Chapter 7 – Hunt Begins
What a fascinating experience.
Tatsuro could see every one of the curse's attack trajectories clearly etched into his mind. It almost felt like he could dodge them with his eyes closed.
But he wasn't cocky—he knew that feeling was mostly an illusion. One slip-up and he'd be six feet under.
His hands were now fully cloaked in crimson cursed energy. He could feel the surge of power—the satisfying, overwhelming sense of strength he had never felt in his previous life.
His body was full of force.
Looking at the three curses that had chased him halfway around the playground, Tatsuro grinned. Spotting an opening, he lashed out and crushed two of their eyeballs with his hands, rendering them blind.
The third curse opened its grotesque mouth, clearly intending to swallow him whole.
"You wanna dance too?"
Tatsuro's Sharingan eyes locked onto the ambusher. With full force, he launched a devastating punch, blasting the curse straight through the chest.
Damn… that was stronger than I expected.
He had no time to be surprised though—there were still two more left. They couldn't see anymore, but honestly, they weren't able to touch him even when they could.
It didn't take much longer to finish them off. And after his first real fight, Tatsuro felt more confident than ever.
The downside? Using the Sharingan for too long had drained his cursed energy significantly.
He glanced at the mission panel. Seven more curses to go.
He exhaled deeply and deactivated the Sharingan. If he didn't pace himself, he wouldn't even have enough strength to fight the next one.
"That was amazing!" Yuta shouted in awe.
"This level's alright," Maki said, spinning her naginata confidently. "If it were me, I would've taken them all out in one shot."
"Sure, sure," Tatsuro muttered, eyes subtly drifting toward Maki's weapon. If I had a cursed tool like that, I wouldn't have to spend so much energy on my eyes…
Wait.
She has one right here, doesn't she?
"Maki, can I borrow your weapon?"
"No."
She refused without even blinking.
Tatsuro expected that. It was her lifeline, after all. He didn't press. He had another plan: he'd just target weaker curses from now on.
The system didn't specify a grade. Newly spawned weaklings counted too.
"Whatever. I'll go solo. Just… make sure to save me if I scream."
"Come on, it's safer to stick together!" Yuta protested.
Maki cut in, "It's fine. He's not weak. As long as he can protect himself, splitting up will help us find the missing kids faster. Time is life—we'll search the main building."
"…Okay," Yuta replied, watching Tatsuro's retreating figure with admiration. He wanted to become someone who could save others too—not the source of suffering.
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Clack, clack, clack…
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.
Tatsuro scanned the hall with sharp black eyes. He felt multiple gazes watching him from all directions—uncomfortable, yet familiar.
But he didn't dare act rashly. The rumored large curse was likely lurking nearby, just waiting for an opening.
Only 7 curses left. But where were they hiding?
He was running out of time. Both the reward points and the Genin-level body enhancement were critical to his survival.
Click.
He stopped before a classroom door, peeking through the glass panel. Nothing seemed out of place… but something about the atmosphere gave him chills, like a gust of winter wind slicing across his skin.
"Seven left, huh? Should be enough inside here."
He muttered to himself, trying to calm his nerves.
He needed to finish them off quickly—silent and deadly. If he made too much noise, he'd attract that thing.
Tatsuro took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle with his right hand. Crimson cursed energy began to spread across his palm, and his black pupils once again shifted into a spinning red Sharingan.
He scanned the classroom with precise clarity.
"Three hiding under desks… no, four."
"One inside that cabinet…"
"One above the doorway—ambushing position?"
"And three standing motionless on the back wall. Probably born from students punished to stand for too long…"
That made a total of Nine.
That's enough. I can't keep the Sharingan active for long—it drains too much energy.
He let his eyes fade back to black.
Tatsuro braced himself. Go!
Veins popped on his hand as he wrenched the metal door open and burst inside. His first move: take out the spider-like curse hiding on the door frame.
Its five blood-red eyes locked onto him.
Too late.
Tatsuro flipped midair and slammed it to the ground like a basketball dunk. One follow-up strike finished the job.
One down in two seconds. The others hadn't even reacted yet.
Six more!
Without hesitation, he charged toward the three curses standing against the back wall.
No hesitation—just destroy!
One opened its mouth to scream, but his red fist had already crushed its skull.
The other two turned just in time to be greeted by sledgehammer punches to the face.
THUMP!
They were gone.
Now the rest of the room stirred. The remaining curses had finally sensed the intruder.
Only three left.
Tatsuro turned toward the cabinet. It had begun shaking, something inside thumping to break free.
He knew what that meant—imminent attack.
If he didn't finish this in ten seconds, the big one would come running.
This was the window. If he wanted that Genin-level body boost, this was it.
Ten seconds to kill three more. I can do this.
And once I do… maybe I can even take a shot at the big one.
I mean—come on. Genin in Naruto?
We all know what that means.
This was an all-or-nothing gamble.
If he failed… well, Gojo would probably clean up the mess and he'd lose his chance forever.
No pressure.
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