Chapter 38 – Never Had Such a Glorious Opening!
"Beastra, what are you doing?!"
Seeing Beastra frozen mid-air, Kyora turned his head, wanting to provide support, but the next moment, he was blocked by Suiko, who held a long sword in her hands. "Your opponent is me!"
She was a little surprised but quickly realized this was probably one of Renji's techniques.
Otherwise, there was no way Beastra would just stand there. From her perspective, she could vaguely see a pattern in Beastra's eyes that was identical to what had appeared in Renji's pupils.
Another ability she didn't know about?
"60 million volts: Thunder Dragon!"
A portion of her stamina was instantly drained, and the thunder-formed dragon devoured Beastra in an instant.
This wasn't the world of One Piece. Very few beings could survive a 60 million volt strike. And even among those who could, one of them was Monkey D. Luffy. Even during the Paramount War, Akainu took Ace down with a single punch.
The point is, those in that world had absurdly strong bodies, but even then they needed Haki to fully withstand such attacks.
Sixty million volts—more than enough to kill a yokai.
After consuming Beastra, the Thunder Dragon didn't stop. Under Renji's control, it turned and lunged toward the biggest target—Gangra.
"Watch out, Gangra!"
Kyora shouted, but before his words had even finished, the Thunder Dragon had already collided with Gangra.
Boom!
The Thunder Dragon exploded, and Gangra's demon blood splattered from his forehead.
"This lightning dragon can't kill me! Now I'll avenge my brother!"
A flash of hatred surged in Gangra's eyes. He had withstood the blast, but his brother Beastra had been blown apart, leaving no body behind.
"You blocked the first one... now what about the second?"
A second Thunder Dragon formed in an instant and streaked straight toward the wound left on Gangra's body.
Seeing it coming, Gangra instinctively tried to shrink into his tortoise shell, but the dragon didn't give him the chance—it swallowed him whole in the blink of an eye.
Compared to the first blue Thunder Dragon, this second one radiated purple-black lightning and was clearly more destructive.
"Help me—!"
Just as Gangra called out, an explosion rang out, and his body was blown into dozens of pieces scattered across the ground.
"Shit!! I forgot I was supposed to forge a yokai blade!"
Renji scratched his head in frustration. Damn it, how did he forget something so important?
Luckily, while Beastra was completely obliterated, there were still some remnants of Gangra left. Plus there were still Ryora and Kyora. Renji figured that should be enough.
Just listen to that!
Was this even human speech?
Renji hadn't bothered to lower his voice, so Ryora and Kyora had heard every word. So he was killing them… just to forge a yokai blade?
Why did this bastard somehow seem even more annoying than Inu no Taisho?
Guys, who can relate?
"Um… could you two just stay where you are? I'd like to give you a proper death, you know? It's my first time forging a yokai blade, and if I'm only left with scattered body parts, I'm not sure it'll affect the blade's strength..."
Renji scratched his head again, then looked up at Ryora and Kyora, eyes full of hope.
If they could just stay put and let him give them a clean death, wouldn't that be great?
They'd die with dignity, and he'd get complete corpses. A bright future for everyone!
"Idiot, what nonsense are you spouting? Come help me finish off Kyora with the shrine maiden, then the three of us can take down Ryora together!"
Suiko took a deep breath. Just looking at Renji left her speechless. Did he really think they'd just stand there and let him kill them?
It would be better to think of something realistic. Once the three of them took out Ryora, the situation on Mount Horai would be completely resolved.
"Fine, fine. You don't have to order me around like that, woman."
This woman was getting way too comfortable bossing him around.
He'd have to correct that.
"A shrine maiden and a yokai… are they in love?"
Kanade-hime was a bit shocked by the way Renji and Suiko interacted. Could it be… that shrine maidens could fall in love with yokai?
Though she had always protected the yokai and half-yokai of Mount Horai, she had firmly believed love between the two sides was impossible.
But she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she turned her head and solemnly thanked Renji: "Thank you for your help."
If it weren't for Renji and Suiko's arrival, Mount Horai might really have been doomed.
He had taken down two yokai the moment he showed up. A top-tier yokai killing two great yokai—if word got out, no one would believe it. But here it was, plain as day.
"No need to thank me."
