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Ch. 122: An Ordinary Family: For Family
🕑 Added 2024-10-03 08:38:09 +0000 UTCThe Tcho-Tcho people are small, with little or no hair, and are a cunning, wicked, and extremely sinister race. Though they are reluctant to admit it, they do possess human bloodlines and can be classified as a human race.
Their creator is the Great Old One, Chaugnar Faugn, also known as the Elephant God and the Horror from the Hills. He used pieces of early amphibians to create a dwarf race called the Miri Nigri, specifically to serve him.
Eventually, the Miri Nigri interbred with humans, producing mixed-blood offspring. Over generations of independent evolution, they became the Tcho-Tcho people.
The Tcho-Tcho people are a fully carnivorous race, and their favorite meat is human flesh. They refer to human meat as pork and prepare dishes using various ancient and mystical methods. They even grind human nerves into a unique sauce.
Beneath their appearance of low intelligence, tthey often harbor sinister plans that are unimaginable to humans. Danger, filth, and depravity are their trademarks. Much of their cunning and trickery comes from their Miri Nigri bloodline, which is also characterized by low intelligence. Because half of their bloodline is Miri Nigri, Tcho-Tcho people are born with only half the sanity of a normal human.
They often conduct rituals to summon Great Old Ones, and every time they participate, their sanity decreases further until they become insane monsters driven only by their carnivorous instincts. When confronting Kizashi, adult Tcho-Tcho people charge at him without a second thought, while younger ones know to flee.
Logically, this is a race that should not be able to continue due to its regressive sanity as they mature. However, the Tcho-Tcho people perform ancient forbidden rituals to create highly intelligent and highly skilled individuals among their kind.
These individuals, trained as powerful assassins for their race, possess unique martial arts techniques and are known as Tcho-Tcho Executors. Some Executors develop poison fangs, extra limbs, or the ability to spit web-like material from their mouths, or even sharp bone spikes that extend from their joints.
They use these mutated body parts as weapons, so Executors don't need to carry ordinary, easily detectable weapons. They retain high intelligence for normal communication with humans but still maintain the Tcho-Tcho people's innate cunning.
The Tcho-Tcho that Kizashi is facing now is an Executor. However, this Executor's mutations weren't achieved through ancient rituals but by devouring other Tcho-Tcho.
After eating several other Tcho-Tcho, its body became stronger than ever. Its physique grew taller and more muscular, with two extra pairs of arms sprouting from its side, and sharp bone spikes extending from its finger bones.
Luckily, this Tcho-Tcho hadn't yet undergone the specialized training Executors usually receive, so it hadn't developed advanced combat skills.
Kizashi grasped a kunai in his right hand, his left hand against the handle ring, adopting a purely defensive stance against the enhanced Tcho-Tcho Executor. One wrong move and I'm dead.
It spread out its six arms, looking like a giant upright spider with all its bone spikes extended, slowly advancing toward him.
"I always wanted to fight a human spider."
Suddenly, the Tcho-Tcho pushed off the ground with its thick legs, quickly pouncing on him. Kizashi knew a single kunai wouldn't be enough to block all six bone spikes, so he dodged with a roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. However, his abdomen was grazed by the tip of one spike, leaving a bloody cut.
"Too slow!"
He frowned but gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain, as he focused on the Tcho-Tcho's next move. The intelligent Tcho-Tcho noticed his injury, its twisted face forming a mocking grin as it attacked again.
"I'm not done yet."
Despite its evolved body, the Tcho-Tcho couldn't properly coordinate its six arms and could only manage clumsy lunges. Its arms spread wide, making it difficult to evade in the confined space. After a while, Kizashi had accumulated several cuts.
Another cut. How much more can I take? His breath came in ragged gasps.
He knew that if he sustained more injuries, he'd soon lose consciousness from blood loss. With what strength he had left, he decided to try one more thing: using chakra.
Chakra could enhance his body's speed and strength far beyond that of a normal human. Once a skilled ninja, Kizashi had mastered chakra, but after a particular mission, he lost the ability to use it like before.
That mission had involved rescuing villagers of Konoha from the Valley of Death, at the border of the Land of Bears. Among the trapped villagers was his future wife. During the rescue, Kizashi was accidentally pricked by a poisonous thorn. After carrying her back to Konoha, the poison spread, and though Tsunade saved his life, he could no longer use chakra like before and had to retire as a ninja.
Though his body could still produce chakra, it was far weaker and less stable than even a novice ninja. He knew this well, so he had to summon as much chakra as possible in one decisive moment against the Tcho-Tcho.
Can I even do this anymore? It's been so long... He had no choice.
Gathering his energy, Kizashi slowly felt the faint chakra flow within him. The Tcho-Tcho lunged again, its six bone spikes aiming for a deadly embrace.
Wait for it... timing is everything.
At the last second, he leaped into the air with the help of his chakra.
I'd forgotten how this felt.
In an instant, he was above the Tcho-Tcho, its unprotected head exposed. Seizing the opportunity, he threw his kunai, which was empowered by chakra. It pierced deep into its skull, with blood gushing out as the handle almost fully disappeared into its head.
