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"Hōgyoku, does that mean only I can release the power of Shinigami?"
Sōsuke muttered softly.
Immediately, a childish voice echoed in his mind.
"You are correct, Lord Aizen. Only your body, which I modified, can unleash the power of Shinigami."
"If I remember correctly, you once said that achieving my wish is possible, right?"
Sōsuke spoke in a subdued voice. A gleam of light flashed in his eyes behind the glasses, and he continued, "What if I want to enable others to use the power of Shinigami too? Hōgyoku... can you do it?"
Upon hearing Sōsuke's words, Hōgyoku replied without hesitation, "Of course, I can do that easily."
A trace of pride accompanied her young voice.
However, she then deflated a bit, sounding slightly aggrieved, "But... Hōgyoku doesn't have enough power right now. If Lord Aizen wants me to help others change their physical constitution, I'm afraid it will cost the souls I've consumed before."
Hearing Hōgyoku's words, Sōsuke's lips curved slightly with a smile as he softly said, "It's enough that you can do it. Help me achieve this, and I will compensate you with even more high-quality souls in the future."
"Alright, Lord Aizen, you mustn't break your promise," Hōgyoku cheerfully replied.
After hearing Hōgyoku's response, Sōsuke smiled gently, his eyes gleaming with a glint of light. He looked toward Sakuya, who was still practicing diligently.
Slowly walking towards her, he spoke in a warm voice, "Sakuya, you can stop now. I have found a way for you to achieve all of this."
"Hmm? Really!? Sōsuke!?" Sakuya exclaimed with delight.
Then, she appeared embarrassed and shyly said, "But... Sōsuke... is it really alright to teach me such a jutsu?"
Hearing her words, Sōsuke's eyes filled with a smile as he gently reassured her, "It's alright. Whenever I see you, I feel like I'm looking at a cute little sister. Let this jutsu be a gift from an older brother to his little sister."
Sōsuke's magnetic voice entered Sakuya's ears, leaving her slightly stunned as she looked at him, who had such a gentle expression.
Sō... Sōsuke... an older brother?
Now that she thought about it, Sōsuke really seemed like the big brother next door. He not only saved her life but was also so gentle and handsome...
Thinking this, Sakuya's ears couldn't help but turn slightly red.
He's much better than my cold and stubborn big brother at home! And he always opposes Sōsuke, forbidding me from getting close to him!
Shino-niisan is a complete idiot!
As Sakuya muttered to herself, Shino, who was meditating in the Uchiha clan, suddenly sneezed out of nowhere!
He shook his head, shook off the drowsiness, and glanced at the quiet corridor inside the house.
Strange... why haven't I seen that idiot Sakuya today?
Meanwhile, inside the Forest of Death in Konoha,
In an open space, Hōgyoku had already started the process of transforming Sakuya.
"Lord Aizen, I will absorb your chakra now. This is necessary to achieve your goal," she said to Sōsuke with a gentle nod.
Sakuya stood shy and nervous in front of Sōsuke.
Being so close to him, she could smell the warm and sunny scent emanating from him, causing her cheeks to turn slightly red.
Suddenly!
A wave of pain surged from within her body!
"Ah... Ah..."
Sakuya was almost in too much pain to make a sound!
instanly bent down.
Her face turned pale, her small mouth slightly open, and she could only gasp heavily! Her performance surprised Sōsuke, and he looked deeply at Sakuya, who was bending over in front of him, while asking Hōgyoku for an explanation.
"Hōgyoku, what's going on?"
Sōsuke's voice remained calm and expressionless.
"Lord Aizen, this is an inevitable change in the body modification process. After all, the transformation needed to enable the body to use chakra to release the power of Shinigami requires some fundamental changes, which inevitably cause pain to the one undergoing the modification."
Hōgyoku explained in a straightforward manner, like a child reciting from a textbook.
After hearing its words, Sōsuke lowered his head and looked at Sakuya enduring the pain. His eyes were filled with contemplation.
"It hurts... so much, Sōsuke... it's so painful..."
Sakuya managed to lift her head and looked at Sōsuke. Her trembling voice was full of suffering.
Her hand tightly grasped Sōsuke's sleeve, and her pale hand was covered in sweat and throbbing veins.
Sōsuke's face showed concern, and he said in a deep voice, "Hold on a little longer, Sakuya. It will be over soon, and you'll be able to release the power of Shinigami smoothly."
"But... it's... really... painful..."
Sakuya struggled to endure the immense pain and unexpectedly revealed thoughts she wouldn't usually express.
".... Sōsuke... don't blame my brother... he's just an idiot... you... don't need to care about him..."
Upon hearing her words, Sōsuke gently nodded and said, "I won't hold it against you, Sakuya. Don't worry. Just hold on a little longer, and it will be over soon."
At this moment, Sakuya seemed to be incoherent, murmuring in a low voice.
"Then... then, does that mean... I'll be closer to you, Sōsuke..."
Hearing her words, Sōsuke's face showed an indescribable expression.
Suddenly!
"Ah!!"
Sakuya cried out in pain!
Then her delicate body slowly fell to the side, and her small hand, which had been tightly grabbing Sōsuke's sleeve, finally released its grip...
"Thud"
Her body fell into a broad and strong embrace.
Sōsuke gently held her, looking at her pale face covered in sweat, expressionless. Then he carried her away from that place.
.......
As the village of Konoha began preparing systematically for the impending war against the village of the Hidden Rain,
Inside a dark and secluded cave,
A figure sat on a stone seat in the cave, looking extremely frail and weak.
Upon closer inspection, one would find that this person living alone in the cave was an old man with white hair, extremely thin and gaunt.
"Ah... ah...."
Sitting on the stone seat, he gasped heavily!
"Cough... cough! Cough! Puh-tch!"
Suddenly, he began to cough and then covered his mouth with his hand. From between his fingers slowly oozed crimson blood.
With slow movements, he wiped the blood from his mouth and raised his head slightly.
In the gloomy cave, his blood-red eyes appeared particularly conspicuous!
Those eyes!
Seemed to be filled with the world's full malevolence, intimidating...
"Is... this the feeling of death... Hashirama... in that case... does that mean I won?"
The old man seemed to have sensed something and muttered weakly to himself.
Slowly, his eyes began to close, and his body became weaker and weaker...
It seemed as if vitality was ebbing away...
But then, suddenly, subtle changes occurred!
Those blood-red eyes with three tomoe suddenly transformed into circular shapes resembling blades!
But it didn't end there!
The blood-red eyes underwent another transformation!
They turned into a pattern of six circles intertwined!
From this moment, it was as if the old man's body suddenly brimmed with boundless vitality!
He stood up again!
In this moment, everything seemed to change in his eyes!
"Hahaha... Hashirama! It looks like I've won! Hahaha..."
Laughter filled the gloomy cave, a laughter that sounded old and hoarse!