Lin Shuo: Little Mu, Tell Me What Exactly Qian An Did to You

The instant Susanoo's skeleton dissipated above Lumina Square, Lin Shuo fell from twenty meters up.

He barely managed to adjust his posture, his legs plowing two deep furrows through the tiles on Kaidan House's roof, sending rubble flying.

"Cough-"

His internal organs hurt as though they had been put through a blender.

Less than a tenth of his chakra remained, his ocular power had bottomed out, and the dizziness that came when his Sharingan automatically deactivated nearly brought him to his knees.

But he had no time to rest.

Because the sight before him hurt his heart more than his wounds did.

On Kaidan House's second floor, Yuzuha's room-or what had once been her room-was now unrecognizable.

Scalding steam had melted large gaps through the walls, the wooden floor was blackened and warped, and the air reeked of sulfur and burned protein.

In the middle of the room, Little Mu lay curled on the floor, her entire body wrapped in a white, steaming Tailed Beast Cloak. Five tails of steam lashed wildly behind her, each swing leaving fresh scorch marks on the walls.

Her green eyes had turned a murky gold, her pupils dilated, and incoherent whimpers escaped her mouth.

Lucia knelt beside her, both hands pressing down on Little Mu's shoulders, her forehead covered in sweat. Her blue sheep horns glowed faintly-a sign that her "Night Watchers" talent was fully activated. She was trying to soothe Kokuō through resonance.

But it had little effect.

"Little Mu! Look at me! It's Mommy!"

Lucia's voice trembled.

"It's okay... it's okay... take deep breaths..."

"Ugh... aaaah-!!!"

Little Mu suddenly screamed. Steam erupted, blasting Lucia away and into the wall.

"Lucia!" Yuzuha rushed over to support her.

In a corner of the room, Lin You and Lin Yue stood back to back.

Lin You's Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun furiously, several kunai clutched in her hand-but her hand was shaking. Though Lin Yue's three tomoe remained stable, her face was pale; she was clearly struggling to hold on too.

"Dad!" Lin You's eyes lit up when she saw Lin Shuo, but immediately filled with anxiety again. "Little Mu suddenly-"

"I know."

Lin Shuo braced himself against the wall and stood, activating his three tomoe again-his vision was blurry, but it was enough to see the flow of energy inside Little Mu.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

* [System, scan Little Mu's Ether/chakra status.]*

[Scanning...]

[Target: Little Mu (Five-Tails Jinchuriki · Amnesiac state)]

[Internal Tailed Beast Chakra: Stable (Bangboo transformation separation 87% complete)]

[Rampage trigger: Traces of external mental interference detected-suspected activation of a deep hypnosis command]

[Command: Upon sensing specific Ether fluctuations (matching Qian An's corrupt miasma signature), forcibly awaken Kokuō's residual consciousness and induce a rampage]

[Removal method: Host must intervene with high-precision Sharingan Genjutsu to erase the hypnotic command. Estimated cost: Over 60% of remaining ocular power. Upon completion, host will enter a weakened state lasting 3-5 days]

Lin Shuo's pupils contracted.

Just as expected.

Just as he'd guessed-Little Mu's amnesia and rampage were both Qian An's doing.

That bastard had planted a "time bomb" in her subconscious when he captured her in Solov Hollow.

The purpose was obvious: hold Lin Shuo back and buy himself time to escape.

"Damn it..."

Lin Shuo gritted his teeth and forced himself through the dizziness toward Little Mu.

"Yuzuha, take Lucia, Lin You, and Lin Yue out of the room-at least get back to the hallway."

"But Shuo, the state you're in-"

"Do it!"

Lin Shuo's voice carried an unquestionable pressure.

Yuzuha bit her lip, but ultimately helped Lucia up and pulled the two girls out with her.

Only Lin Shuo and Little Mu remained in the room.

The steam's temperature kept rising, warping the air like a road on a midsummer afternoon.

Little Mu raised her head, her murky golden eyes fixed on Lin Shuo, a beastlike growl rising in her throat.

"Kokuō." Lin Shuo infused chakra into his voice. "I know you can hear me-what's controlling Little Mu's body right now isn't you. It's a command some bastard planted. Work with me to erase it."

"Ugh... Lin... Shuo...?"

Little Mu's voice came in broken fragments, as though two consciousnesses were fighting for control.

"It hurts... inside my head... something's burrowing..."

"I know." Lin Shuo walked up to her and crouched. "Look at me."

Little Mu struggled to lift her gaze.

The instant their eyes met, Lin Shuo's Sharingan changed again.

The three tomoe spun and reformed, revealing the Mangekyō pattern-his vision was blurry, but his ocular power remained.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan."

It was not an attack, but an infiltration.

Lin Shuo's consciousness followed the connection between their gazes into Little Mu's mental world.

This place was a field of ruins.

Not physical ruins, but ruins of memory.

Shattered images floated in the air: Lucia from a parallel world smiling, her father Lin Shuo (a variant) teaching her to throw knives, Kokuō's gentle murmurs, the spacetime turbulence during her crossing...

And in the middle of the ruins stood a figure.

Little Mu-Little Mu's spiritual form, crouched on the ground with her arms around her knees, dark red chains wrapped around her.

The other ends of the chains connected to a twisted, constantly writhing lump of flesh.

Eyes covered its surface, every one repeating the same words:

[Awaken, destroy, slaughter]

The hypnotic command made manifest.

"Little Mu." Lin Shuo walked over.

Little Mu's spiritual form looked up, her green eyes full of tears.

"Daddy Shuo... that thing... it keeps talking... I can't make it go away..."

