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-Damn it, don't underestimate us! - One of them shouted as they jumped away, throwing kunai at him.
Jugo didn't care, accelerating at a speed the trio couldn't feel. He grabbed one of their legs and said. - I've always wanted to try that, hehe...
The next moment, Yujiro Hanma-style, he used his body as a giant nunchaku, throwing it around his body, listening to the cracks and screams. The next, using it as a weapon, he struck one of his shocked companions.
Their heads connected in a sickening crash. Even Kin looked away, Dosu didn't, just watching with his one eye, a mixture of fear and admiration.
The last ninja literally pissed his pants, throwing the damaged nunchaku aside. Jugo turned to the last ninja lying on the ground, who trembled violently under his gaze.
He seemed to wake up at that moment, turning and trying to run away while screaming. - Please! Help!
Jugo laughed and let him run away. Just as he thought he could escape, already smiling at his luck, a hand gently grabbed his head from behind. Before he could even comprehend, his head shattered under the large hand.
Jugo smiled happily as he watched the body fall and roll across the ground, still being carried by the Amegakure ninja's running motion.
Jugo stood there, staring at his bloody hand as his mind slowly returned to calm.
After three murders, as soon as Jugo lost his madness, he stopped smiling.
That bloody hand, with a few brains and strands of hair still attached, Jugo felt something.
-I'm falling into indulgence, aren't I? - Jugo stopped smiling, slowly lowering his hand and looking up at the treetops.
Is this right? This way of gaining power?
The temperance faction.
Would they do this?
If not, how would they digest their potions?
But even if he felt nothing, even if the brains scattered on the ground didn't cause him any mental discomfort, he was uncomfortable, not because of his body, but because of the fear of falling into infinite depravity.
The path of the chained is not the path to the abyss.
Letting your desires run wild like this.
Besides, are they really his desires?
As he concluded earlier, this violent side is based on his kekkei genkai, based on the genes of this body.
Just as a dog is easier to train than a wolf.
Genes.
This body is affecting him more than he realized.
The original Jugo, despite everything he did, hated killing, but he rarely blamed himself for the deaths he caused.
It seems redundant, but it isn't.
This shows empathy, but at the same time, detachment.
Did he kill? Okay, he'll try not to kill again.
There, in that dark forest, Jugo seemed to understand that the path he was currently on was dangerous.
He wouldn't lose control to the point of becoming an aberration in this world, to the point of losing his sense of self and becoming part of the creator.
But even if he didn't need to be afraid of this, letting the creator awaken in his body, what would be left of him in the end if he followed this path of death and madness?
When he reached sequence one, would he be a true abomination? Both body and soul?
Was this what he wanted?
Jugo lowered his gaze, returning to the bloodied body.
-No. - he said softly. -That's not what I want.
Dosu and Kin appeared shortly after, but Jugo paid them no attention for a moment. Only after a few minutes did he speak. -Dosu, next.
Yes, he wouldn't stop, but this time was different. He wouldn't attack just anyone anymore, only those who wanted to kill him. He drew a new line.
This wasn't a battlefield.
This was a chunin exam.
Many there just wanted to advance their careers, not actually take lives.
The images of those Konoha ninjas he'd first encountered flashed through his mind.
For a moment, he was grateful for choosing the path of the chained one. If he had chosen the path of the abyss, what kind of monster would he become?
This entire planet would probably turn into the abyss.
Taking a deep breath, he changed his strategy.
Dosu and Kin were quieter than ever. Dosu was fine, he was a cold-blooded man after all.
His first thought to confront Sasuke and prove himself to Orochimaru was to kill the nuisance, Gaara.
Too bad, he bit off more than he could chew.
Kin, on the other hand, wasn't doing so well. She was part of a clan that had recently joined the Sound Village. Even though she already understood how things worked there, she wasn't truly raised with iron blood.
The Sound Village was only established a few years ago, so although her empathy was low, she still had it.
What Jugo was doing was a complete, senseless massacre in her eyes. It also frightened her even more, but she knew what to say and what not to say.
Jugo glanced at her slightly. Kin trembled. Before, there had been a hint of longing there, as if she'd expected him to notice her. Now, she lowered her head, trying to stay as far from his sight as possible.
What a contrast, he scoffed internally.
He didn't blame her, he understood.
He was a fucking monster.
-Let's change the approach. - Jugo finally said, a little heavily.
The pair looked at him curiously.
A few hours later, during the night, a Kusagakure (Grass) team stood over Jugo's team, who were sleeping over the fire.
-Rito, let's attack, these idiots are extremely vulnerable. - the one on the right scoffed.
-Kazuma, I don't know, it could be a trap. - the one on the left spoke to the one on the right.
-So what? We can use poison in the air, we'll find out soon enough. -the man in the middle, Rito, scoffed.
-Okay. - Both the one on the right and the one on the left nodded.
The next moment, they opened a white packet containing a white powder, and Rito used a gentle wind jutsu, causing the powder to spread subtly over the group below.
-There, it's odorless, so don't worry, it won't take long. - Rito, the one in the middle, looked smug.
But the next moment, the three bodies below exploded into smoke; they were all clones!
-Not good! It's an ambush! - The one on the left shouted furiously, wanting to jump away.
But the next moment, a strong hand grabbed his shoulder. All the man saw were glowing orange eyes, a mouth grinning from ear to ear.
-Aaaaaaah!
-Help...!
-Please...!
Within seconds, all the screams died down.
Jugo slowly emerged from the shadows with a complicated smile on his face. This was the third team to fall for this, but them was the first to try to kill them.
The other two from Konoha just wanted to put them to sleep or steal them and run away.
Jugo simply took the scrolls from them and threw them away, letting them go.
Besides, he felt the potion digest much slower this way.
Before, there weren't so many problems, just kill them, now he needed a reason.
Just as he'd thought, having a reason to be a lunatic slowed his progress.
Jugo still decided to stay that way. He'd been feeling a hollow feeling in his chest since arriving in this world, but as soon as he made that decision, he finally felt something different.
Even though he'd looked at Kin and Dosu before, he'd only seen them as walking bags of flesh. Kin might be a little more useful in bed, Dosu could help him kill people, that was it.
But now, he tried to see beyond that.
They had a history, didn't they?
They didn't just appear out of nowhere like a generic villain duo, even his original partner had a history.
Jugo didn't know much about them, which is why, after that ambush, Jugo realized the duo was tired. He didn't know clone jutsu, so they had to keep the clone in shape.
Jugo didn't tire easily, so he ignored it for a while, but now, looking at the duo with heavy eyes, he sighed.
-Come on, I'll keep watch, you guys sleep. - Jugo led them away from the area, running ahead.
Dosu and Kin exchanged surprised glances, but even confused, they continued.
If Jugo had seemed like a psychopath before, now he at least made sense. At the very least, the chances of them waking up the next day sleeping next to him were higher than before.
Kin still trembled watching him, but at the very least, she didn't look away.
Jugo didn't care much, he simply chose a quiet area and chatted with some animals to keep watch. He himself wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. He stood atop a tree, looking up at the night sky with some regret, a faint sigh escaping his lips.
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+19 chapters of The Legendary Mechanic - Triple Six on P_treon.
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