Chapter 115: Little Red Bean

Aside from fearing ghosts, Shiraki’s greatest dread was soft-bodied creatures without legs or arthropods covered entirely in legs.

Watching the twisted, writhing venomous snake in Hongdou’s hand, an unsettling chill crept over Shiraki’s whole body, as if a “disgust” debuff had been automatically applied to his head, causing his combat effectiveness to drop by 30%.

“Snake! Bite him!” Though only about eleven or twelve years old, Hongdou had studied under Orochimaru and had already adopted his fierce ruthlessness, striking with extreme sharpness.

“What a cute little snake—what’s with this lolita stuff!” Shiraki’s cold hairs stood on end. He had no desire to engage the venomous snake in close quarters. He threw out his bloodied chain blade, clashing it against the serpent’s body. The hard scales and blades rang out with a harsh clang, yet the damage to the snake was minimal.

“Hehe… so you’re afraid of snakes, huh? Snakes are so cute—slippery and cold~ Here, feel this!” Hongdou giggled, flicking her sleeve. “Shadow Serpent Hands!”

Dozens of brightly colored venomous snakes intertwined, their slimy, limp bodies delivering a far greater visual shock than their sharp teeth could inflict.

“What am I doing, coming to provoke this brat…” Shiraki’s sanity plummeted as the venomous snakes swarmed around him. He unleashed a counterattack storm, spinning his chain blade like a furious helicopter.

With a sickening clatter, the stench of blood and viscera filled the air as the snakes were sliced into segments, scattered on the ground. Now it looked much better—if only he could pick them up and stew them into a delicious soup.

“Huh!? You actually dodged it?” Hongdou raised her eyebrows, sensing this opponent was not so easily dealt with. It was time to show some real skill.

“Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!!”

“Why does everyone love this move so much? Does it really blow people up?” Shiraki sighed helplessly. Facing the massive one-meter-wide fireball, he didn’t even want to waste his Hungry Ghost Path shield.

“Behold my Sleeve Embrace of Heaven and Earth!” Shiraki infused his desert cloak’s wide sleeves with a large amount of water chakra and cast them over the fireball. Steam hissed as the fireball was extinguished.

“Dummy! You’re blocking your own view!” Hongdou’s heart leapt with joy. The battlefield shifted in an instant; the most important thing was having eyes to gather intel. Unless fleeing, no one would blindly dive into the smoke. “Watch my Snake Venom Shuriken!”

Ten shuriken emitting a sickly sweet stench of snake venom flew from her ninja pouch. With a precise toss from Hongdou’s small hand, they shot straight into the smoke.

Puff, puff, puff… each shuriken sank into flesh with a sickening sound, making one wonder if whoever was inside the smoke was being nailed to a meat target.

“Came out of nowhere, and just as mysteriously died.” Hongdou licked her bean-flavored lollipop, waiting for the mist to clear. These were high-grade snake venoms, the strongest neurotoxins; once they drew blood, death was immediate. Unless a medical ninja was constantly attending, even a god would tremble on the ground.

The only drawback was that one had to be careful applying the poison—cutting a finger meant bad luck for oneself.

“Little Hongdou, you say… you like that slippery… cold feeling?” As the smoke cleared, Shiraki tilted his head with a strange smile. His right hand had completely transformed into a long octopus tentacle. Ten shuriken were firmly embedded in the tough skin of the tentacle, but the toxins did not pass through to Shiraki’s body.

“Ah, trouble…” Hongdou sensed something bad was about to happen.

“Come on, my tentacles feel way better than snakes…” Shiraki swung the tentacle heavily. Though formed from chakra, the tentacle was exceptionally flexible. Its densely packed suckers were embedded with neural synapses, providing clear tactile feedback, almost like an extension of his own limbs. No—far more sensitive than fingers, even able to feel the texture of skin.

Since trying tentacle play once, Shiraki had become addicted to the sensation.

