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"Not only that, Hotaru's father, Shiranami, is also missing." This father and son duo, known as the most talented in the Tsuchigumo clan, perished just like that. This made the already small Tsuchigumo clan even more precarious. Therefore, in this troubled autumn, En no Gyōja couldn't make too many decisions easily. Besides, he himself had previously...
"Lord En no Gyōja, if the Tsuchigumo clan continues developing like this, with your foresight, you should be able to see the outcome, right?" Shinji stated calmly. This development trend, he believed En no Gyōja had deduced.
Hearing Shinji's words, En no Gyōja remained silent for a long time.
"Sigh..." Just leaving behind a sigh. Subsequently, En no Gyōja stood up, his long white hair hanging down behind him, a palpable sense of loss emanating from his entire being. Yes, as the head of the Tsuchigumo clan, he could naturally see the future development trend of the Tsuchigumo clan. No matter what, the trend was...
Let alone how many people within the Tsuchigumo clan could master the secret techniques, just counting those who could become ninjas, who could learn the Word Bind Technique, one could basically count them using both hands and feet. And this number, 5 years ago, was at least double. It seemed these years, a black hand had always been manipulating everything from behind. And En no Gyōja himself didn't know if it was one black hand behind it, or... five black hands? Thinking of this, En no Gyōja couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Don't bully my grandpa!" Just as En no Gyōja sighed, Hotaru suddenly stood up from the dining chair and said. But her hands still held a pair of chopsticks, continuously picking up food and putting it into her mouth. This vivid display of a little foodie made everyone present chuckle slightly.
"Alright, Hotaru. It's okay. They mean no harm," Seeing his granddaughter constantly defending him, a smile appeared on En no Gyōja's face. His granddaughter was his most cherished point. But under these circumstances, the Tsuchigumo clan actually hadn't had new students enter the ninja academy for a long time. After all, for the Tsuchigumo clan, maintaining the expenses of the ninja academy was truly too great. Now, their Tsuchigumo clan's situation was not that good.
"Hotaru, we mean no harm," Karin walked beside Hotaru, reached out, and tugged Hotaru's sleeve. Looking at Karin, Hotaru suddenly remembered, just now it seemed only Karin actively helped her into the kitchen to bring out the food grandpa made. Thinking of this, the anger on Hotaru's face seemed to lessen somewhat.
"Besides, actually, us approaching your Tsuchigumo clan wasn't just to ask you to join our Otogakure. There's actually another matter we wanted your help with," Shinji suddenly said.
"What matter?" En no Gyōja asked puzzledly.
"This is Jūgo. He's very important to me. Jūgo, introduce yourself," Shinji suddenly pointed at Jūgo. Hearing he was very important to Shinji, a trace of emotion suddenly flashed in Jūgo's eyes. This was the first time he heard from Shinji's mouth that he was a very important person. Immediately, Jūgo stood up, bowed to Shinji, then turned his head to look at En no Gyōja.
"Hello, Lord En no Gyōja. I am Jūgo."
"Hello, child. What do you have?" En no Gyōja looked towards Jūgo. He sensed a very familiar feeling from his body.
"This child, Jūgo, possesses the innate ability to absorb natural energy from the surroundings into his body. But the amount of natural energy Jūgo's body can currently accommodate is limited..." Shinji didn't continue, but looked at En no Gyōja.
"Boss Shinji wants our Tsuchigumo clan to help Jūgo, allowing him to avoid the consequence of being eroded by natural energy?" En no Gyōja instantly understood the meaning Shinji wanted to convey. After all, they were people capable of absorbing natural energy and converting it into Rage to activate that extremely dangerous forbidden technique. So, upon hearing Shinji's words, he immediately knew what Shinji meant.
"Yes. Because Jūgo is still young, his natural energy reserve has a limit. If it exceeds this limit, Jūgo will be backlashed by the natural energy within his body. Therefore, combined with the special ability of the Tsuchigumo clan, this is also one of the reasons why I want the Tsuchigumo clan to join Otogakure," Hearing Shinji's words, Jūgo suddenly turned his head to look at Shinji, the feeling in his eyes becoming more obvious. He was someone who had witnessed the dark side of humanity; naturally, he longed greatly for someone like Shinji who could bring light into his life.
