Chapter 116: Wood Style Monster! Terminator! Morkel!!

"So urgent?"

Upon hearing the news, Ying sounded a little disappointed.

"Flame, separation is a common thing," Mr. Bubble said calmly.

The night grew darker.

Ying returned to her room to rest while Old Man Dunbei staggered out of the castle. He looked up at Mr. Bubble, who stood on the roof.

"Mr. Bubble, I heard you're about to leave," Dunbei said. "I have a request."

Mr. Bubble nodded slightly. "Go ahead."

He was a grateful man who remembered being seriously injured and hunted by ninja. If Tsuchigumo Ying and Tonbei hadn't rescued him in the mountains of Yamanaka, he might not have survived.

Dunbei continued, "I hope you can protect the young lady until the Konoha shinobi arrive."

The request was reasonable, and Mr. Bubble thought it over before nodding in agreement.

Meanwhile, not far from the Tsuchigumo clan's castle on Mt. Katsuragi, four rogue ninja crept through the dense forest.

"We got caught off guard by that Bubble guy last time," said Ninja A. "But this time, we're prepared. That Earth Spider Secret Technique will be ours!"

"I heard it can destroy a village in an instant," said Ninja B, his eyes gleaming. "We'll be rich if we sell it!"

"Money?" Ninja C sneered. "We're aiming for ultimate power. With that secret technique, we can conquer nations and create our own!"

Ninja D sighed. "Let's focus on finding the technique first."

As they chatted, Mt. Katsuragi came into view. The mountain had a peculiar shape—like a giant vertical stone pillar. From base to peak, it was nearly a sheer cliff. Atop the pillar stood the Tsuchigumo castle, a fortress positioned for defense but difficult to man.

Despite the advantage in terrain, the Tsuchigumo clan lacked manpower. Including the recently arrived Mr. Bubble, there were only three defenders—far too few for such a large stronghold.

Under the cover of night, the four thieves climbed the steep slope. Outside the castle, guards kept watch.

As soon as they spotted the intruders, one guard shouted to warn Mr. Bubble and Ying. Then he drew his weapon, ready to defend the castle with his life.

"You petty thugs mean nothing to me!" the old guard, Dunbei, roared.

The four thieves exchanged mocking glances. Forming seals, they shouted in unison:

"Lightning!"

"X!"

"Fire!"

"Stone!"

Suddenly, Lightning Style chakra surged toward Dunbei, paralyzing his old body in an instant. He collapsed, unable to move.

"Hah! He really thought he could stop us?" Ninja A laughed.

"Cut the chatter! Go find the girl! She must have the secret technique!" Ninja D snapped.

They stormed into the castle, searching for Tsuchigumo Ying.

Elsewhere, Morkel and Naruto finally arrived near the mountain range where Mt. Katsuragi stood.

Inside their aircraft, Naruto grinned. "Hey, Morkel! Teach me how to fly this thing. I wanna be the pilot next time!"

Morkel nodded. "Sure. If you're willing to learn, I'll teach you."

"I'm not a quitter!" Naruto said proudly.

"Oh yeah, Karin said your ninjutsu is way more powerful than normal. If you used the Tsuchigumo secret technique, could you wipe out an entire country?"

Morkel gave him a look. "Do you know how big a country is? Even small nations like the Land of Rain or Land of Ghosts cover millions of square kilometers. Ninjutsu strong enough to destroy one instantly? That's not easy."

Naruto caught the phrasing—"not easy," not "impossible."

As they continued, the bizarre shape of Mt. Katsuragi came into view.

"Whoa," Naruto pointed. "It looks like they're celebrating something."

"How do you know?" Morkel asked.

"There's a big fire in front of the castle!"

Morkel squinted. Indeed, a fire blazed brightly. At first, he assumed it was chakra-powered lighting.

"Wait… that's no bonfire," he muttered. "It's spreading!"

As they flew closer, it became clear: the entire castle was engulfed in flames.

Naruto shouted, "It's on fire!"

"This mission's gone south!" Morkel frowned. "But the target may still be alive. Let's check."

He formed a seal and performed Water Style: Grand Waterfall Technique!

A massive torrent of water surged from his mouth, crashing into the burning fortress. In seconds, the flames were extinguished.

Morkel and Naruto jumped from the aircraft, landing amid the charred ruins.

Morkel activated his Chakra perception to search for survivors. Soon, he detected a faint chakra signature buried under rubble.

Using Earth Style, he raised the ground and unearthed a badly injured Dunbei.

Naruto looked on enviously. "It'd be awesome to have chakra like yours."

