Given his reasoning and discussion, Kazuki voiced his own opinion of what he thought Minoru should do next.
"The logical conclusion one can reach is...You need to further test it in more subjects, other than yourself. You need more data, as you are dealing with something unpredictable. Even know, you are not sure if this liquid, half sentient, material won't turn on you when it feels your usefulness is over. Beware when dealing with the unknown, many have died before when they were in your shoes and I do not wish to see a valuable Senju die with no worthy cause. Feel free to use the prisoners that the ANBU Branch no longer deems necessary. However, make sure they are contained and they remain so. We don't need raging imprisoned people causing havoc on Konoha. Request my assistance if needed, I have quite skilled in restraining creatures."
Minoru gave his Overlord a slight bow. He was right. More data was needed for not only credibility, but for safety. Despite his mentor's warnings, something inside the young Senju knew the ingested liquid was not going to harm him. But, one did never really know. It was nice to hear Kazuki was looking out for him. Failure was not an option for Minoru. He would be damned if he was to die by simply playing with the odds.
"Of course, Overlord. I will use the resources you have given me. I will remember your words for the future."
It was fitting to hear Kazuki take on a fatherly tone. His words would be ringing in the AiT's ears from now on. If there was one person not to disappoint besides himself, it was Kazuki. However, as a couple seconds crept by, the Overlord's focus shifted from his subordinate to himself. More specific, his black markings.
For the second time, Kazuki covered his index finger in black chakra, and created another symbol amongst the others that already lied on his chest. His expression defined pain, but it went as quickly as it came.
"I cannot really scold you for being reckless in your pursuit for power. After all, we Senju share one trait. We are all driven forward by one thing, and one thing alone. We crave power like no one else, we need it, we hunger for it and driven mad we will become if we try to avoid to satiate our power lust. Many have tried, all have failed. This path we share has many roads, one for each of us. Some acquire power through balance, others acquire power through technological means. There are those among us that require bloodbaths to be strengthened. And there are Senju that reap souls for power. I truly not know if the Joining has something to do with the way we pursue power, but I am quite certain that mine is closely tied to the way I gain strength.
I reap souls for power Minoru. Never before a Senju used such methods, and no one else will ever use it as well. And I will tell you why I know it. I will share with you, what happened in my Joining. I faded out as we all do and as I recovered my senses, I found myself in a realm of absolute darkness. I saw nothing, but in return, I could hear plenty. Moans and groans overwhelmed my hears and a deep feeling of impending doom paralyzed my body. Eventually, a being or whatever it was reached me. At first glance, it was a normal vision, it was a hooded guy, but as it draw near, I realized my first assumption was quite wrong. This hooded thing, albeit covered, still shown that he had a skeleton like appearance and it wielded a massive, deadly and vicious scythe. It stopped in front of and it spoke. A choice was offered, though, in reality, a choice was forced on me. I was to duel with it. The outcome was death to one of us. Naturally, I fought it as I wouldn't allow myself to die as a coward. I fought with all my strength, but creature was incredibly powerful, akin to a god. The odds were all stacked against me and I had no chance to defeat it. However, in the end I did it. Now, I still believe I was lucky enough to struck a fatal blow, but I do wonder if the creature allowed me to kill it. Regardless, by killing it, I survived and in the process, absorbed something out of it. A deep, insatiable hunger for souls grew on me and to this day I have reaped thousands of souls, and thousands more await me.
The gems on my sword is where this souls are stored. They serve me as an alternate energy source, sustaining me, providing me power. These, however, are not the only uses I have for them. Years later, as I studied dark arts to help my Uncle, part of which you have already seen, I realized I could use the souls I have collected and summon them to this world. There is still one more use I have found out. For some reason, one I cannot explain, every time I scribed myself with one of these seals, a portion of the souls were used. To what purpose? I do not know, but I do feel I will find out eventually."
So much information about his leader had become uncovered, Minoru did not know where to begin. He had so many questions, mainly because his own Joining behaved very similarly. To think that his leader was a stealer of souls was unheard of. The lines between good and evil had always been blurred, but was it now hypocrisy? To stop evil entities, but then to steal what they were? When does it end? Despite his questions, the young Senju would be right by his Overlord's side. No matter the cause. He merely stood there, dumbfounded. Despite his lack of an expression, his mental wheels were whirring at an incredible pace. He wanted the same power. Like all Senju. Immediately, thoughts on how to design such a process brought him to a tangent, before coming back to reality when Kazuki had undergone some change.
Runes covered his leader from head to toe, turning his skin pitch black like the chakra he used to scribe the symbols on his chest. He grew taller, and larger. Wind from no possible source blurred through the room, scattering papers. Wings that were nothing but bone shot from his back, as well as a hooded robe. Skeletal hands took the place of the original, with an object in its grasp. A scythe. It had seemed his Overlord had become what he once thought had been vanquished.
Shock was felt through the young Senju's body. He took a step back, and entered his favorite stance. His eyes activated, revealing a black hole of chakra. There was so much to see, it was almost distracting. The purple robed bringer of death, stealer of souls, did not look lie an ally. Minoru was prepared to fight to the death, but finally, he or it, spoke.
"I am whole again. "The time is near, to commence the world wide culling. The enemies of Konoha will fall and their souls will become mine to command. The time is near."
In an instant, the scythe and robe was gone, and the Overlord was left as if he never changed. Minoru reverted to a normal stance, and reverted his eyes to their normal, green color.
The Overlord muttered something, and the AiT decided to speak.
"Well...that was certainly interesting. Care to explain...Overlord? For a second there, I thought it, or you, were about to steal MY soul. You'd have to earn it though."
Kazuki had some explaining to do. It was one thing to steal souls, but to transform into a robed skeleton? That certainly required a pep talk of some sort. Despite his unease, Minoru couldn't help but think of the possibilities. His Overlord always had the powers Minoru wanted. He craved for that knowledge. In a world of chakra and shinobi, maybe his transformation wasn't so weird after all.
[MFT:1369]
