Konoha's Mission Master

"I'm sorry, Toshiro."

Golden arcs of electricity instantly enveloped his entire body, and in the blink of an eye, his speed had reached its limit. A series of golden afterimages appeared behind Yakumo before finally dissipating into golden arcs of electricity.

An epic battle erupted in an arena where no one was watching.

"Heaven and earth share the same phenomena."

Facing the enemy's attack, Toshiro drew his Hyōrinmaru to defend himself. As his strongest ice-type Zanpakutō was unsheathed, the surrounding temperature dropped rapidly, and dense snowflakes fell from the sky.

Clang... The two weapons clashed.

The fine blue lines on the surface of the demon gradually spread outwards, eventually forming a complex pattern on the blade, forcing Toshiro back several steps.

I've seen this pattern before; it's a spell-breaking incantation from the game!

[Hint: Entry breaking triggered!]

To Yakumo's surprise, the game system recognized the Zanpakuto as an energy defense, and golden flames instantly ignited on the blade. Toshiro was gradually overwhelmed by Yakumo.

What Yakumo didn't know was that Zanpakuto were the materialization of the Shinigami's own soul, and could therefore be considered as energy creations.

"Shikai!"

"Sit upright in the frosty heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"

The cold air gradually spread outwards, and blue ice marks gradually covered Toshiro's right hand holding the sword. The cold air transformed into wind, which was like tiny sharp blades, brushing across Yakumo's body.

Yakumo's fighting spirit gradually rose...

"Eternal Sleep Mist!"

The leaden-gray mist spread and clashed with the icy domain. Toshiro heard the howl of an unknown monster, a shrill and evil sound that triggered his deepest memories.

—Illusory.

"Swastika!"

"Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!"

Blue ice wings gradually unfolded and spread outwards, the ice ridges at the tips of the wings were as sharp and ferocious as blades, and a roaring ice dragon coiled and spiraled upwards along the right arm, and three ice lotus flowers bloomed.

"How...how did it suddenly unleash its full power?"

Puzzled, Yakumo gradually increased the speed of his sword swings. The surrounding ice spikes and frigid winds affected Yakumo's offensive steps, but he calmly cut through the ice spikes and quickly rushed towards the enemy.

The dragon swayed, using its massive tail to block Yakumo's advance, while Toshiro's wings unleashed a dense barrage of ice shards, causing the ice lotus flowers behind him to wither and fall.

"Supreme Blade - Rebellion!"

Hundreds of icicles were completely severed, and Yakumo continued forward.

"A Burial of Flowers in an Icy Sky!"

Dense snowflakes fell from the sky, and in Yakumo's perception, those snowflakes contained a terrifying chill that could freeze a person into an ice sculpture.

Yakumo, however, had already devised a strategy to deal with the situation.

"Instant Light!"

In the blink of an eye, he was out of the snow-covered area. Toshiro looked puzzled; it seemed that his enemy could perfectly counter every attack he made, breaking his moves with minimal effort.

"A thousand-year-old ice prison!"

Before Yakumo, a massive pillar of ice rose, reaching a height of fifty meters between them, gradually ascending like a row of cold tombstones. Yakumo swiftly weaved through the gaps in the ice pillar, moving at an incredible speed, like a solitary traveler in a frozen world.

Before him, ice dragons tens of meters long had formed a defense.

"Ice Dragon Guardian".

The scales stood upright like triangular blades. The surrounding temperature had already reached below zero. Yakumo did not stop at all and gripped the Demon-Subduing Blade tightly with both hands.

Golden flames burned on the blade…

This is a fleeting moment.

With a whoosh, Toshiro's strongest defense was severed. The massive body of the blue ice dragon exploded upon impact, turning into shattered blue crystals that reflected a near-seven-colored light.

But he did not wait to die. In fact, although Toshiro always used large areas of ice to finish off his opponents, as a genius, his swordsmanship must be at least at the master level.

The two were like two peerless swordsmen determining the final victor. Their sword energy was unrestrained, and their sharp strikes left several-meter-long sword marks on the ground. Between battles, Yakumo kept an eye on the speed at which the ice lotus behind Toshiro withered.

"Instantaneous light, cleaving the void, opening the heavens, reversal..."

Yakumo's moves flowed seamlessly, constantly pushing forward and suppressing Toshiro's counterattack rhythm, while the surrounding mist also weakened Toshiro's counterattack power.

