At first I had thought that the Yami was overreacting. I mean, why else would he suggest something so stupid like sacrificing a broken ace in the hole for immediate survival?
Sure, the new act will be restrictive. In that case I'll just have to wait till my clan becomes naturally stong enough to unveil the SS tag later on. The yami will make sure that our connection doesn't break. Besides, i do not think that in the 4-5 years they'll have us under their thumb. Our almost decade long bonds won't break.
I was prepared for all the humiliation in order to conserve this ace.
Until I saw the new proposed act.
I will not go into the details this time. It was as restrictive as you can imagine. It basically outlawed us and legalized seizing our assets and research. But the problem wasn't all the restrictions. They were expected. The problem was the last section.
Shinobi Statute No. 47-B: Regulation of Fūinjutsu Assistance
Clause I: Any and all entities, human or otherwise, possessing the capacity to aid, abet, or otherwise facilitate the execution or enhancement of Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques) shall operate solely under the jurisdiction of the Special ANBU Fūinjutsu Division.
Clause II: Unauthorized cooperation, summoning, or deployment of such entities outside ANBU oversight shall constitute a Class-S breach of operational protocol, punishable by immediate detainment and execution.
Clause III: Exceptions to this statute require direct written authorization from the Hokage or the ANBU Commander.
Sarutobi hiruzen wasn't just taking control. He was giving us all to the Root. I understood now that his plan had always been to assimilate me into his strength, I gues now that he knew I couldn't be controlled so easily. Danzo's whispers had worked.
Dammit. I coild free myself down the line. But only if I wanted to. Between the brainwashing and cursed seals and the experimentations I was sure to face, I was not sure how long me and mine would survive without going insane.
Dammit. Dammit Dammit. For the first time in a long time. I felt the darkness creeping in. A thought came unbidden. When I am in power. I will annihilatte their clans. Not as precaution but in pure vengeance. I would annihlate their clans in front of them and before I kill them. Just to smite the legacy and power they so viciously protect and nurture. And before I kill them, I'll tell them that the loss of their legacy is a direct result of their actions. And that it was all for the good of the village.
They saw us as nothing more than tools to increase their own power. We weren't humans to them. So, they were monsters to us. One day, I'll show them. I'll show them all.
I shook my head.
"Yami!"
"Yes Lord?"
"Prepare to make the sacrifice."
-----
Over the next two days, I ran around town looking for all the allies I had made.
No help, no aid. Even the Uchiha had been bought off this time. I could see the heavy ANBU presence around the compound in case we tried to defect. I had expected this from others. But the Uchiha and the Inuzuka?
Dammit. This is why physical power is important. Otherwise you are just a discardable piece.
I returned to the compound with a heavy heart.
I closed the doors to the workshop and sent everyone away.
"Do it."
There was a snap and my heart shuddered. I felt warmth flow out of it as my soul strength went up and the free SS flooded my system. The YamiGami was controlling the energy flow and I could feel him trying to preserve and modify something in my chest.
But the next second the Soul Upgrade took over me. It was a very nice experience but I could not help but dread the result of this gamble.
Slowly light faded. In the darkness, I opened my eyes. Letting light in again. And then immediately pulled Status.
STATUS
KUROSAWA REN
Power- Elite Chunin
Physique - 717
Chakra - 4032
Specials -YamiGami
Skills - Tagcraft IV, Sensor, Taijutsu III, Kenjutsu III, Leader II, Medic II
System Stats- 26540
Call - The Eye Slows
TREE OF LIFE
Soul Develop (5/10) 10000 SS
Physique
Soul Physique(1/1000) 10SS
Chakra
Chakra Control (10/100) 100SS
Energy Control (99/100) 100SS
One Tail (100/1000) 10 SS.
That was a lot of SS. And soul went up by 2 instead of 1. That was a welcome surprise.
Now, onto the main objective.
"Did you get it?"
In response, the Yami manifested on my wrist and dropped a shining token in my hand. "Yes"
Onto the second part.
I clicked upgrade.
Energy Control maxed out.
SS for the requirement for Evolution met.
Invest 10000SS to Evolve into Energy Processing?
Note: The host is advised to evolve instantly when prompted.
Compatible Evolution token detected. Use token for evolution instead?
Use Token.
Fostering Evolution. Token Used.
Evolving consciousness.
This evolution was different. My body warmed but most importantly, My brain did. I couldn't scream or laugh. I felt nothing physically or spiritually. But my conscious was being forced to expand and evolve. Instead of pain, there was vertigo. Like my mind couldn't comprehend what it was supposed to be seeing. Like I could see through reality.
I fell out of the trance soon. When I got up. I was more. I could sense the world and all the energies in it quite nicely. When before I needed to concentrate to sense SS or nature energy. I could easily manipulate SS now. And sense nature energy. I couldn't really manipulate it though.
But that doubt cleared as soon as I saw into the system.
Energy Processing Gained. Congratulations.
Energy Processing(0/1000) 100SS (Locked)
Requirements - Soul evolution + Soul Physique
I see. I did not have the right physique to safely learn Nature energy manipulations. It made sense. I could bet a pretty penny that if I had focused on Physique instead. One of the conditions of evolution would have been energy control.
These thing were interconnected. And these two in particular were converging towards Sage Mode.
But let's leave that for now. The vote is soon.
I need to leave.