Chapter Eleven: No Empty-Handed Martial Arts, No Ninjas

·Notification from the Qiluo app·
(*′?`)ノ Today, I bring you the unvarnished truth of Zero Island once again.

Before battle begins, ninjas perform a sacred, inviolable greeting ritual, a ceremony evolved from the warrior’s tradition of “self-identification.” The party receiving the greeting must respond in kind; failure to do so is deemed extremely rude.
(Note: This does not apply to those who are not ninjas~)

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“Domo, Majin-san. I am Kyoka, a Senforge-class ninja from the former Military Vanguard!”

Written as “Majin-san” but read as “Majin-san,” this is one of the unique expressions used by the Zero Island ninjas.

Gongsun Ce was briefly puzzled; he had never heard such a peculiar greeting before. Would responding in the usual way be considered rude?

“Excuse me, please wait a moment. Miss Alice? Do I also need to clasp my hands and bow?”

The blue-haired woman said stiffly, “You’re not a ninja, so there’s no need to learn their ways. Let me be clear — most people on Zero Island don’t speak like that. No, they don’t!”

Kyoka stood calmly, exuding the composure of an elder: “Please remember, the completion of the greeting marks the start of the battle. Before the greeting begins, ninjas have the chance to launch a surprise attack. Of course, Majin-san, as you are not a ninja, you are not bound by our rules.”

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. With that in mind, Gongsun Ce, not a ninja, raised one hand and returned the greeting in their manner: “Domo, Kyoka-san. I am Gongsun Ce, a psychic from Sky City.”

What caught him off guard was that Kyoka, who had seemed as calm as still water, launched an attack within 0.3 seconds of completing the greeting!

“Iya-!”

The ninja in orange and yellow attire let out an unintelligible shout. Inside the cramped cabin, relying on incredible flexibility, the ninja executed a three-step backflip to evade while maintaining vigilance over the psychic’s telekinesis, then launched an assault. Two streaks of orange light flashed through the air, rushing at Gongsun Ce’s eyes… aiming for his glasses!

An unidentified attack like this would surely shatter the lenses, sending sharp shards into his eyes and robbing the Majin of his sight. Namu san—what a merciless and insidious method!

Ninja attacks are faster than bullets; most people with poor dynamic vision wouldn’t even realize what happened before clutching their eyes and screaming in pain. But Gongsun Ce, having reached the Lingzhao realm, had greatly enhanced his abilities. Using telekinesis, he grasped the ninja’s attack with such precision it was like catching a fly’s wing with chopsticks.

“Throwing stars.”

Anyone with ninja-level dynamic vision would have seen it clearly. The attack Kyoka launched was none other than throwing stars burning with orange-yellow flames!

The cross-shaped iron pieces hovering before the young man’s face seared the air, almost making Gongsun Ce sweat. He crushed one throwing star, pinned the second into the seatback, then probed by firing a white lance at the ninja.

“Throwing stars, kunai, and katanas are common ninja weapons,” Kyoka explained while performing a difficult maneuver between seats, evading the psychic’s attacks. “Many ninjas’ Impermanence Techniques revolve around their weapons—be careful, Majin-san!”

“Flickering heart flames, burning spirit.” The ninja stood in the aisle, crossing his arms and declaring, “Void Form · Spirit Communicator, Fiery Throwing Stars!”

The orange glow between the ninja’s fingers was the same throwing stars that had attacked Gongsun Ce earlier. Not only that, the Fiery Throwing Stars appeared on the ninja’s shoulder, outside his arms, and along his legs… The ninja in orange-yellow garb looked as if his entire body was scorched by blazing flames!

With the Void Form technique declared, it was clear his Impermanence Technique specialized in creating throwing stars. The psychic made a preliminary judgment of the opponent’s ability and launched another attack.

“White Lance Rain.”

This time, Gongsun Ce created not a spear but a broad barrage of sharp fragments. Pure white ammunition shot out as fast as the throwing stars, like a rioter firing a shotgun inside the cabin!

A single lance can be dodged with nimble reflexes, but how could the ninja respond to an all-encompassing attack? If he hid behind the seat for defense, he’d only meet a gruesome end, torn apart with the leather. Gongsun Ce prepared to hold back, but the next moment, he saw—

“Giant throwing star!”

