Yama Reborn-Chapter 416 - 413 [Seed & Kamisou Ichiro]
Chapter 413: Seed & Kamisou Ichiro
Was Kamisou Ichiro weak?
Of course not.
Even with Chen Nuo exerting all his effort, he was still completely suppressed, relegated to fleeing while resisting.
If it weren’t for the use of "Seed of Misfortune" and "Killing Intent Sword" as trump cards, Chen Nuo wouldn’t have even stood a chance to fight back—he would have been utterly crushed.
So, Kamisou Ichiro is actually very strong.
But... at the same time, he’s also very weak.
This weakness is relative to Seed.
As a Seed himself, Kamisou Ichiro’s abilities are very similar to Seed’s.
Immense spiritual power that can control the battlefield in all directions, and the manipulation of Spatial Abilities.
This combat style is very similar to Seed’s.
But while similar, in every aspect of ability, he is far inferior to Seed.
Mainly... in the extent of control over Spatial Abilities.
Chen Nuo had once fought Seed with all his might, aided by a peak Lu Xixi, the Son of the Sun, and a core member of the Controllers, the Electric General.
The combined force of four powerhouses, yet in front of Seed, they could hardly harm a single hair on his head before being utterly shattered.
Seed’s strength lies in his control over space.
Regarding the control of space, Chen Nuo only recently gained a glimmer of enlightenment and understanding after his own powers broke through.
Seed’s prowess in Spatial Abilities is not reflected in the magnitude of power, but in the precision of spatial manipulation!
Precision!
That sort of precision that is perfect down to the finest detail, as fine as a strand of hair!
Regarding Spatial Abilities, Chen Nuo understood that simply achieving "greatness" is actually quite easy. If there’s a large truck parked here, Chen Nuo could easily use spatial teleportation to move the truck hundreds of meters away, or even further. The premise is that the truck must be stationary! Because the truck is stationary, Chen Nuo has sufficient sensory capability to perceive the space it occupies, to feel and search for those innumerable, yet very difficult to sense "lines" and "fissures" within space, and then perform spatial teleportation. But if the truck is moving, it would be very difficult for Chen Nuo to accomplish. Because the space occupied by a moving truck is constantly shifting! Constant movement requires even greater spatial sensing and observational abilities. Chen Nuo’s current spiritual power made this very difficult to achieve. Very difficult. The principle is simple: a dead fish is easy to catch; a lively, wriggling fish swimming in water is much harder to catch.
Kamisou Ichiro’s strength probably lies in being able to catch a lively, wriggling fish or to teleport a moving truck. But what Seed can do is even more terrifying.
Chen Nuo noted that during their battle just now, Kamisou Ichiro never achieved a certain level: using Spatial Abilities to engage him in close-quarters combat. This particular point had once given Chen Nuo a nightmarish experience during his battle with Seed. When Lu Xixi unleashed a lightning bolt, by the time it reached Seed, he casually used spatial teleportation to divert the lightning into a spatial fissure. In the next instant, it emerged from a fissure behind you, and the lightning struck you instead. At the same time, Seed could also utilize his Spatial Abilities to fight in close combat. He could appear instantaneously to your left, and just as you turned left to fight, he could, without any warning, teleport to your right. Or, he could throw a punch from more than ten meters away, but in the blink of an eye, his fist would break through space and land on your face.
This kind of control necessitates extreme "subtlety"! And only when Chen Nuo truly began to grasp this skill did he understand how difficult such subtlety truly was! For example, the Spiritual Power Tentacles he had launched at Kamisou Ichiro earlier. If it were Seed, he would probably be too lazy to counter with spiritual power directly. Instead, he would let my Spiritual Power Tentacles shoot toward him, and with a casual spatial fissure, send them tens of thousands of miles away.
But this calculation and control are too difficult. My Spiritual Power Tentacle shoots out amidst the intense battle, with time flying and space rapidly changing. In that exact second, or perhaps that one ten-thousandth of a second, the tentacle must reach the precise position for you to create a perfectly timed spatial fissure. A fraction too early or too late, and it wouldn’t work. If the spatial fissure is created too early, I’d detect it and immediately retract or redirect my Spiritual Power Tentacle. Too late... and it’s like raising your shield after the arrow has already struck.
