Chapter 93:
"Already getting discharged, Mitsuki? Are you sure your body's okay?"
Boruto asked as he accompanied Mitsuki to complete the discharge paperwork.
"Yeah, don't worry about it, Boruto."
Mitsuki replied with a smile.
"Oh right—how about we go get some burgers to celebrate your discharge? What do you think, Sarada?"
"Sure, sounds good. They've just released some new kinds of burgers. It's settled then—Boruto's treating us!"
"Why me?! I've barely got any money left thanks to that Jar Merchant situation…"
Boruto looked down at his wallet, clearly disheartened.
While watching the two argue, Mitsuki followed them into the burger joint.
"What's wrong, Mitsuki? Don't like it? I thought it was pretty good."
Boruto asked, confused, when he noticed Mitsuki had only taken a single bite of his burger.
"It's not that… it's just…"
Mitsuki looked down at the burger in front of him, then up at Boruto across the table.
Boruto had bought this for him—it would be wrong to waste his kindness.
With that in mind, Mitsuki picked up the burger and began devouring it ravenously.
"Sorry, Boruto. I need to use the restroom."
Once inside, Mitsuki repeatedly forced himself to vomit.
"Get it out… get it all out…"
"Big brother, are you okay?" A young boy's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Lost in his efforts to vomit, Mitsuki hadn't noticed when the boy had entered the restroom.
"Ah, I'm fine…" Mitsuki smiled as he spoke, then instinctively sniffed the air—and before he realized it, he blurted out, "Smells delicious…"
"Huh? What smells good?"
"No—nothing."
Realizing what he'd just said, Mitsuki hurriedly tried to explain. He couldn't believe that, for a moment, he had actually wanted to eat the little boy standing in front of him.
"I'm not normal anymore…"
He muttered under his breath, then gently pushed the boy aside and left the restroom.
"You okay, Mitsuki? You were gone for a while."
Boruto asked with concern.
"Hey, you look really pale. Are you sure you're alright?" Sarada added, worried.
"I'm fine…" Mitsuki forced a stiff and unnatural smile, then instinctively sniffed again. From Boruto and Sarada's direction came an overwhelmingly mouthwatering aroma.
"Sorry, Boruto… I'm not feeling well. I'm going home to rest."
Before Boruto could reply, Mitsuki vanished using Body Flicker. It was something he had never done before.
He was scared—scared of the part of himself that had wanted to eat Boruto.
As he traveled home in a flash, his left eye began to undergo a strange change.
When he finally arrived and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror—
"Is that… the Sharingan?"
His left eye had mutated—the sclera turned black, the iris blood-red.
"No… that's not right." Mitsuki shook his head. "That can't be the Sharingan…"
Then, suddenly, he was stunned. Reflected in the mirror, standing behind him, was Orochimaru.
Not in his Gray Wolf form, but as "Mom Snake."
Mitsuki spun around and stared at Mom Snake. His strength was greatly diminished from prolonged hunger.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Mitsuki's modified arm stretched out toward her—but the expected dodge never came. There was no blood either. His arm simply passed through her body.
Mitsuki let out a breath. "An illusion?"
Good—at least it wasn't the real Orochimaru.
In truth, it was a curse mark Orochimaru had left on him. It would activate whenever Mitsuki fell into a state of extreme hunger—one of Orochimaru's backup plans.
When the Umbrella Organization no longer had anything left for him to study, Orochimaru intended to betray S.H.I.E.L.D. and take over Mitsuki's body.
While working in his lab, Orochimaru suddenly paused. "The curse mark has activated."
He formed a hand seal.
"You're hungry, aren't you?"
Mitsuki ignored Mom Snake and formed his own seals. "Genjutsu—Release!"
Nothing happened. She was still standing there, that familiar smile—almost mocking—on her face.
"What the hell did you do to me?!"
Though Mitsuki didn't expect the truth, he still asked.
"It's just a little toy from the Umbrella Organization. It can greatly enhance your power… but first, you need to fill your stomach." Mom Snake gently stroked his head. "Being hungry is miserable, isn't it? If you want to eat, then eat. For someone like you, it's an intoxicating delicacy—one bite and you'll never forget it."
Though Mom Snake didn't spell it out, Mitsuki understood. Based on today's events, he could deduce that the so-called "delicacy"… was human flesh.
He swallowed involuntarily but then shook his head firmly. If he actually ate people, there would be no going back—he would truly become a monster. Boruto would never be friends with someone like that.
"I don't really care either way. Do you know why you're able to see me?" Mom Snake licked her lips with her tongue—something she hadn't done since her Gray Wolf days.
"When you're starving, you'll see me. And if you stay that way, your mind will slowly break. You'll become a monster that attacks humans indiscriminately."
Whether that was true or not didn't matter anymore. Mitsuki just needed a reason—an excuse to eat people.
To be safe, Mitsuki put on a white mask. A full mask, which he then broke in half, leaving only the upper portion—exposing his mouth for feeding.
Even though he had made up his mind to eat, Mitsuki had no intention of harming the living.
He went to the Konoha Cemetery.
The cemetery had two parts: the outer section for ordinary villagers, and the inner section for ninja who had fallen in battle. But with the war long over, no new bodies had been buried in the inner section for a long time, and the old ones had likely decomposed by now.
Though these corpses were old and tough, to Mitsuki, they were still a rare delicacy—far tastier than regular food.
His Kagune emerged. At first, he hesitated—but after the first bite, Mitsuki gave in completely and began devouring everything in sight.
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