The monster before him pried open its maw filled with jagged fangs. "Not enough... this power is still not enough!"
Mori Shiraishi had completely surrendered to his insatiable craving for strength. Under Abu's terrified gaze, he leaped into the air. His target was not the ninja, but rather the body of another Ghoul lying nearby.
It was his father, Shiro Shiraishi.
Without a shred of hesitation, Mori Shiraishi tore the Kagune from his father's waist. He tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the organ whole.
"This guy..."
Abu's pupils trembled; he was utterly paralyzed by the horror of the scene. After consuming his father's Kagune, Mori Shiraishi let out a sound of pure ecstasy. His body began to undergo yet another transformation.
Gurgle... gurgle...
The skin on his lower back seemed to boil as countless bubbles surged beneath the surface. Suddenly, a thick, dark-red Bikaku · Centipede burst through his flesh, swaying through the air like a sinister, demonic tail. Each leg on its sides was as sharp as a blade, radiating an aura of pure violence.
On the stands, Hidan watched with a confused expression. "Hey, you bastard Simu! How can this kid handle so many Kagune just like you?"
Though Hidan rarely cared for details, he had heard Simu mention it before. A Kagune was essentially a parasite that required the host to provide a constant stream of energy. Furthermore, due to their parasitic nature, they exerted massive interference on the host's mind. This was why some people went berserk immediately after being turned into Ghouls.
Generally speaking, one Kagune was the limit for a human body. As for Simu? He was the master of all Kagune and their creator, so their collective will could never touch his mind. His modified body was built to withstand the drain of multiple parasites, allowing him to control as many as he pleased.
Mori Shiraishi, however, was different. Simu was genuinely surprised that an ordinary person could merge three separate Kagune.
"It seems his hatred helped him withstand the mental influence of the Kagune," Simu said, adjusting his glasses with clinical interest.
The simplest way to resist mental interference is to overwrite it with an even stronger, more twisted psychological state. If I am twisted enough, you cannot twist me. That was exactly Mori Shiraishi's current state.
The death of his parents and his indictment of this world's injustice had overridden his identity as a "human." To take revenge on the world, he was willing to discard his original self and fall into the depths as a monster. This resolve was even more potent than the distortion brought by the Kagune.
"This is becoming more and more promising." Simu watched the battlefield silently through his lenses.
After consuming the second Kagune, Mori Shiraishi's mental state became even more warped and frenzied. Simultaneously, by shattering the shackles of his humanity, he had become significantly stronger. Berserk power flooded every corner of his body.
Mori Shiraishi lowered his posture, locking his crimson gaze onto Abu. An indescribable terror suddenly gripped the heart of the battle-hardened ninja.
In all his years as a ninja, he had never experienced a scene like this. The being standing before him was no longer a man—it was a demon god from hell!
"Haaa..."
A blast of air vented from Mori Shiraishi's mouth like the whistle of a steam engine. In the next second, his thickened legs crushed the ground beneath him. Terrifying power exploded from his feet, sending a web of cracks spreading rapidly across the floor.
Standing three to four meters tall and encased in black armor, Mori Shiraishi charged forward like an unstoppable tank!
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Abu squeezed out the last drops of his remaining chakra to summon a wall of earth, desperate to block the advance. However, this flimsy defense was useless against the demonic Mori Shiraishi. He crashed straight through the wall like an indestructible battering ram.
With a thunderous boom, the wall shattered into countless stones as if hit by a cannonball. Amidst the flying debris, Mori Shiraishi's massive shadow emerged.
"Too weak! You are far too weak!"
Mori Shiraishi roared. The massive, dark-red Bikaku behind him swept aside all obstacles, easily coiling around the exhausted Abu. The sheer pressure exerted by the tail made Abu's bones creak, threatening to crush him at any moment.
Mori Shiraishi pulled Abu close to his face before releasing him into a free fall. As Abu dropped, two slender, scythe-like Rinkaku limbs suddenly lunged from Mori's shoulders.
The dark-red Rinkaku moved so fast they created a literal storm of blood. The sharp limbs shredded Abu in a frenzy of cutting. By the time he hit the ground, not a patch of skin remained; his raw, red muscles were exposed to the air. His heart was still beating and his chest heaved, but his eyes were filled only with agony and terror.
"Your movements... are too slow."
"Haaa..."
Mori Shiraishi picked up a piece of rebar from the floor and thrust it through Abu's right chest, pinning him firmly to the ground. He didn't plan to kill him immediately; that would be far too merciful.
"Next... it's your turn."
The monster slowly raised its head. Its gaze was fixed directly on Sakamoto, the Chairman of the Company.
Sakamoto felt as though he had been marked by a god of death. A wave of cold air surged from the soles of his feet to his head.
"Quick!" Sakamoto screamed. "Kill this thing right now!"
Sakamoto still had six ninjas under his command. Though they had watched Abu's gruesome fate, they were paid to do a job. Furthermore, there were six of them; surely by working together, they could take down this single beast?
The six ninjas exchanged looks and leaped down from the stands. By then, Mori Shiraishi had already begun his massive strides toward them.
"Earth Style: Earth Rising!"
This time, the ninja didn't lift the ground beneath Mori's feet but rather the area surrounding him. Under the influence of chakra, four walls rose abruptly, trapping Mori Shiraishi inside like he was in the belly of a kettle.
Immediately, another Earth Style ninja performed hand signs and slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Earth Style: Rock Cannon Jutsu!"
A massive boulder rose from the ground in front of him and launched like a mortar shell, aimed precisely at Mori Shiraishi's position. If the four walls were the kettle, this falling boulder was undoubtedly the lid. Once it landed, they could seal the monster inside forever!