Running a Sweet Little Shop with Naiya-zi

No sooner had Nakahara Chuuya's provocation left his mouth than Shinjima Ryunosuke was angered first, before Li Nai could even react.

"To dare involve Mr. Li Nai..." His originally vigilant expression suddenly became terrifying, murderous intent bursting from his eyes along with his words, "—Unforgivable."

Shinjima suddenly took a step forward. His coat hem transformed into countless blades that abruptly stood on end, each sharp tip sprouting jagged hooks—a gentle swipe would be enough to tear a piece of flesh from the opponent.

Yet, facing Shinjima who looked like a humanoid monster, Chuuya remained standing there with both hands in his pockets, his posture casual. He only raised an eyebrow when he saw the blades shifting shape again.

"Not bad. I originally thought you were just a brat putting on airs." Chuuya's cobalt-blue eyes also flared with battle intent. "That look... is quite interesting."

Shinjima said no more. His knees bent slightly before he suddenly leaped. The bared fangs of the blades lunged toward Chuuya like a wide-open maw, followed by a punch packed with raw power.

Nakahara Chuuya sneered. Looking directly into Shinjima's cold eyes, he twisted his body to dodge the heavy punch in the nick of time. Then, utilizing the momentum of his leap amidst the sharp blades thrusting from all directions, he spun in mid-air and delivered a powerful kick!

Shinjima was forced to pull back his hands to defend, crossing his fists in front of him to block Chuuya's heavy, gravity-infused strike.

*Bang!*

Shinjima's slender figure was sent flying backward, knocking over a row of tables and chairs before crashing heavily into the wall, letting out a loud thud before slowly sliding down.

Nakahara Chuuya landed lightly on the ground, his hands still tucked in his pockets. Not only did his battle intent not fade, but he became even more excited.

"I could have completely crippled both of your arms just now." A beast-like grin appeared on Chuuya's face. "I thought the feeling of my kick felt off—your reflexes are incredibly fast. Interesting!"

Shinjima stabilized himself and coughed a few times, raising his cold, pitch-black pupils. The darkness wrapped around his wrists receded, turning back into his coat hem.

Just now, in that hair-raising moment, he had instantly softened the sharp blades thrusting into the air, using Rashomon to wrap around his wrists and minimize the impact of the kick.

Considering his age, his reaction at such a crucial moment revealed a terrifying combat talent, but...

"Well? Oda, what do you think?"

Li Nai leaned back in his seat. The chaotic battlefield was right nearby, but his posture was as relaxed as if he were enjoying an afternoon tea performance. His mood even seemed better than before as he smiled and asked casually.

Oda Sakunosuke thought for a moment. "Very impressive. The abilities of both are highly powerful; a head-on confrontation would be difficult to handle."

"However—" Oda stated calmly, "killing them would be quite easy."

"Huh?"

Nakahara Chuuya immediately turned his head. For a moment, he was stunned by Li Nai's appearance, but he quickly snapped out of it and spoke to Oda in a harsh tone: "What kind of big talk is that? If you have the guts, come over and try!"

"...?" Oda said in confusion, "I was only answering the Shop Owner's question."

Chuuya's gaze shifted, but it froze when he met Li Nai's smiling eyes. Just when Oda thought this arrogant kid would say something unpleasant, Chuuya merely snorted coldly and turned his head away.

Oda: ...As expected of the Shop Owner, he is formidable in every aspect.

Suddenly, Chuuya's pupils contracted, and his body abruptly leaped backward. Almost instantly, the spot where he had just stood was swallowed by an exploding darkness!

Oda also dodged to the side at the same time, looking down at the unidentified objects emerging from the floor.

The black objects rolled like mud, every curve densely packed with terrifying spikes stained with fresh blood.

Li Nai sat quietly in his place, blinking to show his innocence.

Seeing the sneak attack fail, the black object quickly withdrew. Shinjima stretched out a hand, and the ability obediently wrapped around his arm.

—Shinjima had feigned a heavy injury to hide his ability in the shadows, launching a surprise attack when everyone's attention was diverted.

"Hey," Chuuya barked, stepping against the shop wall. "I don't care about myself, but isn't that guy your ally?"

"Shut up. I was only warning him not to get in my way," Shinjima said gloomily. "The one to kill you... must be me."

*Of course, if he couldn't even dodge this kind of attack, he wouldn't deserve to stand by Mr. Li Nai's side,* Shinjima thought coldly, reaching out toward Nakahara Chuuya once more.

Countless sharp blades bared their fangs again, but this time Shinjima did not move his body. He merely extended a finger slowly, and the blades behind him shot out like arrows leaving a bow!

"The same old trick... stop embarrassing yourself with it!"

Chuuya leaped repeatedly to dodge several attacks before landing. He sneered and kicked a table on the floor, intending to use the tabletop to block all the remaining attacks.

