29-30

Chapter 29: Struggle

Hearing Kaneki's words, Sakamoto's face turned ashen.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to grab Kaneki and tear him to pieces.

Unfortunately, dozens of ghouls had already launched their assault.

They unleashed the violent energy pent up inside their bodies, venting the rage that had accumulated over countless days. They mercilessly slaughtered, even tortured, the nobles present.

These pampered aristocrats were nothing but helpless lambs in the face of the ghouls' ferocity, completely incapable of resistance.

Even the few who dared to fight back only managed to provide the ghouls with a fleeting thrill of revenge.

Blood, panic, and fear spread unchecked throughout the arena.

"Don't hesitate to use your weapons and explosive tags. Eliminate every last one of them!"

Sakamoto issued the order.

As the leading merchant of the Land of Rivers, he had specially assembled a team of ninja for situations like this.

Abu, who was currently confronting Shiraishi Mori, was one of them. Along with Abu, there were seven other ninjas. Two were Chūnin, including Abu, while the remaining six were Genin.

"But, President... what about the audience?"

One of the ninjas hesitated. After all, everyone aboard the Heavenly Abode cruise ship was a dignitary from the Land of Rivers or even neighboring nations.

Now, with the ghouls mixed among them, attacking indiscriminately would—

"I said, kill them all."

Sakamoto's gaze turned icy and ruthless.

At his command, the ninjas swiftly sprang into action.

For ordinary humans, ghouls equipped with Kagune were like demonic gods.

However, against seasoned warriors like ninjas, the ghouls were far from invincible.

Countless kunai rained down from the stands, indiscriminately targeting both ghouls and audience members below.

Explosive tags detonated on impact, filling the arena with deafening booms under the ninjas' control.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The entire cruise ship shook violently, teetering on the brink of sinking.

Though the ship had been built at great expense by Sakamoto, it could not withstand such relentless destruction.

Hearing the ship creak in agony, Sakamoto's heart ached.

Still, his investment proved fruitful.

The ghouls varied widely in strength, but the barrage of explosive tags had already decimated over half of them.

Only a handful, such as those with formidable Kagune like Tail Kagune: Centipede or Armor Kagune: Ant-Man, managed to survive.

But even those survivors were gravely wounded.

Of course, the ones who suffered the most were the unarmed audience members.

Perhaps "suffered" wasn’t the right word—most of them had been reduced to bloody pulp in the fierce explosions.

Seeing this carnage, Sakamoto's lips curled into a smug smile.

"Hmph, you think you can challenge me?"

Suddenly, a boulder in the arena was flung aside. A dark red figure shot forth like a streak of light, moving with unimaginable speed toward the stands.

Sakamoto’s expression shifted to panic. "Stop her! Quickly!"

The figure was a woman with long, jet-black hair. A limb-like appendage resembling a blade extended from her shoulder.

It was the Scale Kagune: Mantis.  

The other limb, however, was missing, likely destroyed in the earlier explosions.

The woman surged forward like an assassin, darting onto the stands in an instant.

Sakamoto's guards scrambled to intercept her, weapons drawn.

But her Kagune was far superior to theirs. A crimson flash sliced through the air, cutting every weapon in her path cleanly in half.

Under the stunned gazes of the onlookers, she plunged into the crowd. With a swift turn of her lethal Kagune, five or six people were sliced in two at the waist.

Amid the spray of blood, the woman crouched slightly, her crimson eyes gleaming like those of a predator poised to strike.

Realizing that ordinary guards were no match for her, the ninjas stepped in.

"Earth Style: Earthen Spikes!"

Chakra coursed through the ground, forming a thick, sharp spike beneath her feet, resembling a monster’s fang.

As the spike emerged, the woman leaped into the air, using her incredible speed to dash straight for Sakamoto.

"Lightning Style: Ground Web."

A web of electric arcs spread across the ground like a fisherman's net, launched by another ninja.

Caught off guard, the ghoul woman stiffened as the electricity momentarily paralyzed her muscles.

In that split second, another ninja appeared before her with a flash of the Body Flicker Technique.

