{A/N: I am Back with a 3x long chapter and a story time at the end of the chapter!!!}
"RWAHHHHHHH!"
Shin was just about to stroll out of the village after giving them the infamous Uchiha clan "treatment"—basically Itachi's specialty, but with his own violent twist—when a bald eagle swooped out of nowhere, claws out and beak aiming for his face.
"Damn... an agent from the FBI," he thought with a smirk, but he wasn't fazed.
The eagle screeched and jabbed at him, talons scraping his armor, but Shin didn't panic. He casually grabbed the bird by its beak mid-attack, his fingers tightening around it like a vice.
Without warning, flames erupted from his palms, flickering and roaring as if pulled from thin air.
The heat was instant, scorching. The bird barely had time to react before it was engulfed, feathers catching fire, its screeches turning into a brief, pathetic squeal.
In seconds, the eagle was reduced to a charred, blackened husk, the smell of burnt feathers filling the air.
"What a weird-ass eagle," Shin muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. He flung the crispy remains a few meters away with zero hesitation, barely giving it a second glance.
He continued walking as if nothing happened, leaving behind the smoldering corpse.
But... unbeknownst to him, the damn eagle wasn't fully dead. A sliver of life clung to its barely recognizable form, some supernatural "plot armor" keeping it alive, because why the hell not?
Meanwhile, Shin was already far from the village, his feet moving swiftly through the forest like a wild animal.
He ran with ease, like Mowgli darting through the jungle, branches and leaves snapping underfoot, the fresh scent of the woods filling his lungs.
Soon, he reached the hideout of the bandits—his bandits, a rough bunch that would slit a throat as easily as shake a hand. The entrance to their lair was crude, tucked into the side of a rocky hill, camouflaged by overgrown vines and debris.
As Shin entered, he spotted Meiji standing with a group of thugs, their weapons gleaming, blood probably still fresh on some of them.
"Welcome back, my lord," Meiji said, bowing slightly. The other bandits mimicked him, their voices uniting in forced respect, but it wasn't admiration in their eyes—just fear.
No one respected Shin; that would be delusional. They feared him, plain and simple.
Shin gave them nothing more than a brief nod, his expression as cold as ever, before striding past Meiji.
His eyes were set on the tall, jagged tower at the center of the hideout, the heart of their operations. Meiji, quick on his feet, gestured for the others to disperse before hurrying to follow Shin.
"Meiji," Shin called out, not breaking his stride. "How many hearts do we have right now?"
Meiji, now walking just behind him, paused for a second, his brows furrowing as he did some quick mental math.
The bandits had been busy over the last two days, and he knew every bloody detail since he managed the group's affairs.
"That would be around 369 human hearts, my lord," Meiji said respectfully, his voice strained as he tried to catch his breath. Shin finally slowed his pace, giving Meiji a brief glance.
Shin's face, now a bit more refined and even handsome after the battles he'd been through, still bore that same bored, lazy expression. He never looked bothered, no matter the situation.
"Oh... that's good," Shin muttered, barely interested. "Now all that's left is to see who wins at the end of the week."
Shin's expression didn't change at all. He wasn't one to get excited easily, even over something as gruesome as a contest involving nearly 400 hearts. His face remained impassive, as if the weight of it all was beneath him.
Meiji, however, looked more confused by the second, his brows furrowing as he struggled to keep up with the weirdness of it all. After a long pause, he finally gave in to his curiosity.
"If I may, my lord," Meiji began cautiously, his voice trembling just a bit. "Why do you need so many human hearts?" He couldn't help it. The question had been burning inside him for days.
I mean, who in their right mind needs hundreds of human hearts? They weren't something you could sell at the local market or trade for coin.
What he didn't expect was Shin's sudden shift in demeanor. The cold, disinterested look on Shin's face was replaced by a sharp, dangerous gaze.
Shin's eyes locked onto Meiji's, and without warning, a sinister aura leaked from his body. It wasn't just any energy—this was heavenly demonic energy.
