the players that just enjoyed adventuring did not even know of its existence .

This is the end .

Kais HP was already close to zero . Even in such a state, the techniques he unleashed were not weakened in the least .

The ninja blades attacks continued . Kais katana, painted black to be used in stealth missions, was met by Shins Moonless .

The platinum and gleaming black weapons crossed paths . Shin and Kai stopped moving, their backs to each other .

Impressive

After this one last word, Kai fell . The katana he still held in his right hand had its blade cut in half .

cant say this feels right .

When Shin turned around, Kai had already drawn his last breath .

Looking at his somehow pleased-looking expression, Shin scratched his head, perplexed .

Possibly finding an opening in his now relaxed guard, Shin was attacked by a mass of flame and ice . However, it was enough to attract his attention . The attack was canceled by his magic resistance .

So its not like he was in command, huh . You should at least know that laying a hand on me or Fuji would be the end of you though .

As he finished talking, at Shins feet lied the corpses of 1 Red Tail and 1 Blue Tail . His opponents were now only monsters, so he swung his sword without the slightest hesitation .

Shin directed his perception towards Fuji and noticed a dot of light moving rapidly around the demon foxes . It was Munechika .

As the small dot came closer, the big ones would disappear . The speed at which they were annihilated was overwhelming: the 8-headed Orochi did not even move from the peak .

There are still plenty of them; guess Ill lend a hand .

Shin started hunting down the demon foxes from the direction opposite to the dot he thought to be Munechika .

After less than an hour, most of the demon foxes that had gathered on Fuji had been exterminated .

As Shin took down the last unit, the sparkle of platinum armor appeared before him .

So it was you, Shin .

What appeared was the katana and person carrying the name of One of the Five Supreme Blades Mikazuki Munechika . As she was battling, she was wearing her helmet, but not her flowing black hair nor her armor were stained by enemy blood .

I see you did not have trouble either .

Monsters of that level are nothing to me . Curious to see you appear at the same time as the monsters assault though . Do you know something?

I dont know much in detail, but Ill tell you all I can .

Shin briefly explained about Juugo, Kai, Tamamo and the plan they had put into action .

After he finished talking, Munechika thought for a while, holding her fingers to her lips, then she looked towards the peak of Fuji .

The demon foxes goal for attacking was probably what we are protecting on top of the mountain . Not only the demon foxes, but many of Hinomotos monsters with a certain degree of intellect came to attack Fuji .

Is there something of much importance there? I did think it was strange that the mountains master Kagutsuchi wasnt there, butno, I do not mean to pry . You dont need to answer .

Heh, I know that . I suppose I could tell you . Because your partner, the Element Tail, probably noticed already .

Eh? You knew Yuzuha was an Element Tail? .

Shin was also surprised that Yuzuha apparently knew the reason behind Kagutsuchis absence, but Munechikas knowledge of Yuzuhas species was even more astonishing to him .

The energy of the Ley lines has a peculiar aura . I heard from Kagutsuchi that Element Tails have the ability of influencing Ley lines, as well .

Judging from Munechikas words, it didnt look like Kagutsuchi had been slain .

Just like Yuzuha, it was apparently possible to communicate with it . During the game the battle would always start without any actual conversation, so Shin found it a bit surprising .

Well, this is not the time to stand around chatting . Go to your partner . And one more thing, you havent forgotten the promise to return to me, have you? I cannot claim to be patient, I will wait for only 10 years at most .

I will go now then . Rest assured, I have no intention of making you wait that long .

Shin replied thinking that for an impatient person, that was a pretty long time span .

Strictly speaking, Munechika was like a spirit hosted within a sword, so there was no concept of lifespan for her, or so Shin reflected .

I am looking forward to it then .

Shin thanked Munechika, who told him the direction Yuzuha was in, and headed off .