"Ryuuto, you're leaving already? Aren't you staying for the class meeting?"
"Yeah, something urgent came up. Tell the teacher Gwen and I are taking a leave."
"Got it!"
Harry watched as the two disappeared down the hall, sighing quietly. He didn't know why, but unease gnawed at him again.
As they raced through the city, Gwen glanced sideways at Ryuuto, her tone tight with worry. "Ryuuto… it's the Green Goblin this time, isn't it?"
Ryuuto raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. How'd you guess?"
She smirked. "Woman's intuition. Anyway—if you're with me, I'm not scared of anything."
That line hit him harder than a punch. For a second, he froze, heartbeat hammering stupidly loud. Then he pulled her close, his eyes sharpening.
"Hold on tight."
With a burst of chakra, Ryuuto vanished—light streaking past shattered buildings as they appeared above a smoldering business district.
"Damn it… this mess—Green Goblin's doing?"
Gwen clenched her fists, fury flashing in her eyes. Burned shops, glass everywhere, debris littering the street—it was chaos incarnate.
Before either could move, the ground erupted in flame.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
A volley of pumpkin bombs exploded, blasting craters into the pavement.
From above came that twisted laugh—sharp, wild, and smug.
"Haha! Ryuuto! Spider-girl! You two came here just to die?"
The Green Goblin hovered high on his glider, eyes glowing beneath the grotesque mask. He hurled another bomb with manic glee.
"Idiots! You don't even know when to quit!"
Ryuuto sneered, unimpressed. "You done with the monologue, or should I clap?"
Gwen launched forward. "Green Goblin! You won't get away with this!"
She fired web after web, swinging upward with sharp precision—but the Goblin was ready. He dove, dodging easily, then threw a cluster of upgraded bombs.
"Try my new toys, heroes! They go boom twice as hard!"
"Like hell!" Gwen shouted, twisting through the air as the blasts shook the skyline. She shot another web, closing distance—
—but a shimmer beside her made her freeze.
Something invisible took shape midair. A reptilian face flickered into view.
"Roar!"
The Chameleon lunged out of stealth, tongue snapping forward like a whip, aiming for Gwen's throat.
He and Goblin had planned this—kill the Spider first, then overwhelm the kid.
Too bad for them, Ryuuto was faster.
"Shadow Imitation!"
His hands blurred through seals. Shadows stretched from his feet, merging with Gwen's in an instant.
"What—?!"
Before the Chameleon's strike landed, Gwen's body twisted aside with impossible grace, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.
Ryuuto smirked. "You try to touch my teammate, you reptile? Big mistake."
"Impossible…" the Chameleon hissed, stunned.
Ryuuto raised a hand. "You picked the wrong wall to crawl on."
Ten shadow clones erupted around the villain, surrounding him in a blur.
"Gwen! Take the Goblin! I'll deal with this one!"
"Got it!"
She swung away, diving toward Green Goblin as webs crisscrossed the smoky sky.
Ryuuto's clones attacked from every direction, fists and kunai slamming in unison.
The Chameleon roared, striking back wildly, his tongue and claws tearing through several clones—but it was too late. Ryuuto moved with precise brutality, slamming a kick into his ribs.
Blood sprayed.
The villain stumbled, snarling, then scrambled up the wall—his body rippling into camouflage until he vanished completely.
"Tch. A cheap lizard trick?"
Ryuuto's grin turned razor-sharp. Red light flared in his eyes.
"Let's see you hide from this."
His Sharingan spun to life. Chakra surged. The air itself seemed to tense.
The hunt was on.