When Ayame saw the fiery and direct look in Musashi's eyes, she finally realized what he meant.
With a clatter, the unopened gift in her hand fell to the floor in her fright.
Watching Musashi get closer and closer, she recalled the intense experience from not long ago and couldn't help but tremble.
"Musashi, don't..."
"Wait a second!"
"I haven't..."
The dagger was revealed; Musashi's intentions were laid bare.
"Big Sister, I can't wait any longer..."
"(??????)??"
"%￥@（&￥@!#&...）"
---
"Well? Did you hear anything?"
Outside the door, the two little ones were secretly hiding by the entrance.
Aoi Uchiha asked Karin Uzumaki.
The latter shook her head. "No, I didn't hear a thing."
Aoi: "How is that possible? This is their wedding night! Move over a bit! Let me try again!"
Karin: "Keep it down~ I'll move back a little, you try too."
Saying that, Karin slowly scooted back, allowing Aoi to press her ear against the door as well.
But after a long while, the two of them still heard absolutely no movement.
"Sigh~" Karin sighed softly.
"I knew it."
"There's a soundproofing barrier in Big Brother's room. It's useless for us to do this."
"Then what do we do?" Aoi was a bit unwilling to give up. She had stubbornly refused to go home with Izumi just for the rare chance to eavesdrop on the bridal chamber, and she hadn't expected it to turn out like this.
"Let me think," Karin said, biting her finger.
Several minutes passed, and Aoi couldn't help but ask, "Thought of anything yet?"
"Nope."
Aoi: "(#-_-) "
After a long while, Aoi finally gave up too. "Maybe we should just forget it and go to sleep early. With the soundproofing barrier, there's no way we can hear what's going on inside."
It was just eavesdropping on the wedding night; if they couldn't hear it, then so be it.
Karin frowned, thought for a moment, and said with some annoyance.
"No!"
"I have to hear it today!"
"I don't believe that a mere soundproofing barrier can stop me, Karin Uzumaki."
Aoi: "What other way could you possibly have?"
"I don't know, but I have to try."
Under Aoi's puzzled gaze, Karin pressed her ear tightly against the door, closed her eyes, and formed hand seals.
Maintaining an extremely awkward posture, she began to channel her chakra.
"You're..."
"Shh~ Don't talk."
Concentrating all her mental energy, she controlled her chakra, letting it slowly surge upward.
This was a unique inheritance technique of their Uzumaki clan.
It could elevate perception to a terrifying degree.
However, before today, she only knew the formula for the technique but had never successfully performed it.
She could overhear some whispers from classmates, but at a slightly further distance, the effect was very weak.
But today, she had a reason she absolutely had to succeed!
Separated by a single door were two different worlds.
Curiosity about the other, adult world, and an urgent desire to explore things concerning Musashi, drove her to give it her all, desperate to successfully cast the jutsu.
Tick-tock, tick-tock...
Time flowed quickly.
The room was silent; even the sound of the wall clock's hands moving was clearly audible.
Karin maintained her awkward and uncomfortable posture, feeling the muscles in her neck stiffen.
But she didn't give up.
All her mind and spirit were used to control her chakra and perform her jutsu.
One minute, two minutes... half an hour.
Finally, when the soreness in her muscles was about to turn into numbness, Karin finally heard it!
A tiny bit, a sliver of sound began to amplify.
From hazy and indistinct at the start, it gradually stabilized, becoming slowly audible and clear.
She! Karin Uzumaki! Finally, at the age of a fresh Academy graduate, had successfully mastered the Uzumaki clan's incredibly difficult sensory ninjutsu—The Mind's Eye of the Kagura (Kagura Shingan)!!
As one of the ninjutsu with the word "God" (Kami/Shin) in its name, the Mind's Eye of the Kagura was a powerful technique that very few people could master, even during the Uzumaki clan's prosperous era.
Some even considered it the strongest sensory detection jutsu.
Under normal circumstances, this would be enough to make Karin dance with joy.
But right now, she remained motionless, enduring the physical discomfort, using all her strength to perceive the world inside the door.
At first, there was only a tiny bit of sound.
Then, the sound gradually grew louder in her ears.
Under her super-strong perception, blurred lines and contours began to emerge in her mind.
Karin's face started to turn red, and her breathing became short and rapid, bit by bit.
Aoi Uchiha noticed something was wrong.
She hurriedly whispered, "How is it? What did you hear? Why can't I hear anything?"
Suppressing her excitement, Karin kept her eyes closed and whispered, "It's our Uzumaki clan's secret technique."
"It can drastically improve perception."
"If the target's chakra is known, the sensing ability increases even further."
Aoi's eyes lit up. "You heard it?"
"Wait! The way you put it, you can even 'see' it?"
"Shh~"
"Don't... don't talk."
"If I get distracted, I won't be able to hear it anymore."
Aoi immediately shut her mouth and made no sound.
Her big eyes stared excitedly at Karin in front of her, her bun trembling with agitation.
Time passed, second by second.
Karin's face grew redder and redder.
Gradually, beads of sweat oozed from her face.
Her breathing also became heavy and coarse.
She heard it, and she 'saw' it—a new world.
A world she had never experienced before, but one that shocked her to her core the very first time!
In this world.
There were violent storms she had never seen.
There were raging waves crashing against the shore she had never heard.
The dynamic rhythm made her heart clench tight.
The dancing lines made her sweat flow freely.
The soul-stirring movement trapped her spirit deep within it, making it impossible to escape.