"I'll help you."

Lin Shuo reached out and touched the chains.

Dark red corrupt miasma surged up through his fingertips, carrying Qian An's distinctive mental contamination, full of hatred and madness.

Normally, contamination of this level would have meant little to Lin Shuo.

But now, he was in terrible shape.

With every inch of chain he erased, his dizziness worsened, and black spots began appearing in his Sharingan's field of vision.

But he did not stop.

Black flames ignited on his fingers-a miniature version of Amaterasu, burning not matter, but "concepts."

Burning the mental contamination Qian An had left behind.

"Hiss..."

The chains melted in the black flames, and the lump of flesh let out a silent scream.

Eyes burst one after another, splattering pus.

But the more he erased, the greater the drain on Lin Shuo.

He could feel his ocular power rapidly draining away, like a reservoir with its floodgates open.

[Warning: Host's remaining ocular power at 23%, below safe threshold. Continuing removal will cause irreversible damage to the Mangekyō]

The system notification rang out in his mind.

Lin Shuo ignored it.

He bit the tip of his tongue, using the pain to keep himself conscious, and continued burning.

The last chain.

The lump of flesh had shrunk to the size of a fist, but at its core, the largest eye stared fixedly at Lin Shuo.

Qian An's twisted smile was reflected in it.

[You can't save everyone, Lin Shuo]

[Just as you couldn't save Yuejian back then]

Lin Shuo's gaze sharpened.

The black flames surged, instantly engulfing the final eyeball.

"Aaaaah-!!!"

In the real world, Little Mu let out a piercing scream, and then her steaming Tailed Beast Cloak abruptly dissipated.

She slumped to the floor, her eyes returning to emerald green as she gasped for breath.

In the mental world, the chains and the lump of flesh vanished completely.

Little Mu's spiritual form threw herself into Lin Shuo's arms and burst into tears.

"Daddy Shuo... I remember... I remember everything..."

"When I woke up in Solov Hollow... that man in red caught me... he stuck a needle in my neck... and said, 'This is a gift for you'..."

"And then... I couldn't remember anything..."

Lin Shuo gently patted her back.

"It's okay now... it's all over..."

But his body had already reached its limit.

The instant he withdrew from the mental world, a violent backlash struck.

Lin Shuo's vision went black. He fell to his knees and coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

His Mangekyō automatically deactivated, and his vision plunged into complete darkness-not temporary loss of sight, but total blindness from overdrawn ocular power that would last at least three days.

His ears rang, and even Little Mu's crying grew distant.

"Shuo!"

Yuzuha rushed in and caught his swaying body.

"How are you?!"

"...Won't die." Lin Shuo's voice was hoarse. "Little Mu?"

"She's okay! The steam stopped, and Lucia's looking after her!" Yuzuha sounded close to tears. "But your eyes-"

"I just can't see for now." Lin Shuo tried to sound casual. "Help me sit down... I need... a few minutes' rest..."

Far more than a few minutes.

The system's estimated three-to-five-day period of weakness now seemed too short.

With this degree of overexertion, he would need at least a week to recover.

And Qian An...

Leaning against the wall, Lin Shuo gave a bitter twitch of his lips.

He had missed the best chance to hunt him down.

Missed it completely.

Five days later.

Lumina Square, the ramen stall.

Lin Shuo sat behind the counter, a thin layer of gauze covering his eyes-not medical supplies, but something Yuzuha had forced him to wear, saying it was "to keep the dust out."

It was unnecessary, really.

Because even by that morning, only about a tenth of his vision had returned.

He could barely make out people's silhouettes within three meters; anything farther away was a blur of color.

But at least he could take care of himself now.

"Dad, your soup's going to get cold."

Lin You pushed a bowl of tonkotsu ramen in front of him, her green eyes full of worry.

"Little You blew on it to cool it down for you~"

"...Thank you." Lin Shuo picked up his chopsticks, locating the bowl through memory and touch.

Over the past few days, the women in the family (including the Bangboo) had cared for him like a critically ill patient.

Yuzuha handled three meals a day, Lucia changed his dressings, and Lin You and Lin Yue took turns acting as his "guide dogs." Shukaku and the others had even formed a "patrol squad," keeping watch around the ramen stall twenty-four hours a day.

Heartwarming as it was, the thorn in Lin Shuo's heart remained.

Qian An had escaped.

Five days earlier, Hoshimi Miyabi's Hollow Special Operations Section 6 had intercepted him on the outskirts of Lemnos Hollow-or rather, he had lured them onto a prepared battlefield.

The battle had lasted six hours.

The outcome was just as Lin Shuo had expected: over half of Section 6 were killed or wounded, Hoshimi Miyabi herself was severely injured (though her strength as a Void Hunter and her family's treasured blade, Tailless, had kept her alive), and Qian An had escaped unscathed amid Tsukishiro Yanagi's interference.

That morning's headline read: [Hollow Special Operations Section 6 Chief Hoshimi Miyabi Heroically Wounded; Qian An, Leader of The Order's Remnants, Remains at Large; Defense Force Announces Full-Scale Manhunt]

The accompanying images showed Hoshimi Miyabi lying in a medical pod and Qian An's wanted poster-the bounty had risen to ten billion Denny.

But Lin Shuo knew they would not catch him.

The dark purple drug Qian An had injected had clearly enhanced him far beyond expectations. He was no longer a "Half-Ethereal Transformation subject," but some kind of... monster closer to a fully formed Ethereal, yet retaining human intelligence.

Once an enemy like that hid deep inside a Hollow, he was like a fish entering the sea.

Finding him again would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.