Suguru licked his lips, silencing the sounds of battle in the distance, just as he did a few moments ago. Looking at the old hypotheses he had made back when he first acquired Dark Release, a sense of understanding consumed him.
'I see,' He thought, 'I was right.'
His eyes changed. The red glow disappeared, seemingly absorbed into the irises, and the signature mitsudomoe markings surfaced.
'Sharingan!'
With the changes in his sight, Suguru reanalyzed his state of being. Spotting a few characteristics that his Shinrakugan missed, he confirmed several things.
'This is more like Jugo's Kekkei Genkai than it is a Nature Transformation Kekkei Genkai like Boil Release or Lava Release.'
He finally understood exactly why he felt random, neverending pangs of hunger which got stronger depending on the situation.
Just like Jugo and his clansmen who would lose their rationality when they fully transformed, Suguru was of a similar kind. His hunger was but a manifestation of his nature. He was a monster that consumed energy with a bottomless appetite.
'I'm like an undead creature from the fantasy stories of my old world.'
Since chakra was a mix of physical and spiritual energy, that was his body's favorite food. Thus, by extension, he should've been able to consume life force and perhaps even natural energy and therefore sage chakra as well.
He had confirmed being able to consume life force.
'Perhaps due to the existence of my Shinrakugan...'
But he felt doubtful about devouring natural energy.
'After all... those are traits of a God Tree and not a human being.'
Thinking up to here, Suguru realized that his thoughts were narrow. The moment he tried thinking based on the weird changes he observed in his own body, a nagging suspicion grasped at his throat.
'Unless I'm no longer human, then devouring natural energy should be impossible.'
Thus.
'If I absorb Jugo's Kekkei Genkai, then things might change.'
Suguru gulped a mouthful of saliva.
'...Drastically.'
As he had these thoughts, Suguru felt the world around him change. A terrifying chill ran through his body.
His eyes shrank and goosebumps erupted all over his skin.
'...This chakra—'
Suddenly, the puzzle pieces clicked into place. A grin spread across his lips. The excitement that erupted through his veins drowned out all the exhaustion in his body.
Further reinvigorated by his newfound mutations, Suguru poured chakra into his eyes.
'Kaisu-Byakugan!'
And with his expanded all-seeing vision, he located the source of those sinister chills.
Suguru almost roared in excitement.
"Danzo!"
His vision turned a deep shade of crimson, plunging his rationality into a turbulent ocean. With every breath he took, he grew hungrier.
A tantalizing scent had wafted over, making him drool.
'I've indeed become a monster.'
***
Akuta and Team 7 felt the sudden shift in the battlefield. The rapid approach of a powerful aura was too much to ignore. Moreover, given Hiruzen's familiarity with his old teammate's chakra, he could not help but stop dead in his tracks.
"What?!"
Whipping his head in the direction of the Nibi jinchuriki, a bad feeling enveloped Hiruzen's heart.
Mitsuko and Sakura, ever so sensitive to the chakra around them, felt the change as well. Finally, Sasuke noticed a deathly killing intent.
A pressure he knew only from his father.
'What...?' Sasuke's eyes shook, 'What is this feeling?'
—Rustle.
A sudden dissonant shuffle jolted Team 7 awake. Akuta frowned as he was similarly alerted by the presence.
With a stream of blood still staining his cheeks, a boy was looking down at them.
Sasuke and Mitsuko instantly recognized the face and a gasp escaped them. Akuta squinted, wondering what to do with his identity.
It was not the time for his students to learn who he truly was.
Yet, Hiruzen could not speak as himself, nor as Akuta.
"..."
A silent pressure was bearing down upon the four of them. It wasn't a threatening pressure, no.
But the feeling of being looked into as if they were mere objects on an operating table was eerie and off-putting.
It reminded Hiruzen so much of Orochimaru...
Yet this one felt colder.
Much... much... colder.
After all, Orochimaru still sought something clear. Power, immortality, and every jutsu in existence.
Those silver eyes that gazed at them all, in comparison, gleamed only with a malevolent curiosity.
Even Mitsuko, who could be said to be the boy's old friend and classmate, was frozen stiff. She was forced to question who the boy in front of her was, even if she already knew the answer.
'What happened..?' Mitsuko shivered.
Suguru had changed so much since the time he was still a student. His gaze, previously blank and seemingly void of any malice, had now been replaced by a different sensation.
Hunger.
"Yo,"
Suguru's lips curved, and the shine of his teeth broke through. Suddenly, everyone shook as the temperature in the area seemed to have dropped a few degrees. Hiruzen, despite his status and capabilities, felt a foul revulsion to the aura now oozing before him.
'It doesn't seem... human.' Hiruzen thought.
The grin that Suguru wore on his face was demonic, like the eerie yokai masks of the Uzumaki.
It sent an uncanny terror through their bodies, regardless of their strength.
When suddenly.
—Boom!
A terrifying explosion went off in their surroundings, and a searing wave of air rushed forth. Akuta, forced to act first, weaved several hand seals in the blink of an eye.
[Tiger » Hare » Boar » Ram » Dog » Ox » Snake].
'Earth Release: Mud Wall!'
—Crack!
Emerging with barely a tremor, a huge fortified wall of earth intercepted the blazing winds and the subsequent shockwave.
It blocked all five shinobi from sustaining damage from the threatening Tailed Beast Bomb.
A cold sweat dripped down Akuta's back.
Although dealing with the Nibi's Tailed Beast Bombs was easier compared to the Kyuubi, the situation wasn't as clear-cut. The battle was occurring in the distance and he could not consistently keep track of it.
Had that massive ball of chakra veered a few degrees further West...
'Then things would be bad...'
Wait.
Feeling the presence of someone who shouldn't be beside them, Akuta almost jumped. Distracted by the huge movement of chakra, he hadn't noticed Suguru's Body Flicker Jutsu.
The boy had appeared beside Hiruzen in an instant, with the former's eyes boring into the latter.
That eerie grin Suguru wore was nothing short of nightmare fuel.
"What do you want?" Akuta said, still forced to maintain his façade in front of Team 7.
Given Suguru's Sharingan, it was likely that his true identity would be easily revealed. However, looking into the boy's silver eyes, Akuta wondered why he had them deactivated.
As if realizing something, however, Suguru's creepy gaze seemed to wane.
His hair cascaded to his side in a show of questioning.
—Tilt.
There it was. Hiruzen secretly sighed in relief. That single head tilt seemed to diffuse the starving aura that Suguru unconsciously exuded. The curiosity in his eyes grew purer.
'What a smart kid,' Hiruzen praised, relaxing his stance.
Given his previous behavior, he was certain that Suguru's appearance here held no ill will. Luckily, he wasn't present to witness the beheading of three Hyuga shinobi just a few minutes ago.
"Heh~" Suguru's was a smug hum.
"..." Akuta's brow twitched.
Suguru glanced behind himself, vaguely repressing the hunger that bubbled within him.
"Mitsuko, it's been a while. Sasuke-nii, I'm surprised you're here. Sakura-nee, hello."
Turning back to Akuta, he spoke once more.
"I have a proposal."
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