"With great power comes great responsibility," Morkel said.

He gathered medical chakra in his hands and healed Dunbei, who slowly regained consciousness.

"You're from Konoha, right?" Dunbei croaked. "Please… save the young lady!"

"She escaped through the castle's secret passage. Those thieves might've chased her!"

Morkel nodded. "Don't worry. I'll bring her back."

Naruto volunteered to stay and care for Dunbei while Morkel took off toward the passage.

Inside the secret path, Morkel walked a thousand meters through darkness before emerging into a forest clearing.

A leech clung to his head.

"Tch. Gross," Morkel muttered, swatting it away.

He formed a chakra barrier around himself, vaporizing every leech that came near. Then, he sat cross-legged and expanded his chakra perception to its limit.

Suddenly, he sensed something shocking.

"A tailed beast? Here?"

He focused, locating a fiery chakra signature deep in the forest—surrounded by smaller auras.

"Among them… someone might be the one I need to protect."

Morkel dashed into the woods.

Deep in the jungle, the rogue ninjas had cornered Ying and Mr. Bubble.

"This time, you didn't prepare any traps. You're finished!" Ninja A shouted.

Bubble, calm and composed, blew bubbles through his tube. The space filled with shimmering spheres—explosive on contact.

The four ninja formed seals and activated a purple, cone-shaped barrier.

Ying gasped. "Master!"

Bubble stood calmly, unfazed. Then the ninjas launched their Lightning Style attack into the shield.

"NO!" Ying screamed.

Just then, Morkel's voice echoed from the trees.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall Formation!"

Walls of stone erupted from the ground, knocking the rogue ninja off their feet and shattering their formation.

"Wood Style: Binding Vines!"

Vines burst upward, wrapping tightly around the enemies.

Bubble's eyes widened. A Wood Style user?!

Red hair… Wood Style… there was no mistaking it.

Konoha's infamous demon.

The monster terminator—

Morkel!!

As a Jinchūriki, Bubble wasn't afraid of ordinary ninja.

But this was Morkel—the red-haired bounty-hunter monster with a reputation for exchanging even S-rank targets for cash.

Wasting no time, Bubble turned to leave.

"I promised Tonbei I'd protect Ying until Konoha's shinobi arrived. Now that they're here, I'll take my leave."

He blew a massive bubble that carried him into the air.

Ying called out sadly, "Master, can't you stay a little longer…?"

But when she turned to look at Morkel, she was stunned.

Oh. My. God.

He was so handsome!

All the men she'd ever met paled in comparison.

"It's fine, Master! You can go. I'm in good hands!" she said quickly.

Morkel narrowed his eyes as he watched Bubble float away.

That chakra…

It was the Tailed Beast's!

And he was trying to escape. Suspicious.

Morkel condensed an ice needle and popped the bubble.

"Leaving so soon? How about explaining the tailed beast in your body first?"

Bubble panicked.

He thought, If he catches me, I'll be taken back to Kirigakure!

Morkel narrowed it down aloud: "I know the locations of One through Five Tails. Seven Tails is a girl…"

"That leaves Six Tails," Morkel said.

Bubble sighed. "Fine. I'm its Jinchūriki."

"I've heard of you," Bubble continued. "You're Morkel from Konoha. If you want the bounty, go ahead. But I didn't betray Kirigakure. The Mizukage's death wasn't my doing!"

Morkel scratched his head. "Bounty? You have a bounty?"

Apparently, Kirigakure had issued a private 50-million-ryō bounty on Bubble—one Morkel had never heard of.

Bubble gawked. "You didn't know?!"

"I do now," Morkel said, smirking.

Bubble facepalmed. Why did I say anything?!

"Then why'd you stop me?!" he asked.

"I was curious about the tailed beast. And just warning you—Akatsuki is still hunting them."

"…But now that you mention a 50 million bounty, well, it'd be a waste not to take it."

He grinned and rubbed his hands.

Ying stepped between them. "Hey! He's my master! You can't just trade him in for money!"

Morkel looked surprised. "Relax. I'm not in a rush. I stopped him out of concern."

Still, he had no plans to miss out on the reward.

"Ying, right? Tonbei's granddaughter?"

She nodded.

"I've been sent to protect you and your clan's secret arts. Let's return to your village."

Ying glanced at him, hopeful. "Can you release my master?"

"Are you crazy? He's worth 50 million," Morkel said flatly.

With that, Morkel used Flying Thunder God to teleport everyone—including Ying, Bubble, and the restrained thieves—back to the ruins of the Tsuchigumo clan's fortress.

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