"Gotcha, you monster."
With the effort expended, his body gave out, his legs going numb as he collapsed. The Tcho-Tcho wobbled, its six arms slowly lowering, before collapsing as well. As his vision blurred, Kizashi's last conscious thought was of his family.
---
At dawn, four shadowy figures dashed out of the gates of Konoha.
"Yuki-sensei, it's just a mission to clear some trees. Isn't it a bit much to send an entire ninja squad?"
Yuki, leading the group, glanced back with a slight smile. "Hmm, I heard from the Third Hokage that this mission isn't just about helping villagers clear the road. We're also investigating the disappearance of nearby merchant caravans."
Disappearing caravans?
"Since last month, caravans have been vanishing along that route. The merchants' guild has asked Konoha for help, so our squad is handling this mission too."
The ninja leading the way was Yuki, followed closely by three young ninjas, one of whom was Kagami. After more than a year as a ninja, he had learned to adapt quickly and be more decisive.
Ultimately, his primary goal was survival. He focused on ensuring he could survive future threats, rather than prematurely showing off abilities that were still insufficient. Doing so would only reduce his chances of survival in this world.
Setting out at dawn, Team 2 arrived near the Sakuhana, in the southeast of the Land of Fire, by around 9 a.m. Leaping through the treetops, Yugao was the first to spot a carriage by the roadside.
"There it is!" she called out, pointing towards the abandoned vehicle.
"Yes, let's go down," Yuki commanded, and the four jumped down, surrounding the carriage as he pulled aside the curtain.
"No one here."
Itachi, being observant, noticed a blade of grass wedged under the driver's seat. The angle was so precise that it couldn't have been placed there by accident.
"Sensei, look at this," Itachi said, kneeling to examine the grass more closely. "Could it be a signal?"
Yuki thought for a moment before nodding. "The villager who asked for our help used to be a ninja. If he went somewhere else, this might indeed be a signal for us."
"Let's follow the direction this grass points to," Yuki decided, his eyes already tracing the path ahead.
"Yes!"
The four rushed through the forest and quickly sensed something was off. The area was littered with traps. Though crude and easy for ninjas to spot in daylight, they would be hard for ordinary people to notice. Before long, they found the entrance to a cave hidden between boulders.
In front of the cave, the Haruno family was resting.
"Thank the heavens you've arrived!" Kizashi exclaimed as he saw the ninja squad.
The arrival of Yuki's team finally put the family at ease.
Yugao immediately began examining Kizashi's injuries, as he was the most severely wounded. Fortunately, none of the large gashes were life-threatening.
"These look worse than they are. You're lucky, Haruno-san," Yugao said as she tended to his wounds.
Kizashi chuckled weakly. "Luck had nothing to do with it. Pure stubbornness, I'd say."
Mebuki's injuries were also not serious, though an ankle injury made it difficult for her to move. As for Sakura, she was unharmed, aside from being a bit frightened.
After Mebuki briefly explained what had happened, Yuki had Yugao and Itachi escort the Haruno family back using the carriage, while he and Kagami stayed behind to search further.
Inside the cave, Yuki and Kagami found many corpses of small humanoid creatures. These creatures were short and ugly, and even in death, they were repulsive.
"I've never seen anything like this before," Yuki muttered.
"Yes," Kagami agreed, trying to hide his recognition of the creatures.
In one of the boulder crevices, Yuki found a large stash of high-end goods, including silverware and candlesticks. It was clear that these cave-dwelling creatures couldn't have made these items. The only explanation was that they had looted them from the missing merchant caravans.
So this is where the caravans ended up. But where are the merchants? As for the merchants themselves, after a thorough search, Yuki came to a grim conclusion.
"It looks like those merchants were eaten by these creatures," Yuki said.
"Are these things even human?" Kagami asked, feigning shock.
Standing silently, he appeared stunned by the horrifying truth.
Why had the Tcho-Tcho people appeared here in the Land of Fire?
Tcho-Tcho were a species without special abilities. Their strength was the same as humans, and their intelligence was even lower.
They had a tendency to migrate westward with the setting sun. However, this habit wasn't absolute, as some Tcho-Tcho remained in the Land of Bears. While Kagami was contemplating this in his mind, Yuki called him over, having found another location.
"We need to make sure all these creatures are eliminated. This part of the cave hasn't been checked yet," Yuki said, pointing to a narrow tunnel.
"My body's too large to fit in there, so I'll leave it to you."
It was a narrow tunnel, and Kagami, still small, could only wriggle through it like a worm. Suddenly, deep in the darkness of the tunnel, he saw a curled-up little body.
Its ugly face confirmed its identity as a Tcho-Tcho.
The young Tcho-Tcho looked at Kagami, its eyes suddenly lighting up as if it had seen a burning presence. Kagami smiled slightly and made a "shh" gesture.
"Kagami, is there anything in there?"
"No."
As Kagami began to wriggle back out of the tunnel, he cast one last glance at the young Tcho-Tcho.
"There's nothing in here."
