Chapter 100: Not Even Worthy of a Protagonist If It’s This Hard to Beat an Old Man

"Shoo~ shoo~ shoo~"

The odd-looking kunai traced graceful arcs through the air before Gin lazily caught the descending Nin'ai no Ken in his palm.

Scratching his curly mop of hair, he noticed a single strand come loose. With his dead-fish eyes half-lidded, he muttered bitterly,

"First one, then another… none of you let me have a damn moment's peace. I'm already losing my hair at my young age thanks to you people."

Having assigned the girl her task, Gin let out a long sigh, feeling the heavy burden on his shoulders as he sauntered toward the deranged Yao. Watching the old man's twisted face and wild, conflicted gaze, Gin clicked his tongue.

"That's right. I'm talkin' to you, old man."

"Guh… ugh…"

Yao clutched his head as his lone eye overflowed with blackness. Beside him, the jailer flickered unsteadily, his gray-white form clearly disrupted by Yao's inner turmoil.

But even after Gin's quip, the old man didn't respond — which earned him another lazy jab.

"Oi, oi, oi… at least say somethin', will ya?"

"…you… can't… sway me…!"

With a roar, Yao's eye was fully consumed by blackness. The eerie Mangekyō pattern glimmered in his blackened sclera as he slowly raised his gaze, his tone cold as ice.

"Gin. If you won't walk the path with me… then follow your father to the underworld."

That voice, utterly stripped of emotion, carried no trace of the conflicted man from moments ago.

Gin rolled his eyes behind his shades. Man, everyone thinks they're hot stuff the second they blacken, huh? Like, prove it already, gramps.

"Wangliang. Go."

At his command, the gray jailer silently melded into the shadows. Gin, with his honed perception, tracked the figure's faint movements beneath his feet.

"Tch. Underestimating me, huh?"

Noting that Wangliang was just circling him instead of attacking, Gin realized Yao was toying with him — a cat playing with its prey. He smirked, deadpan.

He raised his right hand, chakra surging as the air erupted into sharp birdlike chirps. Blue light crackled, illuminating half his face. Gin slipped on his shades and turned up the voltage with a twist of his wrist.

Satisfied with the solid hum of energy in his palm, he muttered:

"Old man. Taste the Professor Yang Kiss."

Since Wangliang wouldn't come at him, Gin decided to take the initiative — and with a flick of his wrist, the ball of lightning roared toward Yao.

…?

To Yao's surprise, his grandson ignored the decoy and went straight for him.

Hmph. Good instincts. Worthy of being my descendant.

A wave of darkness surged up from the ground to absorb the attack completely, leaving no trace behind.

"Wow. That's a neat trick."

Gin frowned. Each Mangekyō really was busted in its own weird way. His own seemed positively plain compared to this nonsense.

"You got most of it right… but missed one thing."

Yao's voice was calm as he explained:

"Wangliang doesn't control the shadows alone. I can control them too. The puppet is merely a way to extend my reach."

"You pay royalties to the Nara clan for this or nah?"

Gin's dry question nearly made Yao choke on his own rage.

"Don't you dare compare my Mangekyō to some third-rate clan's secret technique!"

"Looks like a perfect copy to me," Gin deadpanned, tipping his shades down just enough to let Yao see his unimpressed eyes — sending the old man's blood pressure through the roof.

"Wangliang! Stop playing around and cut out his tongue!"

At that, the shadow behind Gin split open, Wangliang's dagger poised for a silent strike.

Clang!

Without even turning his head, Gin brought up Nin'ai no Ken and caught the blade. A faint blue light shimmered from his kunai as he channeled chakra into it.

Crack!

To Yao's shock, the shadow dagger shattered in an instant, and Gin's kunai ripped a gash into Wangliang's chest. The jailer quickly melted back into the shadows, leaving a long, glowing mark behind.

Gin flipped the kunai lazily in his fingers. That strike just now had embedded his chakra deep in the wound — he could feel it.

"That kunai… you hurt Wangliang?!"

Yao's remaining eye widened at the impossible sight. He'd tested Wangliang before — it was supposed to be immune to any physical or illusory attack.

"Not in some novel, old man. Don't expect me to spell it out for you."

Gin snapped, suddenly in Yao's face.

The old man tried to counter, his lone eye flashing as Wangliang appeared again, daggers ready to cut low.

"You coward! You trying to take my grandkids away from me?!"

Gin cursed, pivoting to intercept Wangliang's blades with Nin'ai no Ken, slicing clean through one of its arms as the rest of it fled back to the shadows.

But the damage was done — Yao clutched his chest, pain radiating down his now-useless arm.

For the first time, the old man's resolve faltered. His mind cracked just enough that Gin could see the real Yao fighting against the darkness in his own body.

Good…

But then Yao gritted his teeth, his resolve hardening again.

"You won't stop me. Everything I've done… was to avenge Kin!"

With that roar, he forced his other self back into submission and fixed his one blazing eye on Gin.

"Wangliang! Fuse with me!"

(End of Chapter)

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