Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 925 - 742: Repairing the Ninja Village_2

Chapter 925: Chapter 742: Repairing the Ninja Village_2

"Do you know how to play? I’ll teach you!" Wolf Girl was thrilled to have someone to play with, her tail wagging ceaselessly.

"Is this how the game works..." Tsuchigumo was learning how to use the controller’s buttons, fascinated and pleasantly surprised by how the vehicles on the screen responded to her commands.

No wonder so many people love playing video games; they definitely bring happiness.

Wolf Girl’s face showed a strange expression of satisfaction, feeling particularly exhilarated since the fall of Black Fire Innovation, as if the chains that had been chasing her for years had finally shattered. And since Tsuchigumo was a newbie, Wolf Girl could easily enjoy more happiness than her.

"I’ve heard that kids nowadays prefer playing games in virtual pods." Tsuchigumo remembered the gaming arcades in District 24, lined with hundreds of gaming pods, resembling rows of spider cocoons.

"That’s just simple stuff, you could play games that are much more realistic if you drill into your brain... but I don’t like drilling into my brain," Wolf Girl contemplated with dissatisfaction.

"Is brain modification to adapt to gaming devices worth it?" Tsuchigumo felt that playing with a screen, console, and controller was already the peak of gaming enjoyment.

"You have to get modified for many things!" Wolf Girl said angrily, recalling the tests and human implants she had undergone at Black Fire Innovation, where researchers tailored a modification plan to turn her into a maniacal and unashamed monster.

When Wolf Girl got angry, Tsuchigumo could almost feel the rage radiating from her, like an outwardly projected blade with real lethality.

Tsuchigumo observed Wolf Girl with respect. One had spider magic power, the other had the magic power of a strange wolf, both were transformative, and Wolf Girl seemed a bit more powerful.

Before, Tsuchigumo was also cold, restrained, and exuded an aura of keeping others at a distance, but now after going through so much, she felt weak and insignificant. How could she get back to being the cool and fierce Tsuchigumo?

When Xu Yang came back in the evening, he saw a house full of people.

"I’m home." Xu Yang hung his coat on the rack and placed his briefcase on the entryway stand.

"Daddy!" Xu Cheng ran over to greet him. Bubble followed behind her like a pair of little animals.

"Mr. Xu!" Tsuchigumo started telling Xu Yang about what happened in Shinobi Village.

"Ah, Shinobi Village... I’ve also gathered similar information," Xu Yang nodded, letting Xu Cheng go make dinner before discussing in detail with Tsuchigumo in the living room.

"I received a letter from Master Kamogawa, saying that some hostile ninja recently emerged, continuously carrying out assassinations and sabotage against Shinobi Village, and the entire village has been razed to the ground," Tsuchigumo said earnestly.

"Actually, the nearby Nestor Security Station has also received reports from the ninja, stating that all the Ninja Masters who stayed behind to guard the village have been wiped out," Xu Yang pondered.

"The ninja have fallen to the point of reporting to the security station..." Tsuchigumo couldn’t help but feel inwardly pained upon hearing this news.

Has the era of the ninja ended?

"After the passing of the previous Ninja Masters, there’s only the 101-year-old Master Kamogawa left... Shinobi Village is indeed fragile at the moment, not much different from an ordinary village," Xu Yang said.

"An ordinary village still has hope for revival, but Shinobi Village is sparse in population, no fresh blood," Tsuchigumo despaired even more when she thought about how the once prosperous village had become what it was now.

Prior to this, Kojima Kanako had drained the village resources, taking away a large number of reserve ninja to Jialong Slope where she trained them as her loyal followers. During that time, many traditional ninja training methods were abolished, with a focus on practicality.

Tsuchigumo had also encountered ninja during her stay at Jialong Slope, ninja who didn’t even know how to greet properly!

Other ninja also stopped their studies one after another, leaving the village to seek their own livelihoods. Beautiful female ninja chose to enter show business, collaborating with film companies, and rapidly becoming famous; earth-based ninja like Tsuchigumo became popular in the civil engineering industry; medical ninja re-employed at rural health stations; physical art ninja earned money by fighting in the Anjiu City Giant Dome Stadium...

And Tsuchigumo’s Shinobi Village fell into decline.