Kamisou Ichiro’s failure to use this combat method wasn’t because he didn’t want to kill me. Rather... he couldn’t do it! He chose a head-on fighting style, occasionally using Spatial Abilities to pursue me and prevent my escape. But to use Spatial Abilities with the same exquisite subtlety as Seed? Clearly, Kamisou Ichiro couldn’t do that! Otherwise, the battle would have ended long ago. Four powerhouses against Seed, and Seed remained unscathed while the four ended up wounded or kneeling. Now, I’m facing Kamisou Ichiro one-on-one and only being suppressed. I fought desperately just now. Even if I couldn’t defeat Kamisou Ichiro, I could still injure him. My chances of victory, though slim, were probably around ten or twenty percent. But against Seed, there’s absolutely no chance... even with four powerhouses combined, it’s Zero!
"Am I very weak?" Kamisou Ichiro frowned, lowering his hands and looking at Chen Nuo with a strange gaze. "Chen-san, for someone being hunted down like a dog that has lost its home, it really doesn’t make sense to evaluate your opponent like this."
Chen Nuo exhaled and chuckled. "Compared to another of your kind that I’ve encountered, you are indeed much weaker."
The precision of Spatial Abilities is indeed the correct direction for development... This battle allowed me to once again affirm my understanding of this power, which I’ve been comprehending these days. Being able to control Spatial Abilities with units of "hundreds of meters" or more allows for self-preservation. Even if you can’t win, you can use Spatial Abilities for long-distance teleportation—to escape. Controlling Spatial Abilities within a range of "meters" to "hundreds of meters" is Kamisou Ichiro’s current level. He can leverage Spatial Abilities to vary his combat styles, especially to entangle opponents, prevent them from escaping, and, at the right moment, use Spatial Abilities to suddenly strike, serving as a trump card. Occasionally, he can also use Spatial Abilities to control the field. But, compressing control of Spatial Abilities to units under a "meter"—that’s Seed’s realm. The smaller the precision, the more geometrically the difficulty increases! The vast spiritual power consumed, and the immense control and sensitivity required for that power, are beyond my current imagination. If I gave it my all, although I would be bound to lose and die, I believed I could still struggle against Kamisou Ichiro for a few exchanges. But Seed... I really couldn’t even see his taillights.
"I heard that you guys have a competition among yourselves. As a Seed, the one of your kind I encountered was far more powerful than you. How do you feel knowing there’s such a powerful rival, Octopus Monster?" Chen Nuo rapidly spoke these words, attempting to use them to disturb his opponent’s state of mind.
Indeed, Kamisou Ichiro’s eyelids drooped for a moment, as if his emotions truly fluctuated slightly.
Chen Nuo continued to laugh loudly. "I’ll tell you, his Spatial Abilities have already reached..." Kamisou Ichiro showed a flicker of curiosity.
But Chen Nuo deliberately dragged out his words, and then, all of a sudden, his body flickered and he disappeared on the spot! Teleportation!
I had deliberately stalled for time by talking for so long, completing my spatial sensing of the distance between us! After using words to disturb Kamisou Ichiro’s mind and draw his attention, I decisively teleported! My teleportation was successful!
After breaking through space, Chen Nuo’s figure instantly appeared about three meters in front of Kamisou Ichiro! The Sword of Killing Intent was instantly unleashed!
The spiritual power, saturated with intense killing intent, suddenly exploded and expanded, instantly enveloping their location, bursting open like a massive, umbrella-shaped detonation!
This indiscriminate, widespread explosion was a crude method. Since I couldn’t predict Kamisou Ichiro’s movements and reactions, I could only resort to this kind of overwhelming attack. I don’t know how you’ll dodge... I’ll just use an area-of-effect attack!
Kamisou Ichiro’s expression suddenly changed, and his figure swiftly retreated. While retreating, his form vanished in mid-air!
