The Game Merchant Who Started from the Ninja World

Chapter 20: Fierce Battle

Terumi Mei couldn't care less about anything else—her entire focus was on the Wraith General.

Hellfire!

A pale blue circle lit up beneath her feet.

She swung her staff, unleashing searing orange flames, which—under the effect of the Hellfire state—transformed into eerie, cold, ghostly-blue fire.

It was flame from the underworld,

and it inflicted severe soul damage on spirit-type monsters.

This was a class skill awakened after Terumi Mei's Flame Mage reached level 8. It lasted thirty seconds and had a five-minute cooldown.

In some ways, its damage surpassed even the Boil Release technique she had spent years perfecting.

"You invaders... How dare you step foot into a land of corruption? You seek death!"

The Wraith General's roar struck the nearest elite player like a hammer, causing his internal organs to tremble from the sheer force of the sound.

The massive blood-red greatsword swept horizontally, raising a violent gust.

It scattered the rushing Hellfire, but stray flames still landed on his shoulders and legs.

Sssss...

The soul-burning flames were like poison to his undead form, rapidly corroding him.

The Wraith General looked up, realizing that the woman above, who could summon Hellfire, was the greatest threat.

Shadowfang Poison Dagger!

Four elite players split off, surrounding the Wraith General.

A dagger glowing with dark green light was hurled at the towering figure, but it struck him like a toothpick on iron and bounced off.

Before the Wraith General could strike at Terumi Mei, the four charged in.

They knew full well they couldn't inflict fatal damage—but their goal was to stall him.

Hand of Flame.

Terumi Mei leapt further away, landing on a distant torch sconce.

Hellfire formed into a massive burning hand that clutched the Wraith General tightly, fingers squeezing down.

Crackle!

His flesh burned away rapidly,

but so did the health bars of the four elite players—they were wiped out instantly.

3,100 HP left.

Two Hellfire-enhanced attacks had dealt a total of 700 damage to the Wraith General. The effect was significant—but the cost was staggering.

Each of those elite players' deaths came with a price tag in the millions.

The more she invested, the less she could afford to retreat.

Her mana depleted, Terumi Mei instantly bought the most expensive mana potion. Her dry magical reserves were instantly refilled, like parched land soaking up spring rain.

Flame Chains.

A slender flame whip twisted through the air like a serpent, lunging at the Wraith General.

He dodged it, letting it graze his arm. The damage was minimal.

The freshly revived elite players didn't have time to provide cover.

The Wraith General had already hurled his massive blade like a javelin—

piercing through Terumi Mei's abdomen, killing her instantly.

"Lady Mizukage!"

Chōjūrō roared, leaping into the air, twin blades pointed downward.

Silverlight Falling Blade.

But before the shockwave could land, the Wraith General swatted his swords away with a single blow, sending Chōjūrō flying.

"I'm fine! Keep attacking!"

Terumi Mei revived on the spot and immediately retreated to a safe distance.

The benefit of using reward points for on-the-spot resurrection was a full-health, full-mana return.

Unlike returning to the village, which left you in a weakened state unless you used recovery potions or waited to recover slowly.

...

Outside the thick castle wall—

"Just as I thought. Someone's already snuck into the castle to hunt the Wraith General!"

Mabui motioned for the players behind her to stay quiet.

She slid her fingers into a crack in the wall.

Mana surged from her body, spreading out as an invisible wave that passed through the wall and scanned the interior.

Mental Perception.

An incredibly useful skill. While it required reward points to upgrade, extending its range—

Its ability to sense hidden enemies rivaled even the Leaf's famed Byakugan.

During the Shinobi World Wars, many were killed after being discovered by that terrifying dōjutsu.

Other villages coveted it—but it came with a brutal failsafe.

The Byakugan could self-destruct to prevent theft. Killing to steal the eyes simply didn't work.

Mabui wasn't a combatant. She specialized in support and logistics.

She visualized the battle raging inside the castle hall.

"It's Terumi Mei from Kirigakure."

Her brow furrowed. This was trouble.

If it had been those broke players from Sunagakure—

sure, they'd leveled up like maniacs, getting into the top tier. But they lacked gear, and had no chance against Kumogakure.

Just Samui, wearing five pieces of Wraith gear and activating the set bonus, could solo a team of five Sunagakure players.

After all, the Sand Village was poor.

Perpetual sandstorms, limited resources, and even their mission contracts were snatched up by richer nations.

They simply couldn't sustain the immense costs of the Reincarnation Game.

But Kirigakure was a different story.

Though politically isolated, its geography was a chain of islands rich in coral, pearls, and seafood—prime goods for trade and profit.

Mabui had secretly spent 50 reward points to buy intel on Terumi Mei from one of her alliance's players.

Stat-wise, even Samui, the strongest member of the Kumogakure Alliance, wasn't quite on Mei's level.

Of course, the gap was narrow.

In a real fight, it was hard to say who would win.

But right now, the Kirigakure Alliance had already burned through a fortune hunting the Wraith General.

The Kumogakure Alliance had yet to expose itself, lying in wait.

There was a high chance they could swoop in and take the prize.

Suddenly—

Mabui's expression changed. She looked to the wall nearby.

Nothing in her field of vision.

But her mental scan had picked up another team sneaking close.

"We've been spotted..."

Asuma, holding an iron spike in his teeth, sensed the Kumogakure Alliance's awareness.

Their chameleon potion was low-grade—good enough to hide from Wraiths, but it didn't block psychic detection.

Maintaining a safe distance, Mabui smiled. "So it's the Hidden Leaf... here to take a slice of the pie?"

Asuma replied with a question of his own, "And what's the Cloud Village doing here? Just sightseeing?"

Naruto and Omoi locked eyes—hostility flaring instantly.

"Kirigakure is the strongest right now. If we fight each other, we'll lose our shot at the Wraith General."

"Let's team up against them first."

There was an unspoken agreement.

Neither side mentioned how the loot would be split.

Inside the ruined castle, the battle only grew fiercer.

At this point,

the Wraith General still had plenty of health left, while the Kirigakure Alliance had already burned through thousands of reward points.

At this rate, if things kept up until the end, Kirigakure might actually go bankrupt.

"Chōjūrō!"

Terumi Mei's eyes suddenly focused on a thick portion of the castle wall.

Chōjūrō understood immediately. He dashed to the spot and slashed with both blades at lightning speed.

The solid wall split like tofu, collapsing into rubble.

"No wonder you're the Mizukage. You noticed the stealth field drop the moment it ended."

Samui stepped forward defensively, shielding Mabui and bracing for Chōjūrō's attack.

The Konoha squad—all combat players—scattered instantly, each taking up strategic attack and defense positions.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Frank10