"Thanks to the current digital archiving project, most Ninjutsu have been scanned and archived, stored in Nestor Corporation’s databases, not at risk of being lost," Xu Yang nodded. After initial hostilities, Nestor Corporation and Shinobi Village launched some collaborative projects, preventing the ninja from being hostile to Nestor Corporation.

"It’s just that many of the most precious scrolls are still kept with the Master, unwilling to be handed over to outsiders. There are also some heritage Ninjutsu that can only be used by specific bloodlines," Tsuchigumo thought of the most profound Escape Techniques and secret transmissions.

"The master wrote a letter to you, what does he want you to do back in the village?" Xu Yang asked.

"...To revive Shinobi Village!" Tsuchigumo said.

She took out her notched headband from her bosom; rebel ninja would notch their headbands to symbolize cutting ties with the past.

"If you can help resolve the crisis in Shinobi Village, you could also change back from being a rebel ninja to a ninja," Xu Yang said.

"Exactly! Defeat the invaders, then revitalize Shinobi Village. Then, the master should entrust me with the oldest Ninjutsu Scroll, completing the tradition of our Shinobi Village." As Tsuchigumo mentioned this, her expression grew more and more determined.

Shinobi Village has always been a mystical place. Located in the mountains at the heart of the Archipelago, all ninja receive their training there, isolated from the rest of the world, yet they have also connected to numerous information systems, actively communicating with the outside world.

Its deterioration is mainly because the training of ninja is truly too arduous and exhausting; only a few can persist.

Upon this reflection, Xu Yang couldn’t help but ask Tsuchigumo about her vision for the future of ninja.

"Learning Ninjutsu must be painful," Xu Yang said, "Sometimes I see Xu Cheng looking very weary."

"It’s more than painful; it’s... torture! From a very young age, one must temper every part of their body, until the bones grow hard, the skin turns rough, and the body and spirit become strong. But in today’s world, the more one devotes themselves to it, the lower the returns. The ninja lost their core human abilities, and can only exist by depending on others." Tsuchigumo reflected on all this.

In ancient times, ninja were specialized occupations that delivered messages and spied for daimyo; in the modern era, they have become bodyguards and emissaries for businessmen. Xu Yang pondered.

But these functions are gradually being replaced by more convenient modern devices.

"The ninjas under Kojima Kanako are all as ferocious as evil wolves, and appear and disappear unpredictably. She calls them ’Modern Ninja,’" Xu Yang said.

"Her obsession with raising ninjas is indeed weird," Tsuchigumo couldn’t help but say, "I don’t know of anyone else who cultivates elite ninjas on such a large scale like she does. I thought by now she’d use robots. Aren’t Synthetic Humans used as soldiers nowadays?"

"She says she has mastered the art of taming people, but when it comes to controlling machines, she’s still a novice."

"Ninjas are like slaves," Tsuchigumo lamented, "At the end of that letter, the master also asked me, ’Have you ever harbored resentment towards your ninja training? Have you ever thought about what it would be like if you had never undergone ninja training?’..."

"Do you have an answer?" Xu Yang asked.

"...No," Tsuchigumo shook her head. She didn’t know whether all this was right or wrong, or if it was worth it.

"By the way, other ninjas must also aspire to restore Shinobi Village," Xu Yang said.

"Yes, the master has gathered as many usable ninja as possible there, partly also to prepare for a potential second attack by the enemy. According to the master’s letter, they are probably rival ninja, employing techniques similar to ours but more ferocious and nearly invincible. If you could help..." Tsuchigumo sat up straight.

In Tsuchigumo’s mind, there was nothing that Mr. Xu couldn’t handle.

"Then we should set off to Shinobi Village and take a look," Xu Yang acknowledged.

Being away from the bustle of the city, contemplating in a quiet place also helps to open new perspectives. Everything he’s facing right now is difficult to tackle, such as Heberon’s research, countering hackers, and the god of death whose fate is undecided.

"I’m truly grateful for your support; it’s been of great help," Tsuchigumo bowed deeply to Xu Yang.

"It’s what I should do," Xu Yang also paid his respects to Tsuchigumo.

Since the time of Senzoune, Xu Yang had dealings with the ninjas, back when they were numerous and renowned. Now their legacy is withering, and someone needs to step in to clean up the mess.

Endure!