Chen Nuo’s eyes widened, his spiritual power operating at its extreme. The strain was so intense that blood burst from his nostrils due to the instantaneous overuse of his consciousness.
But within Chen Nuo’s eyes, he finally "saw clearly" the process of Kamisou Ichiro’s disappearance! In mid-air, the opponent’s figure first seemed to flicker, and space seemed to ripple instantly. Kamisou Ichiro’s figure began to fade, becoming transparent. This process happened in an instant, but under the extreme stimulation of Chen Nuo’s spiritual power, it felt as if it slowed down in his perception. He even saw the patterns and rules of the spatial fluctuations as Kamisou Ichiro completed the space jump! Kamisou Ichiro’s figure transitioned from fading to semi-transparent, to completely transparent, and then disappeared.
Chen Nuo was not surprised at all, but his eyes blazed with an extraordinary fervor! He saw clearly that at the moment Kamisou Ichiro vanished, a strange reflection appeared in the surrounding space...
Kamisou Ichiro’s figure reappeared in the air in just the blink of an eye. However, just as he emerged from space, in the next instant, at the position he had just vacated, the writhing spatial fluctuations seemed to halt for half a second...
Kamisou Ichiro’s heart sank. Just as he turned his head, he saw... Three meters away, a burst of killing intent chased through space, charging straight toward him!
Kamisou Ichiro let out a low growl, and a burst of spiritual power surged from his form, like holding a large umbrella in front of him. The mass of killing intent crashed into his telekinetic umbrella!
Kamisou Ichiro resisted while swiftly retreating. Under the impact of the killing intent, the telekinetic umbrella before him immediately collapsed! This wasn’t a difference in power levels; rather, this type of negative spiritual energy naturally had a strong suppressive effect on Kamisou Ichiro!
After grunting, Kamisou Ichiro released even more spiritual power, quickly mending the battered telekinetic umbrella, and his body teleported once again.
When he teleported the second time, landing over ten meters away, Kamisou Ichiro touched his face... The skin on his face had already begun to wrinkle, as if the Life Force beneath it had greatly withered. Kamisou Ichiro took a deep breath, and in the blink of an eye, his physical state returned to normal, but the intensity of his spiritual power had diminished slightly.
Turning his head and staring at Chen Nuo in the distance, Kamisou Ichiro frowned. "How did you do it? How could you catch up to my teleportation? Find my teleportation coordinates and accurately open another parallel channel? That isn’t something you should be able to do at your current level."
Chen Nuo, holding the non-existent Sword of Killing Intent in his hand, slowly walked towards Kamisou Ichiro and smiled. "If I can’t do something the smart way, I find another way. I’m not skilled enough for clever methods, so I had to use a dumb one."
Indeed, it was a dumb method. After Kamisou Ichiro teleported instantly, there was no way I could sense and decrypt his teleportation coordinates in that split second and simultaneously launch a parallel teleportation channel—that was impossible for me to achieve. But... I could copy his work! I can’t make a channel to catch up with you, so I’ll just trace the channel you used. Having risked my brain exploding to forcibly capture his teleportation process, I never intended to tear open a spatial rift and chase him as he dodged—I simply couldn’t decrypt his teleportation location! So, my method was: capture the traces of the spatial rift he tore open, the flow of the spatial ripples. Then, I immediately initiated a teleportation... creating one identical to his. I copied, to the best of my ability, every spatial pattern flow I had seen, replicating it as closely as possible!
Kamisou Ichiro was taken aback for a moment, but as smart as the Octopus Monster was, he instantly understood Chen Nuo’s tactic and shook his head with a cold chuckle. "Such a ridiculous gamble, Chen-san. This method won’t work every time."
With that said, Kamisou Ichiro spread his arms and suddenly stomped his foot! Countless telekinetic blades swept toward Chen Nuo!
Chen Nuo’s eyes widened; now, with killing intent raging in his heart, they turned blood red. Chen Nuo let out a roar, once again unleashing his killing intent. After his spiritual power exploded, he charged straight into Kamisou Ichiro’s telekinetic blades!