Oh, a colossal Fiery Throwing Star! Kyoka’s Void Form technique reactivated, wielding an unusually large weapon as wide as a heavy shield in one hand. The giant star spun like an orange-yellow pinwheel, cutting through seats, and the violent wind it generated lifted Shigure Zero’s hair, diverting the white fragments’ trajectory. Only a few white shards posed a threat to Kyoka now. He raised his free right hand, fingers together, forming a knife-hand strike.

“Iya-!”

Swinging the knife-hand, he deflected the fragments. Expert! Moreover, at the moment of striking, Kyoka activated precise muscle control in his shoulders to launch four more throwing stars, again targeting Gongsun Ce’s eyes!

“Is this karate?” The psychic closed his eyes and used telekinesis to block the stars. Kyoka replied meticulously, “No karate, no ninja!”

“Impressive,” Gongsun Ce sincerely praised.

Kyoka was an Impermanence Technique user at the Spirit Communicator realm, confident in victory. Yet this ninja displayed traits unseen in other Spirit Communicator users before: versatility. He was not merely a “specialist” relying on Impermanence Techniques but an expert integrating these techniques with combat skills. The pressure Kyoka exerted while wielding the knife-hand surpassed even Xu Junyi in their previous duel!

“So what?”

Gongsun Ce again attacked with white energy, creating three giant throwing stars made of pure white material! Large mass weapons cannot be blown away by wind, and attacking the opponent with their own preferred weapon was a beginner’s taunt known even in a dojo. There seemed no room for evasion in the cramped cabin… or so it seemed.

“Iya-!”

No! Kyoka threw the giant throwing stars, threading them through gaps between two stars to strike the psychic’s head. Then he leapt, twisting his body 90 degrees with agility that would shame a circus acrobat, evading the “upper bunk” and “lower bunk” white star attacks like a relaxed college student lying on a bunk!

“Wow…” The psychic was astonished, using telekinesis to control the incoming stars. The ninja’s attack came as he was distracted blocking.

“Iya-!”

Kyoka simultaneously hurled eight throwing stars faster than before. Having just controlled the giant stars, the psychic had to use telekinesis to block them all. And in that blink-of-an-eye moment, Kyoka appeared right before the young man!

“Iya-----!”

Channelling power into his shouts, Kyoka relentlessly attacked. The throwing stars on his arms spun like saw blades, turning his hands into merciless mixers. Amid the roaring noise, his arms tensed and struck with an ancient lethal martial art: Bamboo Dragonfly Fist!

The spinning force between his fists, combined with the whirling stars, struck precisely as Gongsun Ce was busy intercepting the eight-star barrage. Anyone hit by this blow would be left mangled like scallions mixed with tuna.

Kyoka showed no mercy; rookies unable to handle a mere Spirit Communicator attack would become appetizers on Zero Island. Suffering grave wounds here was a thousand times better than dying at the hands of the ninja leader or Shigure’s team!

Ssssss—Kakkakkak!

The screech of metal on metal pierced the eardrums. Shigure Zero covered her ears; the sound wasn’t of cutting flesh but the agonized wail of throwing stars shattering against something harder…

“Guwa-?!”

Kyoka’s eyes widened involuntarily. How could this happen? He realized in a flash: the spinning stars on his arms stopped from friction, and before striking Gongsun Ce’s abdomen, the Bamboo Dragonfly Fist hit a pure white funnel-shaped defense. Ga!

White handcuffs sprouted from the funnel, binding Kyoka’s fists tightly. Even more surprising than this dire situation were the young man’s words.

“It seems the ninja attire not only enhances physical abilities but also integrates with Impermanence Techniques. I guess this is the ninjas’ exclusive mental armor?”

The Majin stabbed the remaining throwing stars into the seat and twitched his nose as if smelling the scent of blood in the air. His guess pierced to the core—an accurate judgment!

“Why?” Kyoka asked in astonishment. Gongsun Ce’s lenses reflected the stars’ fiery glow. “First, the timing of this appearing is…” But this was a mental tactic to divert Kyoka’s attention.

Seizing the flaw in Gongsun Ce’s explanation, the ninja used hip power to twist his arms. Despite his arms being bound, the ninja’s body flipped 180° in an incredible display, kicking toward the gray-haired youth’s head with spinning legs. Expert!I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.