The ninja’s blade swung down with brutal precision.

One clean stroke severed her head.

The ninja spat disdainfully. "Hmph. Ghouls are nothing special."

"Look out above!"

A shout from a companion made him glance up—only to see a shadow descending rapidly toward him.

A man clad entirely in black Kagune armor plummeted like a cannonball, slamming into him with tremendous force.

"Boom!"

The impact created a massive crater, killing the ninja instantly.

Seeing their comrade fall, the remaining ninjas exchanged a glance and grew serious.

"Earth Style: Ground Elevation!"

The ghoul encased in Armor Kagune: Ant-Man was suddenly lifted high into the air by a raised section of ground.

At the same moment, a scorching fireball hurtled toward him.

It struck with precision.

The ensuing explosion unleashed blistering heat, scattering shockwaves in every direction.

Despite the ghoul's powerful defenses, he was reduced to charred remains, perishing in the inferno.

Witnessing this, the other ghouls, who had been eager to fight moments ago, froze in place.

"I must admit, these ninjas are quite capable," Kaneki murmured, rubbing his chin with faint approval.

Hidan, however, sneered disdainfully.

"Bah, just a few low-level jutsu. If I stepped in, they'd all be dead by now."

Kaneki ignored him. In some sense, Hidan wasn’t wrong.

But Kaneki wasn’t seeking mere victory.

In the arena, the ninja named Abu slowly approached Shiraishi Mori and his family.

During the explosions, Abu had used Earth Style to burrow underground and evade harm.

Meanwhile, Shiraishi Mori and his family had endured the full brunt of the blasts.

Now, even Shiraishi Mori himself was gravely injured.

"Just surrender. I don’t have time to waste here," Abu said coldly, gripping his blade tightly.

Though Shiraishi Mori’s exoskeleton was on the verge of collapse, he struggled to his feet, positioning himself protectively in front of his parents.

But in the next moment, Abu vanished again.

A brilliant flash of a blade filled Shiraishi Mori’s vision.

(To be continued...)  

*Chapter 30: If Humans Have Limits, Then I Will Transcend Humanity*

At this moment, Shiroishi Mori was utterly exhausted. Facing Abu's sudden, unexpected strike, all he could do was hope that his armored kagune was strong enough to withstand the blow.

But the imagined scene of himself being pierced through never came to pass.

Because someone else was faster.

It was Keiko, with her rinkaku kagune.

The speed difference between a rinkaku and a koukaku was vividly displayed in this instant.

Keiko, Mori’s mother, used the last of her strength to unleash her fastest speed, all for one purpose—to place herself in front of her son and take the fatal blow in his stead.

The sharp ninja blade stabbed through Keiko’s body without hesitation. The impact made her body tremble violently, but she forced herself to stay upright.

With her back to Mori, she used all her might to reach out, gripping the blade that had pierced her tightly in her palm.

Keiko turned her head to look at her son. There was no pain on her face—only deep sorrow and regret.

“Mori... I’m so sorry. From here on out, you’ll have to walk this path alone.”

Shiroishi Mori’s pupils widened in shock.

Crimson blood, a bloodstained ninja blade, and a mother smiling with guilt in her eyes.

“No...”

Before he could say more, another figure dashed past him.

It was Shiroishi Aoi.

He rushed forward, swinging his massive kagune with all his might, slamming it down onto the enemy.

“Damn it.”

Abu immediately sensed danger. He tried to withdraw his ninja blade, but it wouldn’t budge.

The dying mother had summoned a final, astonishing burst of strength, one that even Abu couldn’t overpower.

“Damn it!”

He had no choice but to release the blade.

But by then, Aoi’s attack had already arrived!

A dark purple, centipede-like tail kagune swept across like an unstoppable greatsword, slamming into Abu with tremendous force.

Only at this moment did Aoi’s burnt, disfigured face show a faint, bitter smile.

At least, before he left his son, he had bought him a sliver of hope.

But that smile vanished quickly.

The enemy he struck exploded into a cloud of smoke, transforming into a wooden log shattered into countless splinters under the kagune’s power.