"You really are a good... demon."
What the hell?
A black line ran across Renji's forehead. If you're going to correct yourself, at least follow through all the way!
"Forget the formal thanks. Just remember, you owe me a huge favor!"
"..."
Well, okay.
Kanade-hime took back what she had just said. Even though he said it like that, the way Renji phrased it gave off a weirdly cheeky vibe.
"I understand."
She didn't think too much of it. Whether intentional or not, she definitely owed Renji a big favor this time.
She would repay it. If there came a time when Renji needed help, she would lend her strength. Though honestly, with how powerful he was, she couldn't imagine he'd need her for anything.
He was stronger than her, and as a yokai, didn't even have to worry about lifespan. There was no reason for him to stay at Mount Horai. Unless… it was for that treasure?
If there was one thing Renji couldn't do, maybe it was having children? She was the only one with that ability...
"Then I leave it to you. My spiritual energy's too depleted to keep fighting, so I'll just support you however I can."
Before Renji and the others had arrived, Kanade-hime had already fought the Four Fighting Gods for quite some time. Her power was nearly exhausted. If Renji hadn't come, she was ready to die with them.
She was already at her limit.
Meanwhile, the Four Fighting Gods were still going strong. Renji turned his gaze toward Kyora.
Kyora's strength was second only to Ryora—and far above Beastra and Gangra.
However, under the joint assault from Kanade-hime and Renji, Kyora was in an extremely dire situation. First of all, he didn't dare look into those eyes—because earlier, Beastra had looked into them and was immediately affected, frozen in place and unable to move.
Secondly, the opponent's lightning-based combat ability meant that Kyora, already hindered in his perception, was inwardly crying in frustration.
He would like to formally request a one-on-one duel!
"Out of the way!"
Kanade-hime drew her bow, unleashing an arrow imbued with all her remaining spiritual energy—a Purification Arrow.
Kyora tried to dodge. The chilling presence behind him told him that if he failed, death was certain. But just as he raised his head, his gaze locked onto the corner of Renji's mouth, curved in mocking amusement—and those eyes. Even though it was just a moment, Kyora's body suddenly became immobile.
The Purification Arrow pierced through his heart, and a large hole tore open his chest. Kyora's eyes went blank as he plummeted to the ground.
With the deaths of three of his brothers, Ryora felt like he was going mad. What made it worse was that now he was facing a three-on-one: Suiko, Renji, and Kanade-hime.
Even if Kanade-hime was low on spiritual energy and possibly unable to fight, once she recovered, he'd still be doomed.
He was definitely going to lose this fight!
Realizing this, Ryora gave the three of them a hateful glare, committing their faces to memory. In his heart, he swore that one day he would return and take revenge.
"Trying to run? As a great yokai, running away after losing? No wonder you lost to Inu no Taisho, that old man! Such cowardice—I won't forgive it!"
"You!!"
Ryora stared at Renji with hatred. He really had intended to flee, but now he was so provoked by Renji that he couldn't back down!
He admitted he had lost to Inu no Taisho—but being called a coward? Never!
At that moment, his gaze fell upon the corpses of Kyora and Beastra. If he fused with them, he might become stronger.
Noticing Ryora's expression, Renji pointed at the bodies on the ground. "Go ahead, fuse with them. Let me see how strong you can get."
"...You're serious?"
Ryora froze for a moment, not expecting Renji to actually let him do it.
"Of course. Since you're not running, I'll give you a chance. Don't say I bullied you."
"...Fine, you've got guts!"
Ryora's eyes held a rare trace of admiration. Even though they were enemies, he had to respect Renji's boldness.
He immediately flew toward the corpses of Kyora and Gangra. Seeing this, Renji rushed over to Suiko and whispered, "Quick—hit him with your spiritual energy!"
"Huh?!"
"Hit him, damn it! What are you standing around for? Are you stupid?! You're giving the enemy a chance to power up!"
"O-Oh..."
Shameless!
She had never seen anyone so utterly shameless!
Suiko realized she should never believe a word out of Renji's mouth. "Giving him a chance to get stronger," huh? More like setting him up for a sneak attack!
Deceit. Ambushes. This youth clearly lacked all honor!
But her hands didn't stop moving. Somehow, this morally bankrupt battle tactic gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.
Spiritual energy gathered on Suiko's blade, then surged forward in the form of a sword strike aimed at Ryora. Feeling danger, Ryora—who had just begun gleefully absorbing the corpses—turned his head and saw a massive blast of spiritual energy flying toward him.
He broke down on the spot. "You little bastard! You lied to me!!!"
"You're the idiot! You could've run, but you didn't! Waiting around to die—what's wrong with your brain? If I don't lie to someone like you, who else would I lie to?"
Listening to Renji's smug voice, Kanade-hime's expression twisted slightly. She was beginning to regret owing Renji such a huge favor.
Would he someday use that favor to ask her for something… weird?
Would she be ruined...?
Ryora had been cautious and hadn't fully let his guard down, but even so, Suiko's spiritual attack still managed to sever his left arm.
With that, he could no longer wield the Wind Fang, and his combat power dropped sharply. He looked at Renji darkly—now he just wanted to run.
"Too late. Die—Judgment of the Gods!"
From the sky, countless bolts of lightning rained down on Ryora. Suiko didn't stand idly by either.
Covered in wounds, Ryora knew it was the end for him. In his final moment, he cursed Renji from the bottom of his heart, wishing the despicable, shameless scoundrel a miserable fate.
With a heavy thud, Ryora's body hit the ground. Even then, Renji followed up with ten more Judgment of the Gods strikes before finally stopping.
"Hey! What was that for?"
Renji turned to Suiko, her expression weird and unreadable. "You got some kind of freaky obsession or something? The guy was dead and you kept zapping him?"
"I was afraid he wasn't dead yet! What if he got up and sneak-attacked me?"
This yokai was way too cautious!
Suiko silently grumbled in her heart.
[Ding! You have changed the fate of the Four Fighting Gods. Reward: 1 lottery chance!]
[Ding! You have changed the fate of Kanade-hime. Reward: 1 lottery chance!]
Two chances!
Renji smiled and muttered inwardly: "Draw!"
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Treasure Ghost Body Constitution (Toggle On/Off), and Active-to-Passive Skill Voucher (Side-effect-free, Universal)]
Treasure Ghost Body Constitution: Allows the host to transform their body into diamond-hard stone. Can be toggled on or off.
Active-to-Passive Skill Voucher: Converts one active skill into a passive ability, removing all side effects. Universal. Expires in 1 day.
[Yokai Renji]: "Brothers, what the hell is an Active-to-Passive Skill Voucher?"
[Mundane Renji]: "It turns an active ability into a passive one, duh! Wait—if you make the Mangekyō Sharingan passive, wouldn't you be able to use it nonstop without side effects?!"
[Naruto Renji]: "You wanna die? I can help. Draining stamina doesn't count as a side effect? You think you've got that much stamina? But yeah, if we're talking Mangekyō's side effects, it's manageable. Later we'll just get Sage Body and Eternal Eyes."
[Zombie Renji]: "If I make my Tao arts passive, I still have to cultivate anyway... This ticket expires in a day. Should we make the Goro Goro no Mi passive instead?"
[One Piece Renji]: "Useless! Why waste it on Goro Goro no Mi? Use it on the Eight Gates—permanent power boost and you can use Night Guy without injuries. If this doesn't go to us, who else deserves it?!"
Wait, what!?
[Naruto Renji]: "Damn! I forgot I even had that!"
[Yokai Renji]: "Then... Eight Gates?"
Seems like a great idea.
The First Gate unlocks full-body potential, boosting speed and attack.
The Second Gate removes stamina limitations. The Third increases both further. The Fourth does the same, though it damages the body—except now there's no side effect.
Each subsequent gate grants massive power. After the final gate, the Dead Gate, it provides power dozens of times that of a Kage. If that becomes passive, it means permanent power boosts.
Every Renji who joins the chat from now on would inherit the permanent enhancements of the Eight Gates!
Confirmed: Use on Eight Gates.
Daily Life World.
Renji felt his body undergoing a transformation. What was once slightly skinny was now solid and muscular. He felt like he had limitless strength.
And that dizziness he used to feel when activating the Mangekyō Sharingan? Gone.
[Mundane Renji]: "Never had such a glorious opening!! Give it up for me!! Applaud!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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