The air around them seemed to thicken, and Meiji's breath hitched in his throat. His legs wobbled as a suffocating pressure settled over him, making his knees buckle.
It felt like a predator's gaze—no, worse. Heavenly demonic energy wasn't something you could brush off. It made you feel insignificant, like prey at the bottom of the food chain.
No matter how strong you were, this energy reminded you that a heavenly demon stood at the top. Always.
"If I haven't told you," Shin said, his voice cold and sharp, "that means you're not worthy to know."
His words sliced through the air like a blade, and the weight of his gaze made Meiji crumble. His legs gave out completely, and he hit the ground with a thud, his body trembling uncontrollably.
The heavenly demonic energy seeped into his very bones, making him feel like an ant under a boot.
It didn't help that Meiji had such a pathetic amount of chakra flowing through him, which made him even more vulnerable to Shin's presence. He could barely breathe, let alone think straight.
Shin watched him without a trace of emotion, eyes still piercing. Seeing Meiji shaking like a leaf, Shin pulled back his energy, letting the crushing pressure lift. The air felt breathable again, though the coldness lingered.
Meiji, now drenched in sweat and feeling colder than ice for some unknown reason, shakily pushed himself up off the ground. His hands were trembling as he rubbed them together, trying to bring some warmth back.
"I-I understand, my lord. Please, forgive me just this once," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper, as if he was afraid of triggering another surge of that demonic energy.
His body still felt weak, and the aftereffects of the fear were still creeping through his veins, but at least he could speak again.
Slowly, he got to his feet, his legs feeling like jelly beneath him.
Shin barely spared Meiji a glance as he walked away, making his way toward the room that once belonged to Hirosi.
The dimly lit hallway seemed longer than usual, but Shin didn't care. He had one goal in mind.
As soon as he opened the door to Hirosi's old room, the smell of antiseptic hit him.
Shelves lined the walls, each holding jars filled with human hearts, preserved in some kind of medical fluid. Hundreds of hearts floated in the glass, their sickening, faint glow reflecting the sterile light.
"Let's get started," Shin muttered to himself, rolling his shoulders like he was about to get into some serious work.
He raised a hand, and using his telekinesis, pulled a jar off a far shelf.
The jar clattered as it floated toward him, holding about five or six hearts suspended in the liquid.
Without hesitation, he opened the jar with a flick of his wrist, the lid popping off like a soda can.
The hearts floated out of the container, lifted by his mental force, hovering in front of him. Shin smirked a little, his eyes narrowing as he made them smash into each other midair with brutal precision.
The hearts slammed together, bursting open and mixing into a grotesque red sludge. The squelching sound echoed around the room, the mess twisting and splattering under his control. He didn't flinch, not once.
One by one, he brought more hearts into the mix, creating a thick, disgusting paste, like some demented version of a sauce.
The sickly wet sound of flesh colliding over and over filled the room as more hearts joined the gory slurry.
Suddenly, a familiar window popped up in front of his eyes:
{Third Mission is being Assigned: Please make the Hundred Heart Demonic Pill successfully.}
{Reward: Teleportation to the Cave of Asura.}
'What?' Shin thought, pausing for a brief moment. The notification didn't shock him—he was used to the system by now.
Still, it was strange how often these missions popped up when he was already knee-deep in some crazy task.
He waved the system window away mentally, returning to his gruesome work.
The thick paste was starting to look more solid now, the hearts melding into one uniform mass. However, a question nagged at the back of his mind.
'System, are you sure the Hundred Heart Demonic Pill is made like this?' he thought, doubting the simplicity of it all.
Just smashing hearts into a pulp? Could anyone really do this if it was that basic?
There hadn't been many details about this process in the Heavenly Demon's library either, and Shin wasn't one to blindly follow instructions without questioning them.
{Master, the Hundred Heart Demonic Pill is a rare creation that resonates with the Hell's Divine Tree.
