"Yes," Ichiro Kurosaki replied without a mont's hesitation.
"Oh? And why is that?" Ryuji Ida already knew the answer, but he wanted to probe the secret behind the man's absolute submission.
"Do you really want to know?" Ichiro's expression suddenly turned grave. His gaze beca so heavy that it felt as if a single step forward would plunge Ryuji into a bottomless abyss.
Ryuji's breath hitched. In the end, he didn't have the heart to press further. He broke the tension with a jovial laugh.
"Since you're so willing to be my guard, then stay with . Don't worry, the pay will be excellent. You'll have everything others have—fine food, aged wine, beautiful won—as long as I can afford it."
"Not necessary. Just ensure I have my three als a day," Ichiro replied flatly.
"Fair enough. I'm going to see so old friends in a bit. Coming?"
"Yes."
Deep within the Ferro-Aluminum Mine, inside the Insect Hive.
Shisui's miner clone sat cross-legged at the center of a swirling swarm, surrounded by mountains of raw ore.
Through the ssages delivered by Ichiro and Matsumoto, he knew that the supplies sent by Ryuji Ida had arrived in full. He was also well aware of the situation with his main body back in the village.
The clone ford a hand seal, creating a Shadow Clone of itself. The Shadow Clone nodded and imdiately dispelled its technique, sending the gathered data back to the main body.
The swarm in this mine had undergone a significant divergence several days ago. Shisui had nad the new variant the Ferro-Aluminum Bug.
These insects didn't just devour tal veins to produce high-purity minerals; they could generate ionization through friction with one another, releasing Lightning Style discharges.
However, the evolution was currently flawed. Each ti the swarm generated electricity, a large number of bugs were fried to death. Only a few adapted and survived the current.
The clone had conducted nurous experints but had yet to solve the electrical resistance issue.
This ssage to the main body was an invitation to co and use his unique "Golden Touch" to provide the final guidance for this evolutionary branch.
In Takigakure.
After the squad assembled, village missions were distributed as usual. Just as Morita had predicted, Shisui's team was assigned patrol duty.
Shisui, of course, had no intention of personally performing such nial labor—he had far too many projects to advance.
He needed to dig deeper to construct a third-level laboratory and continue his experints on the emotionally manipulative insects.
Additionally, he planned to visit the mine in a few days to complete the Ferro-Aluminum Bug divergence and accelerate production.
Adding Lightning Style to his repertoire was secondary; it wouldn't offer a fundantal breakthrough in his personal strength.
On the third day of patrol.
While Shisui's team was patrolling the edge of the eastern forest, a pungent sll of alcohol wafted toward them.
Following the scent, they found Chunin Aoki slumped under a large tree, clutching an empty bottle and mumbling incoherently. "Natsuhi... I'm sorry... Takuya, it's my fault you're gone..."
Arisuke ran over imdiately. "Aoki-senpai! Why are you in this state?"
Aoki looked up, his eyes hollow. "It's you... Natsuhi... have you found Natsuhi?"
Harukusa shook her head, unsure of what to say. Days ago, the village had officially designated all missing ninjas as spies. Though she didn't believe Natsuhi was a traitor, the woman had undeniably vanished during the chaos.
"It's all my fault..." Aoki began to weep. "If I had been more alert that night, Natsuhi wouldn't have disappeared. If I hadn't lost focus during the last mission, Takuya wouldn't have died... It's all ..."
He hugged the bottle, crying like a child.
Shisui watched silently. Aoki's chakra was in disarray, and his spirit was on the verge of collapse. The arrogant, hostile man Shisui first t had been reduced to a pile of mud.
"If we leave him here, he'll catch a cold. Let's take him ho," Arisuke said pityingly. After all, Aoki had been Natsuhi's captain and lover; while they weren't friends, they were acquaintances.
Shisui nodded. "Take him back. Caring for injured or intoxicated villagers is the responsibility of the patrol."
Together, the four of them supported Aoki and brought him back to his apartnt. It was a cramped, ssy space, littered with empty bottles. After settling Aoki onto his tatami, the others left, but Shisui lingered in the distance.
That night, he slipped into Aoki's ho with an "Emotional Link Bug." The snoring continued; Aoki had slept through the entire afternoon. Shisui approached and guided the insect into Aoki's nasal cavity.
However, before he could even form the seal, the insect died.
It failed. The reason was simple: the bug couldn't withstand the sheer agony of the man's longing and mories. It had, quite literally, been killed by the weight of human emotion.
The figure shook its head and vanished.
In the underground lab, Shisui integrated the mories of the failed attempt. He put down his dissecting knife and dropped the remains of the bug into the disposal bin.
"Heh... am I trying to analyze the emotions of others, or am I trying to regain control over my own?"
He covered his face and let out a soft, dry laugh. "I suppose after such a massive slaughter, one is bound to beco a bit morbid. I really do need to rest and return to a normal life."
He walked over to the cage and looked at Natsuhi and the male ninja, sleeping in each other's arms.
Though they were "in love" to the point of self-abandonnt, their faces still showed flickers of pain and struggle in their sleep. That, he supposed, was the lingering residue of their true selves.
In truth, he had been venting his own frustrations on them—punishing people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong ti for his own internal turbulence.
"Perhaps I've been infected by this world's darkness more than I realized."
Shisui ford a hand seal, allowing the two captives to die peacefully in their sleep within the swarm. He recovered the pair of milky-white bugs and sealed them in a specialized container.
He would wait until his mind was settled and his reason fully restored before attempting such experints again.
Looking around the laboratory, he listened to the chirping of the insects. "I'm losing my grasp on what it ans to live like a normal person. Starting tomorrow, I will fully imrse myself in the identity of Takigawa Sho."
He left the lab and returned to his bedroom above. For the first ti since the night of the massacre, he lay down and fell into a peaceful, natural sleep.
Tomorrow would be a new day.
Elsewhere, as the main body finally relaxed, the duration of the miner clone reached its limit. Before dispersing, it summoned Minamichi.
"I will be leaving for a while. Your task is to clear out the bandits and spies within the Land of Waterfalls. Bring the bodies back here and dump them into the mine. Do nothing extra. Do not expose your presence."
Minamichi knelt on one knee. "As you command, my Lord."
"Rember: only bandits and spies. As for the nobles and rchants you find distasteful... leave them to Heiji. He is the expert in that field."
"Understood."
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