"Is that so..." En no Gyōja entered a state of contemplation. Actually, if Shinji hadn't mentioned this point, En no Gyōja definitely wouldn't agree to let the Tsuchigumo clan join Otogakure. Because he wouldn't believe someone who suddenly came forward didn't have some ulterior motive, or that everything was discussed under circumstances beneficial to the Tsuchigumo clan. Often, things that seemed free, where one only gained benefits, ultimately turned out to be the biggest traps.
That's why En no Gyōja tried so desperately to refuse this matter before. But after Shinji mentioned Jūgo's situation, En no Gyōja's thoughts changed. If Shinji also had matters needing the Tsuchigumo clan's help, then this matter wasn't something the Tsuchigumo clan couldn't consider. After all, it was a mutually beneficial situation, so...
"Speaking of which, the food En no Gyōja makes tastes really good," Shinji suddenly changed the subject, picked up his chopsticks, put a piece of meat into his mouth, and chewed slowly. He knew the current En no Gyōja was already considering the feasibility of this matter. And he didn't need to say more. Asking again at this time would make him seem very impatient.
"Right? Grandpa's cooking is the best in the world!" Hotaru clearly enjoyed this kind of praise. Hearing Shinji's praise, her whole person visibly cheered up.
"No, no, that's because you haven't eaten Lord Shinji's cooking~" Karin directly retorted. Was he kidding? When it came to cooking, who could compare to her Lord Shinji?
"I don't believe it!" Hotaru said puffing her cheeks.
...
...
"Child, may I sense the natural energy within your body?" Suddenly, En no Gyōja walked beside Jūgo. Jūgo didn't agree immediately but turned his head to look at Shinji. Shinji nodded lightly, signaling Jūgo could display his natural energy.
After getting Shinji's approval, Jūgo also began to condense and absorb natural energy. Instantly, streams of natural energy seemed attracted, continuously flowing towards Jūgo's direction.
"Indeed it's natural energy~" En no Gyōja said with some emotion. Honestly, in his entire life, besides the Tsuchigumo clan, he really hadn't seen many people capable of absorbing natural energy from heaven and earth.
"This is?" Hotaru beside the table looked strangely at Jūgo. At this moment, Jūgo's body was covered by layers of black patterns. Moreover, the moment the natural energy appeared, Karin, Deidara, and En no Gyōja all felt a different sensation. After all, it was sage chakra; there was still some fundamental difference from normal chakra.
Just like encountering an ability of the same level, En no Gyōja only felt the chakra within his body seemed to start cheering uncontrollably. Unable to resist, En no Gyōja began forming hand seals. Following En no Gyōja's seals. The natural energy emanating from Jūgo's body seemed to find a new outlet, rushing uniformly towards En no Gyōja's back.
"This is Grandpa's secret technique," Hotaru looked obsessively at En no Gyōja. She hadn't seen her grandpa use this move for a long time.
"Explode explode explode!!!" Deidara, on the other hand, looked excitedly at En no Gyōja, constantly pursuing the art he desired in his mouth. The current En no Gyōja's body was already filled with very powerful natural energy, and this natural energy was still being absorbed and accumulated at that speed.
"How about it, Lord En no Gyōja? Is this amount okay?" Shinji asked calmly. After all, he didn't know En no Gyōja's storage limit. If it exceeded En no Gyōja's tolerance, then a world-destroying explosion was inevitable.
"Whew, okay. Stop, child," En no Gyōja exhaled. The natural energy Jūgo emitted just now wasn't a small amount. It was still temporarily within his control range. If the amount continued to increase, he would reach saturation before long and would have to release it through explosion.
Hearing En no Gyōja's words, Jūgo finally returned to his initial appearance. Looking at his hands, Jūgo was somewhat surprised. This was the first time he encountered someone capable of extracting his overflowing, even excess natural energy from his body. Previously, upon reaching this state, Jūgo would definitely rampage. But not this time. En no Gyōja, relying on his astonishing control and mastery, controlled the natural energy within Jūgo's body to a perfect degree.
"Thank you," Jūgo stated calmly, then returned behind Shinji.
"Your body hides immense power, child. These old bones of mine almost couldn't support it," En no Gyōja said with some emotion.