“Snake! Bite… never mind, let’s retreat! Let the teacher handle this monster.” Hongdou raised her snake whip but reconsidered. The snake whip’s strength lay in its toxin and toughness, but this giant tentacle was immune to poison; grappling would be disadvantageous.

“Hehe… don’t run! You wanted me to let you feel what it’s like to be entwined by a snake, right? In return, I’ll let you feel what it’s like to be wrapped up by tentacles!” Shiraki grinned wickedly, chasing after her. The tentacles were devastating to female friends—except for some twisted types like Bufeng.

“Running so fast… Dragon Fire Technique!” Hongdou watched Shiraki’s ghost-like speed as she ran, forming hand seals while turning. A pillar of dragon-shaped flames shot from her mouth. Without looking back, she kept running, chewing her lollipop and taunting proudly, “Oh haha! Does Princess Hongdou’s saliva dragon taste good? Dummy!”

“Just so-so! A bit too sweet,” came Shiraki’s teasing voice right behind her.

Hongdou’s hair stood on end in fright. The fire dragon technique— even Orochimaru would have paused to set up an earth wall. Shouldn’t there have been some sound effect? How had Shiraki caught up without even a single sound?

“Slippery tentacles are coming! Gonna grab your little feet!” Shiraki darted forward with ghostly quick steps, like a cat playing with a mouse, teasing Hongdou by gently poking her spine with the tentacle.

“Ahhh… don’t do that… Teacher! Mom! Save me…” Feeling the cold, slimy touch on the back of her neck, little Hongdou was nearly in tears. She wished her feet could evolve into wheels.

“Squish squish~ Such slippery skin~ The tentacles are excited~” Shiraki’s tentacles crawled up Hongdou’s shoulders, clearly sensing the goosebumps rising along her skin.

“Ahhh! Take it away! Take it away!!” Hongdou flailed about, trying to push the tentacles off, but the slimy mucus made her powerless. When she tried stabbing with a kunai, it felt like hitting rubber—too tough.

“Don’t resist, or it’ll hurt you.” Shiraki’s face was twisted with a lecherous grin. His left hand also transformed into a tentacle, grabbing Hongdou’s ankle. The tiny suckers crawled slowly up her calf, lifting her entire body off the ground.

“Teacher… teacher…” Hongdou whimpered, twisting helplessly but unable to break free from the strong tentacles.

“Ha ha ha ha, scream… scream… even if you shout till your throat breaks, no one will come to save you…” Shiraki’s face was a picture of perverted delight.

“Teacher… I’m sorry, I can’t keep peeling snake skin with you… Hongdou Maru… I want to eat it just one more time…” Tears streamed down Hongdou’s cheeks. Even in death, she didn’t want to endure such humiliation.

Twin Serpents Clash…

This was a self-destructive ninjutsu, summoning two giant pythons to simultaneously kill oneself and one’s enemy. Hongdou no longer expected to kill Shiraki; she only wished to end this torment quickly.

Unfortunately, Shiraki was prepared, not even giving her the chance to commit suicide. His tentacles had already wrapped around Hongdou’s right hand, crawling over her fingertips to prevent any hand seals.

“Waaah… just kill me, please…” Hongdou broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.

Shiraki’s tentacle slowly reached Hongdou’s mouth, as if about to crawl inside and pull out her soul.

*Smack.*

The tentacle snatched the lollipop from Hongdou’s mouth, then quickly retracted, stuffing the candy into its own mouth. Hongdou was left lying on the ground, covered in slime.

“Oh ho! So sweet!” Shiraki jumped three meters high, dancing with glee as he ran back to his camp, leaving behind a trail of mad laughter.

“Jinx’s Prank: Mission Complete.”

“Sinful Pleasure: After committing a sin, gain an overwhelming pleasure that temporarily speeds up attack speed.”

“He… did all that… just for… my… lollipop?” Hongdou’s eye twitched uncontrollably as she rolled crazily in the sand, crying pitifully, “If you wanted the lollipop, just say so! How many do you want? I’ll give you! Why did you have to use tentacles?!”