The night pressed heavy on the ruined forest. Smoke still drifted from shattered earth walls and splintered trees. The corpses of the fallen lay cold, but three bodies still drew shallow, ragged breaths, bound by Davion's golden chains.
He sat hunched against a tree, sweat dripping down his temple. The crown that once flared above him was gone, replaced by the golden six-pointed star etched deep in his mind. He could see it whenever he closed his eyes, spinning slowly like a cosmic compass.
His body tingled with new energy, his veins buzzing with currents he'd never known before. Chakra.
When he pressed his palms together and focused, blue light rose faintly from his skin. It danced through pathways he hadn't known existed, coiling and uncoiling like serpents.
Memories that weren't his whispered in his mind: hand signs, stances, even all the syllables of a foreign tongue and their meaning. Japanese he now understood it.
He whispered experimentally, the words slipping out smoother than they should have."Doton: Doryūheki."(Earth Release: Earth Wall.)
The hand seals formed almost by instinct, his fingers moving as if they'd practiced a thousand times. He cut himself short before releasing it, panting.
"That man's language, his jutsu… they're in my head," he murmured, shaking. "Mi… mi tek everyting from him. (I… I took everything from him.)"
John Stewart stood a few paces away, lantern ring glowing faintly as he kept watch. He didn't look back, but his deep voice carried. "You're not done yet, are you?"
Davion's gaze drifted to the other two bound ninjas. Both were unconscious, bloodied, barely clinging to life. His stomach knotted.
He knew what the golden star in his mind urged him to do.
Plunder.
His fists clenched. "If I stop now… mi ago dead when stronger ones come. (I'll die when stronger ones come.)"
John didn't answer. He simply stood sentinel, letting Davion decide.
Davion knelt beside the next ninja, a lean man with burns across his armor. He closed his eyes, focusing on the star between his brows. It pulsed, sending a golden channel outward, latching onto the man's flickering soul.
A floodgate opened.
Davion's head snapped back, golden light pouring from his eyes as another torrent of memories, sensations, and power slammed into him.
The man's life unfolded before him—training with swords, sparring with comrades, lightning arcing across steel. Hours spent refining chakra until it danced like sparks around his fists.
"He was from the land of earth, and they had been here trying to snoop around the Senju clan, since it was rumored they were allying with other clans in the land of fire
Davion screamed, clutching his skull. His veins burned as new chakra surged into his body, hotter and sharper than before. Lightning.
Syllables imprinted into his tongue:"Raiton: Denki no Tekken."(Lightning Release: Electric Fist.)
The body beneath him went limp. Davion staggered back, gasping, smoke rising faintly from his skin.
He should have stopped. His head throbbed like it was splitting apart. His vision blurred.
But the star pulsed again, hungry. The last ninja lay before him, blood seeping from his wounds.
Davion pressed his palm to the man's chest. Golden energy flared, swallowing the body in a rush of light.
This time the torrent was broader, fiercer. Wind howled in his mind, roaring with the force of storms. Flames licked at his skin, searing him from within.
He saw the man's life: fire jutsu practiced in clearing fields, wind blades cutting through targets, missions of slaughter carried out for coin.
Hand signs branded themselves into Davion's memory:"Fūton: Daitoppa."(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.)
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.)
He collapsed to his knees, screaming as if his skull would burst. Blood trickled from his nose, his ears ringing with phantom echoes. The star in his mind flared blindingly, then dimmed, fading from his forehead entirely.
John was there in an instant, gripping his shoulder. "My King! Stay with me!"
Davion's breaths came ragged, his whole body trembling. He felt swollen with energy, chakra coursing through every limb like a raging river. His reserves had multiplied, deepened, thickened. It was almost too much for his body to contain.
"Mi head… mi head a mash up! (My head… my head is breaking apart!)" he groaned, clutching his skull.
John steadied him, voice firm but not unkind. "You pushed too far. That power isn't free—you pay for every piece you take. You need to ground yourself. Control it."
Davion nodded weakly. He pressed his palms together, forcing his mind to still. In his inner vision, the golden star flickered faintly. No longer outside, but etched within. When he focused between his brows, he could see it in his mindscape, glowing like a silent guardian.
Images cascaded behind it: training sequences, chakra control drills, language lessons burned into the stolen souls. He understood the rhythm of molding chakra, the circulation patterns, even the meaning of written kanji and spoken phrases.
"It's all here," he whispered hoarsely. "Their language, their ninjutsu, even how they trained… mi tek it all."
John's lips thinned. "And what did it cost them?"
Davion looked at the limp corpses, then at his trembling hands. Guilt clawed at him. But beneath it, power thrummed, undeniable.
"If mi nuh tek it… mi guh dead...soona or lata. (If I don't take it… I will die.....sooner or later)"
John didn't argue. He simply released him and stepped back.
Two hours passed. The night lifted into dawn, shafts of sunlight piercing the trees. Davion's headache dulled, leaving only exhaustion and a gnawing hunger.
But beneath it all pulsed his new power.
He stood in a clearing, eyes shut, focusing on the energy inside him. Chakra swirled in vast reserves—far more than before. A Special Jōnin's worth, though he didn't know the title. It felt like a furnace in his belly, radiating outward with each breath.
"Alright," he muttered. "Time fi test dis."
He began with basics. Channeling chakra to his feet, he ran toward a tree. His first attempt ended with him slamming chest-first into the bark. He groaned, sliding down.
John smirked faintly. "Focus, don't brute force it. Control."
Davion tried again. This time he felt the chakra cling to the bark, pulling him upward. He scaled halfway before losing balance and tumbling back, but he laughed breathlessly.
"Mi dweet it! (I did it!)"
Next came water. He found a small stream nearby, stepping onto the surface. The chakra wavered at first, his foot sinking into the cold current. He steadied, exhaled, and focused. Slowly, his soles rested atop the water, ripples dancing outward.
He spread his arms wide, laughing. "Mi a walk pon wata! (I'm walking on water!)"
Then came jutsu......
His hands formed seals almost of their own accord. He inhaled deeply, chakra pooling in his chest, and roared:"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"A fireball burst from his lips, slamming into the opposite bank, scorching the grass black.
The thrill of it sent shivers down his spine.
He tried again, channeling wind chakra."Fūton: Daitoppa!"A powerful gust exploded outward, toppling branches and scattering leaves like confetti.
Then lightning. He thrust out his palm, chakra sparking violently."Raiton: Denki no Tekken!"Electricity danced across his fist, crackling bright. He struck a tree, bark splintering from the shock.
Davion staggered back, panting, chest heaving. Each jutsu drained him, but his reserves were vast enough to recover quickly.
He fell to his knees, laughing breathlessly. "Mi powerful now. Mi cyaan believe it. (I'm powerful now. I can't believe it.)"
John crossed his arms, watching with a mix of wariness and approval. "You're learning fast. Faster than you should. That's the King's power, isn't it?"
Davion nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. His gaze lingered on the corpses beyond the clearing.
"But every gain… is blood."
He looked at his glowing hands, then clenched them tight.
"This road… it cruel. But mi haffi walk it. (This road… it's cruel. But I have to walk it.)"