"Too terrifying."
"Yeah, too terrifying."
"Why are you copying me?"
"I should be asking why you're copying me."
The wooden door wobbled slightly. Sarasa and Machi stared at each other, clinging to the edge of the door and peeking into the room.
Uvogin, Phinks, Franklin, and the other little Spiders looked grave. Noticing Chrollo's strange state, Shalnark fiddled with the broken digital watch in his hand, saying anxiously, "Chrollo must be caught in that person's genjutsu, thinking about something terrifying."
"I know about the Sharingan." To coordinate with Chrollo for the performance, the role he played was the "Second Pillar" (Sasuke). Shalnark swallowed. "Did you guys read the latest issue of 'Pot Shadow Ninja'?"
"After the Chunin Exams, Itachi and Kisame invaded Konoha. First, he used a genjutsu to repel Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu."
"Then he used 'Tsukuyomi' on Kakashi, and in front of Asuma and Kurenai, he tortured him in the genjutsu space for a full 72 hours!"
"Franklin... I don't think we can wait. Chrollo definitely can't take this."
The big brother's face was grim. He said nothing, his two fan-like hands clenched tightly. Clearly, his heart was no calmer than Shalnark's.
"Heh, a bunch of cowards! What are you afraid of?" Uvogin glanced at Franklin. 'Useless.' "It's just a genjutsu! Use the same spirit you use to fight me, Franklin! Rush in and grab him!"
"You're not afraid? Then you go." Franklin gave him a push with his large hand.
Uvogin burst through the door, stumbling into the room.
"Young Master." Tsubone glanced at Sean. Sean waved his hand, signaling that it was fine. He looked at Uvogin with great interest, then glanced at the doorway, a faint smile on his face. "What? Is something wrong?"
'F*ck you, Franklin!' Uvogin cursed inwardly. The moment he looked up and met Sean's Sharingan, he couldn't help but shiver. He scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. "The moon is pretty round tonight, ha... Huh? Chrollo?!"
"I've been looking all over for you, so this is where you were." Pretending to have "just noticed Chrollo," Uvogin strode over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "The rehearsal isn't finished. The priest sent me to tell you to come back."
Chrollo's body trembled. He looked up, his eyes brimming with tears. Seeing Uvogin, he lunged forward and hugged him tightly. "Uvogin, you died so miserably! It was me... It was all my fault!"
"I was useless! I failed to protect everyone!"
"Don't hate me!"
Uvogin froze, then flew into a rage. "What the f*ck are you talking about!"
He landed a huge slap straight across Chrollo's face. Uvogin grabbed Chrollo's collar and shook him violently. "Open your damn eyes and look carefully!"
"I'm alive and well!"
There were only two ways to break the Sharingan's genjutsu: first, the intervention of a third party, and second, breaking out of the genjutsu space on one's own.
Chrollo's aura nodes weren't open; he couldn't use "Nen" at all. Uvogin, on the other hand—
"This big idiot. He looks oafish, but his mind is quite sharp." Maha glanced at Uvogin. "Brute force breaks all techniques. If he awakens 'Nen', he'll probably be good material for the 'Enhancer' category."
"The old master's eye is as sharp as ever." Netero studied Uvogin carefully, agreeing deeply. "Strong limbs, abundant vitality, not bad physical constitution, and on top of that..."
"He knew his little companion was caught in the Sharingan's genjutsu, but he still dared to rush in. He doesn't lack courage either."
Zigg chuckled. 'The two old codgers are playing dumb. Did he rush in on his own? He was clearly pushed in, okay?'
'See it, but don't say it.' Zigg poured tea into Maha's and Netero's cups, saying faintly, "Children from Meteor City are naturally more united than ordinary kids. This is only because Sean had no killing intent. Otherwise, if it were Illumi, he, and all those eavesdropping outside the door, wouldn't be alive today."
The world's number one assassin family was no joke. 'Don't talk if you can act' had always been Illumi's creed. Sean, as his older brother, being born into the Zoldyck family, could only be called an anomaly.
His thoughts drifted. Zigg adjusted his point of view.
The scene changed.
After taking that solid slap from Uvogin, Chrollo came to his senses, slowly waking up. He reached up and touched his cheek. Tears streamed down, crying in a way that wasn't like him at all.
"It's real... Uvogin, take me away. I don't want to stay here." Chrollo wrapped his legs around Uvogin's waist, his back to Sean, and buried his head in Uvogin's chest. He greedily inhaled his sweaty smell, not saying another word.
It seemed he had already forgotten... why he had come.
Uvogin's mouth twitched. He cursed inwardly: 'What the hell did you experience in that illusion?!'
It was the first time he had ever seen Chrollo act so girlish. Forcing back his disgust, he gave Sean a nervous laugh. "Sorry. The priest is waiting anxiously... we'll be heading back now."
After speaking, Uvogin didn't even dare to lift his head, let alone meet Sean's eyes. He oiled his soles and bolted, carrying Chrollo.
'Dammit! Just you wait 'til I get back, Franklin! I'll rip your goddamn skull off!'
"Tap, tap." The fur-lined boots, filled with a wild aesthetic, struck the floor with a firm, strong sound.
The corner of Sean's mouth hooked up. He didn't stop the two, letting them leave. He suddenly called out, "I'm looking forward to your performance tomorrow!"
Uvogin's footsteps paused for a moment, then he accelerated violently, scrambling faster than a rabbit, and vanished from the room in an instant.
"Young Master, those kids all came." Noticing the door snap shut, Tsubone reminded Sean.
Relying on [En], the little Spiders had nowhere to hide. They had no idea that from the moment they appeared in the hallway, they had already been spotted!
"So... this is a real 'bond', huh." Sean shrugged indifferently, chuckled, and dispelled his Sharingan.
The tomoe vanished, and the crimson color faded. A burning pain washed over his eye socket. The boy waved his hand. Tsubone locked the door. He walked to the window, his back to Tsubone, pretending to admire the moonlight while quietly taking a breath.
[Detecting current 'Aura' deficit in Host. It is recommended that Host rests as soon as possible to recover 'Aura'.]
"Just using one genjutsu caused an aura deficit?"
"'Sage', don't look down on me." Sean received the 'Sage's' reminder, gripped the window frame, and let out a suppressed, low laugh. 'Compared to recovering 'aura', it's better to take another step forward!'
"Getting 'Nen ability' training on the schedule as soon as possible is the true path!"
Night. The bright moon hung high. The boy raised his head, looking at the stars, a plan already faintly forming in his mind.