Bab 102: Voices of Doubt and Dark Whispers
Ryuzetsu felt so angry she could cry. After so long, she thought her tears had just dried up and her eyes had turned into a barren desert. Apparently, she was wrong. She only remembered crying during Muku's death. Not a tear had been spared since.
"Blame the box, blame Kusagakure, blame Mui-san, or...blame Muku-kun for being weak,"
No. Not that. Anything but that. Akari's words, like water laced with sweet honeyed poison, poured themselves onto the growing stem of doubt in Ryuzetsu's mind. She felt like her body wasn't even in the room anymore.
"Face it Ryuzetsu. You have no need for that weakling!"
"The box isn't evil, Ryuzetsu. Muku was just too weak to properly wield it,"
"Ryuzetsu, sometimes...in order to keep the garden fresh, the weeds must be plucked, cut, and burned,"
"All he wanted was a peaceful life with you and his father? Don't delude yourself. What are the hopes and dreams of a person with no strength to see them through? Do you know why he fell to the Box? HIS CONVICTION WAS TOO WEAK! HE WAS TOO WEAK!"
"What are insignificant worms to a girl as amazing as you? While you achieve success, you are weighed down by the obligations of a crutch that holds you back from achieving the greatest of heights. In order to succeed, one must...cut off withering branches,"
One too many voices rampaged through Ryuzetsu's head. Try as she might she could not stop them from coming. She could not stop them from corrupting her. She could not stop herself from...believing them. She couldn't stop herself...from accepting their proverbs. Within the depths of her mind, Ryuzetsu was cloaked in the aura of these dark thoughts and hymns of praise to herself.
Ryuzetsu stood in silence while Akari continued to observe her. The girl had remained motionless for a rather long time before she tilted up her head. Her once grey eyes, filled with multiple circular patterns, now bore a harsh field of red that even unsettled Akari for a moment.
"Then what would you have me do?" the young girl asked.
Akari grabbed her headset as well as a notepad. "I'm not going to answer that. However, I look forward to seeing what you settle on. There is a reason why tree pruning is such a respectable hobby," the chunin answered.
She did not wait for Ryuzetsu to gather her thoughts. She did not wait for Ryuzetsu to come to some sort of realization. She just left without another word. Once Akari closed the door, she smiled. "I hope Naruto-sama rewards me for this," she thought to herself before she decided to start searching for the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
...
Another week passed by for the Kusagakure team. Day and night, they tried searching for the Box of Ultimate Bliss, but Naruto had to hand it to the prison, there weren't so many openings to find. He had created a tiny blood clone to perform surveillance on Mui. Unfortunately, the man had not showcased any strange behavior over the past seven days.
The redhead had even tried to see if there was anything strange with the prisoners or the prison staff. Aside from a couple of rowdy idiots, there wasn't anything to take a hold of. Those the aura of the box was so dense, only he and Hana could properly feel its presence. Yet, that was the problem.
It was everywhere. It was so dense that there was no single spot that felt more concentrated than others. Of course, Naruto's cultivation had been great with so much of the aura to draw from, but...none of this could compare to what laid within that box if he could open it.
However, there were a certain number of things that had begun to add up for the redhead. The Box had to be opened, and the way to do that was with chakra.
Perhaps, it was time for some...innovation, and that innovation would come from a certain person Naruto had observed for a time.
Naruto and Hana watched the newest arrival of prisoners to the island. The two Uzumaki stared at the incarceration of these lowlifes for a short while. More specifically, Naruto watched Mui use his technique of binding the prisoners to prevent their escape. It was a rather interesting technique especially when one considered its parent family of Katon techniques. Perhaps he should try learning it.
"Come," Naruto said. He walked away from the scene and Hana wasn't far behind him.
"So, when are you going to practice this...dual cultivation with me? I don't bite," Hana replied.
Naruto laughed as they continued to walk through the halls. They turned around a corner. "I think you need to remember that my abilities require a bit more direction than yours do, but we'll find some time. You're stronger than me after all. Imagine how fast you'll improve since you've taken that blood pill. Just wait till I start creating even more pills. I'll make the soldier pill seem like a damn child's snack,"
"You'd be breaking the economy if you did that," she replied.
"Oh trust me, Hana-chan, that'll be the first of many things I break," he answered.
Hana rolled her eyes, but only from the way she had been answered. She had no doubt that he had some plan to do these things. He was a crafty one, even before the whole dark persona.
The two heard the sound of the alarm that allowed for prisoners to get their lunch and their recess period. Hana could see the smile on Naruto's face grow wider as they entered the eating area for the prisoners. She saw him look left and right for his target. He must have found the person he needed because he started walking.
Now that Hana knew what to look for, she saw a rather tall, and bulky, man with red-orange hair. He wore a sleeveless blue shirt with dark grey pants. Whatever slop he ate on his plate seemed to satisfy him for the moment. It was only that he stopped when Naruto appeared in front of him.
"Never did I think the renowned arms-dealer, Bando, would be wasting away in a Kusagakure prison facility. Hard times must be on the underworld empires," Naruto said. In the many lifetimes he had seen from the people he killed. More than a handful had at least some past relationship with this bulky arms-dealer. Even Takamura Shingen had used this man's services before. Nothing could stop Naruto from doing the same thing.
"Beat it, brat. Don't think that just because I'm restricted by this damn seal that I can't kick your ass. I've fucked up plenty of shinobi. I still can. Get out of my face," the man replied. He went back to eating his food before he closed his eyes to have some type of peace.
....
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Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone