64 – Road to Ninja (1)
“Robin.”
Orphe’s face appeared. It was a mixture of worry and anger.
“It’s a familiar ceiling.”
Is this our house?
I’ve lost a lot of blood, so I was a bit delirious, but it seems like I made it home safely.
“If I had arrived a little later, I could have died.”
There is a hint of bitterness in his voice. He must be incredibly angry.
“I see.”
“I should have discussed it with you. What if we had gone straight to the mansion without saying anything?”
“I told Tribou.”
“Are you joking right now?”
“Oh, no. It’s just like that.”
What’s wrong? Why are you so scared?
“…You’re my benefactor.”
“…”
“You’re also the master who taught me how to fight.”
I quietly listened.
“You’re also a precious… friend.”
I do want to have some ramen.
“That person almost died today. I almost knew nothing.”
How good would it be to have a sip of hot soup…?
“I see.”
“Do you know why I’m angry?”
Then I can get up right away without pretending.
“Okay.”
I need some broth made from pig bones.
“…Then it’s settled. Rest well for a few days.”
“What about the situation outside?”
Since Byeon Geom-gyeong, the leader of the city, died, the order maintenance group must be in chaos.
“Nothing happened.”
…Or simply staying quiet as if nothing had happened to prevent any confusion.
The Order of Maintaining Order chose the latter option.
“Hmm.”
By the way, it’s boring just lying in bed like this.
“Aren’t you having strange thoughts?”
Orphe, who was sitting on a chair next to me, reading a book, glared at me.
Was he looking at my face instead of the book? That’s getting a bit obsessive.
“Byeon Geom-gyeong. He was incredibly strong.”
I have to act as if I’m seriously considering it.
“That’s right. He was praised as a modern-day hero.”
“That guy called Martabju a monster.”
“The Crimson Whale, Martabju… How strong could he be?”
If luck hadn’t been on my side, I would have died, not Byeon Geom-gyeong.
Of course, luck is also a skill. But luck is not something that explodes like the Wi-Fi at a bus terminal in South Korea.
Luck is a bastard that appears as rarely as two pieces of kelp in an instant noodle cup.
It’s unreasonable to trust and believe in it completely.
“I need to get stronger.”
“You don’t need to think about that right now. Focus on recovering.”
Orphe spoke firmly like a pumpkin.
“How much stronger can I become?”
“…What do you mean?”
“To become even stronger than now, how much time will I need?”
“…What are you planning?”
Good. Orpheus took the bait.
“You know what we obtained from the mine last time.”
“No way.”
Orpheus’ eyes widened in surprise. Yes, it was true.
“I want to meet the Observer again. This might be the last chance when it’s difficult to even exercise.”
More accurately, I want to meet the Demon-Nazi Union with the Devil Hitler, but that’s the gist of it.
“No, you need to rest.”
Ah, really. He doesn’t listen until the end.
“Orpheus, what did you just say?”
“Huh?”
“You said he’s a precious and friendly benefactor.”
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…”
It felt like I heard him mutter, “Didn’t hear it,” or something.
“It’s a desperate request from someone like that. Think about it again. That Transcendent Martial Artist is as strong as a monster. Imagine having a long battle with someone like him. The surroundings will be completely destroyed. In the end, the people will suffer.”
“You are more important to me than the people.”
“To minimize the damage, I have to become overwhelmingly stronger. This is the last chance.”
I couldn’t even flick my fingers, so I just raised my head slightly.
“I have to fulfill my duty. I am a disciple of the Buddha and a runaway ninja.”
I shot a laser-like gaze filled with determination.
Please… please let it work!
“Even if I say I can’t do it here, I’ll eventually do it.”
It was a statement that exuded a strong sense of determination, but oh well.
“Because that’s who I am.”
With that, Orpheus stood up from his seat.
It was a split second decision to bring the guardian artifact covered in amulets.
“I asked Tribore, and he said that once the amulets are removed, they can’t be attached again.”
“This is my last chance.”
“So please think carefully one more time. You might never wake up again, or you might be taken over.”
“Okay. Give it to me already.”
“…You’re not listening to me.”
I received the artifact from Orpheus.
“That’s impossible. You’re my favorite person. The one I can entrust my life to.”
As I spoke, Orpheus’s eyes, which were lowered to the ground, slowly rose.
There is no one else in the world, both on Earth and in this other world, whom I have had as many conversations with as Orpheus.
The so-called best friend in the other world.
“Don’t worry too much and keep practicing with the Golden Spear. I’ll be back soon.”
I tore open the talisman.
***
What unfolded before my eyes was an endless darkness.
“hehehe… “
In the distance, I could hear a woman crying.
“Why, why did you do this?”
Her voice became clearer and approached me.
“What nonsense. Speak the subject.”
Damn, this is irritating.
“567.”
Suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared in front of me.
It had swollen eyes, which were either filled with tears or swollen like buns. I couldn’t tell.
What the hell?
“I loved you. I thought you were the only person who could understand my loneliness.”
“Where is the damn Hitler?”
Clearly, some kind of low-budget porn was being played.
“I dreamt of us being partners. I thought you, born strong and misunderstood by fools, were the perfect match for me…”
“What about the armored saurus?”
“But you heartlessly killed me. I didn’t do anything to harm you… I just wanted you…”
“Can an undead samurai be created again?”
“567…. Now I understand. You weren’t the lonely genius I thought you were. Just a delusional lunatic. That’s who you are!”
Kakkashi created a puff of smoke and charged at me.
“Why do you have my gobou? Again.”
I quickly subdued him and took away the gobou.
“It’s the sword my father passed down to me. Don’t touch it carelessly.”
Of course, the father I mentioned is not the mountain-powered gorilla.
I was referring to my paternal uncle who exists somewhere in this universe.
