Chapter 116: Riven’s True Plan All Along! Kagehisa’s Last Ressort!

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The young genius of the Hattori clan could not believe what his eyes saw.

Riven, a complete foreigner who stood entirely apart from the ancient teachings of Spiritual Arts, had just unleashed a potent wave of Spiritual Pressure that completely destroyed his technique.

"That’s...! Spiritual Arts?!" he asked in pure disbelief.

Riven smiled calmly. "I’ve finally figured it out, after watching you do it a lot."

Riven stood up fully, his body still covered in deep wounds and steadily bleeding, although most of his biggest injuries had already begun to heal thanks to his powerful Titan Physique.

But above all, what he had just accomplished...

Spiritual Arts combined with his own Aura, creating this massive pressuring force that crushed everything around him...

"Aura Embodiment..." Kagehisa smiled with growing excitement. "You learned that by just looking at me?! You...! Are you a genius like me, Riven Claymore?"

Riven shook his head slowly. "I’d say I’m quite the opposite. I’m just your average guy, trying to save a world where everyone had already given up hope, only for the woman I love."

"..."

Kagehisa’s eyes grew sharper as he finally realized the true source of Riven’s strength.

Beyond classes.

Beyond Authorities.

Beyond skills.

Beyond technique...

There was something that drove him forward more than anything else in existence, something that had forged him into the absolute hell of a fighter he had become.

"My beloved wife is waiting for me back home," Riven said as he took a firm step forward. His aura fluctuated wildly into the shapes of countless beasts before solidifying into a massive chimeric titan. "I’m sorry, kid, but playtime’s over. I had my fun though."

"?!"

Kagehisa suddenly felt something terrible stir within his body.

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

"G-Gaaaha?!"

He vomited a thick mouthful of blood.

The drug that was supposed to heal his wounds was suddenly having a completely different chemical reaction inside him.

His muscles started cramping violently, yet he forced his spirit power to resist total paralysis.

"T-This is...! Haha...! What have you done to me?"

"You’ve been spilling and drinking my blood like a goddamn maniac," Riven answered coldly.

He spilled a bit more of his own blood onto the ground and snapped his fingers, generating a sudden explosion of poisonous fire that spread across the area.

"Turns out my blood is a deadly poison, son. And not just one kind either."

Riven took another step forward, forcing Kagehisa to take an instinctive step backward.

This single action made the young ninja incredibly furious. He clenched his teeth so hard that he bit into his own lips, drawing fresh blood.

How could he have been so careless?

The three old men back at the clan would be beating him senseless if they ever learned he was about to die like this!

A proud ninja dying from poison... it was almost painfully ironic.

"Do you have the antibodies for all twelve of them?" Riven asked again, his blades now overflowing with dense spiritual power.

Spirit Energy combined with Ghostly Essence from his soul and further materialized his monstrous Predatory Beast Aura.

"..."

Kagehisa, however, stopped retreating. Instead...

He took a deliberate step forward.

"I ain’t got no love in my life," the young man said, his voice steady despite the pain. "Let alone someone waiting for me back home... I’ve been alone ever since I was a damn kid."

"..."

"But I am not going to lose because of that," he continued with rising resolve. "I’ll win. And I’m beating you to death right here, right now, Riven Claymore!"

"Bold words for someone standing at death’s door!"

Kagehisa and Riven clashed once more with explosive force.

Swords and spear struck against each other again and again, parrying, blocking, and narrowly avoiding deadly techniques.

Spirals of pure shadow were unleashed in rapid succession, yet Riven blocked them all and then struck Kagehisa hard with his blade, sending the ninja flying backward through the air.

Before long Riven reached him again as he fell. He kicked the young man downward with tremendous force, breaking several ribs as the ninja vomited another mouthful of blood.

"G-Gaaahaaa?!"

As he continued to vomit blood, Riven swung his massive fist downward for a finishing blow.

The ninja, however, finished his hand signs just in time.

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

Dozens of perfect clones appeared from every angle at once, impaling Riven with their spears and stopping him from killing the real body a second before a wooden log substitution appeared in its place.

"Heheheh! I am the proud ninja of the hidden village of Iga!"

More and more clones continued appearing from every direction as they moved their hands in perfect unison and unleashed wave after wave of hand signs, conjuring increasingly complex ninjutsu.

"Poisoned or not! I ain’t backing down until the bitter end!"

As he roared his declaration, even more clones appeared and attacked Riven from absolutely every possible angle.

"DIE! RIVEN CLAYMORE!!!"

FLASH!

Then Riven finally saw through the trick.

The young ninja’s clones glowed brightly before detonating one after another in rapid succession.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

In that moment Riven was completely bathed in hundreds of violent explosions from every direction.

Kagehisa laughed with a wide, triumphant smile even as his skin grew paler and the veins across his body turned an ugly purple.

"Gahahahahah! Kahaaaa...! Cough, cough...! HAHAHAHA! I WON...! I WON!!!"

And yet, as the explosions finally ceased, what remained behind was...

"Eh...?"

Nothing.

Then he felt Riven’s presence a full second too late.

Riven’s swords fused into the black scythe once more — Azrael.

A potent slash composed of pure death energy was unleashed without mercy, striking Kagehisa from behind with the full power of surprise.

Veil of Invisibility’s cooldown has just ended.

And Riven seized his well-deserved victory without hesitation.

"Hah...! You really... got me... damn bastard..."

BOOOMMM!!!

A massive explosion of concentrated death energy struck Kagehisa full force. He was sent flying through the air as his entire body was diced into thousands of pieces.

The young genius of the Hattori clan... perished before he could ever bloom into the legendary ninja that he was destined to become in the future.

As he gazed up at the crimson moonlight for one final moment, Kagehisa closed his eyes with a peaceful smile still lingering on his face.

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