Chapter 1: The Phoenix King Jinchūriki, Karin!
"You desire power?"
Inside some pitch-black little hut.
A boy asked a girl this question.
"I…"
The girl's eyes were slightly dazed.
Her expression looked a bit silly.
Like a total airhead.
"Hey, I'm asking you.
Do you desire power?"
The boy asked again. "Once you have power,
you can break free from those people controlling you.
You can take revenge for your mother.
You can do whatever you want!"
"Mm!"
The girl finally reacted.
She gave a firm nod.
Then, with great determination, she said, "I desire power."
Hearing this, the boy immediately smiled.
He extended his right hand.
"Come then.
Hand your soul over to me.
And I shall grant you power."
The girl hesitated for a moment.
But after seeing the sincerity in the boy's eyes and his handsome face,
she gave in.
Obediently, she placed her small hand onto his.
Bzzz~
Two extremely mysterious forces appeared around the pair.
Then the powers fused together,
all flowing into the boy—into Byakuya's body.
After circulating once inside Byakuya,
the mysterious power surged out again,
pouring straight into the girl—into Karin's body.
Bzzz~
Golden light flashed.
In an instant it enveloped Karin completely,
instantly healing every scar on her body.
Then the golden light began gathering toward her right arm.
At the same time, its brightness kept increasing.
Rip—!
The sleeve of Karin's right arm was torn apart in an instant by some unknown force.
At the same time,
the golden light condensed into an "X"-shaped symbol, dazzling to the extreme!
A moment later,
the golden light dissipated.
What remained on Karin's right arm was an "X"-shaped black tattoo.
[Ding! Plot changed. Reward: 100,000 Plot Points!]
"Alright. The contract ceremony is complete."
Byakuya smiled and took out a card that sparkled with diamond-like light.
On the card was a vivid, lifelike phoenix.
"Now, I bestow power upon you."
With that, he flicked the card sharply.
Crack!
With a crisp sound,
the card shattered while radiating diamond brilliance.
At the same moment, a seven-colored phoenix flew out gracefully from the broken card.
It circled around Karin once, sprinkling some seven-colored powder,
then suddenly plunged toward her abdomen.
BOOM!
A massive surge of power erupted in an instant, knocking Karin unconscious.
Her clothes were also shredded by the energy shockwave.
Conveniently exposing her fair, smooth stomach.
However…
Right now, on that flat little belly of hers,
a very strange seal was flickering with seven-colored light.
...
At the same time.
Many people inside Konoha sensed this bizarre yet terrifying power appearing.
But no one paid it much attention.
Because this was currently the middle of the Chūnin Exams.
The village was full of powerful people.
Plus there was a very unstable One-Tail Jinchūriki—Gaara.
So the Konoha shinobi simply assumed it was Gaara having one of his usual unstable aura flares.
Meanwhile, on the Sand side, no one sensed this strange and powerful aura at all.
Therefore,
this fleeting power surge didn't attract anyone's attention.
...
Time slowly passed.
Soon night turned into deep night.
Finally, Karin woke up from her faint.
"Mmm…"
She opened her eyes in a daze, then gave a small sniff.
"Mmm~ What a nice chakra smell…"
Then she turned her head.
Not far away, a handsome boy was sitting there.
It was none other than Byakuya, the one who gave her power.
"You're awake?"
"Mm."
Looking at Byakuya's handsome face, Karin's cheeks instantly flushed.
"You…"
"Just call me Holy Master."
Byakuya glanced at her and said calmly, "Welcome to the Spirit Pavilion.
There is one major rule in the organization.
You are never allowed to reveal any information about the organization to outsiders.
Those who violate this rule will die.
Of course…
If you accidentally let an outsider learn something about the organization,
you can choose to immediately silence that person.
In that case, it won't count as leaking information.
As a core member, you are entitled to choose your own codename once.
Once chosen, the codename cannot be changed.
During missions, you may only use your codename.
The codename must be the name of a plant."
"Then… then I'll be Pear Blossom!"
Byakuya gave Karin a look.
In Japanese, "Karin" and "Pear Blossom" have the exact same pronunciation.
This codename was basically the same as not choosing one at all!
Still, he didn't mind.
"Alright. Over there are your work clothes.
When carrying out missions, you must wear them."
Saying so, Byakuya pointed toward the table.
There lay a black sleeveless short dress, black leggings, two black weapon pouches that could be strapped to the legs, a black cloak, and a black bamboo hat.
The black cloak also bore a large "X" mark.
If one looked closely,
they would discover that this mark was the same type as the tattoo on Karin's arm.
Under light, both could emit various colors.
In other words—multicolored black!
"Wear this ring."
Byakuya tossed a ring toward Karin.
"This is a communication device.
Inject your chakra into it to use it.
Figure it out yourself.
Don't lose it."
"Oh!"
Karin responded.
While putting on the ring, she carefully observed it.
The ring had a silver band.
Material unknown.
Set in the band was a fiery red gem.
When held to the light, one could see a "Pear Blossom" flower inside the gem.
"This is my exclusive ring…?
And… my codename was just decided, yet Holy Master already made such a gem…
Master is so amazing!"
Karin stared blankly at Byakuya, little stars constantly sparkling in her eyes.
She felt like she had fallen in love.
Even though the other party was a god-like… no, a boy-like man.
"Alright. Change your clothes and prepare for the mission."
Byakuya, however, paid no attention to Karin's lovestruck gaze.
He simply tossed her a mission card.