Chapter 14
Jayden casually change his eye back to normal, keeping his expression unreadable as he stared at the man in front of him. His Transformation Jutsu was flawless—no normal person should have been able to detect a thing.
Yet, this man had.
"This doesn't make sense…" Jayden thought, his fingers subtly tightening, ready to strike.
The man studied him for a moment before his lips curled into a faint smirk.
"You feel… different."
Jayden didn't flinch. "What do you mean?"
The man narrowed his eyes slightly. "Your scent. It's off."
Jayden's deadpan face remained unchanged, but inwardly, alarms were blaring.
"Scent?! What is he, a damn bloodhound?"
Before Jayden could react, the man suddenly reached out—his finger heading straight for Jayden's face.
Without thinking, Jayden's hand shot up like a steel trap, catching the finger midair.
"Ow!" The man yelped, wincing. "I was just trying to wipe some leftover food off your cheek!"
Jayden blinked. "Oh."
Slowly, he released his grip.
The man shook his hand, still wincing. "Jumpy, aren't you?"
Jayden mentally cursed. He had overreacted. "Can I go now?"
The man gave a slow nod, eyes lingering on Jayden as he turned and walked away.
As soon as Jayden vanished around the corner, the man—Sir Fin—snapped his fingers, summoning two of his subordinates.
"Follow him. There's no way Rifter is that strong."
The two men straightened. "Yes, sir!"
Jayden had sensed them the moment they started following him. Two absolute buffoons, failing miserably at stealth.
"Sir Fin was right! This guy's suspicious!"
"You think he noticed us?"
"Of course not! We're being super stealthy!"
Jayden, perched silently on a rooftop above them "Idiots."
With a quick hand seal, he created a Shadow Clone.
Down below, the clone casually turned a corner, leading the clueless duo deeper away from the base.
Meanwhile, the real Jayden vanished, heading toward his true objective.
Jayden slipped through the corridors of the underground arena where the secret entrance is supposed to be, his gaze sweeping over the sea of onlookers gathered around the central stage. The air was thick with sweat, bloodlust, and the scent of spilled alcohol.
At the heart of the ring stood a hulking behemoth—a man covered in jet-black iron from head to toe. Gamma.
"Alright, folks!" Gamma's booming voice echoed through the arena. "If you can break my defense, these artifacts are yours!"
He raised his hand, revealing two sleek black pistols adorned with swirling green patterns—the exact weapons Rictor had described.
Jayden's eyes locked onto them. "That's my cue."
One by one, warriors stepped up to the challenge—and failed.
A cocky fighter with lightning crackling around his fists strutted forward, confidence oozing from his every step.
"Get ready, tin man! This'll hurt!"
He roared and swung a thunderous punch.
BAM!
His knuckles slammed into Gamma's chest—only for him to be launched backward like a ragdoll. He skidded across the arena floor, clutching his now bleeding fist, his face contorted in agony.
The crowd winced. Another failure.
Gamma let out a deep, mocking chuckle as he picked up another gold coin from his ever-growing pile.
"Not even close."
The spectators muttered among themselves, their excitement beginning to wane. No one else dared to step forward.
Gamma sneered. "Pathetic! Is this the best you weaklings can do?"
Then—
A whisper cut through the silence like a blade.
"I could kill him in one attack."
The entire arena fell deathly silent.
Gamma's smirk disappeared. His eyes darkened. "WHO SAID THAT?!"
The crowd instinctively parted, their heads turning toward a single figure.
Jayden—still disguised as Rifter—stood there, calm and collected, his expression unreadable.
Meanwhile back at the TWO buffons side
The two bumbling fools still trailed Jayden's shadow clone, whispering in voices loud enough to wake the dead.
"I dunno, man… this road gives me the creeps."
"Yeah, something about it feels… off."
They hesitated but kept walking—until they nearly slammed into a massive iron gate.
Their eyes widened in horror.
"Wait… isn't this… Gunmalo's place?"
A chill ran down their spines.
Gunmalo—the legendary beast so fearsome that even battle-hardened warriors refused to step within its territory.
"W-Why the hell would Rifter come here?!"
A voice behind them sent their souls plummeting into the abyss.
"To give you a present."
They turned in slow motion, their stomachs dropping.
There stood Rifter—expression utterly blank.
"W-W-What present…?" one of them stammered, already shaking.
Jayden smiled.
"This."
In an instant, his hands blurred through a sequence of seals.
"Earth Style: Pit of Despair."
The ground beneath them collapsed.
"WAAAAAAHHHHH—!!"
The two morons plunged straight into Gunmalo's lair.
From below, a monstrous growl shook the air.
The screams that followed were truly haunting.
Jayden dusted off his hands, satisfied.
"Mission accomplished."
With that, he vanished into smoke.
Back at the arena:
Gamma's sneer deepened as he crossed his massive arms. "You? You really think you can break my defense?"
Jayden stepped forward without a word and dropped ten silver coins.
The crowd fell silent.
"Silver? He didn't even bet gold?"
Gamma's eye twitched. "What, scared of losing real money?"
Jayden shrugged. "I just don't want you crying when your body gets pierced."
Laughter erupted. Gamma's smirk widened.
"Fine. Let's make it interesting." He slammed down twenty gold coins.
"If I win, you're my slave for a year. If you win, you take everything—money, artifacts, all of it."
Jayden's expression remained unreadable, but his mind raced.
"Twenty gold… That could help Lolly's family a lot."
"Deal."
Gamma's jet-black iron skin gleamed as he cracked his knuckles. "Go ahead, hit me with everything you've got!"
But Jayden didn't move forward.
Instead—he ran.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Wait, is he… running away?"
Jayden skidded to a stop at the far end of the hall. His hands moved in a blur.
Lightning exploded from his palm.
The crackling energy bathed the room in an electric-blue glow.
The air trembled.
Then—he vanished.
Gamma's eyes widened. "Wait—! That's lightning! But he's a fire elementalist! How—?!"
BOOOOOM!
A shockwave ripped through the hall. Smoke and dust choked the air.
As the debris settled, the crowd saw Jayden on one knee, looking at his hand.
"Did he… fail?" someone whispered.
Then, a horrified gasp.
"L-Look at Gamma's chest!"
A gaping hole had been torn through Gamma's torso, blood spilling onto the ground.
The once-invincible fighter staggered. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
"You… you're not Rifter."
With that, he collapsed.
For a second, the entire arena was dead silent.
Then—chaos erupted.
"STOP HIM! HE'S AN INTRUDER!"
Seventy warriors surged forward, weapons drawn.
Jayden exhaled through his nose, finally dropping his disguise.
The jutsu melted away, revealing a handsome sixteen-year-old with piercing blood-red eyes.
His Sharingan spun wildly.
The men hesitated, stepping back in cautious manner.
Jayden rolled his shoulders, his face as unreadable as ever.
"Time to get serious."
To be continued.