Ch 55: Waiting

Chapter 55: Waiting

"These guys are as fast as ground rats. Fortunately, I finally found them all."

In a small grove, a shadowy figure stepped forward and opened a bounty scroll. He compared the faces on the parchment to the four skeletal corpses laid out before him, then nodded in confirmation.

Removing the black mask from his face, Ayaan revealed a satisfied expression.

"The compatibility between the Baku Baku no Mi and the Yami Yami no Mi is excellent. From now on, I won't need to consume living people just to absorb their chakra."

A faint smile curved his lips.

"Also, the transformation space created by the Baku Baku no Mi has now merged with the dark dimension of the Yami Yami no Mi. I no longer need to physically consume something to alter my body—I can simply use the dark space for all transformations."

"I can even store materials directly in the Yami Yami no Mi's dimension. With a single thought, I can reshape my body. No more ridiculous 'eating myself' gimmick. Now, I can switch transformation modes at will."

In essence, the Yami Yami no Mi's gravitational pull had fused perfectly with the consuming abilities of the Baku Baku no Mi—turning its force into something akin to the Star-Absorbing Technique or Sky-Swallowing Magic Art. The Yami Yami no Mi handled absorption; the Baku Baku no Mi handled digestion.

The self-modification aspect of the Baku Baku no Mi had evolved into specialized transformation modes. Meanwhile, the dark space served as a material storage unit. Together, both Fruits had greatly amplified in both versatility and power.

In recent weeks, Ayaan had also tested the "silencing" capabilities of the Yami Yami no Mi. While it didn't completely paralyze chakra like it did Devil Fruit powers in his original world, it did heavily suppress chakra flow once an enemy was caught by it.

With their chakra being drained like a flood, very few shinobi could maintain the control required to perform jutsu. So while not a perfect nullifier, it was an extremely potent interference skill—one that also absorbed chakra to boost Ayaan's own reserves, removing the earlier need to devour people directly through the Baku Baku no Mi.

After decapitating the ninja corpses, Ayaan made his way to the nearest black market. Though he had no need for the bounty money, working through black market networks kept him informed—and brought new opportunities for combat.

"It's about time. The Nine-Tails Rebellion should break out within the next few months. I'll hand in these heads and move on."

As Ayaan stepped into the black market, the entire room fell silent. All eyes turned toward him—filled with fear, wariness, and awe.

Over the last several months, Ayaan had hunted down hundreds of rogue ninja and missing-nin. Some had entire crews or deadly techniques, but none had survived a battle against him. Ayaan hadn't received a single scratch in return.

Rumors whispered that Ayaan was already at Kage level. Among bounty hunters, such strength was considered on par with Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama—near mythic figures.

Historically, only a few bounty hunters had ever reached that level—Kakuzu being one of the rare examples. After all, with such power, one could found a force of their own and ignore village pursuit entirely. Why bother with low-tier bounty work?

That's why the presence of a Kage-level fighter in the black market inspired such overwhelming fear.

"Is the boss in? I'm here to collect the bounty," Ayaan said as he tossed several desiccated human heads onto the counter. Initially, he had been concerned whether the Yami Yami no Mi's dark energy would make the heads unrecognizable, but the black market had its own mysterious methods for identifying corpses—even from bones alone.

"Y-Yes, of course," the black market boss stammered nervously, plastering a smile on his face. He quickly inspected the heads, verified the identities, and began counting out Ayaan's payment.

Once the transaction was complete, Ayaan used the money to purchase the latest intel report, skimmed through it, and left.

"The timing is almost perfect now. All this hunting has boosted my chakra, but more importantly, it's completed all my chakra nature affinities. At this point, I can learn nearly any jutsu in the shinobi world."

"Konohagakure… I'm coming back."

…

"So boring... When is that damned Nine-Tails going to show up?!"

In an inn located in the bustling commercial district of Konoha, Ayaan let out a long sigh.

Getting into the village had been easier than expected. Despite being a militarized stronghold, Konoha welcomed merchants and outsiders for economic reasons. As long as you had no criminal record, you could get in easily.

Officially, Ayaan was dead. And even if someone from his past saw him walking around with the same face, they wouldn't recognize him. Six years had passed—he had gone from a ten-year-old child to a sixteen-year-old adolescent—and he'd subtly reshaped his facial features using the Baku Baku no Mi. Not even a Hyuga would suspect anything unless they knew exactly what to look for.

When he worked as a bounty hunter, Ayaan always wore a mask. So technically, he had no criminal record at all. He was even wealthy enough to buy his way into the village through legal means.

And while the Anbu did monitor sensitive areas like the Hokage Building, Root's underground base, or the Sealing Corps headquarters, they didn't monitor every civilian and traveler. Thousands of people entered and left Konoha each week. They couldn't afford to tail everyone.

Ayaan had already been in the village for nearly a month. That alone was pushing his luck. Most traders only stayed for a few days to secure contracts or hire ninja. Anyone staying longer drew unwanted attention.

In that time, he had wandered around Konoha, quietly gathering intel. To his quiet sorrow, he learned that his former academy friends and Chūnin instructors had all died in the wars. It was bittersweet; he had avoided their fate thanks to his early choices, but he still felt the weight of their loss.

Even his Chūnin teacher—timid, cautious, with little combat potential—had perished. If Ayaan had stayed on that path, he would likely have died as well.

Aside from honoring his past, Ayaan hadn't wasted his time. Using his keen vision and Observation Haki, he had mapped out several hidden installations and key security nodes across the village. While most of the village's sealing barriers interfered with his senses, they weren't impenetrable. Many had already been marked.

He was ready—just waiting for the chaos of the Nine-Tails attack to act.

Once the storm broke, he'd strike from the shadows.

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