Hiru looked in shock at Ryoma, who was being protected by the two Shadow Generals flanking him.
A question couldn't help but arise in his heart:
"What in the world is this thing, actually crawling out of his shadow? Is it a summoning? Or some kind of secret technique?"
Nakamura Takumi, standing behind Ryoma, also looked on in astonishment at General Samo, who had easily crushed the earth dragon he had used with his bare hands.
Looking at General Samo's overwhelmingly oppressive physique, he couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Daisuke, hiding in the shadows, didn't dare to show himself at all, preparing to continue observing Ryoma's bizarre ability and these two suddenly appearing Shadow Generals from the darkness before deciding on his next move.
For a moment, the four individuals and two generals were locked in a strange standoff.
Watching Hiru staring warily at General Niga, Ryoma spoke up:
"General Niga, I'll leave this guy with the sword in front to you. Try to kill him!"
The red light in Niga's eyes intensified. This was his first battle in this world.
Gripping his katana, he replied to Ryoma in an icy tone: "As you command, my king!"
Then, Ryoma turned to instruct General Samo behind him: "General Samo, the one behind is your prey. Kill him too!"
General Samo's face lit up with excitement. He licked his lips as he looked at Nakamura Takumi before him, sending a shiver of disgust down Takumi's spine.
He declared in a robust voice: "As you command, Your Majesty!"
After that, Ryoma prepared to first try dealing with Daisuke, who was hiding in the shadows.
But he knew in his heart just how risky this decision was.
If Ryoma remembered correctly, this man's ability also made him a Jonin on the Iwa-nin side during the Kannabi Bridge battle in the future Third War.
He was the one who, using this special ability, abducted Rin Nohara and was the culprit who slashed Brother Kakashi's left eye, turning him into the White-Haired Battle God.
After judging his ability, Ryoma felt he should be able to easily counter Daisuke's secret jutsu of invisibility.
First of all, although Daisuke's secret technique, the Camouflage Concealment Technique, could make his body transparent and even completely merge his presence into the environment, hiding it.
But don't forget, this secret technique only merges oneself with the environment as much as possible, baffling the enemy visually, audibly, olfactorily, and from all other aspects, but ultimately, it's not vanishing completely.
There was one thing Daisuke couldn't do:
That was temperature!
As long as he was human, as long as he was alive, he definitely had body heat.
Daisuke's technique hadn't reached the level where he could freely control his body temperature.
And what snakes excelled at was precisely sensing heat; this would make finding Daisuke much easier!
However, Ryoma was also very aware of his current state.
His condition was already very poor, and his expenditure was considerable.
Not only had he just been through two major battles, but now he had also summoned two Generals, Niga and Samo, to help him fight.
His personal combat strength was probably less than ten percent of its peak.
Finding Daisuke was one thing. But how to defeat him, or even kill him, was another difficult problem Ryoma had to face.
If he didn't handle it well, he might find the guy, only to get killed by him instead.
After all, he was a genuine elite Jonin of Iwagakure!
Just then, General Niga seemed to sense Ryoma's condition and concerns. He took the initiative to ask Ryoma:
"Your Majesty, your current state isn't very good. I'm worried that the rat hiding in the shadows might harm you."
Ryoma looked up at Niga and nodded.
It wasn't that Niga was overly worried; if Ryoma kicked the bucket, they would all sink back into endless slumber in the Shadow Realm, unable to come out and fight!
Niga continued immediately: "Your Majesty, since you've been able to summon both me and Samo, it proves you can now utilize the full power of our two masks. You can borrow the masks' strength."
Ryoma was astonished upon hearing this: "Oh? It has that function too?"
It wasn't written in the instruction manual either.
Seeing Ryoma's confusion, Niga explained: "Because Your Majesty hasn't completely unsealed [the masks], but as your strength gradually increases, you have gained complete control over the Ninja Mask representing me and the Giant Mask representing Samo."
"You can now fully commune with one mask, obtaining the current abilities of either me or Samo to assist you in battle."
General Niga paused, "Of course, given Your Majesty's current physical condition and mental strength, there will still be certain side effects. The longer you use it and the more power you borrow, the greater the harm to you. If your mind and body cannot withstand it..."
"...the final result will be that you completely lose yourself in the Shadow Realm and fall into endless slumber!"
