Sage Body Jugo!

Orochimaru had not yet defected at this point, so Haku was still living happily with his parents.

His Kekkei Genkai had not awakened yet, much less been discovered.

Even if it had truly awakened, Minamoto Takuya had no plans to seek him out yet. Consider it one of his few acts of kindness—letting him enjoy that happy life a little longer.

As for helping him solve his problems, he had no such leisure.

Besides, he wanted Haku only as preparation for the future, and that would definitely have to wait until after the Nine-Tails Incident. So it made no difference whether he took him away now or not.

Moreover, it would still be somewhat useful to him if Haku grew up smoothly into the subordinate from the Original Work who could be manipulated at will.

Minamoto Takuya calculated the timing. It would soon be time to return to Konoha, so he needed to resolve Jugo's problem quickly.

The next moment, his figure vanished from inside the Experiment Base.

In a mountain forest near the Land of Waterfalls stood a rather peculiar village.

They had ordinary houses, but some people also pursued a life close to nature and lived in caves. The face of the mountain had been dug full of inhabitable caverns.

And Jugo, Minamoto Takuya's target, had been born in this village.

However, Jugo's physique made him more prone to unintentionally absorbing excessive Natural Energy, and he had no means of controlling it, so he often lost control and went berserk.

Thus, Jugo spent most of his time in the mountain forests outside the village, preventing his rampages from harming his companions and the villagers.

As for survival, Jugo could understand the language of nature, so he was rarely short on food. He also had caves to live in, and his physique had practically spared him from illness. In truth, he had no difficulties in daily life.

That day, as usual, Jugo wandered aimlessly through the forest with his not-so-small body.

His expressionless face listened to the many sounds made by animals.

Suddenly, he heard a little bird cry out in alarm, saying that a huge swallow-like figure had appeared in the sky.

"A swallow? Huge? Is it some new kind of animal?" Jugo could not help but wonder.

Then he saw a Black-Clad Man wearing a Fox Mask descend from the sky. A pair of enormous wings formed from a power that instinctively frightened him extended from the man's back, making him look like a swallow.

Minamoto Takuya looked at Jugo, surprise flickering in his eyes. He was only two or three years old, wasn't he?

That size? As expected of the tallest man in the Hokage world. It had already shown from childhood.

"Are you Jugo?" Minamoto Takuya asked.

"I am. Who are you?" Jugo asked curiously. At his young age, he did not yet know to be wary.

"Me? I am... forget it, that's not important." Minamoto Takuya had originally wanted to use that familiar line again, but Jugo was alone. Even if he said it, there would be no one to spread it.

At present, his identity as a ninja who collected strange things had begun to spread within certain circles, and in more than one place. Such an identity could sometimes be useful, so he had continued maintaining it.

"Jugo, you're troubled by the fact that you go berserk, aren't you?" Minamoto Takuya asked, looking at him.

Jugo immediately fell silent. He remembered the way his companions and the adults looked at him as though he were a monster. He had hidden himself alone in the forest—how could he not be troubled by it?

"You should understand as well that one day, you will lose control of your rampage and inevitably bring destruction to your village," Minamoto Takuya said again.

Jugo said nothing. He was still very young and did not think that far ahead, but he felt that the man's words made sense.

He looked at his palms. He remembered the hands that had turned monstrous whenever he went berserk. In the future... would he really hurt them?

At that thought, he hugged his knees and sat there, despondent.

At that moment, Minamoto Takuya's eyes quietly revealed a One Tomoe Sharingan. He stared into Jugo's eyes, and the single tomoe began to spin.

What he made Jugo see was a scene of himself transformed into a monster, wreaking destruction without restraint, while his village became a sea of flames.

"Th-this... was done by me?" Jugo asked in disbelief.

"If you do not leave with me, then this is what you will inevitably experience in the future," Minamoto Takuya replied.

Jugo's eyes widened. After a long while, he stared at Minamoto Takuya and asked, "Can you help me solve this problem?"

Minamoto Takuya fell silent at once, and Jugo's gaze gradually dimmed. Even someone this powerful had no solution?

After thinking for a while, Minamoto Takuya said, "Your rampages are caused by absorbing too much Natural Energy, while being completely unable to control it."

Jugo's eyes lit up. "If I can control Natural Energy, then I can..."

However, Minamoto Takuya immediately poured cold water over him. "Natural Energy is extremely difficult to control. By the time you manage it, it will already be too late."

Jugo's eyes dimmed again.

Minamoto Takuya glanced around at the surroundings and continued, "Staying in the forest is actually the wrong choice. The concentration of Natural Energy in the forest is far higher than in populated places, so you are more likely to go berserk here."

"So that's how it is?" Jugo suddenly understood, but his clan had always lived amid nature, and he had never considered leaving the forest.

"So leave with me. Go somewhere inhabited. I may not be able to eliminate the root cause of your rampages, but I can stop you when you go berserk," Minamoto Takuya said.

He did not want to say something like I will be your cage. It was too cringeworthy and too embarrassing. Kimimaro was at least the same age as Jugo. Wasn't it shameful for someone as old as him to say such things to a child?

"Can you really?" Jugo could not help but entertain the thought of leaving. If things were truly as Minamoto Takuya said, then leaving was the best choice, wasn't it?

"I can." Minamoto Takuya nodded.

He could not alter Jugo's Sage Body, but he could naturally use Sealing Jutsu to seal Jugo after he went berserk.

"Then... I'll go with you." Jugo quickly made his decision.

Minamoto Takuya's lips curled up. Another peaceful moment. He truly was a peace-loving person.

Though he had also been prepared to use force.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to the people in your village?" Minamoto Takuya asked, looking at Jugo, who was ready to leave with him without preparing anything.

"If I disappear, they won't notice. They won't be sad either." A trace of sorrow seeped through Jugo's seemingly calm voice.

Minamoto Takuya fell silent. In the end, he reached out and rubbed Jugo's head.

Poor kid.