Hey guys, sorry for the late, I was away yesterday and couldn't post.
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Jugo looked at Inoichi thoughtfully. He hadn't really expected this. Perhaps only a tiny remnant of the Tenebrous World's power remained, something so small it could barely be measured, like an atom in the universe, but for Ino, that alone could be a life altering crisis.
-Okay, I can take a look, but I don't know if it will help.- Jugo shrugged.
Inoichi breathed a heavy sigh of relief, even if it wasn't concrete. In these few days, he'd almost lost his hair from stress and he'd barely slept. Only now had Jugo noticed that Inoichi wasn't much better off than theirs.
-Of course, it won't be for free.- Jugo smiled.
-What do you want?- Inoichi's tired, desperate eyes returned to calm and he became serious.
Jugo also knew he couldn't ask for something like their clan's ninjutsu. Even if Inoichi wanted to, if he handed over his clan's centuries-old techniques in exchange for his own daughter's life, the clan wouldn't be happy.
He's a father, but also a clan head, he has to know how to separate his personal and professional life.
So, Jugo didn't want to complicate things for them. -35 million.
Dosu and Kin's eyes widened and the corner of Inoichi's mouth twitched fiercely.
-It's too much! I can't take that much.- Inoichi shook his head.
-What? You can't even take the value of the Hokage's son's head?- Jugo snorted in contempt.
Inoichi's lips trembled again. What the hell kind of metric is that? Is that why you asked for that amount? Son of a bitch!
-That amount was set by nobles from other countries, I'm just a minor chief of a ninja clan.- Inoichi shook his head quickly.
He could indeed withdraw that much, but the elders wouldn't like it and problems would arise later, so he couldn't accept that price.
Jugo wanted to act tough for a moment, but in the end, he restrained himself, not because he just felt that this desire to suck their money was abnormal.
Yes, he wanted money, but he didn't need to create a barrier with them just for that. How much is money worth in this world? Is it more important than power? Is it more important than life?
(Kakuzu: For sure!)
So, he tightened the bind and felt the desire diminish greatly.
Jugo understood another part of the werewolf in that moment, the law of the jungle.
He saw Inoichi as the weaker part, like prey in the pasture. He was weak, he had a weakness, his first instinct was to rip a piece of him apart.
If he hadn't noticed, he would have moved on.
Taking a deep breath, he felt that if he had continued, his potion would have been digested a little. It reminded him for a moment of the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street."
He had associated it only with the natural aspect, but now he realized that even among "civilized" people, there can still be wolves.
If he agrees to follow this path, he will definitely be able to digest the potion. He thought the best way to act would be to become a gangster like Gatoh from the land of waves, plundering people until nothing was left.
But he didn't do that, nor does he intend to. Following that path would lead him closer to becoming a cold-blooded monster, he didn't want that.
For a moment, a thought came to him, the prisoner's sequence is about restraint, thus he gained "Bind," the Lunatic's sequence is about liberation, thus he gained a curse.
Perhaps the initial two paths were two sides of the same coin, but from then on, he would gain a different coin with each sequence, one way of acting following restraint and another following indulgence.
With the werewolf, he could act as a pack, leading his werewolves to face the world side by side, hunting to survive, not to harm, with the aspect of chains, but he could also act as a lone wolf, using everything to get what he wants, bringing pain and suffering to others, this would be the aspect of curses.
Choosing between chains and curses, is why each demigod in this sequence has a different mythical creature form, the choices of your past reflect on your future.
Fully restricted? Partially restricted? Fully indulgent? Partially indulgent? Balanced? Each sequence offers several ways to progress.
Jugo still prefers to follow a path of restraint, because he doesn't aim to balance the pathway of the chained, but the Father of Devils himself.
Thus, by restraining the pathway of the chained, he hopes to withstand the malevolence of the pathway of the abyss, achieving some balance.
So, he stopped and sighed. -5 million. If it's less, just pretend you didn't see me.
Inoichi pursed his lips, but agreed. That amount is much more acceptable.
-Fine, but only if Ino gets better.- Inoichi said.
Dosu and Kin watched Jugo easily get 5 million and were speechless.
Kin was happy for Jugo, while Dosu wondered if Jugo would return her money.
Of course, the group didn't go right away, Inoichi was in a hurry, but they were tired and hungry, so they ate first.
Kin's fingers were so sore that she couldn't even use chopsticks. She looked embarrassed and frustrated, wondering what she should do. She had ordered sushi. If normal, she would just pick it up with her hands, but with Jugo by her side, she didn't want to do something so rude.
