Chapter 5: The "Sealless Ninjutsu" Only I Can See
"Nine hundred ninety-eight... nine hundred ninety-nine..."
On the riverbank of the abandoned village, Yahiko was stripped to the waist, and every sweat-drenched push-up was accompanied by the satisfying soreness of tearing muscles.
The gruesome, centipede-like stitched scar on his chest violently rose and fell with his movements. It was the brand of betrayal, and his ticket back from Hell.
"One thousand!"
Yahiko stood up, exhausted, looking at his skinny reflection in the river.
Too weak.
Compared to Diavolo's meticulously forged, steel-like physique, this body was a fragile chicken. Even if his mind held a complete set of combat experience, it was useless if his body couldn't keep up.
"Time to try some Ninjutsu."
Yahiko took a deep breath of the damp, cold air, clumsily performed the hand seals, and mobilized his pitiful amount of Chakra.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Pfft—
A stream of liquid that could barely be called "water" sprayed from his mouth, gently hitting the rotten wood on the opposite bank without even scratching the bark.
Yahiko's mouth twitched. That's it? I can pee farther than that!
Undeterred. He continued.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A water band, resembling a loach, rose from the river, splashed onto the ground with a splat, and turned into a puddle.
"Water Release: Water Pillar!"
Four thin water columns rose, looking like fountain jets. Forget defense, the water pressure wasn't even enough for a shower.
"As expected, this is Hell difficulty..." Yahiko plopped down onto the cobblestones, his eyes gloomy.
In a small place like Amegakure, without forbidden Ninjutsu scrolls or guidance from famous masters, trying to seek revenge against Hanzou with this level of amateur skill? He probably couldn't even defeat his gatekeeper.
In this Ninja World, where everyone is a Gundam and the Late Stage sees world destruction, this much strength makes him cannon fodder.
"Hoo..."
Yahiko grabbed the Ninja blade beside him. If he couldn't be a Spellcaster, he would be a warrior.
Swish! Swish!
The blade sliced through the rain curtain.
He had to admit, his previous body's swordsmanship foundation remained; the feeling of the blade in his hand was much smoother than performing hand seals. With every slash, his body's muscle memory awoke.
Just as he swung his blade at extreme speed, a crazy thought suddenly struck Yahiko's mind like lightning.
Wait.
A Stand is the materialization of spiritual energy, and Chakra is the combination of spiritual and physical energy.
The two fundamentally share the same origin!
Since I perform hand seals as slowly as a turtle, what if I use King Crimson, which has an A-rank Speed stat?
What if the Stand, invisible to ordinary people, performed the hand seals?
"King Crimson!"
Yahiko roared.
Boom!
The Void Realm twisted, and his red-and-white checkered Stand instantly appeared behind him. Those strong, powerful arms clasped together fiercely as Yahiko's will shifted slightly.
That was divine speed, impossible for the human eye to catch!
An afterimage!
He couldn't even see the afterimage clearly!
Ram—Horse—Snake—Dragon—Rat—Ox—Tiger!
A total of seven seals were completed in 0.5 seconds!
A strange sense of connection ran through his body, and the Chakra inside Yahiko surged wildly into the Stand. The small face representing Epitaph on King Crimson's forehead suddenly opened its mouth, letting out a roar seemingly from Hell.
"Water Release: Water Pillar!!"
Boom—!!!
This time, it was no longer a fountain jet.
A terrifying torrent, like a high-pressure water cannon, accompanied by a deafening roar, instantly shattered the solid wood target ten meters away!
Wood chips exploded, raining down like a blizzard in the heavy rain!
Looking at the target that had been blasted into nothingness, a morbid and fanatical smile slowly appeared on Yahiko's pale face.
"I won."
"This is the cheat specifically for me."
He didn't need a complicated Kekkei Genkai, nor did he need a Tailed Beast.
In this world where only he possesses a Stand, this Move is an unsolvable BUG!
Just imagine.
While the enemy thinks he is engaged in a close-quarters fight, fully focused on defending against Taijutsu, the invisible King Crimson standing behind him has already prepared an S-rank Ninjutsu to blast directly into their face.
And in the enemy's eyes, he didn't perform any hand seals at all!
This is truly "Instant Sealless Ninjutsu"!
"This isn't just a sneak attack..." Yahiko tightened his grip on the Ninja blade, red light flickering in his eyes. "This is a dimensionality reduction strike."
From now on, the main body will be responsible for drawing the enemy in and close combat, while the Stand handles Spell bombardment and Time Deletion.
What is a Hexagonal Warrior? This is it!
"The only drawback is the short blue bar." Yahiko sensed his instantly depleted Chakra, looked toward the depths of the distant rainforest, and licked his lips. "It looks like I need to find a few kind people and 'borrow' some Ninjutsu scrolls and resources."
...In the shadows of the dense forest a hundred meters away.
Three pairs of cold eyes were staring intently at the orange-haired figure on the riverbank.
Rain slid down the conical hats, dripping onto sharp Kunai.
"Target confirmed."
Koizumi Kazuya, the Anbu squad leader of Amegakure at the head, spoke in a voice colder than the rain: "The orange-haired one is Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki. Lord Shinda has given the order: no survivors, execute him on the spot."
"Captain, that technique he just used..." The subordinate beside him hesitated. "The power seemed a bit off, and I didn't see him perform any hand seals."
"It's probably just some sort of exploding tag trap, bluster." Koizumi Kazuya sneered, raising his right hand. "Attack! Don't give him a chance to breathe!"
Swish swish swish!
Three black shadows instantly vanished among the treetops.
At the same time.
Yahiko on the riverbank was preparing to sheath his blade.
Suddenly, a strange buzzing sound exploded in his mind.
The small face on King Crimson's forehead, the one behind him, suddenly lit up with green eyes.
Epitaph—Passively activated!
His normally clear vision instantly fast-forwarded like film footage, and a scene from ten seconds in the future was projected directly onto Yahiko's retina:
Under the gloomy sky, several massive mechanical oil-paper umbrellas were suddenly thrown into the air. Immediately, the umbrella surfaces spun, and countless Senbon poured down like heavy rain, skewering the spot where he had just been standing!
"Heh..."
Yahiko's fingers gently rubbed the cold sword hilt, a curve of mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't even turn around, merely shifting his body slightly and whispering softly toward the empty forest:
"Perfect timing."
"I was just worrying about not having a target for the new Move I learned, and you delivered yourselves right to me."
"Although your lives are cheap, using you to give this archaic Ninja World a small Stand shock... is more than enough."