Naruto : Crimson wood

"Wood Release: Exploding Gun Tree!"

Renji Takahashi pressed his hands together, shouting the technique's name. Suddenly, the ground beneath the Rampaging Demon Bear split apart.

Thick vines and trees burst out like serpents, coiling tightly around the bear's enormous body.

Even though the bear's fur was burning with fire, the flames couldn't ignite Renji's trees.

Crack!

The trees rapidly grew into towering trunks, engulfing the Demon Bear's entire form.

The fire was smothered before it could even scorch the wood.

"Did we win?" Yuna Hoshizaki asked in surprise, staring at the cocoon of trees. Her voice trembled slightly in disbelief.

Once again, Renji's Wood Release defied her expectations.

But before they could relax—

BOOM!

A shower of splintered wood exploded outward as the Rampaging Demon Bear burst free, dropping onto all fours and charging at Renji with terrifying speed.

"This thing's still not dead?" Renji muttered, staying calm. His Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking the bear's every move.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan Illusion!"

At the critical moment, Renji's scarlet Sharingan spiraled and unleashed a burst of potent mental energy.

Buzz!

The Rampaging Demon Bear locked eyes with him—and instantly froze in mid-air, trapped in an illusion.

Renji stepped back as the immobilized bear crashed hard into the ground.

THUD!

Without hesitation, Renji stabbed the dagger deep into the bear's skull, finishing it off in a single strike.

A Hard-Won Victory

"Phew..."

Renji let out a slow breath, feeling his stamina drain. Using so many abilities in quick succession had worn him out.

"You okay?" Yuna ran over, glancing at the bear's corpse. Her rosy lips parted in astonishment.

"How did you stop it like that? I thought it was about to crush you."

"It's a secret," Renji replied with a faint smile.

There was no way he'd reveal his Sharingan's power so easily.

Telling others your abilities was asking for trouble.

"In any case, we've taken down our first monster." Renji steadied his breathing.

Their mission today was to slay three monsters—but this one fight alone had exhausted the entire team.

Shun Hayashi and Mei Kobayashi were both injured.

"At this rate, getting three monsters today will be impossible." Yuna frowned, concern in her eyes.

She was in the best condition out of the four but had still spent a lot of spiritual energy.

"It's still early. Let's rest first. Once we recover, we'll hunt the next target."

Renji, still fired up from the battle, wasn't ready to quit.

"Let's take the bear's body back first."

He pulled the dagger from the Demon Bear's skull—and noticed a faint red glow deep inside the wound.

The Treasure Within

"Wait... is that a demon core?!"

Eyes widening, Renji quickly pried open the bear's skull, revealing a thumb-sized, fiery-red crystal embedded inside.

It was indeed a demon core.

Demon cores were the most precious part of a monster, containing the essence of its power.

Normally, only second-level monsters and higher formed cores—but sometimes, first-level monsters produced them too.

Monster cores could be absorbed to increase spiritual power or embedded into weapons to boost their strength.

"I can't believe this bear dropped a core!"

Renji was thrilled.

His system had once explained that he could gain energy not only through missions but also by absorbing demon cores, spirit stones, and other rare items.

"System, how much energy does this demon core give?"

[Identified: Fire Element, First-Rank Intermediate Demon Core. Exchange Value: 100 Energy Points.]

"100 points?! Jackpot!"

Renji immediately exchanged the core for 100 energy points.

Without hesitation, he spent those points in the system's mystery shop, purchasing the "Advanced Genjutsu: Binding Illusion" at a discounted price.

"Nice... this feels like a money printer."

With enough demon cores, he'd never have to worry about energy again.

The path forward was clear—hunt monsters and get rich.

Back to the Hunt

Despite his excitement, Renji refocused on the mission.

Working together, the four of them dragged the bear's massive body back toward the meeting point.

When other students saw it, they were shocked.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"I've seen it in the Monster Encyclopedia... That's a Rampaging Demon Bear. Fire element, and extremely powerful for a first-level monster!"

"As expected of Yuna Hoshizaki... She took down something like that so fast."

Ignoring the crowd's chatter, Renji and his teammates remained calm.

Up in a nearby treetop, Qingyun, captain of the Executive Department, quietly observed them.

Seeing the bear's corpse, a rare smile crossed his face beneath his mask.

"So the Double S-Class students from Azure Dragon Academy really do have skill," he murmured.

Preparing for the Next Battle

After resting for an hour, Renji and the others set off again into the forest.

Now that he knew demon cores could be exchanged for energy, Renji was more motivated than ever.

He was ready to hunt ten more monsters on the spot.

Meanwhile, at Xiahai City…

Far from Azure City, Xiahai City's crumbling outer walls were under siege.

A tidal wave of monsters climbed relentlessly, threatening to breach the defenses.

Psychics fought desperately on the walls.

"Thunderstorm: Hidden Wrath!"

A booming roar echoed across the battlefield.

Blinding bolts of lightning rained down from the skies, forming a massive thundercloud over Xiahai City.

Lightning struck the monsters in waves, reducing them to ash.

At that moment, dozens of figures emerged from the forest, charging toward the city walls.

"Reinforcements!"

The defenders cheered at the sight.

A man crackling with electricity flashed across the battlefield, appearing beside the city's bald, aging headmaster, Dean Kenta Chen.

"Raijin Hayate, you're finally here!" the dean cried in relief, tears in his eyes.

"You can see it for yourself. The monster tide is overwhelming us. Our walls won't hold much longer."

Raijin Hayate's brow furrowed as he surveyed the chaos.

"This monster tide... something's not right."

"But first things first—let's crush this wave!"

He turned to the team from Azure Dragon Academy.

"Listen up, everyone! Eliminate every monster you see. Protect Xiahai City at all costs!"

"Yes, sir!"

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