Ding-dong. The sound of that damned elevator again.
Ranke stepped out. Seeing her, Karin and Neji immediately tensed, shifting into defensive stances. Ranke held up her hands placatingly, signaling she meant no harm.
"Don't be alarmed," she said smoothly, offering a smile. "Temshi's actions were his own personal doing and have no bearing on Ikarus!"
"And why should we believe you?" Neji retorted, unconvinced.
"Stand down, Neji," Sakura suddenly ordered, her voice flat.
Neji paused for a second at the sound of her voice, then lowered his hands. "Understood."
Phew. Ranke let out an internal sigh of relief. She had been genuinely shocked by Sakura's display of power earlier. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, she had no desire to fight such an inhuman monster.
"Although it was Temshi's personal action, it represents a failure on our part. On behalf of Ikarus, I offer our sincerest apologies," Ranke said, performing a strange, formal-looking bow.
Sakura hadn't seen the gesture before but quickly analyzed it as likely being Ikarus etiquette. My mind feels surprisingly sharp, she noted internally. Is this another side effect?
"Please, follow me," Ranke said, her tone becoming more businesslike. "It's getting late. I'll arrange different rooms for you to rest."
Sakura nodded curtly. "Lead the way."
Ranke didn't seem perturbed by Sakura's clipped tone, likely attributing it to lingering anger over the earlier incident.
The three shinobi followed Ranke back into the elevator. The feeling of weightlessness made Karin press closer to Sakura again. The elevator hummed softly as it moved, and soon, with another ding-dong, the lattice gate opened.
Ranke led them down another corridor, stopping before a door. Opening it, she announced, "These will be your quarters. If you require anything, please press this button here." She pointed to a red button beside the doorframe.
"Got it," Sakura acknowledged, stepping past Ranke into the room first. Ranke didn't linger, leaving after giving the brief instruction.
The room was a suite, with a central living area containing sofas and a fireplace, and four smaller adjoining rooms. It reminded Sakura of the luxury inns back in the village.
Sakura paid little attention to the decor, randomly choosing one of the smaller rooms, entering, and closing the door behind her.
Neji selected another room. He paused before entering, looking at Karin. "Get some rest. Right now, all we can do is conserve our strength and try not to hold her back." A strange feeling washed over Neji as he said it; he used to say similar things to Lee. Now, he was the one potentially lagging behind. Shaking his head with a wry smile, he entered his room.
Karin looked anxious, feeling helpless, but Neji's words resonated. Don't hold her back. Steeling herself, she entered the third room.
Inside her room, Sakura stared blankly out the window at the vast, dark ocean, feeling nothing. After a long moment, she sat on the edge of the bed. Right. Figure out how to deal with this Gelel power inside me.
Aside from stripping away her emotions, the energy seemed to make her mind unnaturally clear, enhancing her ability to analyze situations objectively. That wasn't necessarily bad. In combat, a clearer head increased the odds of victory. Perhaps the Gelel power wasn't all negative side effects.
However, being trapped in this emotionless state felt… stifling. Oppressive. Whenever that heavy, dull feeling threatened to surface, the Gelel power seemed to surge slightly, forcing her back into a state of detached calm. Sakura had a chilling premonition that if this continued long-term, she'd genuinely risk developing some kind of dissociative disorder.
Better figure out how to get rid of it. The people of Ikarus could use this power, which implied it could be controlled or expelled. She tried the method she normally used to draw out and release chakra externally.
Guiding the Gelel energy itself was surprisingly easy. Sakura successfully directed the cold power through her chakra pathways. But when she tried to channel it to her hand and release it, nothing happened. It simply wouldn't manifest outside her body.
Minutes ticked by. Fine beads of sweat formed on Sakura's forehead as she stared intently at her palm, focusing with all her might. She could expel Chakra easily enough, but not a single wisp of the green-tinged Gelel power emerged.
