Chapter 99 : Thunder God Riku
After a brutal barrage of blows, Riku drove Shinya’s massive head into the ground. The impact left a crater several meters wide, cracks spiderwebbing outward from the epicenter.
Shinya roared in fury. "You little brat! What the hell do you want?!"
Was Riku summoning him just to show off?
Shinya felt humiliated.
At first, he’d wanted to devour Riku outright. But now, just judging by the boy’s raw physical strength, he was already far beyond his previous summoner.
Still, Shinya wasn’t about to give in. If every random kid who summoned him could force a contract through violence, it’d be disgraceful. The other snakes would laugh themselves to death.
Riku stood tall before him and said with terrifying calm, "Nothing much. I just wanted to beat you down."
That response made Shinya seethe. "You bastard! You really think I can’t crush you?!"
Riku chuckled. "Then try."
Shinya faltered. As much as he hated to admit it, it did feel like he wasn’t a match for Riku.
But then, a glint of opportunity flashed in Shinya’s eyes. He spotted an opening.
"Perfect... Kid, let’s turn you to stone."
With that thought, Shinya opened his jaws wide and unleashed a torrent of venom.
The liquid hissed as it struck the earth, immediately hardening into jagged stone wherever it touched.
Boom!
Just as the venom was about to engulf Riku, a violent surge of lightning exploded from his body. The electricity coalesced into a crackling shield of chakra-laced lightning that completely surrounded him.
Hissssss~
The venom evaporated on contact with the barrier, atomized into harmless vapor by the intense voltage.
Shinya was stunned.
"That lightning... it’s the same as his... No, it’s even stronger."
The snake’s golden eyes widened as he stared at the bolts dancing across Riku’s body. The sight reminded him of someone from long ago—his former master. The one who had betrayed him.
But Riku’s strength... it eclipsed that man completely.
"What’s your name?" Shinya asked in a low, almost respectful voice.
Riku met his gaze calmly. "If you want to know, sign a summoning contract with me. I need a summon beast."
His tone was level, almost casual—but there was no mistaking the power behind it.
Shinya was infuriated. He was one of the dominant serpents of Ryūchi Cave—how dare a child speak to him like that?
It brought back bitter memories. Of betrayal. Of abandonment.
"Don’t even think about it!" Shinya roared. "I’d rather die than become the pet of some little brat!"
But before the words had even finished echoing through the cave, the air exploded with lightning.
Boom—!
A thunderbolt split the sky above and struck Riku, linking heaven and earth in a single blinding arc.
Electricity erupted outward in a thunderous shockwave. The ground shuddered. Thunderclouds boiled overhead.
The entire field was swallowed by a storm of chakra-infused lightning. For dozens of meters in every direction, the cave transformed into a realm of thunder.
Riku’s voice rang out through the storm, calm but unyielding. "I’ll ask you one last time. Will you become my summoning beast?"
Shinya’s body trembled as every scale was pummeled by the sheer intensity of the chakra pressure.
The lightning around them began to take shape—dozens of enormous serpents made entirely of lightning, each one coiling and writhing like a living god.
They hissed and snapped in the air, their eyes glowing with pure power, surrounding Shinya from all sides.
Far in the distance, Anko stood frozen, witnessing the scene in utter disbelief.
"This... This is Riku’s power? Is this... divine?"
Arcs of electricity cracked and sparked around Riku’s body. Thunder serpents roared as they slithered in the air around him, protective and feral. None of them harmed Riku—they circled him as if he were their king.
It was as if Riku had become a god of thunder.
Jiraiya, who had previously been watching with caution, was now speechless. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
"A twelve-year-old... with this kind of power?" he muttered.
Even Naruto, usually brimming with confidence, stared at Riku with a mixture of awe and fear. "He’s like the actual god of thunder..."
Shinya was stunned. His earlier arrogance shattered like glass under the crushing weight of Riku’s strength.
To think he had once compared his previous master to this monster... That man wasn’t even close.
Fear twisted inside him.
But despite the terror, Shinya couldn’t bring himself to surrender.
He remembered the last time he trusted a human—how that trust ended.
Even if Riku could kill him right now, he refused to bow.
"Boy... You’re strong. But I’ll never trust humans again," he growled. "They’re all liars. Just like my last summoner... He betrayed me during the war!"
Riku stared up at the enormous serpent, expression unmoved. "And what does that have to do with me?"
He stepped forward, eyes hard. "I asked you a question. Will you become my summon or not? I don’t care about your tragic backstory. It has nothing to do with me."
Shinya snarled, baring his fangs. Riku’s cold indifference infuriated him—but the thunder serpents crackling around the boy made him think twice before lashing out.
Still, his pride refused to be trampled.
"I won’t make a contract with someone unless they prove they’re not like him."
Riku had raised his hand, ready to summon another bolt of lightning—but stopped at Shinya’s words.
He lowered his hand and asked calmly, "How do you want me to prove it?"
He could have forced it, beaten the snake into submission—but what good was a summon that didn’t obey willingly?
The intimidation was done. It was time to negotiate.
Shinya stared down at him, then spoke solemnly. "First... you need to understand how my former master betrayed me."
Then, the great serpent opened his second, damaged eye.
The moment it opened, Riku felt himself pulled inward.
He was drawn into Shinya’s mental world—into a memory etched so deeply into the beast’s soul that it had become a second reality.
Inside, he saw it: a battlefield, chaos, blood, and the sharp sting of betrayal.
When it ended, Riku stood calmly in that inner space and said, "That’s what you call betrayal?"
Shinya roared, "Of course it is!"
But Riku only smiled faintly. "Looked to me like you disobeyed orders mid-battle. He probably had no choice but to subdue you. And if he really meant to kill you—why didn’t you die?"
Shinya’s massive body tensed. His eyes narrowed.
He had thought about that before. Buried it beneath rage and pain. But now, the question rang out again, sharper than ever.
And deep down... he wasn’t sure anymore.
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