Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Dark Retribution
As soon as Shin broke into the underground base, several departments in Kumo became aware of the alarm.
Shin's intrusion method had been too rough; although he had controlled the guards with his Sharingan, he hadn't disabled the security alarms.
For Shin, learning complex sealing jutsu took considerable effort. Though powerful, these techniques were difficult to master and didn't complement his fighting style. While he had attempted to study them, breaking barriers subtly was beyond his expertise.
When Shin exited the base, he was greeted by a crowd of heavily built ninjas glaring at him.
Previously, Shin might have exchanged a few words before fighting, but after witnessing the darkest depths of Kumo, he was in no mood for conversation.
Just as the leading Kumo ninja was about to speak, Shin raised his hand, and a dense black void formed in his palm, rapidly expanding. The intense gravitational pull rendered the Kumo shinobi defenseless as they were drawn into the void.
"Universal Pull - Primal Void!"
This was the first time Shin combined the Rinnegan's gravity manipulation with the Dark-Dark Fruit's power, creating a black void that left the Kumo ninja helpless.
The Rinnegan's pull complemented the Dark-Dark Fruit's absorption, adding lethality to its original Universal Pull.
In moments, the Kumo shinobi felt their chakra being sucked away like a flood, followed by their bodies. With one move, hundreds of ninjas were eradicated, and soon, shriveled remains resembling mummified figures were spat out from the void.
Drained of chakra and vitality, they were lifeless husks.
Shin's display of power had clearly poked a hornet's nest. This was the heart of Kumo, and they weren't about to let him roam unchecked.
A wave of Kumo shinobi surged toward him like disturbed ants.
But Shin, determined to teach Kumo a lesson, was undaunted. Foregoing his ninjutsu and devil fruit powers, he relied solely on his armament haki for protection, with his observational haki predicting their actions, and charged directly into the crowd.
With every punch, kick, and knee, he mowed down a Kumo shinobi, a village renowned for its taijutsu. Yet, in front of Shin, their bodies and jutsu proved as fragile as those of untrained civilians.
From Genins to Jonin, each opponent fell in a single hit. Those who hit directly were incapacitated or killed, while those who indirectly clashed with him were severely injured. Cries of pain filled the air, and dismembered limbs and severed torsos littered the ground.
The freed test subjects trailing Shin watched in shock. They had intended to assist, but seeing Shin's unrelenting assault, they realized they would only be a hindrance.
For over ten minutes, the brutal battle raged. Blood pooled on the ground, forming streams and corpses stacked into small mounds. Hundreds—if not nearly a thousand—ninja bodies lay strewn across the battlefield.
Finally, a chilling sense swept over the Kumo shinobi as they gazed upon Shin, who was drenched in blood yet unscathed.
"Is this all you've got? Where is the Fourth Raikage?" Shin wiped his face, unable to remove all the blood, and sneered in disgust.
"Damn it, Raikage and Lord Killer B have already gone to the front lines. Otherwise, you wouldn't stand a chance!" growled an aged Kumo ninja, his face tense. Shin finally understood why Raikage was absent.
"So, he's on the front lines…" Shin muttered. "Lucky for him."
Then he raised his voice, demanding, "Where did you hide the Byakugan of that girl from the Hyuga clan?"
The Kumo ninja's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Are you a Konoha ninja?"
A chilling, dark aura emanated from Shin. The Kumo ninja barely had time to react before the darkness consumed him. Moments later, the black mist faded, leaving behind only a withered corpse.
"My patience is thin. Answer my questions directly."
"Damn it, let's finish him!" Shin's taunts ignited a new wave of rage in the remaining Kumo shinobi, who charged at him in a frenzy.
However, Shin had no intention of continuing his close-quarters assault. This time, he unleashed something far more powerful.
"Wood Release—Dark Forest Emergence!"
Dark mist poured from Shin's body, creating an ominous forest of black trees that spread across a large portion of Kumo.
Shin showed no mercy as the dark forest expanded to its full range. All shinobi ensnared by the trees were instantly drained of chakra and even life force.
Had Shin not restrained himself, remembering that Kumo housed civilians and only ninja families, the entire village would have been consumed by his jutsu.
"Such strength… so overwhelming," muttered Sara, gazing at Shin's devastation of nearly half of Kumo. She looked at him in awe. "This is Kumo, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages! And yet… you…"
Sara, Shin's constant companion, was left speechless, while the freed test subjects stared at Shin as if he were a deity.
Although Shin ultimately withdrew the dark mist, Kumo had suffered severe losses. With the alarm raised, every Kumo ninja had converged to contain Shin and his group. Consequently, it was likely that nearly all Kumo shinobi stationed in the village had been slain.
Fortunately, Kumo's location in steep mountains limited the number of civilians to only the families of the ninja, unlike Konoha, where civilians coexisted with shinobi. Otherwise, Shin wouldn't have been able to carry out such a massacre.
Slowly, Shin retracted the dark mist that sustained the dark forest. Once the mist dissipated, the trees, infused with the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, withered and turned to dust.
When the dark forest faded entirely, only mummified corpses and rubble remained.