Huff... Huff... Panting slightly from the effort, Sakura frowned in frustration. Why could the Ikarus members channel this energy externally when she couldn't?
Her mind worked at maximum efficiency. She meticulously reviewed Ranke's words and the earlier fights. Ranke had claimed they couldn't use the Stone of Gelel's power directly. At the time, Sakura assumed she was lying, but analyzing it now… perhaps Ranke had been telling the truth.
Karin had sensed Ranke's energy concentrated in her left chest, and Temshi's in his right. Karin had also noted that the massive energy sources powering the fortress engines felt qualitatively similar to the energy localized in Ranke's and Temshi's chests – concentrated, unlike Chakra which permeated the entire body.
Closing her eyes, Sakura focused. After a long while, she slowly opened them again. If her deduction was correct, Ranke hadn't lied. They genuinely couldn't wield Gelel power directly with their bodies. They likely used some kind of mediating device – perhaps the stones embedded in their chests – to channel and utilize the energy.
Even if she was right, though, it didn't help her current situation. Ranke certainly wasn't going to hand over such a device; it was undoubtedly a closely guarded secret of Ikarus, like a hidden clan technique.
This emotionless state wasn't entirely detrimental. In battle, it could guarantee she wouldn't be swayed by external factors, allowing her to perform at peak efficiency. But Sakura didn't want to live like this permanently. She'd go mad.
After mulling it over, Sakura couldn't devise a viable way to remove the energy. Fine. I'll deal with it for now. They still intended to return to the shinobi continent eventually. If conflict became unavoidable, perhaps she could forcibly acquire one of those devices.
Setting aside the problem of expelling the Gelel power, Sakura began another round of storing Chakra, a habit ingrained over many years. Whenever she had the chance, she topped off her reserves, just in case.
Closing her eyes, she focused on refining Chakra and channeling it towards the Yin Seal on her forehead. The room was silent.
A few moments later, Sakura's eyes snapped open. An event that should have elicited surprise or excitement registered with zero emotional impact. Just now, she had discovered that the Gelel power residing within her could also be stored in the Yin Seal.
With icy calm, she deliberately guided the Gelel energy towards the seal. As time passed, fraction by fraction, she felt a strange sensation, as if heavy shackles were being incrementally removed from her spirit.
When the very last trace of Gelel energy flowed into the Yin Seal, Sakura's heart suddenly hammered violently against her ribs. Anger, indignation, pity, surprise – a chaotic flood of emotions instantly overwhelmed her.
She clutched her chest in pain, instinctively using the Mystic Palm Technique to try and soothe the frantic rhythm of her heart. Though only moments had passed since storing the energy, she felt utterly drained, as if she'd just been pulled from water after nearly drowning.
The emotions were back. Gasping for breath, a wry smile touched Sakura's lips. Looks like the side effects of Gelel power are more complex than Ranke let on.
The emotions experienced while under its influence weren't erased; they were merely suppressed, stored up. When the Gelel energy was removed, all those pent-up feelings rebounded onto the body simultaneously. If one wasn't prepared, the sheer volatile intensity could probably cause sudden death from shock.
Ikarus probably doesn't even know about this aspect, she mused. If her theory about them using external mediums was correct, they likely never experienced this kind of internal contamination and subsequent emotional backlash.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Sakura stood up and formed a hand seal. "Ninja Art: Strength of a Hundred Technique!"
Just as she suspected. Along with the released Chakra flooding her system, the Gelel energy emerged from the seal as well. Instantly, that cold, detached feeling returned.
She immediately deactivated the technique. Both the Chakra and the Gelel energy receded back into the seal. Sakura instantly felt lighter, more herself again.
So… I can potentially use this as a kind of combat auxiliary mode, she considered. Maybe it's not entirely a bad thing. As for the volatile emotional backlash… I can probably create some potent tranquilizers once I get back to the village. With those… the side effects could be almost completely mitigated.