# Land of Demons
In a vast natural chamber carved deep within the mountain's heart, Kaede jolted awake. Her chest heaved as she gasped for air, each breath feeling insufficient. A violent coughing fit seized her, and terror painted her features.
Heavy footsteps echoed as the shrine guards burst through the entrance.
"Your Highness! What's wrong?" The lead guard's eyes swept the chamber while his men spread out, searching for threats.
Kaede steadied her breathing. "It's nothing. Just a nightmare. You can go."
The guard hesitated. "Are you certain, Your Highness?"
"Yes. Leave me."
Kaede watched the guards leave. She stayed quiet for a while, unsure what to think. As the priestess of the Land of Demons, her duty was to seal Moryo the demon. Her ancestors had done this for years. But there was no mention of anything like what she experienced today. She had the ability to see brief moments of the future. What she saw was unbelievable - Moryo would escape, only to be caught by a man who called himself the demon king.
Though it sounded impossible, that's what her vision showed.
---
On the outskirts of the Land of Demons, a man walked slowly through the night. His eyes were completely black with golden pupils that had small red vertical lines. Across each pupil was another horizontal red line. The golden glow in the darkness gave him a demonic charm.
Kenji had come to the Land of Demons to capture Moryo. Mōryō was a spirit attempting to conquer the world and create his "Thousand Year Kingdom." He wasn't a physical being but a formless entity made of darkness, which was key to his power. He was said to be a manifestation of a divine being's dark half, with the priestess's light being his opposite.
Kenji wanted to capture Moryo for its chakra. He had always been impressed by Ancor Vantian from the anime - a mobile fortress that served as the base for the Land of the Sky. But Ancor Vantian hadn't been created yet. As far as Kenji knew, it was built during the Second Great Ninja War.
Kenji wanted to recreate this flying fortress. Now that Tobirama knew about him and some of his abilities, proper measures would surely be taken. It wouldn't be long before his base in Kusagakure was exposed. Having a flying fortress as their base would be ideal.
The fortress was powered by a parasitic creature called the Zero-Tails, which absorbed "dark chakra" and negative emotions to fuel the fortress's movement and weapons. But the Zero-Tails was artificial and hadn't been created yet. He needed a replacement. What better replacement than Moryo, a formless entity made of darkness? That's why he came to the Land of Demons.
---
Two days later, Kenji waited inside an inn for his food. It had been a long time since he lived like a normal person. There was urgency now, but he wanted to enjoy his visit to the Land of Demons before capturing Moryo. After all, he had transmigrated to a fictional world. If he didn't enjoy its beauty, what was the point?
As he waited, a young girl approached with a plate of food. Suddenly a rough-looking man crashed into her.
The girl fell to the floor. The surroundings became quiet. Some people eating at the inn whispered among themselves.
"Hey, isn't that Kenta? The little girl's in trouble."
"Who's Kenta?"
"You don't know? He's a mercenary hired by Lord Gōriki. I heard he's really brutal. He beat up a mine worker just because the guy fainted during work. Some say he's a rogue ninja from Iwagakure."
"Sounds like a big shot then. Poor girl..."
As everyone talked, Kenta grabbed the young girl by her hair.
"You little brat, you damaged my belongings. Look what you did - you dropped soup all over me. Didn't your parents teach you manners?"
The girl cried in pain, too scared to speak.
Hearing the commotion, the inn owner rushed out. Seeing his daughter held by the thug, he cried out.
"Aiko!" He ran toward Kenta and fell to his knees.
"My lord, please spare my daughter. I'll pay for whatever damage she caused. She's just a kid who made a mistake. Please spare her."
"You want to pay me? Seems you're rich. Fine then, give me 300,000 ryo and I'll spare your daughter."
"My lord, I don't have that much money. Please have mercy."
"Then sell your inn and land, collect the money, and take your daughter back. I'll give you three days."
The inn owner started crying. Kenta began leaving, dragging the girl with him. She was crying in agony.
Watching all this, Kenji was surprised. Since transmigrating, he had always been busy with his own affairs. The only time he spent with others was in Uzushiogakure, and even then he was always busy learning fuinjutsu. So watching this scene was somewhat surprising.
As he saw Kenta dragging the girl away, he stood up and walked toward him.
Seeing him approach Kenta, nearby people were shocked. Some whispered, "Don't try to be a hero, mister. You'll make things worse for yourself and the inn owner."
Kenji ignored them and grabbed Kenta's shoulder. Kenta looked back angrily and shouted, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
He tried to push Kenji's hand away but couldn't budge it. Before he could say anything, Kenji said, "I'd like to pay for whatever damages the girl caused."
Kenta was confused but kept trying to move Kenji's hand. Seeing the situation, he said, "Okay, then come with me to our base."
Kenji agreed. Kenta released the girl. The inn owner rushed to his daughter, hugging her and thanking Kenji.
Kenji just nodded and followed Kenta.
When Kenji left with Kenta, the people at the inn murmured, "That guy's going to die by Kenta's hand. Did you see Kenta's face? He was furious."
---
Kenji reached Kenta's base. Kenta called out, "Guys, we have a special guest. How about we entertain him?"
Hearing this, people who looked like bandits and mercenaries came out.
"Yo Kenta, what kind of entertainment does he want?" one asked with a smirk.
"The special kind. Make sure he gets enough of it." Kenta started entering the base.
The mercenaries surrounded Kenji. "Are you ready for the show, mister?"