Upon hearing General Niga's explanation, Ryoma suddenly understood.
Wasn't this just the normal way of using the masks in Jackie Chan Adventures?
The difference was that Ryoma released Niga and Samo through the masks, and he himself could temporarily gain their strength and abilities through the mask's projection within his inner landscape.
Of course, at most, he could only reach the current power level of Niga and Samo. To obtain greater strength, his current power wasn't enough.
He would be instantly devoured by the Shadow Realm, leaving not even a trace behind.
Ryoma decided this was a perfect opportunity to see just how far he could go by fusing with the mask.
Besides, given his current state, let alone facing an elite Jonin of Iwagakure even in his prime, it would be somewhat suicidal.
Currently, Niga and Samo's strength could barely be considered as touching the threshold of elite Jonin.
However, the sword techniques Hiru specialized in were precisely what Niga excelled at. And Samo's sheer size gave him a certain advantage against ordinary Jonin.
One could say Hiru and the others had run right into their match.
But if the equally elite Jonin and elusive Daisuke was added to the mix,
the outcome could very well become uncertain.
And Ryoma absolutely wouldn't allow any screw-ups to happen to him or the Shadow Corps!
Subsequently, he gave the order to Niga and Samo: "Alright, go deal with your prey. I'll handle the little rat hiding in the shadows myself."
Upon hearing this, Niga and Samo charged unhesitatingly towards their targets.
General Niga executed a lightning-fast draw cut, wreathed in gloomy shadow energy, slashing horizontally at Hiru. Hiru, who had long been crouched and gathering strength, instantly swung his blade to block.
The katana and the ninja sword clashed in mid-air, sending up brilliant sparks.
Having blocked General Niga's blade, Hiru looked into Niga's eyes and felt a jolt in his heart.
Those scarlet eyes held no emotion whatsoever, only a thick, bloodthirsty killing intent.
Hiru cursed inwardly: "Just what kind of freak has this brat summoned?! These aren't eyes a human could have; they're devils!!"
And Samo was even more exaggerated, charging towards Nakamura Takumi before him with his vicious maw agape.
The very earth began to tremble with Samo's running!
Nakamura Takumi stared in shock at the terrifying scene before him.
For a moment, he didn't know how to react.
"Damn it, what IS this thing?! Who is this kid?!"
Takumi was panicking too.
Then Samo punched at Nakamura Takumi.
Takumi snapped out of it and quickly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
A huge section of the ground before General Samo suddenly sank, while the earth beneath Nakamura Takumi's feet rapidly rose and simultaneously moved backward, evading Samo's attack.
Meanwhile, Ryoma was intently communing with the Ninja Mask within his body.
The Ninja Mask offered no resistance at all, slowly emanating from within Ryoma.
Gradually, it merged into every limb and bone of Ryoma's body.
When only a phantom image of the mask, the size of Ryoma's face, remained, this phantom directly merged into Ryoma's face without any hindrance!
Ryoma only felt as if an icy, sinister aura was sweeping through every part of his body.
As if he were being constantly eroded, gnawed upon, and ground down.
But each time the uncomfortable sensation passed, Ryoma sensed a surge of immense power left behind within him.
"So this is the power of the Shadow Generals? This damned feeling... feels so good!"
Ryoma couldn't help but moan in pleasure.
No wonder it was easy to get lost; who wouldn't want to permanently possess such overwhelming power?
Just at that moment, Daisuke, who had been hiding in the shadows all along, seizing the perfect moment when Ryoma was reveling in the sensation, appeared behind Ryoma and unhesitatingly swung his blade at Ryoma's neck!
"A perfect chance to strike!"
He believed that as long as Ryoma, the mastermind who summoned them, was killed, whether it was Niga or Samo, they would both naturally disappear as well!
Just as Daisuke's ninja sword was about to sink into Ryoma's neck, Ryoma raised his hand and drew a shadow katana, of the type used by Ninja Corps soldiers, from his own shadow.
With a reverse grip, he directly blocked Daisuke's attack.
Feeling the immense force transmitted through his sword, Daisuke found he couldn't advance another inch!
At that moment, Ryoma slowly turned his head.
His originally pitch-black pupils had turned completely blood-red.
A pair of scarlet eyes revealed a hint of delight and deep, profound mockery.
An extremely icy voice sounded from his mouth:
"Gotcha, little rat!"
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