No! He has to find a way to join this mission.
Haruki was physically at the training ground, but his mind was in Hanzō's office.
As soon as the sky above turned deep blue, Haruki immediately ran out of the training ground and headed towards Suzaku.
To figure out how to join Suzaku's mission, Haruki's crows had been monitoring Suzaku ever since Suzaku left Hanzō's office.
Knowing Suzaku's exact location, Haruki meticulously created a chance encounter with Suzaku.
"Brother Suzaku."
"What a coincidence!"
Haruki flashed from the other side of the street and ran towards Suzaku. He stopped in front of Suzaku and gave him a brilliant smile.
Suzaku snapped out of his thoughts, looked at Haruki's smiling face, and paused. "Why are you here?"
Suzaku looked around, this place was some distance from the training ground, so why did Haruki run all the way here?
Haruki looked at Suzaku, as if gauging his expression, afraid of making him angry, and whispered, "Actually, I came to find you."
Suzaku frowned, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes. "Did something happen?"
Otherwise, why would Haruki specifically come to find him?
Haruki looked up at Suzaku, his lips turned down, his eyes slightly red. "Nothing happened."
Hearing Haruki's answer, Suzaku not only didn't feel relieved but became even more worried. Haruki's reaction clearly showed something was wrong.
"What exactly happened?" Suzaku squatted in front of Haruki, looked at him, and asked seriously.
Haruki's eyes grew redder and redder. He sniffled, tears welling up in his eyes.
"I… I missed you, and you never came to find me. Aren't you my brother? If you don't come to find me, I can only come to find you myself…"
[Ding!]
[System detected Suzaku's affection value +5000.]
[Your companion Cursed Spirit, Rika's rank has increased to 61%.]
[Ding!]
[System detected Suzaku's nostalgia value +5000.]
[Your Cursed Spirit Choso's rank has increased to 41.6%.]
Haruki almost laughed out loud. Thankfully, he managed to stabilize his emotions by furiously scolding the system.
Suzaku's nose felt sour, his throat felt like it was blocked by a wet, heavy wad of cotton, making him incredibly uncomfortable, yet he couldn't speak.
He looked at Haruki in front of him, took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and said coldly, "I'm not your big brother, and you're not my younger brother. You don't need to come find me anymore."
Suzaku remembered that mission. The mission he might not return from. For Haruki's sake, it was better to cut off their bond.
Suzaku didn't like his current self. Once a person had attachments, they couldn't be as brave as before. He hoped to always fearlessly dedicate everything to Amegakure.
Haruki stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning, gazing at Suzaku, tears welling up in his eyes.
"You're too much."
"You're not my brother."
"I'm never talking to you again."
Haruki covered his face and left. He ran while wailing, waiting for the system's prompt.
Why wasn't it ringing yet?
Haruki's eyes, covered by his hands, were full of confusion.
[Ding!]
[System detected Suzaku's affection value +5000.]
[Your companion Cursed Spirit, Rika's rank has increased to 61.5%.]
[Ding!]
[System detected Suzaku's guilt value +5000.]
[A total of 13000 guilt value has been collected, generating Cursed Spirit No. 005 — Karma Cocoon: Guilt.]
[Guilt (13%)]
This trip was worth it!
Haruki returned to his single apartment, still covering his smiling face. Only when the door closed did he dare to lower his hands, revealing his smiling face.
Haruki plopped down on the tatami and questioned the system in his mind, 'What abilities does this generated Cursed Spirit, Guilt, have?'
[Host, please check the personal information page.]
[On the personal information page, click on Guilt's avatar to get its related information.]
[Karma Cocoon: Guilt]
[Origin: Long-term accumulated guilt arising from broken promises, betrayed trust, failure to prevent tragedies…]
[Cursed Technique:
Karma Rebirth (Activated) — Chains extend from the cocoon and pierce the enemy's body, forcing the enemy to share the Cursed Spirit's guilt and pain, amplifying the enemy's guilt and pain until their mind collapses. Their physical body and soul will be absorbed by the Cursed Spirit and converted into the Cursed Spirit's Guilt Power.
Guilt Insect Swarm (Activated) — Generates countless tiny insect-shaped Cursed Spirits that can gnaw away at the enemy's happy memories, intensifying guilt and pain, affecting their sanity, and laying eggs in the enemy's wounds. After hatching, the eggs feed on the enemy's energy, nourishing the Cursed Spirit, until the enemy's mind is consumed by guilt, leading to brain death.
Oath Scale (Activated at Rank 80%) — Forces the target into 'Guilt Settlement.' The Cursed Spirit expands a domain-like barrier (10-meter radius), and a giant golden scale appears in the air. The enemy is forced to materialize their most painful guilt memory as a weight and place it on one side of the scale. On the other side appears a corresponding weight representing their most cherished possession (e.g. Life, loved ones). If the enemy's 'cherished weight' is heavier than the 'guilt weight,' their soul will be extracted from their body and converted into the Cursed Spirit's nourishment.
Domain Expansion: Eternal Guilt Reckoning (Activated at Rank 100%)]
What is this?
Haruki was dissatisfied. 'Why does a specified rank need to be reached to activate certain cursed techniques? Rika and Sukuna didn't have this rule, did they?'
He suspected this was a private setting added by the system.
[Host, Rika and Sukuna are pre-existing Cursed Spirits, while Guilt is a generated Cursed Spirit. They are different.]
'You mean all generated Cursed Spirits are like Guilt? Their Cursed Techniques need rank advancement to activate?'
[Yes, host.]
[Host, please calm down.]
[Only generated Special-Grade Cursed Spirits have this rule. If it's below Special-Grade, the Cursed Techniques are all activated the moment the Cursed Spirit is generated.]
'…Then I'd still rather have Special-Grade Cursed Spirits.'
Anyway, whether it's Special-Grade or Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, they all need rank advancement. Might as well choose the one with a higher upper limit.
[Host, the system generates Cursed Spirits based on human emotions.]
[If it's ordinary emotions, only Cursed Spirits below Special-Grade will be generated.]
He forgot about that. Haruki closed his eyes.