c6: Encountering a Parasite
Before the three of them could exchange more than a few words, a sharp beam of light suddenly cut through the darkness.
A man in a police uniform stepped forward, holding a flashlight. His tone was stern as he spoke, "I'm a patrol officer for this area. What are you three doing out here so late at night?"
Su Xiaoyou had opened the portal at night in this world, and due to the difference in time between dimensions, neither she nor Broly and Naruto had properly adjusted yet.
However, her reaction was quick. She immediately stepped forward, subtly positioning herself between the policeman and the two boys behind her. With a polite smile, she explained, "It's like this, officer. My younger brother had an argument with me and ran off. I came out to look for him."
The policeman narrowed his eyes slightly. He raised the flashlight, carefully illuminating Su Xiaoyou's face before shifting the beam toward Broly and Naruto.
"Is that so?" he said slowly. "If you're really siblings… then who is this blond kid beside you?"
Broly: "…"
Naruto: "…"
Su Xiaoyou: "…"
There was a brief moment of silence.
Broly reacted first, stepping forward slightly as he spoke in a calm tone, "He's my friend. Is there a problem with me coming out to find my friend after arguing with my sister?"
The policeman frowned, clearly unconvinced. "Then why don't you look like you've just had a fight? Something doesn't add up. Are you lying to me?"
Years of patrol experience made him sensitive to irregularities. Combined with the recent surge of missing persons cases in the area, suspicion naturally formed in his mind.
Broly's expression grew slightly impatient. His Saiyan instincts were already picking up on something off about the man in front of him.
"We've already made up," he said flatly. "Is there anything else?"
If this person continued to interfere, Broly was already considering simply knocking him unconscious and leaving.
The policeman hesitated for a moment.
At first, he had suspected that the girl might have abducted the two children. But judging from their behavior, that didn't seem to be the case.
If they had truly been kidnapped, they would have instinctively called for help the moment they saw a police officer.
Instead, these two children seemed… wary of him.
Was he overthinking things?
He took a step forward and said, "Are you sure she's really your sister? I'm a police officer, you can trust me."
"Recently, there have been multiple disappearance cases in Kobe. We suspect possible human trafficking activity. For your safety, please come with me to the station for further investigation."
Hearing this, Broly, Naruto, and Su Xiaoyou exchanged a brief glance.
In that instant, their thoughts aligned perfectly.
Su Xiaoyou nodded and replied calmly, "Alright, we'll cooperate."
The three of them began walking toward the policeman.
However, just as they got closer, something felt off.
The policeman suddenly licked his lips unconsciously, and a strange, almost distorted smile spread across his face.
That expression…
It wasn't normal.
When they were only five or six steps away, Broly's pupils shrank slightly.
His perception enhanced by Saiyan instincts and his already high battle power picked up on something deeply wrong.
That look in the man's eyes…
It was eerily similar to the kind of gaze he remembered from his previous life, one filled with hunger, excitement, and something almost predatory.
Without hesitation, Broly shouted, "Be careful! Something's wrong with him!"
Su Xiaoyou, who had originally been preparing to quietly knock the man out, immediately reacted. She halted her approach and swiftly retreated, creating distance.
Naruto also jumped back instinctively, his body entering a ready stance.
In the next instant, the policeman's head suddenly split open.
It unfolded like a grotesque flower blooming in reverse, flesh tearing apart as multiple sharp, barbed tentacles extended outward.
From within the opened skull, three concentric rings of densely packed, serrated teeth became visible, rotating slightly like a living grinder resembling the horrifying mouthparts of a parasitic organism.
The creature let out a faint, distorted sound.
The disguise… had been shed.
Naruto reacted instantly. He pulled out two kunai from his waist and forcefully threw one toward the monster's exposed mouth.
However, before the blade could reach its target, one of the parasite's sharp tentacles whipped forward and deflected it with precision. The impact produced a metallic clanging sound, showing that the creature's transformed flesh had hardened to an abnormal degree.
Naruto didn't hesitate. He immediately jumped in front of Broly, instinctively placing himself between the enemy and the younger boy.
Seeing this, Su Xiaoyou swiftly drew out two short batons from her waist. With a flick of her wrists, the batons extended, and after a quick twist, they locked together, forming a long alloy staff.
Gripping the weapon tightly, she charged forward toward the parasitized policeman, initiating the fight head-on.
At the same time, Naruto formed hand seals rapidly and shouted, "Shadow Clone Technique!"
In an instant, dozens of Narutos appeared across the street, surrounding the parasite from all directions. Using sheer numbers, they launched a coordinated rush toward the target.
However, the parasite's reaction speed was terrifying. Its tentacles lashed out in all directions, striking the incoming clones. One after another, the shadow clones were hit and instantly dispersed into puffs of white smoke, vanishing from the battlefield.
Even so, their sacrifice wasn't meaningless.
The barrage of attacks forced the parasite to divide its attention, buying Su Xiaoyou a brief but crucial opening.
Seizing that moment, Su Xiaoyou gathered all her strength. She swung her alloy staff with full force, deflecting one of the incoming tentacles before stepping in decisively.
With a powerful downward strike, she smashed the weapon directly into the man's head.
The impact was devastating.
The skull shattered instantly under the force, fragments scattering across the ground.
But before anyone could react—
A small, worm-like creature suddenly burst out from the destroyed head and shot forward at incredible speed, aiming straight for Su Xiaoyou's eyes.
This was the parasite's true body.
With its original host destroyed, it was now desperately seeking a new host to survive.
Having just unleashed her full strength, Su Xiaoyou was completely exhausted. Her breathing became heavy as she leaned on the alloy staff for support, barely managing to remain standing.
She no longer had the strength to dodge.
The parasite closed in rapidly, its trajectory aimed directly at her pupil, at that critical moment, a small hand suddenly reached out.
With precise timing, it grabbed the parasite mid-air.
A faint cracking sound followed.
The creature was crushed instantly.
Su Xiaoyou froze for a moment before turning her head. When she saw that it was Broly who had acted, she finally let out a long breath of relief.
Broly lowered his hand calmly.
From the beginning, he had been observing the fight without rushing in. Although his combat power far exceeded the parasite, his lack of real battle experience meant he needed to carefully watch and learn.
At the same time, memories from his previous life had already told him how these parasites operated.
He knew that destroying the host wasn't enough, the parasite itself had to be eliminated.
So he had been waiting for this exact moment.
Before Su Xiaoyou could even thank him, footsteps echoed from the darkness.
Five figures emerged from the dimly lit street, all dressed in identical police uniforms. They walked forward slowly, their movements eerily synchronized.
One of them spoke in a cold tone, "Sato is useless. He couldn't even lure three humans properly and ended up causing such a disturbance."
Another added, "If more people are drawn here, things will get troublesome. We'll have to eliminate them all."
A third voice chimed in, carrying a hint of excitement, "I don't like eating frozen meat. Fresh prey is always better."
"Enough talking," one of them concluded. "Let's finish them quickly."
Hearing their conversation, Naruto's expression stiffened. Cold sweat formed on his forehead.
If these five were as strong as the one they had just faced, then the situation would become extremely dangerous.
He glanced at Su Xiaoyou, who was already exhausted, and then at Broly, who stood quietly beside him.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto prepared to form hand seals again, ready to continue fighting no matter what.
But just as he raised his hands, a small hand stopped him.
Naruto paused and looked down.
Broly stepped forward, cracking his knuckles lightly. A faint smile appeared on his face, calm yet filled with confidence.
"Let me handle this."
He tilted his head slightly, loosening his neck as if preparing for a warm-up.
"I've been wanting to test my strength for a while now."
...