[Previously on]
For the ninja of the battlefield, the greeting between ninja is sacred and must not be disrespected. So it is written in the Kojiki.
And so, the ninja sitting on the golden high chair trembled as he stood up.
The oppressive aura from the newly born Naraku Ninja left him breathless. After all, he was the type to vent his malice on mortals, a mere scrub in reality!
"domo... Na... Naraku Ninja-san, I... I am Manba Ninja..."
"Yeeart—" 0.2 seconds after the greeting concluded, Naraku unleashed a fierce karate attack.
His crimson-black arm pierced straight through his chest, tearing out his entire heart.
"How can this be... Abah!" Unsurprisingly, faced with Naraku—born of resentment and having even absorbed the Cursed Energy granted by Schwarzer—Manba was completely unable to react to his power.
"It shouldn't... It shouldn't be like this..." For a newborn ninja to possess such power... it shouldn't be possible! Manba could only let out a series of wails.
Such a scene made Naraku laugh like a howling beast. He then glared with hatred and viciously stomped on Manba's face.
His head was crushed instantly. Manba Ninja-san became the first soul claimed by Naraku. Of course, this did not quell his rage. Naraku's goal was to kill all ninja!
"Sayonara—" Manba's body was already pulverized, but the ninja soul within it still let out a final cry before exploding and scattering.
The surrounding samurai and villagers had long since scattered and fled after Naraku appeared, leaving only wet trails on the ground. They had all lost control of their bowels.
Naraku did not pursue these mortals. His goal was clear: kill every last ninja.
"[Greeting] domo (hello), Naraku Ninja-san, I am Schwarzer desu."
"domo, Naraku Ninja desu."
Descending from the sky was something like a mechanical angel. Naraku subconsciously offered a polite greeting, then watched her warily.
But he soon relaxed, because she was not a ninja.
Having no desire for any exchange, the newborn Naraku only wanted to kill other ninja, so he turned to leave, heading in the direction of Kyoto.
Schwarzer raised her hand slightly, and Cursed Energy blocked his path. At the same time, Naraku felt a powerful force stirring within his body, a power he had never seen before, one that was not of a ninja.
"Schwarzer-san, why do you stop me?"
Naraku didn't sense any malice from her. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke. It seemed that due to the presence of Cursed Energy, he hadn't been driven completely mad by hatred.
"[Explanation] I'm quite interested in your goal, but you alone will never be able to eliminate all ninja."
"When you were born, I bestowed 'Cursed Energy' upon you. Before you leave, why not let me teach you to master its power first?"
Schwarzer was very curious to see what heights Cursed Energy could reach in Naraku's hands. That endless resentment combined with Cursed Energy was a perfect match.
"I appreciate your kindness, Schwarzer-san, but all I need is karate."
Naraku refused. He couldn't wait to go and slaughter other ninja, and he only needed karate—and only karate!
Schwarzer had anticipated this. Naraku, or rather, Ninja Slayer, had a personality that was all too easy to analyze. Therefore, persuading him was also very simple.
"[Denial] Cursed Energy isn't some strange thing. What I'm going to teach you is 'Jujutsu Karate'."
"Oh?" Upon hearing the word 'karate', Naraku was immediately interested.
But he still had to consider whether he should waste time on such a thing. And so, after hesitating for 0.000 seconds, Naraku bowed.
"Thank you very much. Please, instruct me." The capable one is the teacher. Naraku offered his respect.
Instruction that could improve his karate—this was a true master. Even Naraku would respect a master who taught him karate.
Indeed, he had misunderstood. Why couldn't Cursed Energy be karate? As long as he could master it and integrate it, there would be no problem.
In the world of Ninja Slayer, karate is not just a simple technique.
Here, karate is one's own inner power, a force that gushes forth from one's own body, life, and self—a power that separates oneself from others. There's even the existence of 'Karate Energy'.
So what is Cursed Energy? It is a power born from using one's own negative emotions as fuel.
"[Explanation] Cursed Energy can convert negative emotions into tangible power. In other words, the more negative emotion you have, the stronger your Cursed Energy becomes."
"Normally, Cursed Energy doesn't exist in this world, but the Cursed Energy I bestowed upon you is a seed. With it, you can continuously convert more Cursed Energy."
As Schwarzer spoke, she raised her hand. The sheer volume of her black Cursed Energy was so overwhelming that it formed a visible film covering her fist.
"I see. I understand completely." Naraku closed his eyes. His ninja wisdom allowed him to grasp the concept from Schwarzer's words alone.
He poured all of his hatred into that Cursed Energy. The flames of his hatred burned fiercely, transforming into immense Cursed Energy.
Schwarzer thought for a moment and put on a green monocle, an item obtained from the Culling Game previously.
The numerical value on Naraku continued to swell, quickly exceeding seven digits. Such a terrifying Cursed Energy reading. Truly powerful!
Relying on this immense Cursed Energy, the 'Cursed Technique' within him was activated. However, under his ninja mindset, it was all converted into understandable abilities.
Instant Shuriken, Superhuman Respiratory Healing, resistance to being one-shot by unseen attacks, instant shuriken release after parrying an attack...
A large number of concepts fitting the ninja stereotype solidified within him. He abandoned conventional Cursed Technique deployment, and it all turned into an effect akin to 'muscle memory'.
As long as his Cursed Energy wasn't depleted, he could keep activating them. And as long as his resentment hadn't dissipated, Cursed Energy would be generated endlessly... Thus, the ultimate cheap boss character was born.
"Zero-frame start-ups, infinite combos, input reading, a huge health pool with self-healing, internal cheats, multiple health bars... As expected of the future Ninja Slayer."
The System watched Naraku in astonishment. It had quickly identified the abilities he possessed.
"The next time we meet will probably be a thousand years from now, Naraku."
"I hope to see that you've achieved your wish by then and killed all the ninja."
Schwarzer mused that she had only given him a small helping hand. Even so, it would be difficult for him to eliminate all the ninja, but that was no longer her concern.
"I will strive to do so. See you in a thousand years."
Feeling the fundamental transformation within his body, Naraku thought for a moment before kneeling before Schwarzer, performing a true discipleship ceremony.