Waking in the middle of the night, Megumi never expected to find a clone standing in front of him — its eyes pitch black.
"Hey, System why can the clone use the Heavenly Restriction faster and better than me?" he whispered.
[ Why don't you figure it out yourself]
He felt no shame for losing to a clone. He was both the beneficiary of the reward and the recipient of the pain.
He slammed his palm down on the shadow behind him. "Return!"
The clone dissolved instantly, collapsing into liquid darkness before rushing back into him.
Megumi staggered, clutching his chest as a flood of energy surged through his body. His muscles twitched, nerves screaming, and then — clarity. His arms moved unconsciously, replaying the exact punches and kicks the clone had thrown. His breath matched the rhythm of its fighting style.
It was as if his body had stolen the clone's instincts.
Megumi gasped. A faint smile tugged at his lips. "So that's it… everything it learns, I learn."
He went downstairs to check if the second clone was still active. He reabsorbed it the same way.
Then the backlash hit. His head pounded, vision spun. It felt like swallowing too many voices at once; his body barely kept pace with the rush of memories and reflexes. He dropped to one knee, panting.
Still, despite the pain, his fists clenched with excitement. "This… this changes everything."
He told himself he could face those thugs without a scratch now — but his optimism was short-lived.
A low growl reminded him he had skipped both lunch and dinner.
Rubbing his stomach, Megumi scanned the night through his window. The street below was dry and silent. His only option was to hunt. The rabbits were too small to satisfy him; he needed something larger.
His thoughts turned to the Nara clan forest — the best hunting ground. Deer roamed there; maybe he'd get lucky.
"How will I get there without the ANBU spotting me?" he muttered.
He searched for his mask. After the earlier battle with his clone he hadn't been able to find it, but now it was where he always hid it.
"There you are." He slipped the mask on.
"System — how can I stop sensory ninja from tracking my scent?" he asked.
[You should imbue cursed energy around yourself.]
[But do you think you won't suffer the same fate as last time?] the System replied.
"Shut up. Don't jinx me."
Megumi switched off the lights and slipped into the shadow, careful not to alert any ANBU in the area.
At the Nara clan gates, the security guard made it impossible to simply walk in. Megumi retreated to the back wall, shared his consciousness with the crow that lay hidden among the forest branches, and used the bird's shadow to slip into the clan compound. The crow's small wings made nighttime travel easier; Megumi emerged from the crow's shadow where it had landed.
He stood before his old house, now isolated from the main compound. No one lived there anymore. He took a final look at the place he once called home before stepping into the forest.
Through the undergrowth he saw the Nara — young and old — still in the forest, some playing with deer, others watching from a distance. "What are these people doing at this hour?" he muttered. "Acting like guards for what, exactly?"
He waited until the Nara group moved deeper into the trees. Then, activating his Heavenly Restriction Hollow Eye and the tattoo along his arm, he surged forward, ambushing guardians one by one from behind. He knocked them out with single, precise strikes.
"Sleep," he whispered each time. "Just rest a while."
A deer watched from nearby — accustomed to children, it was used to harmless hands. But it sensed the predator in front of it and bolted, scattering the other deer in panic.
Megumi chased the fastest one. He snatched a kunai from a guardian's belt, wrestled the deer down by the neck, and pinned it. He stabbed its flank and leg to render it unable to struggle.
The deer screamed — not in pain, but in sudden confusion, eyes wide and searching.
"I'm not a vegan," Megumi said to the animal. "This is the food chain."
He crouched, raising the kunai to end the animal's suffering.
The kunai froze midair.
"Who are you?" a voice cried.
"How dare you try to kill the deer, you monster!" a girl shouted. She sounded no older than sixteen.
Megumi turned and locked eyes with her. She had slipped up on him without triggering his bindings; she'd moved quietly, and something about her presence made him uneasy.
"I'm talking to you, criminal," she said, tears forming in her voice, but there was a burning determination behind them.
"Why would you kill him?" the young guardian demanded, her hands trembling with angry resolve.
"It's nature's rule," Megumi replied, forcing his voice to sound bolder than he felt. "The food chain applies to everyone."
She stared at him as if he'd gone mad. Megumi broke the shadow jutsu binding him and stepped forward. "Leave. I don't want to hurt you. This one is going to die."
He turned back to the deer. "If you want to save yourself and get her killed, don't scream. If you want to save her and die, scream three times."
The deer bleated twice, then fell silent; Megumi clamped a hand over its mouth to stop a third cry. He wasn't about to alert the others.
"No!" the girl screamed, her legs giving out as she saw the deer sacrifice itself to shield her. Tears streamed down her face.
"You should know," Megumi said coldly, turning away, "that chickens and fish are somebody's bond too. Don't act like a saint. Don't pretend you didn't come with backup."
He looked up at the sky, the arrogance in his words masking a deeper fatigue. The forest held its breath around him — the night, the animals, and the memory of a life he could not return to.