"You're not worth playing with!"
Looking at Tsunade, Ryuji couldn't help but complain straight to her face.
And honestly, he had every reason to.
He was this close to winning their fight.
But then…
Tsunade had activated her Yin Seal.
The chakra she had stored instantly restored her stamina. And since chakra was a combination of physical and spiritual energy, it even refreshed her mind.
What ca next was just plain ridiculous.
She might not have been the most skilled fighter in this situation, but she sure was tanky.
To make things worse, every ti Tsunade used the chakra from her Yin Seal, all the damage he had inflicted would heal right back up — and the paths he'd painstakingly carved open would revert to their original state. It forced him to waste an enormous amount of energy and focus just to redo everything again and again.
And for soone like Ryuji — a human from Earth with very real physical limits — there was only so much he could do. He couldn't exactly just keep stuffing his face with food forever to keep going.
In the end, he was utterly defeated.
Not because of lack of skill.
But because Tsunade was cheating.
"That's not my fault — you're just too weak!" Tsunade shot back without hesitation.
Of course, there was no way she'd ever admit that the real reason she activated her Byakugōu Seal was because she couldn't stand the idea of Ryuji looking down on her.
Not a chance.
"You totally just didn't want to lose, huh?" he pressed again, unwilling to let it go.
"Shut up!" Tsunade barked, a little flustered now. She quickly turned her head away, refusing to look at him. Instead, she went back to digging at the ground, trying to make sure they could last longer the next ti they fought.
Ryuji didn't push her any further.
He only said all that for a reason.
"…My energy points went up again."
Staring at his status, he fell into a brief silence.
Because just now — when he and Tsunade had done it — his energy points per round had increased from 25 to 30.
He could feel the difference.
And after going at it ten tis in total, he had raked in a full 300 points.
At this rate, even considering the strain on his waist and body, it wouldn't take him long to gather enough points to send Tsunade back.
More accurately — to take away that special "first-ti" sensation of hers.
Sure, for Tsunade, it wasn't like she couldn't recover from it. But there was no denying that, after being sent to heaven by Ryuji so many tis, she was starting to develop so very complicated feelings toward him.
Especially since, at heart, she was still a pretty traditional woman — which only made those feelings even ssier.
If Ryuji were actually in the Naruto world… if he were a shinobi, or maybe even so wealthy landowner from the Land of Fire, he figured he might've been able to find a way to marry Tsunade by now.
Unfortunately, this whole situation was just way too special — a bizarre scenario leading to a bizarre relationship.
Even if he was willing… there was no way she would be.
"…Should I tell her or not?"
Swinging his pickaxe, he pondered that question quietly.
Sure, Tsunade's body was amazing — unbelievably comfortable and ridiculously useful — and he had to admit, he was definitely reluctant to let her go.
But one thing was clear.
Keeping Tsunade trapped in this world forever just for his own desires… was honestly kind of cruel.
Letting out a long sigh, his stamina and nutrition drained after their earlier "exercise," Ryuji rubbed his grumbling stomach and glanced up at the sky helplessly.
"…Man, I hope next ti they send soone a little more casual."
Rias Gremory looked casual — but that was only because she treated people with value that way. As for Luxana… well, she was basically a pure and innocent little princess. Doing those kinds of things with her…
Yeah. That'd probably be pretty hard for her to handle ntally.
"…Although I know it's kind of scummy, having a few girls from a more normal everyday world would really help level up my skills faster…"
Scratching his head, he let out another sigh.
But then, sothing else occurred to him.
"Speaking of which… where the hell did those two newbies run off to?"
He was genuinely curious.
And funny enough — while he was wondering about the newbies, the newbies were also cursing his na.
"Damn it… this is nothing like what that guy said it would be…"
Rias narrowed her beautiful eyes, staring at the scene before her.
What greeted her wasn't so easy starter-zone battlefield — but an endless swarm of zombies, their bodies oozing with ominous green energy, their eyes glowing a terrifying yellow.
Rias was panting slightly, feeling both exhausted and helpless.
After all, when she and Lux had first left Ryuji's camp, her original plan had just been to use her flight magic to take Lux sightseeing — to explore the surrounding area a little.
But that plan had fallen apart almost imdiately.
First off, the mana consumption for her flight magic had suddenly skyrocketed to an absurd level. And worse — the mont they ascended into the sky, flocks of grotesque zombie birds began swarming toward them from god-knows-where.
No matter how many tis she raised a magic shield to protect herself and Lux, those monster birds just kept hurling themselves at them without hesitation — sacrificing themselves, over and over, to drain her mana little by little.