“This is too much… too much…”
Kakkashi, with his face covered, whimpered.
As his crying grew louder, Kakkashi started to multiply.
He’s multiplying?
“Sniff… Sniff…”
“I feel like eating takoyaki.”
I couldn’t just use my precious skills on a ghost with no substance, so I held back.
“Bring me the demon Hittler.”
“Huuh… Huuuh… Haaah! hahahahaha!”
The crying Kakkashis suddenly burst into laughter like they’ve gone mad.
“Then you’ll grow hair on your butthole.”
“hahahaha! hahahahaha! hehehe!”
The real eyes of all the Kakkashis turned towards me.
“Shin Noh-bin. That’s right?”
The voice of Kakkashi speaks my real name… I understand.
“You’ve come, Porno.”
“Por-Penada. I was reading your memories until you came back.”
Hundreds of Kakkashi speak simultaneously. It’s really tiring.
“I have an interesting fact to share…!”
Clearly, it’s an interesting fact that only he finds amusing.
“Isn’t it about time we bring in Hitler?”
“Traveler from Earth, have you ever met Velka-Tuña there?”
“And who the hell is that?”
Why do they only speak words I can’t understand?
“Have you ever experienced any strange phenomena in the Jukai Forest?”
“I just woke up from a nap.”
“…It seems words won’t do the trick.”
One of the Kakkashi waves his hand.
A black screen appears and suddenly, a video starts playing.
It shows me lying in a sleeping bag. It’s an image from when I was on Earth.
– Why are you alone in the eerie forest, my child? Ihihihi.
A Japanese woman in a kimono was saying something in my ear.
I don’t remember such a memory.
“Why are you showing me distorted memories to confuse me?”
“…Bellka-Tuna, who found you there, believed that if you could withstand the mental attacks of the Observer, you could be trained as a powerful sewer.”
“What?”
“Bellka-Tuna wanted to bring you back to this planet as a host. But because your mental barrier was too strong, it would take time to turn you into a host. So, they infiltrated your grandfather’s soul.”
“What are you saying?”
The image of my grandfather appears on the screen.
– Pathetic creature, surrender your body.
“No… Our Norbin… No… Get lost… You bastard…!”
My grandfather writhed on the floor in agony. I was watching it all.
– Do not resist, mortal.
“Get lost… Devil Satan… Get lost…!”
“…”
Was my grandfather suffering from dementia?
“Bellka-Tuna was still a young entity with weak control. It was even difficult for them to subdue just one old man.”
Por-Fena continued speaking.
“Your grandfather resisted relentlessly and pushed himself to death to avoid surrendering. In the end, Bellka-Tuna’s plan to brainwash you by their side failed.”
“…”
“But, an opportunity suddenly came one day.”
Crash! Boom!
The screen suddenly changed, showing my body being hit by a car and flying into the air.
Ah, this is it. The reason why I ended up crossing over to this other world.
“Huh? Huh? Student! Are you okay?”
The delinquent comes out of the car to check on me, and I swing my right arm and grab onto the utility pole.
“When the body is damaged and the soul becomes unstable, it becomes the perfect condition to extract only the soul and send it to another planet. Velka-Tuna saw this as an opportunity.”
A ghostly woman in a kimono, floating in the air, swings her arm.
Rumble. Crash!
Lightning strikes my body.
“That’s how Velka-Tuna achieved their goal. To summon a powerful soul to this planet.”
The screen changes, showing the day I entered 567’s body.
The real soul of 567, a white object, was being absorbed by the kimono woman, Velka-Tuna.
“We believed that by turning such a being into a host, we could drive out the Matapju who hinder our return.”
As I became 567, I shout out the status window. The bald instructor rushes towards me to strike.
“First, I planned to establish your identity and then take you over after filtering out impurities.”
The screen shows the day I slept in Mapletown.
“But Velka-Tuna didn’t know. That you are someone who possesses an even stronger mental barrier than they could ever imagine, perhaps even one of the most powerful in the universe…!”
Velka-Tuna, who infiltrated my soul, screams.
“Everything happens for a reason. I investigated on my own why your mental barrier is so powerful.”
Por-Fena chuckles.
“And I found out.”
The screen shows my elementary school days.
– Okay, Nobin. What’s your future dream?
– To become a runaway ninja!
– …What? Stop joking and tell me seriously.
“To be a presence like you!”
The screen moved urgently and suddenly filled with space.
“I have traveled through countless galaxies and arrived on this planet.”
A massive being of light loomed over the universe.
“I am one of the great Five Spirits, an explorer, a designer, an architect, a pioneer.”
The being of light landed on a planet and settled.
“Countless intelligent beings revered and worshipped me.”
The screen flickered and went dark.
“What are you?”
The screen came back on, showing the middle school I used to attend.
And there, two kids were in the midst of a fight.
“Stop fighting!”
I rushed over from a distance to intervene.
“Oh, Shin Nobin, what are you up to again?”
“You idiot, you ruined the whole fight.”
“Someone please separate them.”
“Don’t go near them. They have a homemade spear and a repair knife. They might throw it at any moment.”
– Why bring that kind of thing to school?
– Don’t try to understand. Just ignore it.
– Jimin got slapped and lost a tooth, and now he’s scared.
– Hey, Hakju is coming. Looks like that jerk called him.
“A monster that no one can understand?”
Kakkashi, Pohr-Pena, looks at me and laughs.
It wasn’t just one, but all the Kakkashi were laughing.
“Shin Nobein. A being trapped in a self-made false abyss. Isn’t it time to wake up from this dream?”
hehehe-
The laughter of hundreds of Kakkashi echoes through the dark space.
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“I saw it clearly.”
“Hmm?”
“So?”
“…What?”
“Where’s my demon Hitler?”
This jerk made him say it four times.