Chapter 202: From Today On, Call Me 'Family Head'
Akiyama Makoto carefully examined Karin's skin. Although it looked a little pale, it was generally no different from that of an ordinary person. He found it hard to imagine just what kind of ability was hidden in her body that allowed her to have such a powerful healing ability at such a young age.
He opened the simulator. He had already collected her pheromones during the healing process, so he could now simulate with her.
But of course, he wouldn't simulate with her directly right now. Instead, he needed to see what kind of talents she had.
He hadn't looked before, but one look now left him stunned.
Advanced Mind's Eye of Kagura, Advanced Physical Healing, Advanced Uzumaki Bloodline!
Three Advanced talents right off the bat! He had never seen this on anyone before!
Well, to be fair, his previous simulation targets, with the strongest being Kurenai, were from minor clans and had basically no relation to the Sage's eyes or body. The only one who could be considered related was Hinata, and she had given him the surprise of the High-Purity Byakugan and its subsequent evolution.
It seemed that the importance of bloodline power in the ninja world was demonstrated through these talents.
He understood the power of her talents, but unfortunately, the system did not provide a detailed explanation of their effects. He would have to figure it out for himself. It seemed he would only be able to understand the principles of "Physical Healing" after simulating with her in the future.
This talent, used to heal others, was still within his realm of understanding. He could treat it as a form of life force transfer. Even so, this was already heaven-defying. He had no idea how many simulations it had taken, and how many decades of experience he had gathered, to finally obtain the True Spirit Seal.
But he remembered that Karin had also healed a super-penetrating wound in her abdomen, which had been completely torn apart by Wood Style, just by biting herself.
This was just absurd.
To heal an injury of that level, even Tsunade had to fully release her Yin Seal and use Creation Rebirth, at the cost of shortening her cellular lifespan.
And Karin had just... taken a bite of herself and survived.
If it weren't for the fact that she needed to bite, he felt that her self-healing ability might be even more exaggerated than the First Hokage's.
"Hm?"
Karin had been waiting for a long time, but still didn't feel him bite down.
She couldn't help but open one eye to peek at him, only to see him staring intently at her collarbone. Her ears turned red.
Could it be... that he's interested in me?
She was very insecure about her own body. She was still just a scrawny little thing. After all, her life in the past had been too hard.
Just as she was trembling with hesitation, he suddenly said, "Why don't you go take a bath first?"
Her eyes flew open. She looked at him, uncomprehending, and then her face flushed a deep red. "I-I'll go right now!"
Only then did she realize that she must have been sweating a lot from carrying the luggage, and she probably smelled. And she had just shamelessly told him to bite her! Wouldn't that be like asking him to eat spoiled food?
She quickly stood up, wanting to go wash, but then she looked at his large courtyard, completely at a loss.
"Come on, I'll take you."
He smiled faintly, led her into the bathhouse, and said, "There are brand new toiletries and a yukata in the front cabinet. You can have them."
He then pushed her in, not giving her a chance to refuse.
Karin looked at the large, steaming bath. She had never been to such a high-class place to enjoy life. It wasn't just because she didn't get paid for her work in the Hidden Grass, but also because how could a place like that possibly be as prosperous as Konoha?
The emotion and disbelief in her heart made her unable to stop herself from biting her lip hard. Only after feeling the pain did she realize that this was not a dream.
She carefully took out the supplies as he had instructed, and then, following the knowledge her mother had taught her, she bathed meticulously, afraid of soiling his home. At the same time, she also decided that she had to wash herself clean, to wash away all the stains on her body. Only then would she be worthy of his teeth.
As for him, he had already activated his sensory ability, checking for any movements in Konoha. But as Yūgao returned and silently hid herself to continue protecting him, he knew that this incident was over. The Hokage's Office had probably already discovered that the Sand Village's visitors were up to no good, so they naturally had no time to manage his little affairs.
But he knew that this was only the beginning. He needed to bring this to a conclusion, otherwise the Hidden Grass Village would most likely still cause trouble.
At this thought, he created a shadow clone, transformed it into Karin's appearance, and headed towards the direction of the Grass ninja's lodgings.
Now that she had come to his house, he couldn't just let her leave.
Those three talents... he was drooling just looking at them!
If he wasn't preparing to give Hinata the True Spirit Seal in the coming days, he would have wanted to get his hands on those three talents right now.
The clone, transformed as Karin, moved quickly and soon rendezvoused with the Grass ninja.
When they saw her return, they were at first surprised, but then their ferocious expressions returned.
"Well, look who's back! Didn't you already leave with that Konoha civilian? How do you still have the face to come back?"
"Haha! A Konoha civilian, only acting tough in his own village. He probably realized what kind of trouble he'd caused and kicked this jinx out."
"Come here. Hold out your hand. Let me bite you ten times, and I'll forgive you."
The Grass-nin who had wanted to bite her at the beginning walked out and grabbed for her hand.
But he was once again sent flying by a kick, crashing into a wall and fainting.
"Karin, are you rebelling?!"
The middle-aged Grass-nin stood up. He had been knocked out by a Konoha ninja earlier, and he still hadn't recovered from the humiliation. Although the Grass Village's status was far inferior to the Five Great Nations, their goal was also to advance towards that level. It was one thing to be defeated by a Jōnin, but what was the meaning of being beaten by an unknown Konoha ninja?
He held his arms, a faint, contemptuous smile on his lips. "I'm here to tell you that after the Chūnin Exams, I will be leaving the Hidden Grass Village."
"If any of you are dissatisfied, you can try and stop me. But you won't succeed."
The middle-aged man used a Body Flicker to rush to her side, his hand grabbing for her neck. But a second later, he was also embedded in the wall.
"Who are you?! You're not Karin! She's not this strong!"
The remaining genin were as quiet as cicadas in winter.
He just said with a radiant smile, "No, I am Karin. Or do you think I'm wrong?"
The genin looked at each other, then quickly caught on. "Right, right! You are Karin!"
"That's right, Karin has always been this strong—no, Lady Karin, please, sit here. From now on, we'll all follow your orders!"
And just like that, with almost no effort, he had turned the entire Grass Village team into his own.
This incident did not attract Konoha's attention. Or rather, it did, but they didn't send anyone to deal with it. When he had done this, he had not hidden it from Yūgao. The Hokage's side could most likely piece together the truth. But, as he'd said, Hiruzen had more important things to do than to worry about his "little scuffles."
He sensed his shadow clone's actions and finally revealed a satisfied smile.
He couldn't participate in the Chūnin Exams himself, but he could observe from a distance in this way, to prevent any details he hadn't noticed from slipping by. As for the results of the Grass team... this group, even if they all added up, couldn't make it out of the Forest of Death. He didn't need to do any preparations or operations at all.
An hour later, he withdrew his sensory ability and returned to the living room.
Karin, wearing a yukata, her short hair still damp and draped, looked pitiful.
When she saw him, her eyes lit up, but in the end, she said in a low voice, "Lord, I've finished washing. You... you can bite me now."
This strange conversation made the corner of his mouth twitch.
Fortunately, he had seen his fair share of the world. "Come here," he said. "Sit down."
"Also, don't call me 'Lord' in the future. Just call me—"
He thought about what title would be appropriate. "Lord" was too distant. "Big Brother" was too intimate... Then, "Family Head" would be fine.
"From today on, call me 'Family Head'."
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