WHOOSH! Like a sharp knife cutting through butter, Chen Nuo, driven by killing intent, forcefully advanced. Under the influence of his killing intent, Kamisou Ichiro’s spiritual power blades were successively dissipated!
Even so, Chen Nuo did not escape unscathed. His body was covered in numerous cuts from the spiritual power blades, and with blood spurting out, he looked like a figure drenched in blood.
Even with Chen Nuo’s Controller power, he couldn’t instantly recover his body amidst such an intense battle. He could only barely constrict his blood vessels, slowing his blood loss to avoid bleeding out instantly. But by the time he rushed up to Kamisou Ichiro, he was already crimson.
The killing intent transformed into a black miasma and surged onto Kamisou Ichiro’s body!
This time, Kamisou Ichiro once again teleported to dodge, but Chen Nuo was prepared. He repeated his tactic the moment he saw Kamisou Ichiro teleport. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he firmly locked onto the spatial pattern changes during the teleportation and replicated it, sending his killing intent through!
BOOM!!
The black killing intent exploded a hundred meters southeast from Chen Nuo’s location!
But Kamisou Ichiro’s figure appeared less than ten meters behind Chen Nuo!
"Chen-san, as I said, such a method is a preposterous gamble. It doesn’t work every time."
THUD!
Suddenly, Chen Nuo felt a chill run through his body. A telekinetic blade had pierced through his chest!
As blood sprayed out, the gaping wound in his chest made it impossible for Chen Nuo to suppress his injuries any longer. He immediately pitched forward, collapsing to the ground. Struggling to turn around, he saw Kamisou Ichiro quickly leaping towards him.
Kamisou Ichiro tapped his fingers a few times, and with a few thumps, holes were blasted through Chen Nuo’s shoulders and legs by telekinetic force, rendering his limbs completely immobile.
The man was accurate; the telekinetic bursts had pierced the joints of his shoulders and knees.
Unable to struggle, a dense spiritual power also immediately suppressed Chen Nuo, drastically slowing the operation of his Consciousness Space, forcibly preventing him from generating any new Spiritual Telekinesis.
Chen Nuo was "sealed."
"Simply copying my teleportation’s spatial patterns to instantly create a similarly patterned spatial channel... you thought that would allow you to attack the same location I teleported to? Such a fanciful notion." Kamisou Ichiro exhaled and shook his head. "The idea is good, but your understanding of space is too shallow. Each teleportation involves extremely complex pattern changes. By crudely replicating them... In that instant, you couldn’t possibly remember all the pattern changes; not even a spiritual power user could. And if it’s just imitation, are the mysteries of space so easily deciphered? Even one wrong line in the pattern, and your teleportation location would be hugely off. Last time you hit me, it was sheer luck. This time, you made a mistake! Chen-san, this method has no future. It’s just gambling, and the odds of winning are too small."
Chen Nuo coughed, his mouth full of blood. After spitting a mouthful out fiercely, he shook his head. "Anyway, I wounded you, Octopus Monster! How long has it been since a human last injured you?"
"...To be precise, never before you," Kamisou Ichiro shook his head. "For a human to reach such a level of spatial deciphering is unprecedented." As he spoke, he even managed a small smile. "Of course, you are not the strongest among humans, nor are you the strongest human I have encountered in all this time... But you are the only human who has mastered space."
Chen Nuo took deep breaths. With his own power no longer suppressing them, blood began to flow rapidly from his wounds.
"You’re about to die. Why don’t you tell me how you found out the location of my true body?" Kamisou Ichiro raised a finger, and an invisible blade of telekinesis pressed against Chen Nuo’s throat. "Speak, and I’ll grant you a cleaner death..."
With his throat constricted, Chen Nuo stopped moving his neck. He took a couple of breaths, and though the pain from his wounds made his eyebrows twitch, he laughed. "Your true body... that seems to be your weakness, doesn’t it? You’re so worried about others finding it. Is it because your true body is extremely vulnerable?"
"..."