Sure, Rias' magic recovery rate wasn't bad. But the endless nature of the attacks, the sheer persistence of the birds… it was wearing her down fast.
In the end, she barely managed to fly five or six kiloters before she was forced to land here — inside this old factory beneath them.
Why?
Because there were just too damn many zombie birds!
The longer she stayed in the air, the more of them appeared — at first, she hadn't thought much of it. But by the ti she realized sothing was seriously wrong, the sky above had already turned pitch black from the sheer number of them.
Honestly, her landing barely qualified as a landing — it was closer to an ergency crash. She'd wanted to find a safe spot where she could finally wipe out the aerial threats.
But while she was still in the sky, she noticed sothing else — this supposedly "abandoned" canning factory… was still running.
And so, convinced she'd caught Ryuji lying through his teeth, she landed imdiately with Lux in tow.
And then…
Things had gotten real bad.
Zombies. Endless, nightmarish waves of zombies.
The mont she blasted open the front gate with a fireball — after finding the doors mysteriously locked from the inside — an unrelenting swarm of undead began flooding out from every corner of the factory.
And these things… weren't normal zombies either.
They were berserk. Insane. Cramd together so densely that there wasn't even space to breathe between them.
"Damn it! What the hell is up with this Factory?!"
Rias cursed as she unleashed another massive fireball, blasting a huge crater into the horde and sending dozens of zombies flying through the air like burning debris.
Her sharp ears could hear it clearly — the factory was still running inside.
Which could only an one thing — if there were people in there… whoever was controlling this place absolutely wanted them dead.
But right now… with her mana nearly drained, there was no way Rias could risk taking to the skies again. Not like before. Not unless she wanted to burn through the very last of her magic and leave herself completely defenseless.
Even though her strength wasn't exactly weak, even she had to admit…
Right beside her, Lux was panting heavily, leaning on her staff for support, staring in fear at the monstrous horde charging toward them — trampling over the corpses of their own fallen like mindless beasts.
Seeing this terrifying scene, Lux took a deep breath and turned to Rias, her voice trembling but determined.
"Miss Rias… I can cast one more spell."
She had already unleashed several powerful bursts of blinding light. And while each cast had managed to annihilate scores of zombies, it was like scooping water from a flood — endless waves of the undead just kept pouring out from within the factory. Every ti she cleared a path, more would co flooding in.
Rias gave a firm nod. Staring at the mass of rotting bodies practically piling on top of each other, she gritted her teeth. Retreat. That was the only option left.
As much as it bruised her pride… staying here until her magic ran dry would be suicide.
"Alright — get ready. We're going to take to the sky again and get as far away from here as possible. If that bastard wasn't lying, these zombies should stop chasing once we get far enough away. Wait for my signal to cast your spell."
Once more, she raised her hands. The familiar glow of her barrier and flight magic surrounded them, lifting their bodies into the air. Lux imdiately felt herself becoming lighter — but at the sa ti, Rias's face grew visibly paler.
With a grunt of effort, Rias hurled a fireball toward the factory gates, blasting a temporary opening through the swarming dead. Without wasting a second, she darted forward, soaring up into the sky — straight into the waiting flock of zombie birds overhead.
But this ti, she didn't even try to fight them.
All she focused on was speed. Breaking through. Escaping.
And as she finally burst through the cloud of shrieking, clawing undead birds — both she and Lux couldn't help but widen their eyes at the sight below.
Zombies.
A literal sea of zombies.
Endless, uncountable hordes of the undead were pouring out from the Factory like a ruptured dam, surging out in every direction.
They were roaring, shrieking, desperate to chase after her — but unlike the zombie birds in the sky, these ground-bound monsters couldn't follow for long. Once Rias flew a certain distance away, they began to slow… then stumble… and finally, like puppets with their strings cut, they stopped altogether.
So wandered aimlessly for a mont.
And then — one after another — they turned back, shuffling back toward the factory.
"Thank goodness… any closer, and I really would have brought disaster down on us…"
Rias finally let out a sigh of relief. Glancing back at the vast swarm of zombie birds still chasing after them like a dark cloud blotting out the sky, she managed a faint smile toward Lux.
"Alright, Miss Lux — it's your turn."
"Got it!"
Still unaware of Rias's true identity as a devil, Lux gave a firm nod. She raised her staff high above her head, and in an instant, the raging power of light began to surge within her chest.
In the next heartbeat, that searing torrent of light exploded outward — blasting straight through the relentless flock of undead monstrosities chasing them.
"Ultimate Flash!"
~~~~~~~~
Bonus chapter target: 100 PS.
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