"Lord En no Gyōja is too polite. This amount still doesn't reach the level needed for Rage's explosion, right?" Shinji glanced at En no Gyōja. His body didn't show any signs of being unable to hold on.
"It indeed hasn't reached it. But continuing to absorb further definitely wouldn't be a good thing," En no Gyōja seemed to remember something, his entire expression suddenly becoming desolate. Deidara beside him, seeing En no Gyōja didn't intend to demonstrate Rage before him, also became somewhat disappointed. That was art! He actually couldn't witness this most perfect art!
"The bad thing Lord En no Gyōja mentioned, was it the incident where you couldn't control your own power and erupted within the Tsuchigumo clan's residence?" Shinji stated as if his heart was a clear mirror.
"Didn't expect Boss Shinji to even know about this matter," En no Gyōja paused for a moment, then said, seeming quite surprised that Shinji knew about this.
"I still know many things, Lord En no Gyōja. So... I want to hear your answer now," Shinji sat down, looking calmly at En no Gyōja.
"My answer..." En no Gyōja suddenly fell silent. He knew what answer Shinji wanted to ask for.
"I'm not forcing you either. I can give you one day to consider. If Lord En no Gyōja really doesn't intend to join our Otogakure..."
"If I don't join, what will Boss Shinji do?" En no Gyōja frowned. Why did Shinji's sentence sound like a threat?
"No, no. We are a peace-loving Otogakure. If En no Gyōja doesn't join our Otogakure, please inform me early so we can leave first," Shinji chuckled lightly, picked up his chopsticks, put a piece of meat into his mouth, and chewed slowly.
"I understand. I will give you an answer tomorrow," En no Gyōja said after a long silence. This matter was truly too big. He had to return to the Tsuchigumo clan's residence and discuss with them before making a decision. After all, the conditions offered by Shinji were extremely generous. And after hearing Otogakure's future development plans, it indeed seemed like Shinji said, if achievable, then Otogakure might really not get involved in the flames of war. This was very tempting for the Tsuchigumo clan.
"Alright. Then tonight, we?"
"Tonight you stay here. There happen to be some empty rooms," En no Gyōja said directly. After all, for En no Gyōja, letting Shinji and the others stay in this place was the most suitable. It wouldn't pose any threat to the Tsuchigumo clan's residence, nor would there be any other worries.
"Alright then. Lord En no Gyōja can also return to the Tsuchigumo clan's residence for discussion. We'll just wait here. Of course, let Hotaru go along too," Shinji saw through En no Gyōja's thoughts and said directly to him.
"I understand. Then Hotaru will return to the residence with me. Boss Shinji, please wait here for a moment," En no Gyōja clearly breathed a sigh of relief. If Hotaru stayed here while En no Gyōja returned himself, he would ultimately feel uneasy. After all, she was his own granddaughter. And Shinji's action also made En no Gyōja's heart suddenly feel much more favorable towards him.
"Grandpa, you go yourself. Hotaru wants to stay here and help watch them!" Hotaru didn't really want to go back. Although she didn't have many peers, she had always lived in this fortress, naturally not having many who could come up and play with her. But Karin was different. After the contact just now, Hotaru's impression of Karin was very good. She now wanted more to stay in this place and play with Karin and the others.
"This..." En no Gyōja was somewhat undecided.
"Lord En no Gyōja, if you trust us, you can also let Hotaru stay here and play with Karin and the others. Of course, if you're still worried, you can also take her away. Whatever choice you make, I won't mind."
Hearing Shinji's words, En no Gyōja hesitated for a moment, turned his head to look at Hotaru's expression, then sighed. "What kind of talk is this? Since that's the case, then Hotaru, you stay here. I should be back by nightfall," En no Gyōja looked at the sky. Calculating the round trip time and communication time, he should be able to return before dark.
"Okay, Grandpa. I will definitely watch them properly," Hotaru said happily. Although in her heart, she wanted more to play with Karin and the others.
"Then Boss Shinji, I'll entrust this girl Hotaru to you," En no Gyōja looked at Shinji and said.
"Rest assured, Lord En no Gyōja. We will wait here for your return," Shinji chuckled lightly. He knew, actually, his plan had already succeeded by more than half.
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