Bear School Astartes

Black Conical Hat Li, this is the title of the leader of the Ninja organization—the Chaos Wave Group.

They are ninjas maintained by the Vajra Mountain Immortal Peak Temple, operating in secret and little known to others.

As for why a group of monks would use the temple's offerings to maintain a band of ninjas, no one knows.

Black Conical Hat Li snapped his dislocated arm back into place with a 'crack', held his joint to prevent it from shaking, then ran off.

The warrior chasing him was unbelievably strong!

Although a ninja could outrun any warrior, an inexplicable chill still lingered, clogging his heart.

It made him dare not slow his pace.

His two skinny legs moved like lightning; his single-toothed wooden sandals only made a slight 'clack' when stepping on occasional rocks. His short, squat body glided like a floating piece of paper under his expert Light Body Skill.

Black Conical Hat Li moved effortlessly through the uneven terrain of Iwami.

This land was naturally suited for ninja activities.

After running for half an hour, Black Conical Hat Li found the resting place of his subordinates.

This half-hour journey for the nimble ninjas, was a rugged path with an elevation difference of more than four hundred meters, and it would take clumsy ordinary people and warriors several days.

It was a triangular area barely two hundred square meters, wedged between two cliff walls, where over a dozen Chaos Wave Group ninjas were active.

They wore wooden or straw hats, crouched by the fire, stepping on single-toothed wooden sandals, holding wooden bowls and slurping their meals.

To those unfamiliar, they might have looked more like a group of hardworking farmers finishing their labor.

Black Conical Hat Li jumped straight down from the cliff, stumbling a few steps before steadying himself.

The Chaos Wave Group, who had initially raised their heads at the commotion, resumed eating upon seeing the symbolic black iron hat.

"Hey, Li? Finished the funeral? We thought you'd take a few days to clear your head."

A Chaos Wave Group member greeted Black Conical Hat Li and handed him a wooden bowl.

"Eat something, catch your breath."

Black Conical Hat Li was indeed catching his breath, the psychological pressure from Lann still kept his adrenaline levels high, leading to severe fatigue.

Adding the dislocated arm, running with one hand holding the joint, the prolonged unbalanced movement even tired this elite ninja.

But he still shoved the wooden bowl away.

The wooden bowl and its content—mixed grain porridge—spilled over instantly.

"The meal can wait, but didn't I tell you… not to take any actions before I got back?"

Under the black iron hat, Black Conical Hat Li stared coldly at his group of subordinates.

"When did ninjas start acting at will?"

The Chaos Wave member whose bowl was knocked over, showed no emotional fluctuation, simply looking calmly at his leader.

Unbothered by the spilled bowl, nor disturbed by causing their leader's anger.

Most of the Chaos Wave Group who looked up from their bowls had similar expressions.

Black Conical Hat Li began to feel uneasy.

The Ninja Group was an organization with a brutally, pathologically strict hierarchy. When subordinates start disregarding a superior's anger... it often meant trouble brewing.

"We weren't acting at will, Black Conical Hat."

The Chaos Wave member picked up the wooden bowl from the ground, refilled it with mixed grain porridge, but did not hand it back to Black Conical Hat Li, instead sucked it up themselves.

"The Chaos Wave Group is a ninja group serving a master. When the master asks us to hurry, we hurry."

"Black Conical Hat, the reason we can sit here drinking porridge isn't because of you. It's because we're working for the master. Moreover..."

While slurping the porridge, the Chaos Wave member slightly raised his head, glanced at Black Conical Hat Li. In their eyes, Black Conical Hat Li saw no old loyalty, only disdain.

"Everyone feels for you losing your son. But if you become soft-hearted over such a matter, you're not fit to be a ninja. And an unfit ninja... has no business being a leader."

"The monks need twenty children this time, we've already sent seventeen up. What will you do about the remaining three?"

The Chaos Wave member, and all other Chaos Wave members, paused their eating and looked firmly at Black Conical Hat.

Their gazes filled him with an indescribable chill.

Black Conical Hat Li knew in his heart, this was not a request to lend a hand, but a test to prove his continued leadership over the Chaos Wave Group.

In such a rigidly hierarchical organization, a subversion would explode in scale and determination far beyond peers.

With the ruthless decisiveness of ninjas, if he didn't complete the task himself, his porridge-holding subordinates would likely draw their swords and dismember him the next moment!

Having been injured by a kick from Lann, even fleeing with a Light Body Skill was uncertain.

But... would he do it?

Kidnapping children, it wasn't difficult. He had done it smoothly before, many times.

But… now?

The muscles on Black Conical Hat Li's face twitched beneath his skin, under the hat, no one could see his eyes.

The colorful Renqi Balloon prayed for his son, still rested on him.

Before his son's death, he was indifferent to committing evil deeds.

Karma, retribution... such things he thought were nonsense. The ones preaching these things were their employers—these evil ones, the ninjas, after all!

If the Buddha had eyes, he should punish those monks.

But now that his son passed away due to frailty... he was not much concerned about karma or retribution. Ninjas feared none of these.

But... what if? He wasn't afraid, but what about his son who had gone to the Yellow Springs?

He went so early, what if his sins were attributed to Tianji? What if the Buddha, finding himself unafraid, turns to punish the child?

He was still young.

Tianji couldn't bear it.

Black Conical Hat Li didn't know what nonsense he was thinking now.

Through years of a ninja career, he should have seen through the façade of the 'Buddhist Technique' the most. Those deceptions had already laid bare their filth before him.

But now, his thoughts began to wander uncontrollably.

"Alas." Underneath the sunken hat, the leader of the Chaos Wave Group sighed.

Surrounding Chaos Wave Group heard this, their expressions turned cold, hands reached to the daggers at their waists.

"You're right, I… really can't do these despicable things anymore."

A crisp 'crack', and Black Conical Hat Li's body emitted a blue light, his stout figure posed like a Buddhist statue.

The surrounding Chaos Wave Group's eyes widened with determination.

"He's eaten the haojang candy! Kill him!"

Several short, stout men jumped with astonishing height, attacking Black Conical Hat Li from all directions like a flock of crows!

It seemed they had been planning this for quite some time.

Their methods suggested thorough drill at least four or five times.

Black Conical Hat Li gripped the short sword in his hand, felt he wouldn't last two minutes, but... hoping to drag a couple down together... perhaps it might lessen Tianji's suffering below?

With that mindset, Black Conical Hat Li prepared to face his former subordinates.

But the next moment, two flying daggers with a terrifying gale, stirred the air with high-density Qi Blades!

Shooting down directly from the sky, heading towards the dense Chaos Wave Group!