Chapter 155 (Patreon)

After holding him for a long while, the two women finally let Yujiro go.

Only then did they realize how openly they had clung to him. One blushed faintly; the other's cheeks turned a deeper red.

"Were you really that afraid I might die?" Yujiro asked, looking amused.

"You...! How are you supposed to bring Wood Style back to Konoha if you die?" Tsunade stamped her foot lightly.

"M-Master won't die," Konan murmured, lowering her head.

"All right." Yujiro smiled. "I won't die."

Death had never been part of his plans.

Even the demon lurking inside him was a part of him. If it thought it could take over his body and cast him aside, it was mistaken.

He had no intention of letting that happen.

Over the following days, the presence surrounding Yujiro grew increasingly unsettling.

During the first ten days, it had flared up roughly once every three days. Now, it erupted every day.

For the past ten days, the people of Kumogakure had been too frightened to sleep.

On the fourteenth night, black mist poured from Yujiro's body once again.

At the same time, that terrifying pressure swept through the entire village.

It was heavy and suffocating, carrying a power that left them helpless.

Even a tailed beast had never made them feel this way.

Whatever was stirring inside Yujiro surpassed a tailed beast in every respect.

"What do we do?! What are we supposed to do?!"

The village, which should have been asleep, was thrown into alarm once again.

Inside the apartment, Tsunade stared anxiously at Yujiro, who was sitting on the bed.

Black mist had swallowed his entire figure. It felt as though a savage demon was slowly waking in the room.

"What are we going to do?" Tsunade turned toward Konan, unable to hide her worry.

Konan was watching Yujiro just as anxiously.

After a moment, something seemed to occur to her. She stepped closer to Tsunade and whispered into her ear.

Ten seconds later, Tsunade's face was bright red.

"Konan... where did you hear about that? Can it really hold the demon back?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Mei Terumi told me..." Konan's own cheeks reddened. "That's what she said."

"I see..." Tsunade took a deep breath and looked at her. "Then... let's try what you suggested. I'll wait outside and keep watch."

"Thank you, Tsunade-nee..."

This time, the oppressive presence did not finally fade until dawn, when daylight began to fill the sky.

Tsunade had stood guard the entire night. When the door opened in the morning, a relieved smile crossed her face. Then her eyes closed, and she began to fall backward.

Yujiro caught her, lifted her into his arms, and carried her inside.

A little later, he left the apartment.

He could not put this off any longer. He had to overcome the demon within him.

If Konan had not helped him last night, he would have been forced to confront it earlier than planned.

If he won, everything would be fine. But if he lost, Kumogakure would be destroyed.

Even the surrounding countries, large and small, would be caught in the destruction.

Once outside, Yujiro reopened the golden space within his mind.

Kurama immediately emerged and perched on his shoulder, thoroughly bored after more than half a month of confinement.

"Hey! Why did you keep me sealed in there for half a month?"

As soon as Kurama steadied himself and looked at Yujiro, the color drained from his face.

"Yujiro...?! Is that really you?!"

Where had that terrifying presence come from?

"The inner demon has grown stronger," Yujiro replied with a calm smile. "The next time I face it, we'll settle this once and for all."

"The inner demon..." Kurama stared at him for a moment, then lowered his voice. "The thing you told me about a few months ago?"

"That's right." Yujiro smiled.

He had explained it to Kurama long ago. Kurama was particularly sensitive to hatred and resentment, but he still knew little about Yujiro's inner demon.

"How did it get this strong?"

Kurama did not understand how it worked, but he could tell one thing: that violent presence had enough power to destroy him.

"Because I've gotten stronger," Yujiro said with a grin.

That was how it worked. As his own strength grew, so did the demon within him. Eventually, it would reach the point where it erupted beyond his control.

If he defeated it, he would gain tremendous power and advance directly to the intermediate stage of the Level Four Limiter.

His overall strength would rise again, and the benefits of that stage went far beyond raw power.

But he had to defeat the demon first.

If he failed, he would either become a monster driven only by the urge to kill, or die.

"Then what if... you can't beat it?" All nine of Kurama's little tails drooped.

Kurama had been with him for almost ten years. He had long since accepted Yujiro as his partner, and now he was beginning to fear for him.

"If I fail, dying would be the better outcome." Yujiro looked at Kurama and smiled. "If I survive... get as far away as you can."

"You're not going to die," Kurama said firmly. "If it comes to it, I'll give you every last bit of my chakra."

"All of it? That would kill you." Yujiro looked surprised.

"I'm not afraid of dying. I'll come back, even if it takes a hundred and eighty years." Kurama shook his head.

"All right!" Yujiro reached up and patted Kurama's head. "Just for that, once I get through this, I'll have a big present waiting for you."

"Then it's a promise!" Kurama's eyes lit up, and he grinned.

"Yujiro!"

Two voices called out from behind him.

Konan and Tsunade had woken up and hurried out of the apartment to look for him.

Fortunately, he was still close by, walking toward the Raikage's office building.

They hurried to his side, visibly relieved to see that he was unharmed.

Even so, they could feel how unstable his presence had become.

Yujiro was about to speak when Tsunade cut in.

"Don't leave us behind!"

There was no hesitation in her voice.

"All right. We'll go see the Raikage together." Yujiro scratched his head.

She certainly wasn't taking no for an answer. Still, he knew both of them were worried about him.

Twenty minutes later, they entered the Raikage's office.

A had been waiting for Yujiro for some time.

"Lord Yujiro, Turtle Island has arrived!" he said at once.

Samui had sensed the first eruption of that sinister presence and reported it to the Raikage.

A had been frantic ever since, waiting for Turtle Island to arrive.

Now, at last, it was here.

"I've already sensed it." Yujiro smiled faintly.

"Order every shinobi and civilian in Kumogakure to evacuate. Clear everyone off Turtle Island as well."

"Until I leave the island, no one is to come near me."

A's pupils contracted at the warning, and he answered immediately, his voice full of deference.

"Yes, Lord Yujiro!"

In the next instant, Yujiro used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.

He had not ordered the evacuation out of some need to appear kind.

He simply refused to lose to the demon inside him.

If the shinobi world had been at war, he would not have concerned himself with whether these people lived or died.

But if his inner demon took over, they would become innocent victims of his failure.

Whether those strangers lived or died meant little to him. What worried him was the chance that the people close to him would be caught in it too.

At that thought, a calm smile appeared on his face.

"That's right... So many people are waiting for me to come back. I can't lose."

A few seconds later, he laughed.

"And I won't lose!"