Jugo, seeing her problem, smiled, used chopsticks to pick up the sushi for her and brought it to her mouth.
Kin was shocked and blushed with embarrassment, especially considering Dosu and Inoichi's strange eyes.
Jugo glared at them and they quickly looked away, pretended not to see.
Kin felt even more embarrassed, but seeing he wouldn't give up, she opened her mouth and ate quickly.
Jugo didn't care, she was injured. When he was bedridden, she stayed with him for three days, barely leaving, just feeding her, so he wouldn't get impatient.
He also ordered sushi, eating his own with the same chopsticks.
To Jugo, there was nothing wrong with that, but Kin blushed even more fiercely at that. Even so, she felt sweet inside, a mixture of sweetness and embarrassment.
In the end, the group finished eating. Dosu still carrying his dinner, walking with a hunchback.
They ran through the buildings to the Yamanaka complex, heading to the largest house in the center.
It was a traditional Japanese-style village. Jugo entered without a care. There, three women, three men and two children were waiting.
The children were Choji and Shikamaru, the women were their mothers and Ino's mother.
The men were Choza, Shikaku and Asuma.
The group looked at the Sound trio with different eyes.
Shikaku, Asuma, and Shikamaru looked normal. Choza was also serious, but his frown was still visible. Choji, on the other hand, seemed very angry with Jugo, glaring at him fiercely, but Shikamaru held him steady.
Choji and Shikamaru's mothers also looked unhappy. Ino's mother looked completely stressed, with deep circles under her eyes. She glared at him as if she were going to drill a hole in his head.
Jugo raised an eyebrow at the general animosity, but didn't explain anything. To them, he must have been taking revenge for the attack, only he knew it was purely the girl's bad luck.
-Where is she?- Jugo asked softly.
-Over here. - Shikaku went ahead, the calmest of them.
Only Shikaku, Inoichi and Ino's mother entered, the rest waited outside, including Dosu and Kin.
Kin looked at Shikamaru with narrowed eyes, this would be her next opponent.
Shikamaru seemed to want to leave because of the look, but for Ino's sake, he ignored it.
Dosu simply stood in a corner, oblivious to anything else, waiting for Jugo to leave.
Jugo found the little girl lying on the bed, her blonde hair loose and her face clearly pained, as if she were in a deep nightmare.
Jugo paused for a moment, confused as to what to do.
The group stared at him doubtfully.
Jugo noticed the eyes and spoke. -What? I've never had to heal anyone before, I'm thinking.
Inoichi's lips trembled, Ino's mother's eyes widened in despair and Shikaku frowned ever so slightly.
Jugo looked back thoughtfully, finally deciding to see if he could sense it first.
He walked over to Ino, under the sharp gaze of the two jonins and placed his hand on her forehead, closing his eyes.
He felt nothing. Frowning, he tried something different.
He had always felt his connection to the Tenebrous World, but he rarely used it except when advancing his potions, because he couldn't stand the pollution of that world.
He touched the connection to the Tenebrous World and began to feel his mind growing heavier and malice filling him. Outside, sinister chakra began to pour out of Jugo and Inoichi was shocked, wanting to separate him from Ino, but Shikaku held him back.
Inoichi trusted Shikaku deeply, so he stopped his wife, who was having the same thoughts, by placing his hand over her mouth, preventing her from screaming.
Jugo finally sensed an extremely despicable fragment of energy, it wasn't like the malice that was bubbling around him.
If malice is the smell of food, the Tenebrous World is the food itself, if the Tenebrous World is like the sea, what Ino has is like the thousandth part of a drop of water.
Jugo managed to sense it with great difficulty and in the next moment tried to force the fragment back into the "sea".
It wasn't difficult, like a magnet, the fragment jumped back. The next moment he awakened, the evil chakra draining away and Ino's face slowly returned to the calm of ordinary sleep.
Jugo knew nothing about spiritual healing, but at the very least, the "evil chakra" had been removed.
Ino's mother was finally released and ran to her. -Ino!
Inoichi sighed in relief, ready to reach her mind, but Jugo was already leaving.
-Don't forget the money.- With that, he walked away.
Passing through the living room and seeing the group looking at him with caution and hope, Jugo didn't even glance at them as he walked out the door, followed by Dosu and Kin.
As they ran back, Kin couldn't help but ask curiously. -Did you succeed?
-Yes, part of my chakra remained in her mind, I just had to remove it.- he explained lightly.
None of them doubted it, after all, they had sensed Jugo's chakra before.
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