The Reason

At that moment, Kurenai's smile vanished, and she stared at Narak with a guarded expression!

Kurenai Yuhi believed that many people in the village knew about Yakumo of the Kurama Clan. After all, the Kurama Clan was a second-rate clan in the village, and as the daughter of the former clan head, it was hardly surprising that Yakumo was well known.

But Kurenai certainly didn't believe Narak had come over so late at night just to ask who Yakumo was.

Seeing Kurenai's wariness, Narak spread his hands and said to her, "Miss Kurenai, you don't need to worry. I have no ill will toward Yakumo. I originally came here just to try my luck, but seeing how guarded you are around me, it seems you also know about Yakumo's mental condition. Looks like I came to the right person!"

"What do you mean? What do you mean by Yakumo's mental condition? I don't know what you're talking about. It's late, so please go home, Narak-kun!"

Uneasy, Kurenai directly ordered Narak to leave.

"Miss Kurenai, I told you I have no ill intentions. At least hear me out before asking me to leave!"

Ignoring Kurenai's dismissal, Narak calmly began explaining how he had met Yakumo during the day.

"During the day, I ran into Yakumo painting outdoors. At first, I only wanted to greet her, but then I realized that something seemed wrong with her body. She didn't show anything unusual at the time, but I could clearly sense that the person standing in front of me seemed to be not one person, but two!"

"At first, I thought someone was hiding nearby. But I secretly activated my Byakugan and saw that there was indeed only her in front of me. I trust that my Byakugan wouldn't make a mistake, so there was only one possibility: there had to be some kind of problem deep within her soul."

"So, after I went home, I told my father about it. But he didn't know much either. He only said that several years ago, the head of the Kurama Clan and his wife had mysteriously died in a fire. After that, their daughter vanished from public view and was isolated at the Satomi Hill Estate!"

"Oh, and he also said that you used to be Yakumo's private tutor. If there was some hidden truth involved, you should know more about it, which is why I took the liberty of disturbing you!"

Of course, Narak didn't say that he knew everything about Yakumo. He merely claimed that the two of them had met by chance during the day, that he had discovered something unusual about her, and that he had followed the clues to Kurenai.

After he finished speaking, Narak picked up his teacup and took a sip, then waited for Kurenai's reaction.

Kurenai gradually lowered her guard after hearing what Narak had said.

"I see. Then did you come here this time to ask me something?"

Hearing Kurenai's question, Narak put down his teacup and said, "Before we parted, I asked Yakumo for the painting she had just finished. At first glance, it's a landscape painting of blue skies, white clouds, green mountains, and clear waters. But if you look closely, you'll find that whether it's the mountain rocks or the shadows of the trees, they all seem to be filled with resentment toward this world."

As he spoke, Narak took the painting from inside his robe and handed it to Kurenai. Kurenai accepted it and looked at it for a while before sighing helplessly. "Sigh... I didn't expect Yakumo's resentment to have grown this strong."

But then she suddenly asked, "You said you could sense that Yakumo had two souls inside her? How is that possible? Even if you have the Byakugan, you shouldn't be able to see someone else's soul directly, should you?"

"That isn't an ability of my Byakugan. It comes from another power of mine. I'm afraid I can't tell you the specifics. Sorry!"

"Is that so? Young people these days really are impressive. Then did you come here today because you want to know about Yakumo's past?"

"Knowing about Yakumo's past is only one part of it. More importantly, I want to see if there's a way to separate—or even kill—the soul filled with evil thoughts inside her."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid that if this continues, the evil soul will grow stronger and stronger. By then, the real Yakumo will be devoured. I'm sure that's something you wouldn't want to see either, Miss Kurenai!" Narak told Kurenai what he truly had in mind.

"That's simply impossible!" Kurenai immediately rejected Narak's suggestion.

"Actually, the Third Hokage had the same idea several years ago. But after trying several times, he still couldn't kill that monster. After all, it's hiding deep within Yakumo's soul. If we use force, we'll inevitably hurt Yakumo as well!"

Kurenai then told Narak the whole story.

Every few generations, someone with abilities far beyond those of their peers would appear in the Kurama Clan. In this generation, that person was Yakumo.

However, Yakumo had been physically weak since childhood. She would be exhausted after training for only a short while. So her parents stopped letting her study at the Ninja Academy, brought her home, and invited Kurenai Yuhi to tutor her.

After getting to know the girl, Kurenai also urged her to give up on becoming a ninja because she was worried about her health and to live the life of an ordinary person instead. Yakumo's parents likewise didn't want the child's health to deteriorate further from pushing herself too hard, so they agreed with Kurenai's decision. But as a result, Yakumo gave birth to resentment, while the monster of desire and revenge, Ido, began to take root within her heart.

Finally, one day, after Yakumo once again failed to convince her parents to let her become a ninja, the other self inside her completely broke free from its mental restraints and burned down the family home. Yakumo's parents perished in the flames. But because of her brain's self-protection mechanism, Yakumo completely forgot what had happened. She mistakenly believed that the Third Hokage had sent people to assassinate her parents and was also trying to kill her.

Because Yakumo's abilities were so terrifying, Konoha isolated her at Satomi Hill Estate. As Yakumo's instructor, Kurenai often went to visit her, but in return, she received treatment that grew increasingly cold.

As for Ido inside Yakumo, all the Third Hokage and Kurenai could do was temporarily seal away both it and Yakumo's abilities.

"I see!" Narak already knew everything, yet he deliberately put on an expression of sudden realization. His performance was so vivid that it was a shame he hadn't become an actor. Even the Oscars owed him a little golden statuette.

"So your plan to separate or even destroy Ido is fundamentally impossible. In principle, the two of them are actually one entity. If we use force, we'll only hurt Yakumo, and might even further strengthen Ido. That's the conclusion the Third Hokage and I reached after confirming it several times," Kurenai said with some helplessness.

"Actually, I may have a way to help her destroy Ido!"

Narak thought for a moment, then slowly spoke to Kurenai.