Lucifer adjusted the grip of the Void-Seeker as it rested on his back, the matte-charcoal blade feeling like a natural extension of his spine.
He looked at the three leaf-nin—Shinobi who lived and died by the mission—and saw an opportunity.
"I don't care about your politics,"
Lucifer said, his voice flat and devoid of the 'civilian' fear they expected.
"But I know you're at war. You have dead men on your borders and enemies at your throat. I'm a Ronin. I'm looking for a contract, not a handout."
Lucifer could tell the time line he was in. The system gave information directly into his brain.
The lead ninja, a veteran Chunin named Shibi, narrowed his eyes. He noticed Lucifer wasn't sweating.
Despite the "dormant" chakra network, the boy's breathing was so deep and controlled it was almost silent.
"The Third Great Shinobi War isn't a playground for wandering swordsmen,"
Shibi warned.
"But... we are stretched thin. If you're as good as that blade suggests, the Recruitment Office might have a use for 'expendable' contractors."
"Lead the way,"
Lucifer replied.
Walking through the gates of the Hidden Leaf was a stark contrast to the golden halls of Asgard.
The air was thick with the scent of charcoal, medicinal herbs, and the heavy tension of a village on a war footing.
Wounded Shinobi were being carried toward the hospital, and even the children were training with a grim intensity.
Lucifer was led to a drab building near the outskirts—the Foreign Mercenary Bureau.
It was a place for those who weren't born of the Leaf but were willing to bleed for their coin.
A scarred administrator looked up from a stack of casualty reports.
"Name and specialty?"
"Lucifer. Close-quarters combat and infiltration,"
Lucifer said, his Fundamental Insight scanning the room. He could see the chakra flow of every person in the building; most were dim, but the guards were like lanterns in the dark.
"We've heard that before,"
The administrator grunted.
"Standard contract for Ronin: D and C-rank missions only until you prove you won't turn cloak. Pay is in Ryō."
[System Notification: Currency Exchange Enabled]
[1 Ryō = $0.50]
"I'm not here for the money,"
Lucifer said, his eyes locking onto a specific scroll on the 'B-Rank' board—a mission to intercept a supply line from the Land of Earth.
"I'm here for the high-risk zones. Put me on the front lines."
Within forty-eight hours, Lucifer was deployed to the border of the Land of Grass.
His "unit" consisted of two other mercenaries—thugs with basic chakra control—and a Leaf Jonin supervisor who was there more to watch them than to help.
They were ambushed at midnight.
Four Iwa (Stone) Shinobi dropped from the canopy, their hands blurring through signs.
"Earth Style: Mud Overturn!"
The ground beneath the mercenaries liquefied.
The thugs panicked, their weak chakra failing them. But Lucifer didn't need chakra to move.
He kicked off a tree trunk before the mud could trap him.
He moved so fast he became a blur.
"What is that speed?!"
The Iwa ninja gasped, reaching for a kunai.
Lucifer didn't unsheathe his sword yet.
He wanted to test his Hakai No Ken on these energy-users.
He appeared in front of the lead Iwa ninja, his fist glowing with a faint, concentrated heat—pure Ki, not chakra.
"Fist of Destruction!"
Lucifer's punch bypassed the ninja's stone-skin jutsu, hitting the chest with the weight of a freight train.
CRACK.
The Iwa ninja was launched through three trees, his internal organs pulverized.
[Chakra Network Stimulation: 10/10 -> 15/15]
[Note: Using Ki in a high-density Chakra world is forcing your pathways to widen!]
The remaining three ninjas hesitated. This wasn't a civilian. This was a monster in a human's skin.
"Void-Layered Strike,"
Lucifer whispered.
He didn't strike the air; he struck the space between them. The localized vacuum caused the ninjas to stumble, their lungs seizing. In that second of weakness, Lucifer finally drew the Void-Seeker.
A single, charcoal-black arc of light swept through the clearing.
An hour later, the Leaf Jonin supervisor stepped out from the shadows, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He looked at the four dead Iwa ninjas—all of them mid-level Chunin—and then at Lucifer, who was calmly cleaning his blade with a piece of cloth.
"You... you didn't use a single jutsu,"
The Jonin muttered.
"You move like a ghost."
"I told you,"
Lucifer said, feeling the "pipes" of his chakra network starting to throb with a dull, aching heat. "I'm just a traveler."
[Objective Complete: Survive First Engagement]
[System Funds: $3,225,000 + 10,000 Ryō ($5,000)]
[Chakra Capacity: 25 / 25]
[Fundamental Insight: Mastery of 'Basic Body Flicker' observed and copied.]
Lucifer felt the power of this world beginning to seep into him. It was different from the martial arts of his previous training; it was more fluid, more explosive.
But he knew he was far from the top.
He had seen the "energy giants" in his Insight—men like Minato Namikaze or the Sannin.
.....
[email protected]/phelio
Currently at chapter 131
....
*Future World*
High School of the dead
High School DxD
Bleach
Solo leveling