Jugo had a feeding problem.
When you can hear exactly what a creature is saying, eating it feels incredibly strange.
It's the difference between eating a rational and a non-rational animal.
So when he went hunting in the morning, he couldn't catch small birds or rabbits, but he did catch something large, like a moose with sharp teeth. It didn't speak to him, just screamed and charged.
This satisfied Jugo enough to punch the moose's head open, feeling much better.
-Thank you for staying silent until death. - Jugo thanked him, clasping his hands in a prayer posture.
Kin and Dosu, who were following behind, looked at him strangely, but by this point, Jugo's idiosyncrasies could be overlooked.
-Come on, let's clean this up.- Jugo pulled the Elk by its still-attached antlers while Dosu and Kin nodded, but just as they were about to leave, a group of Kunai and Shuriken flew at them.
The group dodged easily and Jugo even dragged the one-ton Elk with him, he didn't want to lose his hard-earned breakfast.
Dosu wanted to counterattack, but looking at Jugo, he didn't move. He knew the man was more of a slaughterman and feared that if he took the prey from him, he would become the prey himself.
So for an impulsive fellow like Dosu, he still managed to concentrate.
Looking at the group charging at them, Jugo's smile quickly widened.
Two Kusagakure (Grass) boys jumped after him, one with a kunai and the other with a sword.
They attacked to kill, that's for sure, but Jugo didn't care, instead, he was overjoyed.
Was there such a good thing? Does the prey come without bait?
Kusa's group thought they were a weak team. After all, Otogakure (Som) is a new village, and this was the only team that made it through. Dosu and Kin fled from the start, making the battle two against one.
Dosu and Kin looked around, searching for the third member. Jugo, on the other hand, advanced with an excited smile.
The madness curse from his potion was already a little restless after a night of silence.
Then, laughing excitedly, Jugo charged at a speed the pair couldn't even see.
The boy with the sword felt a hand close over his face as he widened his eyes. The next moment, a tremendous force was applied toward his companion.
Upon the shocked eyes of the ninja with the Kunai, his companion was thrown at him with all his strength, before he could even understand what happened, a sharp pain hit his chest as he felt his ribs break, spitting saliva with blood, he was sent flying against a huge tree.
The colliding pair hit the tree with a dull thud. The ninja with the sword had already split his head open from the impact, dead beyond belief. The other struggled to breathe, his lung punctured, drowning in his own blood.
He raised his head with difficulty, his blurry eyes only seeing a dark silhouette against the sun, a shadowy face with one glowing eye and a sinister smile.
"P-please..." He tried to beg, but in the next moment, a foot crossed his vision, then... nothing.
Jugo looked at the mess and felt his potion digesting again. His strength increased rapidly during this time as the potion digested, but still far from surpassing the level of a Jonin.
Unfortunately, his lack of rationality still kept him away from real ninja battles.
But it didn't matter, intimidating these newbies still helped him advance his potion.
From his senses, at least half of his potion had been digested so far and that was in less than a day!
This potion was incredibly easy to advance, but he understood that in the world of LOTM, if a lunatic truly lets himself be carried away by its curse, he will end up transforming into a true monster without any turning back.
Going mad is a real danger in the world of LotM.
But here he doesn't need to worry. the potion is his, with no outside influence on it.
Thus, he can go mad without worrying about becoming a aberration after losing control.
His ability to advance quickly stems from being able to act like a lunatic without consequences.
Of course, his subsequent progress would be slower because he lost the initiative by killing everything in front of him, but at least he felt his thoughts seemed less distorted after making this decision.
Not long after, Dosu returned, carrying a little girl by the hair.
She screamed and cried as she looked fearfully at Jugo and then at the lifeless bodies of her companions.
Jugo smiled and was about to continue when he stopped.
Looking at the little girl, his smile slowly faded. Finally, his calm returned, he spoke. -Let her go.
Dosu didn't ask why. He let go of her hair as the little girl looked around. But he noticed her eyes narrow and seemed to be unable to see clearly. He turned to Dosu and said. -Go get her glasses.
Dosu paused for a moment in confusion before nodding and leaving.
Kin continued to watch this from a distance, also intrigued.
Jugo lowered his body to her level, looking at her with interest. The little girl was terrified, wanting to run away but knowing she couldn't, wanting to beg, but lacking the courage.
She could only stand there, trembling and terrified, staring at Jugo.
-What's your name? - Jugo finally asked calmly.
The girl trembled even more when he spoke, but still tried to summon some inner strength as she answered with difficulty. -Ka-Karin.
Jugo looked at her with renewed interest.
He had forgotten about that, he hadn't examined the candidates well enough, so he hadn't noticed her.
Now, what to do?
Of course, he wouldn't kill her, he knew Karin wasn't a bad person, just a sad one.
She should have been abandoned by her companions, chased by a giant bear, and finally saved by Sasuke, then taken in by Orochimaru.
Karin didn't care. She'd been treated like a tool her entire life, growing up watching her mother slowly be consumed, a harbinger of her own fate.
At least with Orochimaru, she wasn't always dry of chakra.
Now, Jugo had a few options.
Let her go and wait for her luck.
Send her to Orochimaru himself.
Keep her.
Why keep her? First, because Karin is indeed very useful—her healing and reconnaissance skills are very useful.
Plus, she's an Uzumaki, with sealing techniques, she could be very useful to him.
Furthermore, with her current situation, Karin is easy to mold.
Finally, there was an intuition within him, as if Karin would be of great help to him in the future.
This intuition didn't come from himself, but he sensed it coming from the Tenebrous World connected to him.
The father of demons, along with the path of the Mother Tree of Wishes, represents the pillar of reality, the intuition of this pathway is very accurate.
So, Jugo decided to take her with him without thinking much more about it.
Dosu returned with a pair of glasses. The left lens was a little cracked, but it would have to do for now. He gently placed them on the little girl's eyes.
Karin, who could only see shadows, wanted to pull away and retreat, but didn't dare. So she could only close her eyes as Jugo's hands approached, tears welling in her eyes.
But she soon felt the glasses being placed on her before his hands moved away.
Opening her eyes, she could see better, although the left side was a little difficult to see.
She saw Jugo's face, his strong physique, masculine face and orange eyes looking at her gently.
Jugo placed his hand on her. Karin closed her eyes again, startled, but the next moment she felt a strong hand on her head.
He gently caressed her, making her open her eyes in confusion.
Jugo's chakra was a mystery to Karin. It felt like nature, gentle and peaceful. On the other hand, when he was maddened by the curse, the evil energy was the most sinister thing she had ever felt, exuding unbridled evil.
It was such a stark contrast that when she first felt it, she nearly wet herself in fear.
She wanted to warn her companions, but they had already attacked.
Finally, she looked at Jugo in confusion. Jugo used his best Orochimaru smile, still stroking the little girl's hair. - Hey, Karin, do you want to come with me? If you do, I promise, no one will hurt you again.
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+10 chapters of Jugo - Father of Devils on P_treon.
+19 chapters of The Legendary Mechanic - Triple Six on P_treon.
P_treon: March_Rain