At this moment, only a lotus flower remained behind Toshiro.

Golden flames ignite, the final battle is about to begin.

"This time... I'm not planning to lose."

The golden blade energy gradually wove into a net, and the surrounding area was gradually filled with golden arcs of electricity. Toshiro tried his best to defend, but in the end, he still revealed an opening, and his right arm, which was holding the sword, was directly cut with a deep wound that exposed the bone.

Those golden blade nets sealed off the enemy's offensive and defensive methods, especially Yakumo's close-range, deadly slashes, leaving Toshiro no time to create a large area of ​​ice for defense.

One minute later, Yakumo killed Toshiro.

As the ice gradually melted, Toshiro's corpse became increasingly transparent, and the energy within his body gradually gathered in mid-air, hovering in front of Yakumo.

Arena, second level cleared!

PS: Requesting monthly votes.

Chapter 187 Intelligence Boost, Wood Release Acquired

arena.

"It's a pity I can no longer protect Hinamori."

Toshiro uttered a murmur before he died.

He's quite the romantic.

The invisible, transparent energy within Toshiro's body converged in mid-air to form a milky-white energy source.

Under the influence of this light source, Yakumo felt his mind gradually calm down, and no more restless waves rose in his heart.

Congratulations to the player for obtaining: Heart of the Soul.

'Heart of the Soul: After fusion, it increases the player's intelligence attribute and greatly enhances the player's resistance to illusions, allowing them to easily find truth within falsehood.'

'Integration' or 'Collection'

Yakumo taps lightly, "Merge".

A transparent chain pierced Yakumo's brain, and an invisible, warm energy gradually spread. This energy was very neutral and peaceful, like pure soul power, and was absorbed by Yakumo without much resistance.

This process was not painful at all; on the contrary, it was somewhat blissful. Yakumo could clearly feel that some power that was growing in his mind was rapidly increasing.

The brain... a certain constraint suddenly shattered.

A dozen minutes later, the fusion was complete.

Congratulations, player! Your Intelligence attribute has increased by 2.3 points.

Intelligence: 47.9 → 50.2

[Note: Congratulations to the player for breaking the fourth extreme value in Intelligence. The player has gained a significant increase in Mental Resistance and Learning Ability.]

Yakumo was amused…

Breaking through the limits of his intelligence attribute by using the Soul Heart directly saved him two Grandmaster Breakthrough Scrolls, which is equivalent to saving Yakumo 40000 gold coins.

"What a steal!"

With a clear mind and bright eyes, the world is more beautiful than ever before.

Freebies are intoxicating.

Yakumo stepped onto the third arena.

As light and shadow shifted, in the center of the arena, a burly and imposing samurai drew his twin swords and watched Yakumo warily.

"A circle is endless and without curves."

"The circle is infinite and without confusion."

"Two Heavens, One Style!"

"To live in the face of death, to never give up."

This time, the opponent is the legendary great swordsman.

Miyamoto Musashi!

The next second, three sword beams, each nearly a hundred meters long, attacked Yakumo, their bodies covered in golden arcs of electricity.

Yakumo also used the flying slash technique to unleash a sword aura. The two sword auras collided in mid-air, kicking up clouds of dust and debris. The two did not use any fancy techniques and directly engaged in close combat.

"So heavy..."

Yakumo did not detect any energy within Miyamoto Musashi's body, meaning that this great swordsman could unleash a sword aura capable of cleaving mountains and splitting rivers solely through his physical body and swordsmanship. This clash between the two was merely a test.

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

The four weapons clashed, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Miyamoto Musashi's face showed interest. He hadn't expected that there were other types of dual-sword techniques besides Niten Ichi-ryu.

"Junior... what's your name?"

"Jing Yayun".

"What a great name!" Miyamoto Musashi exclaimed.

"What's so good about it?" Yakumo asked.

A look of surprise flashed across Miyamoto Musashi's eyes, and he suddenly exerted his strength.

Ding…

Yakumo was forced back, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with surprise. Just now, when the two were fiercely fighting, he had not noticed the momentum of Miyamoto Musashi's attack at all, but he had unleashed an attack that was difficult for him to defend against.

It's as if the instinct developed over many years is what allows one to wield the knife.

"Severing All Thoughts"