Narume dashed through the forest at high speed, closely followed by Jack the Ripper. Stopping for a moment, she cast Compass. A translucent compass appeared before her, and the needle pointed in a direction. She then rushed forward, following the indicated path.
She had thought Naruto was asleep when she left the campsite, but that was clearly not the case.
After receiving the quest, she had hurried back to the campsite only to find that he was gone. That idiot had run off alone in an unfamiliar place.
This was Naruto before he had learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Even though he was stronger than the original, his combat ability remained pathetic.
As fast as he might be, he shouldn't have gone far. It had only taken her a little over an hour to experiment with Kunivella's memories and acquire the Death Knight's template.
Now, she regretted not leaving one of her undead to watch over him.
At one point, the direction indicated by the compass needle shifted, now pointing toward the deeper parts of the forest.
I resolutely followed the new direction, only to stumble upon what seemed to be a village. The entrance was a massive wooden barricade. Two men stood guard in front of it. Naruto was inside.
I slowed as I approached. If this were a normal village, it wouldn't be deep in the forest, and Naruto wouldn't be in any real danger from mere civilians.
However, the possibility that a specific person was the threat rather than the entire village was the only reason I hadn't summoned the bear to tear everything apart.
But I had no time to waste. If they were just civilians, I would find a way to compensate them.
I approached the gate, and one of the guards tried to stop me, pointing his spear at me.
"Don't kill them," I murmured.
"What?" the guard exclaimed before being neutralized by Jack the Ripper.
I placed my palm against the village gate. It was solid wood, clearly designed to pivot open.
If I simply blew it apart, the civilians behind it would be in danger.
Kunivella was a mage and, more importantly, a scholar.
She had intentionally turned herself into an undead to "live" longer.
Because of this, she lacked some of the natural mechanisms of undead beings, such as precise control over the Death Knight's negative energy.
From my point of contact, the wood began to rot at an accelerated rate before collapsing in on itself.
I then rushed inside, leaping over everyone near the entrance. I stepped on some of them, making them scream.
I ran through the village, following the direction indicated by the compass, closing in on what seemed to be a marketplace.
I ignored everything around me, focusing solely on the compass's position.
Reaching the center of the marketplace, the needle stopped pointing in any direction.
That could only mean one thing—Naruto was either above or below me, with the latter being more likely.
I closed my eyes and focused on my new ability to sense life.
Dozens of life signals surrounded me, each shining with varying intensity.
But beneath my feet, I sensed several more, much weaker than those around me.
Among them, one stood out—stronger than all the others.
Due to his Uzumaki heritage and status as a Jinchuriki, that had to be Naruto.
Then, I sensed a group of life forces stronger than the others approaching me.
Instinctively, I raised my hand, catching an object flying toward my face.
The force behind the projectile surprised me, making me step back slightly. It was an arrow.
More projectiles, dozens of times faster, flew toward me and Jack the Ripper.
Positioning himself in front of me, he intercepted and redirected them with ease.
"Earth Surge."
I moved a massive amount of earth to form a barrier between us and the shooter. Beside me, a crevice revealed an underground chamber.
I looked at the undead and ordered, "Go get Naruto... Those who stand in your way no longer need to live."
Jack the Ripper leaped into the crevice, heading straight for the massive life source I had detected.
Another projectile pierced through the barrier I had created, nearly tearing my leg off. I had managed to move at the last second; otherwise, I would have had a hole in my stomach.
Whoever was attacking me was beyond my natural detection range, even with Complete Vision. I considered using Tremor Wave to locate them, but another idea crossed my mind.
A second projectile shot through my earth mound, but using Lesser Strength, I managed to catch it. Letting the force of the impact drag me to the ground, I cast Fox Sleep.
Silence reigned for a moment before I heard approaching footsteps.
"It's the girl. The man must have gone underground."
"Don't worry, that's our territory down there. Against Kein, he's done for."
"Doesn't this girl remind you of someone?"
"No, why?"
"She looks like the kid you brought back less than an hour ago. I told you only to bring in merchandise we're sure about. Because of that, we were attacked. What if it had been a stronger shinobi?"
Hearing their conversation, the words "base" and "merchandise" made me activate Undead Slave's Sight.
Through Jack the Ripper's eyes, I saw a man crushed against a wall, blood pooling beneath him, deep gashes across his torso.
Jack had lived up to his title.
After that, he moved toward a prison filled with people of various ages, all in a wretched state.
Among them was Naruto. He seemed to be comforting a child despite his own beaten condition, but he was otherwise fine. When he noticed Jack the Ripper approaching, he looked up at him.
I cut the connection at that moment.
A boot struck my side, flipping me onto my stomach as one of the men said,
"What a waste. She would've made good merchandise. But Gon, you're going to pay for putting the entire base in danger."
Then, a new voice spoke.
"Hey, guys… why isn't she bleeding?"
Using only the strength of my arms, I launched myself at the owner of the new voice, knowing from his life force that he was the archer.
I stabbed him with my arm, using one of the Knight class abilities: Piercing Strike.
Enhanced by the Lesser Strength I had previously used, my arm pierced through his chest. I saw the disbelief in his eyes.
Unbeknownst to me, his last sight was my blue eyes glowing with a vivid red energy.
At that moment, the ground around us turned marshy as a giant bear emerged.