*Once the ability pierces the object, he won't be able to withdraw in time. I'll take that chance to slip behind him and deliver the finishing blow!*

Nakahara Chuuya had his plan set. He kicked the table leg—but the table was only pushed aside by the force, failing to fly up as expected.

—His gravity ability actually had no effect?!

Shocked to his core, Chuuya tried to dodge, but it was too late. Countless sharp blades were right before his eyes!

In this life-or-death situation, Chuuya originally intended to crush the floor to create a height difference and dodge, but under gravity's influence, the floor remained completely unscathed.

But Chuuya was mentally prepared. He instantly ducked low to evade the most lethal attacks, then pressed his hands against the ground to roll quickly to the side.

After a series of dull thuds, the blades grazed his hair and stabbed into the floor. Chuuya leaped back up and stood firm. His hands, which had always been tucked in his pockets, finally hung loose by his sides, his eyes filled with gravity.

—As expected, his guess was right. It wasn't a coincidence; his gravity ability had no effect on anything inside this shop!

That rumor... A flash of realization crossed Nakahara Chuuya's mind, and he couldn't help but glance toward the counter.

Li Nai, as if understanding everything, met his gaze with a smile and even playfully winked.

As if struck by electricity, Chuuya immediately turned his head away, while Shinjima's expression became even more terrifying.

"That is my master!" Shinjima gritted his teeth. "Unforgivable—I will definitely kill you!"

The slender blades suddenly spun, and Rashomon fused into a demonic head, opening its massive, abyssal mouth and lunging rapidly toward Chuuya.

"Are you insane?!" Chuuya barked in sheer exasperation. "Who wants to fight over that master with you!"

Li Nai, happily watching the drama: *? They aren't talking about me, are they?*

The fierce battle continued. Nakahara Chuuya faced this attack from Rashomon.

This time, the speed was incredibly fast, and the momentum surpassed all previous attacks—this lunatic had abandoned all variations and defense, truly risking his life to kill him!

Ánh mắt Trung Dã trở nên lạnh lẽo. Đã như vậy, đừng trách hắn.

Nakahara Chuuya charged straight toward Rashomon's fangs without dodging. Instead, he lowered his body to build momentum and lunged forward, his clenched fist glowing with the crimson light of gravity. With a roar, he swung his fist to clash with Rashomon.

The abilities clashed violently, sparking blinding lights. Li Nai lightly tapped the tabletop.

The moment the tap sounded, countless black fragments dissolved. Chuuya charged out from the exploding light, arriving in front of Shinjima almost instantly.

Shinjima's pupils contracted, his eyes reflecting Chuuya's raised hand. With great difficulty, he stretched out his hand, the last bit of his ability wrapping around his fingertips to slash a deep gash into Chuuya's waist.

But that was merely a final struggle before his strength gave out.

*It's over.* Nakahara Chuuya swung his fist down, the gravity-enhanced blow carrying a fierce wind, slamming directly into Shinjima's chest!

*Thud.*

It was only a dull thud. The punch, which should have landed squarely, was actually blocked. The force was like a clay ox entering the sea, vanishing without a trace, and the rebound even numbed his arm.

Nakahara Chuuya stared in shock at the soft, crimson ribbon beneath his hand. Shinjima had already let out a cold, murderous laugh. Using Chuuya's blood-stained hand, he pressed hard against the end of the hanging Red Scarf.

"Your blood is so red. It is very pleased," Shinjima said coldly. "I hope the color of your internal organs is even more beautiful."

The red scarf swelled like a living creature. Sensing the danger emanating from it, Chuuya quickly took a few steps back, the details of the previous battle flashing through his mind.

The hooks, blood-stained spikes, the demonic head... He should have realized sooner. Those things did very little damage to the enemy compared to the energy they consumed; their sole purpose was to draw blood. That Red Scarf was this guy's true trump card.

"So that's how it is. That thing was also given to you by the owner of this place. Is this why you are called the 'spokesman'?"

Nakahara Chuuya stared at Shinjima, his entire body enveloped in the crimson glow of his ability.

"Then bring it on!" Nakahara Chuuya laughed out loud instead. "To be able to fight me to this point, you're not a bad opponent!"

Shinjima said nothing. In place of an answer, a sky-blotting crimson swept forward.

In that hair-raising moment, a calm voice suddenly rang out.

"Alright," Oda Sakunosuke said, pointing his gun at the back of Chuuya's neck. "Let's stop here."

"What..."

"Don't move. You should understand that before I spoke, I had plenty of opportunities to kill you countless times."

Oda's hand was extremely steady, keeping the gun muzzle at a highly delicate distance—close enough that the shockwave of a gunshot would cause fatal damage, yet without touching Chuuya to trigger his ability.