Jūgo

Crack!

The orange-haired boy playing with the birds and beasts looked alarmed. He sprang to his feet and turned around, only to see a white-haired boy with a cool air standing nearby, watching him.

The orange-haired boy involuntarily clutched his right hand and shouted at Kimimaro, who had appeared beside him at some unknown point.

"P-please don't come any closer. I'll hurt you!"

With that, the orange-haired boy turned and fled in a panic, still calling for the white-haired boy not to come near him.

Kimimaro followed the orange-haired boy at an unhurried pace. In just a short while, the two passed through one stretch of dense woodland after another, finally arriving at a secluded cave.

Kimimaro watched the orange-haired boy disappear into the cave, then surveyed the area around it.

The cave was far from any settlement, and even birds and beasts rarely seemed to come near it. Yet there were signs of habitation everywhere, except...

Kimimaro looked at the mess of countless thick trees lying on the ground. He darted over to one of the broken trunks and found that its jagged break looked as though someone had smashed it in two with brute force.

"That strength is a little like Lord Shun's!"

Tap, tap, tap!

Kimimaro's footsteps drew closer to the cave, but he heard what sounded like the orange-haired boy crying.

"Please, whatever you do, don't come in! I don't want to hurt anyone!"

The voice was faintly recognizable as a child's, but it carried the weight of a beast's roar, as though he were struggling to suppress some monster. The crying orange-haired boy's voice was low and strained.

But the perceptive Kimimaro felt a fierce, savage aura rush toward him. His steps faltered for an instant before he continued forward.

"Kid, I understand your situation!"

Kimimaro's calm voice echoed through the cave. "I was once seen as a monster by my clansmen too!"

"Other than killing, I didn't know what meaning there was to life."

"D-do you know now?" The boy's voice had grown a little less deep.

"Sorry, I still don't!"

Kimimaro shook his head, but there was a trace of excitement in his voice.

"But someone told me that as long as I'm alive, I'll have a chance to find that meaning!"

"If you're lost..." Kimimaro's gaze softened for a moment. "Then follow in his footsteps for now!"

The dim cave fell silent once more. Then Kimimaro heard footsteps gradually drawing closer.

Kimimaro watched a golden light appear, and the boy stepped out before him with impossibly heavy footsteps.

By the faint light, Kimimaro saw how drastically the orange-haired boy's appearance had changed.

Black markings covered half the boy's face, and one eye had turned golden, with a beastlike pupil. Gray, wood-textured keratin had erupted from his arm, forming a huge, sharp axe and giving him an inhuman appearance.

"I-I really envy you!"

The orange-haired boy stammered, but then suddenly clutched his head in pain. "I-I can't control myself."

"It's all right!" Kimimaro placed a hand on the back of his own neck. "From now on, let me be your cage!"

As a beastly roar burst forth, no longer contained, Kimimaro pulled out his own spine, one vertebra at a time.

Boom!

The entire cave shook, and rocks and dust rained down.

Haku stood beside Dōmeki, looking at the cave entrance with some concern. "Lord Shun, will Kimimaro be all right? Should I-"

"Haku!"

Dōmeki stopped the anxious, delicate-looking boy. "Men can become close friends through sweat, fists, and blood. It wouldn't be a good idea to interrupt them!"

Haku looked at Dōmeki, his face covered in black lines. "Lord Shun, you're talking nonsense again!"

"I'm not talking nonsense!" Dōmeki glanced at Haku. "Men form friendships in all sorts of ways. Some brats give their first kiss to their bros, some perverts gain a harem with Thousand Years of Death, and some even make friends by stabbing people with Kunai!"

"Besides, look! Isn't it over already?" Dōmeki looked toward the cave, which had fallen quiet again.

Inside the cave.

The strange energy around the orange-haired boy, who was firmly bound by a chain made of vertebrae, gradually receded, and he returned to his normal appearance.

Kimimaro walked over to the boy, who was staring at him in a daze, and spoke softly. "Kimimaro, your cage from now on. I hope we get along!"

"J-Jūgo!"

A light of hope shone in the orange-haired boy's eyes.

"Lord Shun, this boy is Jūgo of the Scales!"

Kimimaro led Jūgo, who was a head taller than him, over to Dōmeki and bowed respectfully. The honest, simple orange-haired boy clumsily copied his friend's bow.

"Jūgo? That's a good name. I like you!" Dōmeki stood on tiptoe and patted the big fellow on the shoulder. There was no helping it; his age was a real handicap.

Jūgo scratched his head in embarrassment, but Kimimaro, standing beside him, told Dōmeki about Jūgo's condition with a grave expression.

"Lord Shun, about Jūgo's body..." Kimimaro looked at the boy expectantly. Although he could stop Jūgo whenever he went berserk as long as he stayed by his side, his own life...

Dōmeki scanned Jūgo up and down with his perception, making Jūgo feel as though his entire body had been seen through.

After a long moment of contemplation, Dōmeki ventured, "Jūgo's condition may be the same as yours, but it's more complicated!"

"You mean?" Kimimaro pressed.

"An imbalance of yin and yang!"

Dōmeki spoke at length. "If I'm not mistaken, Jūgo's Chakra natures may be yang, water, and earth, with his Yang Release being particularly strong."

"People with an affinity for Yang Release find it easier to attract Natural Energy, and Jūgo's body is far too unusual."

"His body automatically absorbs Natural Energy at every moment. Once it exceeds the limit, he enters an incomplete Sage Mode and loses control, going berserk."

"His condition seems a lot like that of a certain legendary figure!" Dōmeki said, somewhat puzzled.

"Who?" the three boys asked in puzzlement at once.

"The legendary God of Shinobi-Hashirama Senju."

Hashirama Senju was the reincarnation of Asura's Chakra, born with a sage's body. Thus, the earth, water, and yang Chakra in his body awakened into a special Kekkei Genkai-Wood Release! Moreover, he did possess a Sage Mode that he could enter at any time.

Dōmeki speculated, "If Jūgo wants to solve his problem, I think there are three ways."

"The first is to strengthen his spiritual energy. That can be done by increasing his Yin Release through some means, but it's a little difficult right now."

"Second, Jūgo could try learning a complete Sage Mode to control Natural Energy. I could ask Orochimaru about that later."

"As for the third..." Dōmeki reached out and pressed his right hand against Jūgo. Pitch-black chain markings spread from the boy's palm over Jūgo's body, gradually forming a spiral pattern and seal script before turning transparent and disappearing.

"This is a Ninjutsu I created by combining Magnet Release with the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu. It can temporarily suppress Jūgo's absorption of Natural Energy."

With the three of them staring at him in surprise, Dōmeki said calmly,

"Magnet Release: Eight Trigrams Sealing!"