"Looks like I guessed right... but it was an easy guess, considering how nervous you are." Chen Nuo’s eyes darted around. "If I tell you, will you spare my life?"
"Hmm?"
"What’s with the ’hmm’? I’m not some fearless hero who scoffs at death. Who wouldn’t want to live if they could?" Chen Nuo sighed. "Does it really matter to you whether you kill me or not? Don’t you have ways to seal memories? If you’re worried about me leaking secrets, you could just erase the memory of your true body’s location from my mind."
After a pause, Chen Nuo smiled. "How about it? Do you accept this deal, Octopus Monster?"
Kamisou Ichiro narrowed his eyes, seemingly considering it seriously for a moment. "How much do you know about our ’competition’?"
"That’s not important," Chen Nuo smiled. "Think about it. No matter how much I know, I’m just a human. Your competitors aren’t me. I just don’t want to die, that’s all. So, how about it? You promise not to kill me, I tell you what I know, and then you erase my memory. Everything else is none of my concern."
Kamisou Ichiro sighed. "You are indeed different from other humans I have met... I thought at this moment you’d either be cursing vilely or begging pitifully for mercy. Yet here you are, negotiating terms with me like an old friend? Don’t you realize that by injuring and angering me just now, it’s unlikely I would let you go?"
"You’re not human. Emotions like hatred and anger are pointless human sentiments. As a Seed, why should you care about such things?" Chen Nuo laughed heartily, though the laugh made the corner of his mouth twitch in pain.
"...First, I must know how you learned the location of my real body! Second, I want to know your source of information regarding ’Seeds’ and ’the competition’! Third, I want to know where you obtained your Spatial Abilities. Don’t tell me it’s an ability you awakened on your own. Spatial Abilities are not something humans can control; they are unique to Spiritual Life Forms! You humans are not Spiritual Life Forms; it’s impossible for you to awaken such abilities independently." Kamisou Ichiro said gravely, "Answer these three questions for me, and I won’t kill you."
"Okay!" Chen Nuo immediately agreed, then answered loudly, "The answer to all three questions is actually the same. It’s Seed. Last year, when we were on a mission in South America, we encountered a Seed, and its name was Seed. It told me the location of your true body. About Seeds, the Mother, and the competition—it told me all these things too. And my Spatial Abilities, it taught me those as well! It was all Seed, all of it!"
Kamisou Ichiro’s expression turned stern!
However, in the next moment...
A helpless voice came from their left. The young boy’s tender voice carried a hint of faint helplessness and resentment, "Mr. Chen Nuo, isn’t it a bit much to slander me behind my back like this?"
Kamisou Ichiro, his face expressionless, slowly turned to the side.
Ten meters away, Seed stepped out from the air, a helpless look on his face. He spread his hands and gazed at Chen Nuo, who was sprawled on the ground. "To be honest, those things you mentioned were not told to you by me at all; they have nothing to do with me."
Chen Nuo lay on the ground, his face showing no surprise at Seed’s sudden appearance! Grinning through the pain, he laughed heartily. "Nonsense! If I hadn’t said that, would you have been willing to come out? Damn it!"
Seed looked helpless. "So, you knew I would definitely show up?"
Chen Nuo sighed. "I’m your Chosen One, after all... You’ve invested so much in me; how could you let me die just like that? I always felt you would definitely appear when I was in danger. Like... that time in Antarctica!"
Kamisou Ichiro had been staring at Seed. Only now did a gentle smile appear on his face. "It’s you... It’s really been a long time."
Seed nodded, pulled a cookie from his pocket, chewed on it, and then nodded with a smile. "Hmm, indeed... It’s been a long time. By the way, this cookie is delicious. Want one?"
Kamisou Ichiro actually nodded without hesitation. "Sure."
Seed laughed, walked over openly, took out another cookie, and handed it over. Kamisou Ichiro calmly took it, bit into it, and after a few chews, slowly said, "The taste is mediocre, far worse than what my personal chef makes. The ratio of fat to sugar is off, and the baking temperature wasn’t right either. Where did you buy it?"
Seed’s face turned a bit strange. "...I didn’t buy it. I made it myself."
