Chapter 197 : The Cruelty Of The Oni Clan
The man from the Ghost Clan narrowed his eyes, already harboring the intent to kill Riku.
The near-extermination of the Oni Clan at the hands of the Uchiha Clan was a deep-seated grudge, etched into the heart of every surviving member. Now that the Uchiha Clan had been reduced to almost nothing themselves, it was like history repeating itself.
With the Uchiha Clan gone, the Oni Clan began planning to reopen the Ghoul Barrier, in hopes of selecting a ninja capable of full spiritualization.
A fully spiritualized Oni Clan ninja would wield power surpassing even the Kage.
Unfortunately for them, ever since a fully spiritualized ninja appeared decades ago, the Oni Clan had never succeeded again.
That one ninja had eventually been overwhelmed and killed by dozens of Uchiha shinobi, all wielding the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Had they not been stopped, the Oni Clan believed they could have conquered the entire world.
Though nearly annihilated in the battle, they had taken a toll on the Uchiha as well—dozens of elite Uchiha, many bearing fully matured Sharingan, had fallen.
That battle was considered the greatest loss for the Uchiha Clan outside of their ultimate downfall.
At the time, the Uchiha hadn’t yet formed an alliance with the Senju or helped found Konoha.
They had numbers then, and many elite warriors. Though the Oni Clan had dealt a heavy blow, the Uchiha’s strength remained largely intact.
Now, as one of the last Oni Clan members approached, he stopped more than a hundred meters away and stared at Riku.
"Riku," he said coldly. "I know you’re strong, but your purpose today is to be our sacrifice. To become the medium for our ritual. You should feel honored to serve our Ghost Clan in this way."
Riku smiled calmly. "So I should thank you, then?"
The man’s name was Ghost Shadow, and his strength was already at Kage-level. His primary ability was the Oni Clan’s Spiritualization Technique, but he was far more advanced than Kato Dan—who only carried partial Oni blood.
Ghost Shadow, on the other hand, was pure-blooded Oni—a genius within his clan.
Sacrifices involving members of other clans had all failed. In the end, he had become the Oni Clan’s final hope.
He had spent years preparing, seeking out a perfect sacrifice. When Riku appeared, Ghost Shadow had deemed him ideal.
Ghost Shadow stepped forward and sneered, "It doesn’t matter how strong you are. Here, your chakra is completely sealed. You won’t have a chance to fight back."
Riku stared back at him. "Then you must be restricted too. There’s no way you could place chakra restrictions on me without them affecting you. But you seem pretty confident—so clearly, this barrier doesn’t limit you."
He narrowed his eyes. "I’m guessing this barrier doesn’t affect spiritual energy. Your clan relies entirely on that, don’t you? Very clever. Luring us here—it’s more than just some trap barrier. Not bad."
He clapped, mockingly applauding Ghost Shadow’s design.
But Ghost Shadow felt a twinge of unease.
"This barrier seals chakra within the body, but not soul power. And it doesn’t prevent absorbing chakra from the outside, either."
Most shinobi extract chakra from within their bodies—even Kage-level ninja.
What Ghost Shadow hadn’t anticipated was that Riku knew Senjutsu. Natural Energy could be absorbed from the environment—completely bypassing the barrier’s restrictions.
Even without that, Riku’s body couldn’t be suppressed by such a minor seal. For a shinobi whose strength was nearly at the level of the Six Paths, for someone who wielded the Rinnegan?
A Ghost Clan barrier simply wasn’t enough.
Ghost Shadow frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Riku smiled. "I’m saying—after all your planning—have you truly understood who I am? You know what’s been whispered in the ninja world, maybe heard something from Konoha shinobi. But even they don’t really understand my power."
He took a step forward, voice cold.
"Even the people closest to me have no idea what I’m really capable of."
Ghost Shadow’s unease deepened.
"Kill him!" he barked.
The skeletal warriors of the Ghost Clan, already bristling with hostility, charged toward Riku, kunai in hand.
Being animated skeletons, they felt no pain. Their bones were reinforced and dense—tougher than steel.
At the same time, they were extremely lightweight, making their movements faster than any ordinary shinobi.
But Riku didn’t even glance at them. His eyes remained locked on Ghost Shadow.
Neither moved. Riku was calm. Ghost Shadow’s expression grew darker by the second—he could feel something was about to happen.
The instant the skeletons reached within a few feet of Riku, his gaze sharpened.
"Sage Mode."
He didn’t make a single hand sign. No dramatic gestures.
He simply became something else.
A light "boom" echoed outward.
A simple facial pattern formed across his features—evidence of Sage Mode activation.
A regal purple-gold cloak of Senjutsu chakra materialized around him, flowing behind him like a mantle of divine energy.
Several spirit serpents, born from pure natural energy, slithered and coiled around his body.
The sheer weight of the chakra flowing from Riku—this brilliant violet-gold Sage Chakra—sent a shockwave in every direction.
The oppressive energy shattered the skeletal attackers instantly.
Hundreds of reinforced bone warriors cracked in the span of a breath.
Their steel-like frames simply couldn’t withstand the aftermath of his transformation.
More than a dozen skeletons were obliterated on the spot, collapsing into heaps of shattered bone.
But the soul fragments of those skeletons floated toward Ghost Shadow, merging with his body.
Riku’s eyes narrowed. He could feel Ghost Shadow’s spiritual power rising.
"So that’s it," he muttered. "You strengthen your soul by fusing with the spirits of others. That’s why you’ve killed so many shinobi—for their soul energy. Cruel doesn’t even begin to describe it."
These weren’t just deaths. The Ghost Clan destroyed the souls of their victims, leaving them unable to pass on to the Pure Land.
They didn’t simply kill—they erased people from existence.
No wonder the entire ninja world rejected them.
Ghost Shadow now glared at Riku, his expression murderous. "You’ve slaughtered more than a dozen of my kin. From this moment forward, we are mortal enemies."
Riku stared back, his voice low and cold. "You think you deserve my hatred? You monsters don’t just kill—you devour souls. You make sure they never find peace. You’re less than human."
He took a step forward, aura blazing.
"No wonder the entire world came together to wipe you out. You aren’t people. You’re ghosts in every sense of the word."
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