Naruto : Crimson wood

As his realm advanced, Renji Takahashi suddenly felt the spiritual energy in his body surge more powerfully than ever before.

He slowly exhaled, opened his eyes—and found Yuna Hoshizaki staring at him, blinking innocently.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"So you've just been staring at me?"

Caught in the act, Yuna's cheeks flushed lightly. She looked away shyly and mumbled, "Is it wrong to look?"

So strange...

Renji would never believe that someone like her had a crush on him.

Sure, he was fairly good-looking, but this wasn't some fluffy high school romance. There was no point reading into it.

"Aren't you going to absorb the spirit stone the principal gave you?" Renji noticed she was still holding the mid-grade spirit stone.

Hearing that, Yuna looked a bit embarrassed and said, "I just wanted to see how effective it is after you absorb it first, then decide if I should use it here."

But once she saw Renji successfully absorb his spirit stone, Yuna held hers delicately in her palm. A sacred, soft golden light bloomed from her hand as she effortlessly absorbed it.

The process was smooth—light spilled like water—and within less than thirty seconds, it was done.

As she broke through, Renji could feel her aura subtly shift—she had advanced to First Level Advanced, just like him!

It seemed the recent battle had pushed both of them over the edge to level up.

But… her absorption speed was insane…

"So this is the Holy System… seriously overpowered," Renji muttered, remembering how she had summoned a divine light barrier to hold off hordes of beasts. It was only for a few moments, but enough to change the tide.

"If the Holy System is so strong, why don't you use it more often?" he asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Huh?" Yuna tilted her head, then after some thought said, "Well… the Holy System is powerful, but the energy consumption is intense. Especially here in Azure City—it drains way too much."

"What does Azure City have to do with it?"

This was news to Renji.

"Do you know how the Holy System was born?" Yuna replied with a question of her own.

"Hmm… isn't it tied to the Holy Law or something?"

Correct. The Holy Law was the doctrine that governed the once-mighty Holy Empire, to which Azure City still nominally belonged.

"To be precise," she explained, "the Holy System is a manifestation of the Holy Law. The Holy System was born from it. And the heart of the Holy Law lies within Sanctum Imperial City."

"At its peak, the Holy Empire spread the Holy Law across the entire continent, and the Holy System flourished."

"But ever since the empire declined, the Law's reach has weakened. Outside Sanctum Imperial City, the Holy System's power is limited."

Renji nodded. He knew a bit of that history.

The Holy Empire once united humanity in the war against monsters. For a time, it nearly wiped them out.

But 300 years ago, something happened to the imperial family. Since then, the empire steadily weakened. Then 200 years ago, Sanctum Imperial City sealed itself off completely.

No one went in. No one came out.

Cut off from their center of power, the cities were left to fend for themselves. And without the Holy Law's blessings, even the Holy System faltered.

"So even though the system itself is strong," Yuna continued, "its spiritual recovery outside the capital is painfully slow. That's why I usually rely on my Water System instead."

"Makes sense," Renji replied.

He wasn't going to worry about imperial politics.

Right now, he just cared about completing missions and getting those juicy system rewards.

Suddenly, a thunderous ROAR echoed from both sides of the trail.

The wooden cart had been cruising for about an hour. As it passed through a dense forest, monster howls erupted from the trees.

Renji quickly opened a window—only to see hundreds of monsters flanking them.

All level one or two beasts, but the sheer number—easily two to three hundred—was terrifying.

"Are we going to fight?" Yuna asked, her expression focused, preparing to cast a technique.

Renji reached for his short blade and stepped to the front.

"Captain Haruki, are we surrounded?"

Haruki Tsukimura, their team leader and driver, glanced calmly at the forest. "It's nothing serious. This is monster territory—it's expected. Sit tight. I'm speeding up."

The monsters began charging from both sides.

Without hesitation, Haruki swapped the first-level demon core from the cart's energy slot and replaced it with a second-level core.

BOOM!

The wooden cart jolted forward, its speed surging from 60 km/h to 120 km/h!

The sudden acceleration slammed Renji against the back door.

The cart rocketed ahead, blurring past the charging monsters. They couldn't even catch up, much less land a hit.

"Captain… have you always driven like this?" Renji asked, eyes wide.

Even at 120 km/h, Haruki steered one-handed and smiled back.

"Here's a secret: all Executive Division members are expert drivers. Once you're assigned to missions outside your city, you'll understand—driving is a survival skill."

After bursting through the horde, Haruki calmly switched back to a first-level demon core, and the cart dropped to 60 km/h.

"Oh, and unless we're under attack, always use first-level cores. The school doesn't reimburse for the expensive ones."

"…Noted."

Renji silently made a mental note.

Honestly, the driving system wasn't that complicated. There was only a wheel—no gas, no brakes, no clutch. Even a dog could drive it.

They continued on through forested trails, occasionally meeting small monster packs.

Each time, Haruki coolly powered up and charged through without fail.

Finally, as the sun rose the next day, the outline of Xiahai City appeared before them...

-------------------------

For advance chapters visit patreon.com/Varnok