Chapter 19: Pommel Horse 8 Clouds
In a dark room.
A pale girl sat quietly in a chair, frowning slightly.
Before her stood an upright drawing board.
On the drawing board were countless monsters, a dilapidated Konoha, and three people.
Just as she was about to erase the background and paint a new dangerous scene—
Stab!
The drawing paper was suddenly cut from the middle, out of thin air.
The incision was very smooth and neat.
"What? You forcibly broke my illusion?!"
Kurama Yakumo turned pale in shock. This was the first time she had encountered someone cracking her ability—and in the simplest, crudest way possible.
Once the illusion collapsed, the three — Su Li, Kurenai Yuhi, and their companion — broke in unhindered.
"Yakumo!"
Kurenai Yuhi shouted toward Kurama Yakumo.
But the only response she got was a cold stare from the girl.
"Is she the Pommel Horse Yakumo?" Su Li asked knowingly.
Hearing this, Yuhi Kurenai nodded.
"My lord, I'll trouble you with this one."
"Small matter," Su Li said with a wave of his hand.
Hearing the conversation between Yuhi Kurenai and Su Li, Kurama Yakumo's eyes widened. She misunderstood, biting her lower lip.
"Teacher… is he the helper you invited to kill me?"
"Even you want to kill me…"
The immature girl's eyes filled with tears.
"Why did it become like this… why?"
"What did I do wrong?"
"Do I have to die just because of my bloodline ability?"
"Why!"
Kurama Yakumo screamed, venting all the pain and resentment that had built up over the years.
"Yakumo…"
Kurenai Yuhi looked at her pained expression, her heart twisting like a knife, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.
What could she even say?
Tell her, 'Actually, your biological parents were killed by you?'
That would only deepen her pain.
"At this point, it's time for her to face the truth. It's unavoidable," Su Li said calmly, glancing at Kurenai Yuhi as though reading her thoughts.
Yuhi Kurenai remained silent.
She knew Su Li was right, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. She could only let him do it.
Su Li, not being Kurama Yakumo's master, had no such emotional restraint. He walked straight toward her.
"Don't come any closer!"
Seeing him approach, Kurama Yakumo cried out in fear.
She knew it — this was the man who had sliced through her illusion like paper.
His strength was far beyond her own.
She could feel her life was in danger.
At that moment, a hideous monster burst out from Kurama Yakumo's body, blocking her from Su Li.
It was Ido.
It opened its mouth and spat out a cloud of poisonous gas, enveloping Su Li.
At the same time, vines sprouted from the ground, snaking up to bind him.
However—
Su Li ignored the attack entirely.
The gas and vines passed straight through his body, doing nothing.
"Impossible!" Ido stared in disbelief.
"Impossible? Why not?"
Su Li smiled faintly and raised his hand. With the power of the Thunder Fruit, lightning flashed, sweeping across Ido's body.
Crackling!
With a cry of pain, Ido fell to the ground, writhing.
"What is this?!"
Kurama Yakumo stared in horror. She had seen the monster emerge from her own body!
"Yakumo, don't think too much!" Kurenai Yuhi said urgently.
"No, no… I feel like I've forgotten something important!"
Kurama Yakumo's eyes darted uneasily.
Buried memories stirred.
Just seeing Ido made something inside her waver.
"It's okay… don't think too much…" Yuhi Kurenai said softly, stepping closer to comfort her.
"No, don't come near me!"
Kurama Yakumo trembled, stepping back in fear.
Clatter!
She stumbled, knocking over the chair and falling to the floor along with the drawing board.
The other drawing boards suspended in midair crashed down as well, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
Suddenly—
Kurama Yakumo's eyes caught one particular board.
It was covered in thick ink, obscuring whatever image lay beneath.
Yet the moment she saw it, a dreadful feeling welled up inside her chest.
She stared blankly at it.
Under her gaze, the black ink began to fade—
Revealing the image hidden underneath.
A burning house.
The painting was still, but in Kurama Yakumo's eyes, it burned as if alive.
She screamed, throwing the drawing board away and scrambling backward, her whole body trembling.
Tears streamed down her face.
The forgotten memories finally returned.
That cruel, unbearable scene.
"That's it… that's what it was…"
"Yakumo…" Yuhi Kurenai finally reached her, pulling the girl into her arms. "It's not your fault. That monster isn't you…"
"No… I remember everything now."
Kurama Yakumo leaned into Kurenai's embrace, but her body felt cold, lifeless.
"That monster was born from me. My anxiety, my fear, my hatred — they gave birth to it. Teacher… I killed them with my own hands. It was me…"
"…"
Kurenai Yuhi couldn't find words to comfort her. She could only hold her silently.
But Su Li's calm voice cut through the heavy air.
"Sorry to interrupt — but could you deal with that thing first?"
As he spoke, he kicked Ido's lightning-paralyzed body.
"Kurama Yakumo, that's your inner demon. Only you can truly kill it. Otherwise, even if I destroy it, it will just resurrect."
"...It's all your fault!"
Hearing that, Yakumo's expression twisted with hatred. She grabbed a paintbrush from the floor and drove it straight into Ido's head.
Ido didn't bleed — it simply dissolved into a puff of black smoke.
The brush clattered to the ground with a crisp sound.
"…"
Afterward, Yakumo collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath, sweat dripping down her forehead.
"Yakumo…"
Kurenai Yuhi looked at her with deep sorrow.
But Yakumo just stared blankly and whispered, "Teacher… I know. It wasn't it. It was me."
"Even though I burned them to death, I pretended to hide the truth. I shifted the blame, misunderstood you, said so many cruel things…"
"It turns out, I've been the one causing trouble all along."
Tears streamed down her face as she leaned against Kurenai's arms.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"I've never blamed you," Kurenai said gently, stroking Yakumo's long hair like a mother soothing her child. "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself too much."
Hearing her teacher's words, Kurama Yakumo cried even harder.
Then, after a moment of silence—
Su Li spoke again, confused.
"Yakumo, instead of crying, shouldn't you be thinking about how to save your parents right now?"
"What?"
Both Kurenai Yuhi and Kurama Yakumo froze.
Kurenai looked at him, stunned. Yakumo stopped crying and stared, her eyes wide with disbelief.