30. If Humanity Has Limits, Then I’ll Cease to Be Human

At this moment, Shiraishi Mori was already exhausted. Facing Abu’s sudden, ruthless strike, all he could do was hope that his Koukaku was tough enough to block the blade.

But the scene he imagined—being impaled—did not come to pass.

Because someone was faster than him.

That someone was Keiko, who possessed a Rinkaku.

The difference in speed between a Rinkaku and a Koukaku was laid bare in this instant.

With her last ounce of strength, his mother, Keiko erupted with her fastest speed—all for the sake of shielding her son, taking the fatal blow in his stead!

The sharp ninja blade pierced through Keiko’s body without resistance. The impact made her stagger violently, but she forced herself to stand firm.

Her back facing Shiraishi Mori, she mustered all her strength to grip the blade that had run her through.

Keiko turned her head to look at her son. There was no pain on her face—only deep reluctance and regret.

"Mori… I’m sorry. From now on… you’ll have to walk your own path."

Shiraishi Mori’s pupils dilated uncontrollably.

The crimson blood. The bloodstained blade. His mother, smiling, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"No—"

Before he could say another word, another figure rushed past him.

It was Shiraishi Ao.

He charged forward, swinging his thick, muscular Kagune like a massive club, smashing down toward the enemy.

"Shit."

Abu immediately sensed the danger. He tried to pull his blade back, but found it impossible.

This mother, already pierced through by his blade, had erupted with terrifying strength in her final moments—strength even Abu couldn’t match.

"Damn it!"

He had no choice but to let go of the blade.

But by then, Shiraishi Ao’s attack had already arrived!

The dark-purple centipede-like tail—like an unstoppable greatsword—swept across the air and slammed into Abu’s body.

Only now did a faint, bitter smile appear on Shiraishi Ao’s half-burned face.

At the very least… before leaving his son, he had bought him a sliver of hope.

But that smile vanished in an instant.

Because the enemy he had struck suddenly burst into a puff of smoke—transforming into a wooden log, which shattered into countless splinters under the force of his Bikaku (Tail Kagune)!

"A substitution jutsu… What a shame."

On the spectator platform, Hidan sighed regretfully.

Shiki, however, showed no change in expression.

Back on the battlefield, Shiraishi Ao’s face twisted into shock.

A figure emerged from the ground beneath him—it was Abu, who had secretly used the Substitution Jutsu and then concealed himself underground with the Earth-Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique.

Like a venomous snake lying in wait, he had finally bared his fangs.

His sharp blade effortlessly pierced through Shiraishi Ao’s abdomen.

Before Shiraishi Ao could counter, Abu had already burrowed back into the earth.

"Cough…"

Shiraishi Ao spat out a mouthful of blood and looked down.

A Explosive Tag attached to the blade was slowly burning.

Under his despairing gaze, the tag erupted into a devastating explosion!

BOOM!

Flames swallowed everything in an instant.

Amid the flickering firelight, Keiko struggled to open her mouth.

"Mori…"

"Live… on…"

"Take care… of your sister…"

These three sentences drained the last of her strength.

The orange flames could not illuminate her deathly pale face. In the end, her outstretched hand never reached Shiraishi Mori’s cheek.

As Keiko’s arm fell limply to the ground, Shiraishi Mori collapsed to his knees, utterly broken.

"Why…"

"Why did it have to be like this?!"

He clawed at his own hair, fingers pulling so hard they nearly tore his scalp.

His mother, filled with regret, lay dead before him. His father had been reduced to charred remains in the explosion.

He didn’t understand why he had to suffer like this.

He was just a simple fisherman.

All he wanted was to live a peaceful life—to fish, to care for his parents in their old age, to raise his little sister. Was that so wrong?

Thick smoke from the explosion spread through the air.

Kneeling there, Shiraishi Mori muttered to himself.

"You’re too weak."

The words that man had spoken in the prison cell suddenly echoed in his mind.

His eyes regained a sliver of focus as he slowly lowered his gaze to his hands.

"Is it… because I’m too weak?"

He whispered the question to himself.

"Humanity has limits. Only by transcending humanity can one obtain true power."

Another voice—the same man.

Shiraishi Mori’s lips parted unconsciously.

"Transcend… humanity?"

He looked at the black Koukaku covering his hands, then at the crimson Rinkaku on Keiko’s body.

Suddenly, his shoulders began to tremble. Between those shaking shoulders, a voice—hoarse and deep—emerged.

"If humans have limits… then I’ll cease to be human."

"If one Kagune isn’t enough… then two… three…"

Shiraishi Mori raised his head. His eyes were dyed completely scarlet.

The smoke slowly cleared. Abu narrowed his eyes, scanning the battlefield.

Though he had won through his combat experience, his chakra was nearly depleted.

Once he finished off that kid, he’d have to retreat.

Still, this should be enough to intimidate the other monsters.

His gaze swept across the arena.

Indeed, the ghouls who had retained their sanity were hesitating, unwilling to act rashly.

Only the ones who had entered a frenzied state continued their indiscriminate slaughter of the nobles.

The smoke from the explosion gradually dissipated.

Since he had used his last blade to set the explosive trap that killed the centipede ghoul, Abu had no choice but to draw a kunai from his pouch.

Then—

The fading smoke was violently split apart.

Two dark-red slashes, swift as lightning, appeared before Abu in an instant.

SPLURT!

Blood sprayed!

Even though Abu had immediately leaped back the moment he sensed the attack, a deep X-shaped wound had already been carved into his chest.

Crimson blood gushed out, exposing white bone beneath.

Too fast!

That was Abu’s only thought. Against this speed, he couldn’t possibly react in time.

Even at his peak, he would’ve had no choice but to flee.

The smoke parted like a theater curtain, revealing a monstrous silhouette.

A towering figure, completely encased in black exoskeleton. Even his face was covered in armor-like Koukaku, leaving only a pair of eyes—glowing an intense, bloody red.

His height, augmented by the Kagune, had swelled to nearly three to four meters—almost twice that of a normal man.

Two sickle-like limbs, crimson as fresh blood, extended from the armored shoulders.

"What the hell… is this monster?!"