Chapter 119: Taking Action
The Black Magic Cult member, shivering in the cold night air with a kunai embedded in his leg, immediately nodded profusely. He didn't know how this blond-haired man had instantly transported him from the dungeon to the middle of nowhere, but this person, with his friendly smile and dead blue eyes, was clearly someone not to be trifled with. For the sake of his own life, he didn't care one bit about loyalty.
"What is your purpose in abducting giant children?" Ren asked, his voice maintaining Minato's calm, pleasant tone.
"Slaves! We... we plan to domesticate them!" the man stammered, blood soaking his pants. "T-then... lease them to countries in need!"
"Lease?" Ren frowned, his smile not wavering. The term sounded so... corporate. He didn't quite understand what that meant.
"Yes, yes, lease!" the man said, desperate to be helpful. "Many countries are at war. Although giant children are still young, their inherent large physique and strength... once they're equipped with armor and sent to the battlefield, each one is a super warrior! Capable of fighting a thousand men!"
The Black Magic Cult member even seemed to get a little excited as he explained his vile business model. "Once they make a name for themselves, many countries will throw money at us, asking for our 'giant assets' to help them!"
When Ren heard that these bastards actually wanted to send those children—Buli, the little girl worried about clothes—to a battlefield as living siege weapons, he immediately cursed them in his heart.
'These Black Magic Cult members are indeed a bunch of beasts. Every last one of them deserves to die.'
Ren's internal fury was a stark contrast to the Fourth Hokage's gentle, smiling face. He suppressed the anger in his heart and continued to ask, "Are all the abducted giant children imprisoned there?"
"Yes! Yes! There are a total of 120 children who were abducted, and they are all imprisoned in that one dungeon. We... we plan to abduct 300 giant children before leaving this territory."
"How did you abduct the children? The ones tonight were lured out by magic."
Ren was very curious about this. He had followed those children all the way here and hadn't seen a single person controlling them. It was some kind of long-range, mass-control magic.
"It's..." The Black Magic Cult member hesitated. This was clearly information about a superior.
Pfft!
Ren, without changing his expression, directly stabbed his second kunai into the man's other leg.
"Waaahhhhhh!"
"Who is it?" Ren's smile widened slightly. "What's his name?"
"It's Mr. Teru! Mr. Teru!!" the man shrieked, tears of agony streaming down his face.
"Who is Mr. Teru?"
"Mr. Teru is a priest of our Black Magic Cult! He... he has a magical tool called the 'Hamil Flute'!"
[Akarin's Note: The "Hamil Flute" is a reference to the 'Pied Piper of Hamelin' fairytale, whose flute could lure away children and rats.]
The man gasped for breath, "Mr. Teru previously disguised himself as a bard and visited the giant villages. He played for all the children. Once they have heard the sound of the flute, if he plays it again, they will be under his control, no matter how far away they are!"
"Another flute?"
When Ren heard 'flute', he immediately remembered Lullaby, the Zeref-created demon he had dealt with not long ago. 'This thing... wouldn't also be the work of Zeref, would it?'
Ren felt that this possibility was very high. That guy always felt that he was kind-hearted, but the things he created caused huge trouble throughout the world. For hundreds of years, countless people had died because of some small, cursed items he "casually" created, which also led to the terrifying legend of the Dark Mage Zeref.
"This thing must have some limitations," Ren reasoned aloud, tapping his chin. "Otherwise, it wouldn't just control children. Wouldn't it be better to directly control the adult giant warriors?"
"This..." The Black Magic Cult member hesitated again, but seeing Ren's hand move toward a third kunai, he quickly shouted, "Yes! Yes! I heard Mr. Teru say that although the Hamil Flute is powerful, it can only control children under 12 years old! It has no effect on anyone over 12!"
Ren curled his lip. 'So this thing is really useless for actual combat.' What kind of combat power could children under 12 have? This was a long-term, evil investment.
"Who is Mr. Teru? What does he look like?"
To completely solve the problem of abducted children, he only needed to find this "Mr. Teru" and then destroy that magic flute.
"We... we don't know what Mr. Teru looks like. He never shows his face. He always wears a black hat and a demon mask over his lower face!"
"How many people are there in your Black Magic Cult here? Total."
"Originally, there were 800 people who came with the priest, but... but only over 300 are left here in the capital! The rest are... posted elsewhere."
"Don't kill me! Please! I've told you everything I know! I swear!" The man was now sobbing, groveling in the dirt.
Pfft!
The kunai in Ren's hand, in a flash of movement, plunged directly into the other party's neck.
The cultist stared with disbelieving, wide eyes. He was very confused as to why this handsome, smiling man would still kill him after he had already told him all the information.
