Now only Megumi and Hana remained in the room.
The situation felt awkward. As a reincarnated soul who'd become immortal, he'd realized she was still very young. It made him feel like a child molester. Romance was pointless when he couldn't feel emotions anyway. Better to let her grow up first, then consider relationships.
Hana was still young, and all eyes would be on her as Tsume's daughter. Danzo wouldn't miss the chance to recruit her into Root.
"Hey, Hana, what do you want to become in the future?"
Megumi needed to ask. Her answer would determine what plans he'd put in place for her. He couldn't always be there to protect her. Leaving behind shikigami he found less essential was the best way to keep her safe.
"I want to be strong like you."
She remembered that night, how helpless she'd been. Even her baby brother had been severely injured by those ninja. And Megumi, whom she'd once told was weak without chakra, had not only healed her and Kiba but killed every one of those attackers.
"You can never be strong like me," Megumi said bluntly.
He wasn't one to give people false hope. Even his only friend's dream of becoming a shinobi had been ruined by him. Nothing personal.
Hearing his reply, Hana's eyes filled with tears ready to spill.
She burst into sobs, never expecting Megumi to say such things.
Why were tears so common among Naruto's female characters? Couldn't they be more like Mei from JJK?
Megumi moved closer and embraced her in a hug. He saw nothing wrong with it. He'd been shameless before, and now his emotions were sealed away.
Tsume entered and saw them in that position. Not seeing anything amiss, she left.
Megumi sensed her presence and ended his actions.
"Don't worry. I'll find what suits you better." He patted her head, causing Hana's face to turn red as she looked down.
Baby Kiba started crying. Hana moved to comfort him.
"Sorry, I have things to do outside," Megumi excused himself from the siblings.
He didn't have a younger brother in this life or the last. He'd always been a loner and a loser.
Outside, Megumi found Tsume talking to some elders.
They looked back and saw him. Their argument stopped immediately.
"Megumi, we've collected blood from everyone in the clan," Tsume said.
"Okay, I'll get started tonight."
Megumi lifted the bucket as if it weighed nothing. Even the elders marveled at this kid's physique.
Afterward, Tsume helped Megumi acquire the property he'd requested, decorating it with the finest furnishings a daimyo's house could have. Putting everything together took considerable time. The exterior still needed development, which Megumi wanted to handle himself.
Late that night, most of the clan had gone to bed, leaving only the important members at the front of their houses.
"Everyone's gone to bed as you requested," Tsume said, approaching Megumi.
He'd insisted on working late at night.
Megumi immediately stood.
"Divine Dog: Totality."
He summoned it to help carry the blood.
Megumi created four clones, surprising the elders, Tsume, and the high-ranking members. They couldn't sense chakra from the clones, and worse, couldn't differentiate the real Megumi from the copies.
With a nod, the clones ran to the four corners of the clan compound.
Once in position, they began forming hand signs like proper ninja. Megumi had learned from Kushina and experimented on the Root members. He'd refined it into his own version: the Curse Sealing Barrier.
This barrier only allowed residents whose blood was used in its creation to enter easily. Outsiders would be blocked unless accompanied by an Inuzuka clan member.
He could sense both Root and ANBU now treating the Inuzuka like they did the Uchiha, constantly spying. With this barrier, they couldn't see anything. That's why he'd chosen night, to confuse them. Even if they saw him use clones, who were they to order him around like their dog? He was immortal now. He wouldn't tolerate political games from those two old geezers.
"Are you done?" Tsume asked. Megumi hadn't left the circle where he stood, only creating four clones that moved in separate directions.
"Yes." Megumi nodded. He'd already explained the barrier's functions to Tsume. Now he wanted them to experience it themselves.
The elders went to check, but found nothing visible.
"Are you messing with us?" said one elder who'd never welcomed Megumi into the clan.
"Calm down. We're still checking," another member said.
Megumi was now one hundred percent certain every clan had its Judas among the elders.
"Tsume, this is what I warned you about. He'll bring nothing but trouble," the old man kept spouting nonsense that even some of his supporters couldn't tolerate anymore.
"Are you calling him a fraud now, after he healed your amputated hand from the Second World War? Think before you speak."
The man whose illness Megumi had cured, whose son's injuries he'd healed, held Megumi in high regard. He knew not even Tsunade, called the best medical ninja, could regrow limbs like this boy did. He'd never allow a fool who wasn't present that night to disparage his savior.
"So what if he did? We were attacked because Clan Head Tsume ignored our warnings. This boy's mother had no business mingling with the Sarutobi or Shimura clans, unlike how the Nara maintained their Ino-Shika-Cho alliance."
"Why do you think they banished him and his useless mother from the Nara clan?"
"She's still owing her clan that took care of her. She betrayed them and got slapped with a debt."
He walked to the other elders, gripping their shoulders. "Don't you see? She wanted her son to marry Hana so he'd pay the debt."
"How can we be sure she isn't faking her death?"
Megumi hadn't expected these old bastards to start their political maneuvering so soon. But he knew this man wouldn't get away with it.
"Danzo sent you, right? Don't worry. I don't care or give a damn about your clan."
"And if you don't know, I'm richer and stronger than your entire clan combined."
Megumi knew Danzo used these old fools like tools. He'd be the one to break every last one of them.
"I heard you regained your hand thanks to my mistake. Give it back and go tell that bastard Danzo he should regrow a new one for you."
"What? How dare you speak to me like that and insult the honorable Hokage Advisor, Lord Danzo!" The elder foamed at the mouth, seeing how direct and disrespectful Megumi was.
Megumi flash-stepped before the elder, Heavenly Spear in his grip.
"I heard you weren't around when the clan was attacked. For outsiders to know where my body was located means you sold me and your own clan out."
Megumi tore open the old man's chest with his weapon, then let him crawl out from the clan grounds. The other elders said nothing, and even Tsume couldn't accept that an elder would sell his own people for power.
The elderly man could only drag himself outside the barrier as he bled out.
Three Root members emerged from the trees where they'd been hiding.
"Help me! Take me to the hospital!" the elder commanded them.
The man's voice interrupted the members' meeting.
"Since you're useless to Lord Danzo and the village, death is the price."
The trio circled and stabbed him.
They incinerated his corpse with fire, but one Root member noticed the man's blood should have appeared on the other side, toward the clan where he'd come from.
He walked over and discovered something blocking his entry. An invisible barrier. The old man had been bait, and they'd fallen into the trap.
Before he could turn and warn his colleagues, Tsume pierced his heart.
Looking up for help, he discovered his teammates already cut down by an abnormal wolf.
Megumi read their memories and confirmed Danzo was calling the shots. He faced Tsume, still angry, then glanced at the elders. Some emotions read as happy, others sad.
"I'm cutting my ties with your clan right now. No Inuzuka except Hana is permitted on my property. The consequence is death."
He disappeared from their compound. He didn't have to be the good guy trying to save everyone anymore.
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