A giant hand extended from the ring on Shiratori's finger and reached toward Konan.
"Rika!"
Shiratori shouted to stop her.
Rika's enormous figure appeared behind him. She bent over, shielding him protectively, and reluctantly withdrew her hand.
"Yuta, don't be mad!"
"Don't be mad at me!"
Her voice was full of urgency. She tried to explain, circling around Shiratori.
"I'm not angry…"
Afraid Rika might get too emotional and accidentally tear the house apart, he quickly tried to calm her.
She clung helplessly to him like a child.
"I just don't want other women getting close to you…"
He comforted her, saying, "I won't be mad at you."
"Konan is my family. If you hurt her, I'll be sad."
He looked at Konan and said to Rika.
"No…"
"You mustn't be sad…"
"I don't want you to be sad…"
Rika, flustered, reached out to touch his face. Shiratori reached out first and gently touched half of her enormous face to soothe her.
"I'll never be mad at you."
Rika was his guarantee for survival in this world. How could he possibly be angry at her?
"I love you…"
Hearing this promise, joy appeared in Rika's voice. Obediently, she returned to his ring.
Jiraiya, who had witnessed the entire scene, was quite the entire time. He stared in shock at Shiratori and the ring on his hand.
"It…"
He struggled to regain his voice, which had failed him from the sheer shock.
"She's my deceased fiancée, Rika," Shiratori solemnly introduced her to him.
Jiraiya: "…"
Was there something wrong with his ears, or was the kid just spouting nonsense?
Were kids these days into stuff this intense?
No, wait.
This wasn't just a matter of taste anymore.
His mind went into overdrive. After about half a minute, he finally sorted out his thoughts.
"The one who killed the ninjas… was that… Rika? Right?" he asked cautiously.
Shiratori thought for a moment, then shook his head and nodded again.
Jiraiya: "…"
Please don't mess with me!
"Rika doesn't cut people up. It is to be another curse…" Shiratori said hesitantly.
Rika's existence needed a reasonable explanation. Jiraiya wasn't someone who could be easily fooled. If he wanted Jiraiya's guidance, he had to offer something in return. It would be impossible to hide the existence of a cursed spirit, so it was better to tell him the truth and earn his trust.
"Another curse?" Jiraiya repeated, his expression growing serious as he echoed the word: "Curse?"
Shiratori pursed his lips and chose to tell Jiraiya the love story between Yuta and Rika.
"Rika and I met when we were both very young."
Jiraiya listened intently. He knew the kid wouldn't tell a story for no reason. So this story must be connected to the 'curse' he had mentioned.
"At the time, we promised to get married when we grew up."
Jiraiya listened, feeling the story was taking a grim turn.
"But later… she died."
Jiraiya: "…"
"I couldn't accept her death."
Shiratori looked firmly at Jiraiya and said, "So I cursed her."
Jiraiya's pupils dilated. "You cursed her?"
He nodded under Jiraiya's shocked gaze. "Yes, a curse. I don't know how it happened. I just know she came back to life and now lives by my side like this, protecting me, staying with me."
His eyes softened as he glanced toward the empty air beside him, lips curving into a shy, almost childlike smile. "Rika and I really like this arrangement. This way, we can be together again."
"..."
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but for a long time, couldn't say a single word.
Logic told him he should applaud the young couple's deep love.
Logic?
Screw logic!
How could this be possible?
The dead couldn't come back to life!
How did she turn into a monster?
So the key point… was Shiratori?
His gaze landed on the boy's body.
A cursed ability… Was it a secret technique?
Or a bloodline limit?
"This time, I sensed a new curse emerge."
Shiratori's words startled Jiraiya.
"Was it this new curse that killed the ninjas?" Jiraiya pressed for an answer.
Shiratori nodded, eyes filled with confusion, as if even he didn't fully understand. "At the time, Rika was far away from me. The ninjas' weapons were less than an arm's length from my neck. In that moment... the murderous intent those ninjas had for me gave birth to a new curse…"
A chill ran down Jiraiya's spine.
So curses are born from emotions?
He started drawing conclusions in his mind.
"Have you seen this new curse?" he asked gravely.
Shiratori shook his head. "No, I haven't."
Jiraiya took a deep breath. What a confusing and headache-inducing power… He rubbed his temples and then looked toward Nagato's eyes. Once again, he couldn't help but feel that staying behind this time was the right choice.
These two kids… were anything but ordinary.
Shiratori, who had the power of curses, desperately needed someone to guide him down the right path. Otherwise, growing up in a twisted world of war, he would eventually walk toward ruin.
His own destruction, and possibly the downfall of the shinobi world.
And then there was Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan…
He made up his mind in an instant.
Maybe fate had brought him to them for this very reason, to guide them down the right path.
He looked at Shiratori, Nagato, and Konan and said, "Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you ninjutsu!"
Konan's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Jiraiya.
"First, to give you the power to protect yourselves. Second, so you all can learn to control your abilities."
He looked at Shiratori.
"Once you master ninjutsu, there won't be a need to summon Rika or any other curses anymore. You'll also be able to control them better."
Shiratori obediently nodded.
---
Late at night, Shiratori lay in bed, eyes closed, waiting for sleep to come. His consciousness slowly sank, but instead of drifting into a dream... He sank into a pool of black and red water.
Until a completely unfamiliar voice echoed in his ears.
He jolted awake, and opened his eyes sharply. But what he saw wasn't the wooden ceiling of the hut.
It was an endless dark red void.
He blinked, shifting his gaze, and found himself staring into a pair of crimson eyes. Those eyes shimmered with curiosity, amusement, and mockery.
They made him feel like a toy.
"..."
"To think my 'master' is this weak?"
Sukuna had sensed it.
The connection between himself and Shiratori.
Strangely… He couldn't undo it. Nor could he defy it.
He stared at the human before him and clicked his tongue.
So pathetically weak!
The thought that he might be dragged down and vanish entirely because of this human disgusted him.
He tried to unleash a slash.
Nothing happened in front of him.
Just as he expected, the slash didn't form. Any attack against the "master" was forever invalid.
"Next time we meet, be stronger. Otherwise, I'll be very bored."