"Ah! Thank you for the intel," Ren said softly, pulling his kunai free and wiping it on the man's black robe. "To show my gratitude, I gave you a quick death."
He now utterly detested the Black Magic Cult. These scoundrels simply didn't deserve to live.
When he watched the anime, the Black Magic Cult capturing the young Erza and forcing her into slavery at the Tower of Heaven made him extremely dislike them. After truly experiencing their depravity firsthand—their willingness to enslave and weaponize children—he felt that all those guys deserved to die.
Ren stood up, his Hokage robe fluttering. He performed a single hand seal.
Boom!!
With a small cloud of smoke, Ren transformed into the other person's appearance, right down to the black robes and the mask.
[Akarin's Note: Transformation Jutsu (Henge no Jutsu) is a basic ninjutsu from 'Naruto' that allows the user to disguise themselves as another person or object.]
It seemed like a simple, not very useful jutsu, but for infiltration and gathering intelligence, this ninjutsu was simply a divine skill.
Whoosh----!
In the next instant, Ren focused on the Hiraishin seal he had left on the kunai in the dungeon. With a yellow flash, he disappeared.
Ren reappeared in the dungeon, landing silently in the dark corner where he had left the kunai.
Everything was silent; no one noticed that the guard who had "left" to relieve himself had been replaced.
Ren, now disguised as the cultist, glanced around. This dungeon was very large, almost like a cavern. The 300+ Black Magic Cult members were scattered everywhere—some guarding the main entrance, some patrolling the cell blocks, some sleeping in makeshift barracks in the back.
'It would be difficult to defeat all of these guys in an instant,' Ren analyzed, his mind working with Minato's tactical calm. 'And if a fight breaks out, they'll use the children as hostages. Those explosive collars are the biggest problem.'
'So, the best way is to first teleport those little brats back to the bridge. Once they're safe, I can fight without restraint.'
Ren, still in his guard disguise, walked casually to a dark, unobserved spot. He formed a cross-shaped hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
[Akarin's Note: Shadow Clone Jutsu (Kage Bunshin no Jutsu) is an advanced ninjutsu that creates solid, physical clones of the user.]
Bang!
With a soft puff of smoke, a clone identical to his current self (the disguised guard) remained in place, looking bored and tired just like a real guard.
Ren's main body, still as Minato, focused on the Hiraishin mark he had left in Buli's pocket.
Whoosh!
He teleported, reappearing inside the giant child's pocket.
"Buli!"
Buli's face, which had been pressed against the bars, lit up when he heard Ren's voice.
"Brother Ren!" he whispered excitedly.
"How is it? Did you tell them everything?"
"Yes! I told them all. They are scared, but they're waiting!"
"Good," Ren said. He pushed a small sack into Buli's hand. It was full of his marked Hiraishin kunai. "You and some of your new friends, quickly and quietly distribute these kunai to every cage. Have them stick the kunai near their collars. Then tell all the children to gather together and hold hands. I'll send you all away in a moment."
Buli immediately took the sack and, with a few of the braver children, began to sneakily distribute the special knives.
Nothing had happened for such a long time, and this was still the Troll King's city. The giants were so large that rescuing them would require a direct, impossible charge. Plus, these little brats were all wearing special explosive collars. The cultists weren't worried about them escaping. Therefore, their supervision was very lax.
Soon, every child had a kunai stuck to the bars of their cage or hidden in their clothes. They all huddled together, holding hands as instructed.
At the same time, Ren's clone immediately began to act.
The clone, disguised as the guard "Slark," walked up to another Black Magic Cult member who was yawning at his post.
"Hey! Hey! It's not time for a shift change yet, Slark. Go back to your corner."
"I know," the clone said, smiling under the mask.
Pfft!
The clone, holding a regular kunai, directly stabbed the other party in the waist.
"Uwaahhhhhh!"
The other party let out a painful scream, looking at "Slark" in total disbelief. His good brother, whom he saw every day, would actually try to kill him.
"Long live Dark Mage Zeref!!!" the clone shouted, raising his bloody hands in the air.
The screams and Ren's shouts immediately attracted the attention of every guard in the dungeon.
"Quick, everyone! Stop Slark! He's gone mad!!"
"He's been possessed! Kill him!"
Many other Black Magic Cult members saw this scene and drew their weapons, surrounding the "insane" clone.
While the clone was attracting all the attention, Ren's main body, hidden in Buli's pocket, placed his hand on the Hiraishin mark. He connected his magic to all the other marks he had just distributed, forming a massive, complex space-time formula.
'Now!'
"Flying Thunder God Technique!!"
[Akarin Note:
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