“A substitution jutsu... What a pity,” muttered Hidan from the stands, sounding disappointed.

Sasori, however, remained expressionless.

On the battlefield, Aoi’s expression shifted to shock.

A figure emerged from the ground beneath him—it was Abu, who had quietly used the substitution technique before employing the Earth Submersion Jutsu to hide underground.

Like a serpent waiting in the shadows, Abu struck with lethal precision.

The sharp ninja blade pierced through Aoi’s abdomen effortlessly.

Before Aoi could retaliate, Abu had already disappeared into the ground once more.

“Cough... cough...”

Aoi spat out a mouthful of blood and looked down.

Attached to the ninja blade embedded in him was an exploding tag, its fuse slowly burning down.

Despair filled Aoi’s eyes as the tag ignited, unleashing a terrifying explosion.

Boom!  

Flames consumed everything in an instant.

Amid the flickering firelight, Keiko struggled to open her mouth.

“Mori...”

“Live...”

“Take care of your sister...”

These three sentences exhausted all of Keiko’s remaining strength.

The orange firelight couldn’t warm her pale face. Her outstretched hand never reached Mori’s cheek.

As her arm fell heavily to the ground, Shiroishi Mori collapsed to his knees, utterly broken.

“Why... why is this happening?!”

He clutched his hair, his fingers digging so deeply into his scalp that he pulled at his skin.

His mother lay before him, filled with regret, while his father had been reduced to charred remains in the explosion.

Why was he forced to endure such pain?

He was just a simple fisherman.

All he ever wanted was to live a peaceful life—fishing, caring for his parents in their old age, and raising his younger sister. Was that so wrong?

Smoke from the explosion filled the air.

Mori knelt there, mumbling to himself.

“You’re too weak.”

The voice of the man in the prison echoed in Mori’s mind.

His eyes slowly regained focus. Lowering his head, he looked at his hands.

“Am I... too weak?” he murmured.

“Humans have limits. Only by transcending humanity can one gain true strength.”

The man’s voice echoed again.

Unconsciously, Mori opened his mouth.

“Transcend... humanity?”

He looked at the black koukaku covering his hand, then at the crimson rinkaku on Keiko’s body.

Suddenly, his shoulders began to shake. A raspy, guttural sound emerged between the tremors.

“If humans have limits... then I’ll stop being human.”

“If one kagune isn’t enough, then I’ll have two... or three...”

Mori lifted his head, his eyes glowing crimson.

The smoke began to dissipate as Abu squinted at the battlefield.

Though he had emerged victorious through experience and cunning, his chakra was nearly depleted.

Once he eliminated the boy, he would have to retreat.

This should be enough to intimidate the other monsters, he thought, scanning the area.

Indeed, the more rational ghouls observed cautiously, not daring to act recklessly. Only the berserk ghouls continued to rampage, slaughtering the nobles indiscriminately.

The smoke from the explosion slowly cleared.

Having used an exploding tag to kill the centipede ghoul, Abu now reached for a kunai from his ninja pouch.

Suddenly, the dispersing smoke was violently slashed apart.

Two dark crimson slashes, like bolts of lightning, appeared before Abu in an instant.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Even though Abu had instinctively retreated the moment he sensed danger, his chest was still torn open by a diagonal cross-shaped wound.

Crimson blood gushed out, exposing stark white bone to the air.

Too fast.  

That was Abu’s only thought. At such speed, he couldn’t possibly react.

In his current exhausted state, he stood no chance. Even at his peak, escape might have been his only option.

The smoke, now cleaved apart, revealed a towering figure.

A jet-black exoskeleton consumed the boy’s entire body, his face hidden beneath armor-like koukaku. A dark crimson sheen flickered across its surface, leaving only his eyes exposed—glowing an intense, menacing red.

His height had grown under the kagune’s influence, towering at nearly three or four meters, almost twice the size of an average man.

Two crimson, scythe-like appendages extended from the exoskeleton on his shoulders, glistening as though dripping blood.

“What... is this monster?”

(End of chapter)