Chapter 50: Does Someone Always Have to Be in This Jail?
After receiving authorization from the village's highest leader, Hiiro Rinko's life officially added the Sunagakure prison to his regular stops. While not an everyday occurrence, he would visit two or three times a week.
The derelict guards from before, after being "cheerfully" reassigned, were never seen again. They probably went to see their ancestors.
Each time he visited, he would bring extra snacks for Bunpuku. His daily meals had already been upgraded to the same quality as the Kazekage Tower's, and with Rinko's supplemental snacks, Bunpuku had begun to jokingly call him 'Pāpiyā' (Mara, the demon king who obstructs enlightenment).
In response, Hiiro Rinko strongly requested that Bunpuku change the name to 'Mahākāla.'
His commonly used hand seal was the Ishanaten-in. Ishana was considered another name for Daijizaiten, and Mahākāla existed as an emanation of Daijizaiten. If he was going to be cast as a 'villain,' he would, of course, choose Mahākāla, who appeared in many stories and always had a high-level villain rating.
Bunpuku, whose Buddhist scriptures differed from those of Rinko's previous life, naturally knew nothing of this strange, other-worldly trivia. But since the child liked it, he went along with it.
After all, in all these years, Hiiro Rinko was the only person who visited him regularly, and even debated philosophy with him. Those novel perspectives were also of great benefit to Bunpuku.
But from Rinko's standpoint, the question he most wanted to ask had already been answered in their first meeting. After that, his philosophical debates with Bunpuku were, in essence, just a way to adjust his own mental state.
That's right: adjust his mental state.
The Chūnin Exams were no trouble for him. Two days after becoming a Chūnin, Hiiro Rinko was grabbed by 'Vegeta's' large hand and unceremoniously thrown into both the Sealing Corps and the Barrier Corps to serve concurrently.
Although he was nominally just a regular member, anyone with eyes could see the real meaning: "The village has decided you will be in charge of the Barrier and Sealing Corps from now on."
Hiiro Rinko had wanted to refuse. He was a nine-year-old kid who had just become a Chūnin, how could he possibly bear such a heavy burden—but Vegeta had simply offered too much.
Not only did he get a double salary, but he was also given a free workshop that could house his forge. His research projects were unlimited, and his stipends only needed the Kazekage's approval to be disbursed directly.
You're going to test me with this? What researcher could possibly resist such a test?!
By the time Rinko had gotten to know the members of the Barrier and Sealing Corps, and had settled the now-released Bunpuku into his new workshop, his life as a teacher officially began.
And then, Hiiro Rinko's nightmare began.
"How do you not understand this basic formation?! Speak! Look me in the eye! SPEAK!"
Shouts like this echoed through the corps' hallways almost every day.
He didn't even need to split his thoughts to refine Cursed Energy. Just teaching for two hours a day sent it spiking right alongside his blood pressure. It reached the point of overflowing, forcing him to extract it daily and seal it into his 'Uzumaki Pendant.'
Hiiro Rinko even felt that Sunagakure shinobi being unable to learn Fūinjutsu was a 'geographical, fundamental logic,' just like Kumogakure's love of thievery or Iwagakure's inability to produce geniuses.
He was trying his hardest to teach. The others in the Sealing Corps were trying their hardest to learn. But they were just stuck on the advanced knowledge, and no matter what he did, they couldn't get it.
At this point, if he didn't go meditate with Bunpuku, he was probably going to transform into a Cursed Spirit on the spot.
Of course, this frequent contact with Bunpuku, and the work of setting seals on him, also meant frequent dealings with Shukaku.
With Bunpuku as an intermediary, and Rinko—who had seen far more malicious Cursed Spirits and wasn't afraid of a Tailed Beast's essence—the relationship between him and Shukaku, who'd had a decent first impression, was relatively harmonious.
...Probably.
At first, Rinko tried to get some of the Shinobi World's hidden secrets out of Shukaku. But Shukaku, far from being "all-knowing," was completely in the dark. A big dumb-dumb.
It was understandable he didn't know about the white-haired, three-eyed alien woman, since, according to legend, the Tailed Beasts were created after she was sealed.
But how did he not know anything about the Sage of Six Paths either? What do you mean, "you barely saw him after you were created"?
Yin-Yang Release? Nope.
You're a massive Tailed Beast, how do you know nothing?!
What do I even need you for?!
Every exchange that ended with Shukaku's "I don't know" would devolve into the two of them brawling in Bunpuku's mindscape.
They fought viciously, but Bunpuku felt that Shukaku was actually having a lot of fun playing with Rinko.
Although Sunagakure had no large bodies of water for practicing Water Release, Bunpuku's mindscape was full of it.
If it looks like water, feels like water, and tastes like water, then it is water. Adhering to the philosophy that the will is dominant in a spiritual world, Rinko had actually managed to complete his Suiton training, which had previously lacked practical experience.
Perhaps because he felt he'd lost face in front of Rinko, Shukaku, seeing him train, decided to 'teach' him his Magnet Release as 'payment' for the new seal that would free Bunpuku.
Unlike an elemental Kekkei Genkai derived from mixing Chakra natures, Shukaku's Magnet Release was truly innate. He only used it by instinct; he couldn't "teach" it.
So, Shukaku's method was to give Rinko a portion of his Chakra and let him study it himself.
Because this was a deal kept secret from everyone, the amount of Tailed Beast Chakra Rinko took was minuscule, not even enough for an incomplete transformation. It was basically a one-use sample.
But he was just taking it as a sample anyway, and he could always ask Shukaku for more. In this situation, it was better to be discreet. It wasn't that he thought the village would forbid it, but as a shinobi, one must always prepare hidden trump cards.
Like the Chakra and Cursed Energy he'd been stockpiling in his pendant. Like the One-Tails Chakra he was now researching. And like the various armaments packed in the scrolls on his wrists.
And, for example, the prototype of his Yin and Yang circulation loop, which he had just completed.
Yin and Yang were the forces in this world most closely tied to the spirit and the body. But because of this, they were also firmly restricted by their own natures.
Yin Release, symbolizing the spirit, could barely affect the physical body. But Cursed Energy, which also originates from negative emotions and the spirit, could reinforce the body without issue.
Pondering this subtle distinction, Rinko realized he could temporarily use Cursed Energy as a divider and a medium to circulate both Yin and Yang Chakra in his pathway system at the same time. And, a step further, he could even reverse the flow and pull pure spiritual or life energy into the system.
Life and death, the principle of reincarnation, spirit and flesh, cause and effect… Although the theories were different from what Rinko knew in his past life, he could truly perceive a new profoundness during his meditation.
It wasn't a sudden enlightenment, but this spiritual growth was undeniably of great benefit to him.
From this perspective, his calling Bunpuku "Master" was, indeed, from the heart.