Only those with the tree's influence can successfully craft this pill. The process involves merging hearts using demonic qi, which slowly bonds with the body.
Normally, this would drain someone dry of their qi, but the Hell's Divine Tree constantly absorbs energy from its surroundings, supplying enough heavenly demonic qi to complete the pill.}
Shin's face remained unchanged. He had long since mastered the art of looking unfazed by anything, but his hands moved faster now, his telekinesis guiding the hearts together more urgently.
Time was ticking, and he needed to finish this quickly.
Minutes passed, and the blood-drenched paste began to shift, slowly taking form. It twisted and churned in the air, the mass of mashed organs shaping into something solid.
But the effort was taking its toll on Shin. His stamina was burning up faster than he expected.
His breaths came heavier, and a slight sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, though he ignored the discomfort.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of light illuminated the room, making him squint.
The thick heart paste had finally transformed, hardening into a ball-like structure. Strange, ominous patterns appeared on its surface, pulsing faintly with energy.
"Ha... finally completed," Shin muttered, his voice hoarse as he exhaled deeply, wiping some sweat from his brow.
Without wasting a second, he snatched the pill from the air, inspecting it for a brief moment before gulping it down in one swift motion.
He knew he couldn't delay. The pill would lose its potency by 1% every second for the next 100 seconds.
Shin's eyes widened in surprise as the sensation hit him. This feels good? he thought, almost incredulously. The rush from the Hundred Heart Demonic Pill was nothing like he had anticipated.
It was a euphoric high, like the best kind of drug or an incredible night of passion rolled into one. It felt as if he were ascending, his body transcending to a new level of power.
Muscles rippled and expanded under his skin, and he could feel his stamina skyrocketing along with his durability.
Every body-related stat surged, as if he had been training for years under a relentless master like Might Guy. The transformation was nothing short of spectacular.
No wonder the Heavenly Demonic Cult had wiped out all opposition in their path toward world domination.
First of all, their leader was an immortal. Secondly, just consuming this pill alone catapulted someone to the first-grade martial artist level in the shinobi world, equivalent to a Jōnin.
With a bit of martial arts training, they could become elite Jōnin or even reach Kage-level.
It was like skipping years of arduous training. The power and potential were intoxicating.
As expected of the demonic path, he mused, a grin creeping onto his face as he savored the feeling.
Suddenly, the familiar notification pinged in his mind:
{Ding! The reward is being processed. Teleporting master to the Cave of Asura.}
"Wait—!"
Before he could gather his thoughts or prepare for the transition, the world around him began to dissolve into a swirling vortex of colors.
His surroundings blurred and twisted, and he felt a weightlessness envelop him as he was pulled through space.
A/N: Alright, so like I mentioned before, I've been buried under class tests lately. Just the other day, I faced a brutal economics exam. Let me tell you, it was a nightmare!
To summarize, there were nine chapters we had to cover for this test. My two best friends and I hatched a brilliant plan: each of us would take three chapters and cheat off each other during the exam. It sounded foolproof, right?
But disaster struck.
Our main invigilator made us sit alphabetically, and with my name being Aesir, I was stuck at the front desk, right in front of the invigilator.
My one friend got stuck at the front of the second row, so there went our plan. The third guy? He had it even worse! He ended up at the last desk in my row, surrounded by people he had beaten up in a fight just last week.
Only the girl in front of him was someone he hadn't clashed with yet, but even that was a gamble.
You might be wondering why we didn't just write down what we studied. Well, we couldn't! The economics teacher split the question paper into four parts, and each part contained questions from different chapters.
Our luck was so cursed that we ended up with sections containing questions from the chapters we hadn't studied!
And just when we thought it couldn't get worse, the usual Nyc pizza shop we frequented shut down for good. THE SAME FUCKING DAY!
So, if my results come back, and I vanish for a month or so, just assume I've met my end (just kidding!).