Kenji let out a laugh. Since transmigrating, this was the first time he'd been underestimated like this.
"Well, I'm ready. But I doubt you guys will be able to satisfy me."
The mercenaries looked at each other and grinned. One of them, a large man with scars across his face, stepped forward. "Big words for someone who's about to become our entertainment."
"Listen here, pretty boy," another mercenary said, pulling out a rusty knife. "We've done this dance before. Rich travelers like you think you can buy your way out of anything. But money won't help you here."
A third mercenary cracked his knuckles. "Kenta's given us permission to have some fun. Been a while since we had a good beating to hand out."
The scarred man gestured to his companions. "See, we're not just going to rough you up a little. We're going to break every bone in your body, then sell you to the slave traders. They pay good money for healthy young men."
"And if you survive the beating," the knife-wielder added, "you'll spend the rest of your life in chains. Might even end up in the mines where that worker Kenta beat up works."
"Or worked," another mercenary laughed. "Heard he didn't make it through the night after Kenta was done with him."
They continued talking, describing in detail what they planned to do. How they'd start with his fingers, then move to his arms. How they'd make sure he stayed conscious through all of it. The more they talked, the more excited they became.
Kenji listened patiently, his expression unchanged. When they finally finished their threats, he spoke calmly. "Are you done talking?"
The scarred mercenary sneered. "What, getting scared now? Too late for that."
"Actually," Kenji said, "I was just curious if you had anything interesting to say. Turns out you don't."
Before anyone could react, Kenji moved. His hand shot out and grabbed the scarred mercenary's throat. The man's eyes widened as he felt the grip - impossibly strong, like being caught in a steel trap.
"My turn," Kenji said simply.
He squeezed, and the mercenary's neck snapped with a wet crack. The body dropped to the ground.
The remaining mercenaries stared in shock. "What the hell—"
The knife-wielder lunged at Kenji, but found his blade caught between two fingers. Kenji's other hand grabbed the man's wrist and twisted. The sound of breaking bones echoed through the courtyard as the mercenary screamed.
"Eleven more," Kenji noted, looking at the remaining men.
They scrambled for weapons - swords, clubs, anything they could find. But Kenji was already moving among them. His body began to change, flesh extending into whip-like appendages that moved with inhuman speed.
One mercenary swung a club at Kenji's head, only to watch in horror as a flesh whip wrapped around his arm and yanked. The limb tore from his shoulder in a spray of blood.
Another tried to run but found his legs bound by barbed tendrils. He fell face-first into the dirt as the barbs tightened, cutting through muscle and bone.
"Please, we give up!" one of them shouted, dropping his sword.
Kenji paused and looked at him. "Give up? But we were just getting started."
A whip shot out and pierced the mercenary's chest, lifting him off the ground. Blood poured from his mouth as he hung there, impaled.
The remaining men pressed against the walls, paralyzed with fear. They had expected to torture one man. Instead, they were watching their friends die in ways they'd never imagined.
One mercenary wet himself as Kenji's golden eyes fixed on him. Another was mumbling prayers, though he wasn't sure which god would listen to someone like him.
Kenji methodically finished them off, each death different from the last. Some were quick - a snapped neck, a pierced heart. Others took longer as his whips coiled around them, slowly crushing the life out of their bodies.
When it was over, twelve corpses lay scattered across the courtyard. Blood soaked into the ground, and the smell of death hung heavy in the air.
"Now then," Kenji said, looking toward the main building where Kenta had disappeared. "Time for the main event."
---
The door burst open as Kenta emerged, his face pale. He had heard the screams and silence that followed.
"What did you do to my men?" he demanded, though his voice shook slightly.
"I entertained them," Kenji replied. "They seemed to enjoy it."
Kenta's hands moved through seals. "Earth Style: Rock Bullet Barrage!"
Chunks of stone shot toward Kenji like projectiles. Kenji didn't dodge, letting them hit his body. The rocks shattered on impact, leaving him unharmed.
"Impossible," Kenta breathed.
"You're more skilled than your men," Kenji observed. "A rogue ninja, as advertised. This should be slightly more interesting."
Kenta's hands blurred through more seals. "Earth Style: Rock Pillar Prison!"
Stone pillars erupted around Kenji, but his flesh whips sliced through them easily. Rock debris scattered as he stepped through the remains.
Desperate, Kenta charged forward for close combat. He was fast, his fists enhanced with chakra, but Kenji was faster. Every punch was blocked or deflected. When Kenta finally landed a hit on Kenji's ribs, his knuckles shattered against flesh harder than steel.
Kenji caught Kenta's broken hand in his grip. "Let me show you something special."
His left eye flared with an ominous light. "Eternal Eclipse."
Kenta's world dissolved into agony. The genjutsu trapped him in endless cycles of burning torment, making him experience what demons felt under direct sunlight. His flesh bubbled and charred, his vision turned white with pain, only to heal and burn again.
Kenta's screams echoed across the compound as he collapsed, his body convulsing. The technique stretched minutes into hours in his mind. His sanity began to crack under the relentless torture.
"You wanted to entertain me," Kenji said, watching Kenta writhe on the ground. "Consider this my return gift."
When he finally released the genjutsu, Kenta lay gasping, his eyes vacant. A flesh whip pierced his heart, ending his suffering.
Kenji looked around the blood-soaked courtyard with satisfaction. Bodies were scattered everywhere, and the ground was stained red.
"Now then," he murmured, turning toward the mountain peak where Moryo was sealed. "Time to collect what I came for."