"Well then," Kamisou Ichiro spread his hands. "If you like these things... I can give you a few exceptional pastry chefs. There’s a good pastry brand in New York; I remember buying it a few years ago. I can give it to you."
"Sure," Seed nodded. He suddenly looked around, then reached out and grabbed at thin air, surprisingly pulling a chair out of nowhere. He placed it on the ground, then grabbed another and tossed it beside him. "Sit down and chat?"
Kamisou Ichiro pursed his lips, nodded, and actually walked over to sit down with Seed.
"Speaking of which... how many did you take down?" Seed asked while munching on a cookie.
Kamisou Ichiro looked relaxed but tilted his head thoughtfully. "I took down three, I think. Yes, one of them escaped badly injured, but I confirmed afterward that it died too. So, that makes three in total."
Seed sighed. "Then you’ve done quite well."
"What about you? How many did you eliminate?"
Seed chuckled. "Same as you, three." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Kamisou Ichiro’s expression showed a hint of wistfulness. "If we count it like that... there aren’t many of us left, are there?"
"Yeah, there shouldn’t be many. You, me... and that detestable one we both hate. I heard it also eliminated three."
"You forgot one, the coward," Kamisou Ichiro laughed. "But it has been hiding for a long time, so I don’t think it’s a threat... Besides, it’s probably the weakest one."
"Hmm, unless the Mother created new Seeds... from our batch, there were a total of thirteen. Me, plus the three I took out. You, plus the three you took out. That detestable one, and the three it eliminated. That makes twelve. Lastly, there’s the coward, hardly worth considering." As Seed spoke, he nodded in agreement.
Kamisou Ichiro looked intently at Seed. "So... are we going to duel here today?"
Hearing this, Seed pondered with a very serious expression, then shook his head, his tone somewhat uncertain. "Perhaps not? I don’t think it’s time yet. What do you think?"
"Hmm, it is indeed a bit early. How about... after one of us eliminates that most detestable one? By then, it should be time for us to settle the score, right? I’m not sure if the commotion from our fight would alert that detestable one, and then... if it would show up when we’re both injured..."
"Yes, that could work," Seed nodded. "So... next time?" Then, a bashful, boyish smile spread across his face. "Um... can I take my Chosen One with me today?"
Hearing this, Kamisou Ichiro thought deeply, sighed, and was about to speak.
"I heard your conversation. Speaking of which... the location of your true form... I can tell you that I won’t target your true form. What do you think?" Seed chuckled. "So... there’s no point in killing him. Unless... you want to use him to bait that most detestable one?"
Kamisou Ichiro fell silent for a moment, then let out a long breath. "Alright, I was overthinking it. Setting up such a scheme is indeed a bit childish. In that case, you can keep your Chosen One."
With that, Kamisou Ichiro stood up from the chair and looked at Seed. "Your current body looks rather strange."
"Haven’t been using it for long," Seed replied nonchalantly.
"Well, that’s your business," Kamisou Ichiro nodded. "Regarding the pastry brand, you can go to New York, to my headquarters... Your Chosen One should be able to help you find it; he seems to know quite a lot about my organization. I’ll instruct my people, so you can take it over directly when you arrive."
After saying this, Kamisou Ichiro glanced at Chen Nuo lying on the ground.
"Chen-san, until next time."
Chen Nuo’s lips twitched—he was actually cursing.
Kamisou Ichiro smiled, clearly having heard him, but seemed utterly unconcerned. He just nodded. "Miss Xicheng Xun is still a guest at my place, Chen-san. You should be a bit more polite to me."
Chen Nuo’s expression immediately became solemn. He spoke slowly, "Mr. Kamisou Ichiro, have a safe trip! Next time we meet, I’ll treat you to a meal!"
Kamisou Ichiro sighed, his figure blurring, and then he vanished.
Leaving Chen Nuo and Seed, who looked at each other for a while before...
Chen Nuo spoke up.
"You know, this intense staring contest and battle of wits can wait... I’m bleeding a lot right now. If you don’t help me soon, I’m going to die."
