[You have received a new mission!]
[Mission: Defeat Bloody Bat]
[Description:
Difficulty: D
Bloody Bat may be blind, but don't let that deceive you! He's much more powerful than he looks, and his other four senses are honed sharp. Defeat him and save the Anzen father and daughter!
Reward for success: Mr. Tendō and the ninjas will notice you. Anzen Mamoru and Anzen Ritsuko will be grateful to you.
Penalty for failure: Death at Bloody Bat's hands, as well as the deaths of Anzen Mamoru and Anzen Ritsuko. If not, Mr. Tendō will be disappointed in you, and the ninjas will not trust you.]
What kind of penalty is this?! Dacheng thought, shuddering a little. So strict!!
As he charged into the fray, he wondered how something that only happened in those cheap, overrated web novels with copied and pasted plots had happened to him.
Perhaps it's the dog tags? He thought. But a system is a system! And if it lets me become OP, who am I to complain?
Dacheng decided to ponder it later and face Bloody Bat now.
He charged toward Bloody Bat and punched him in the stomach. Or at least that was what he wanted to do.
Bloody Bat quickly stepped back, dodging Dacheng's attack, and followed it up by clawing at Dacheng.
"Fool!" Bloody Bat said. "My eyes may be useless, but my other senses are superhuman! Especially my sense of hearing!"
Bloody Bat jabbed toward Dacheng's chest as if to accompany his words.
Dacheng saw a vision of the claws piercing into his chest and quickly jumped back. Wincing at this painful image, he barely dodged the attack, and a scratch on his chest armor appeared.
[-5 HP]
Yikes! Dacheng thought.
Bloody Bat began performing his Blizzard of Blood Jutsu to kill his target.
Dacheng, who had seen another vision full of pain, quickly jumped.
Dacheng managed to land a kick to the evil ninja's side, interrupting his focus. He then tried to punch Bloody Bat in the face.
Dodging, an irritated Bloody Bat performed the jutsu again.
Dacheng ran away and jumped to hide behind a nearby wall. He knew he had to be quiet. But he was getting tired, and he just wanted to go home. His chest heaved, and his breath was ragged. He clenched his fist again, readying another punch, for that was all he knew how to do.
"Number Seven, this is HQ." The woman's voice from earlier sounded in his head again. "You seem to be in trouble, so we'll try to help you. Look for the pouch on your belt."
Dacheng fumbled around and found the pouch.
"OK," he whispered, "Now what?"
"There should be a dagger inside. Use it!"
Rummaging about in the pouch, he found a double-edged dagger. It had a groove from the base of its blade to its tip. He gripped it tightly.
"Um, how?" he asked quietly.
"First, try taking a few deep breaths."
Dacheng inhaled and exhaled deeply.
Although he didn't know what was happening, his body unconsciously began to transfer its Ki into the dagger. As he did, the groove in the knife glowed red with a strange pattern.
Suddenly, a dagger-shaped flame roared to life in his clenched fist.
Hearing the fire sparking, Bloody Bat turned his head in Dacheng's direction and yelled, "I can hear you, little boy!"
Dacheng had already been feeling drained, and Bloody Bat suddenly shouting at him didn't help. And so, Dacheng did the most reasonable, natural thing - he panicked.
He hastily threw the flaming dagger toward Bloody Bat, who had just finished his jutsu again. The bloody wind and flame clashed, but one was no match for the other, and the fire dispelled the wind. The dagger hit Bloody Bat square in the chest, and he burst into red-hot flames.
[Mission completed! Mr. Tendō and the ninjas have taken notice of you. Anzen Mamoru and Anzen Ritsuko have been saved.]
[Congratulations! You have learned a new skill: Knife Throwing! You have invented a new technique: Katon no Jutsu - Dagger Bullet Ring!]
Surrounded by a ring of fire, Bloody Bat hailed his General. With his final breath, he begged the General to avenge him as his body exploded.
A scroll flew from behind a surprised Dacheng and sucked an inky black substance from Bloody Bat's body into it, leaving behind an unconscious man's body. A bat flew out of the man's shirt.
At the same time, in that dark hall in Edo Castle, one of the thirteen lit candles was suddenly extinguished.
"Curse you, Yun Dacheng!" cried the Devil Storm Sect General.
Dark Lily, watching from her master's side, gave a barely visible smirk. In all the chaos, Minister Anzen had dropped the keycard - but she had grabbed it.
Dacheng suddenly sneezed, wondering who was talking about him.
Minister Anzen and Ritsuko thanked the seven ninjas for saving them and walked off with plans to celebrate Ritsuko's birthday- and miraculous escape- in earnest.
Ritsuko gave Dacheng one final wave with a smile, utterly melting the young man's heart.
Once they were gone, the seven ninjas made their way to the top of Tokyo Tower. They all removed their masks, revealing their faces.
In order of kanji, Number One was Ichirōbei, Number Two was Rin, Number Three was Sakura, Number Four was Daichi, Number Five was Nejirō, and Number Six was Keitarō.
Dacheng was surprised to see them, but suddenly, his head felt like it was about to burst. All his strength quickly left his body. He collapsed to the floor, fast asleep.
"Well, it's no wonder," Mr. Tendō said with a sigh as he saw Dacheng sleeping soundly. "For a normal youth to suddenly use such a strange and dangerous technique, I think total exhaustion is the best-case scenario."
"The monster ninja's Gu has been successfully sealed," Ichirōbei said. "According to ninja law, it shouldn't be able to reform anymore."
"What should we do with the boy, Master?" he then asked.
"Let's bring him back home first," Mr. Tendō said, "and then decide. But for now, we rest."
And so, six ninjas and one sleeping newbie stood on Tokyo Tower, watching over the city.