READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 38: Departure & Conflict
The next morning, Akira woke up and stretched, leaving the two women sleeping peacefully in bed. He headed to the bathroom for a well-deserved shower, still feeling the aftermath of their hot night. Once refreshed, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
As he busied himself at the stove, Yumi appeared, dressed in one of his shirts. Akira made no comment, used to this custom. However, when he saw Kaguya following Yumi, also wearing one of his garments, he couldn't hide his surprise.
Shyly, Kaguya murmured loud enough to be heard, "I did it because the master wanted it."
Seeing her like this, Akira couldn't resist. He approached Kaguya, kissed her tenderly while squeezing her buttocks, eliciting a moan from the young woman. He pulled back slightly, leaving a thin trail of saliva between their lips, and whispered in her ear, "You look pretty wearing my clothes."
These words made Kaguya blush, accentuating her natural charm. Akira smiled, satisfied with the effect he had on her.
"What?!" exclaimed Yumi, looking puzzled. She crossed her arms and pouted. "Why didn't you say the same thing to me?"
Akira approached her with a mischievous smile. He quickly kissed her cheek before returning to his tasks in the kitchen, leaving Yumi to tease Kaguya. The sound of plates and cutlery echoed as he prepared the meal.
A few minutes later, he returned with steaming dishes, carefully distributing portions to each. Silence fell as they began to eat, until Yumi spoke in a calm voice:
"I plan to return to the clan," she announced, observing their reactions attentively.
"What?!" exclaimed Kaguya, almost choking on her bite. She clearly didn't expect this news.
Akira simply paused briefly in his meal before continuing to eat calmly, as if nothing had happened.
"This isn't the reaction I was expecting," remarked Yumi, looking disappointed at Akira.
"I was already expecting it," he calmly replied, resting his head on his hand. "After all, you've only returned to the clan once in a thousand years. So, when do you plan to leave?"
"I could at least pretend to be sad," pouted Yumi. "I plan to leave in a few hours."
"I see," Akira nodded as he got up from the table.
"What?" asked Yumi, surprised to see him approaching her.
Without a word, he took her in his arms and led her to their room. A complicit smile spread across Yumi's face as she understood his intentions. The rest of the day was filled with moans until the afternoon.
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[Time skip]
300 years had passed since their separation from Yumi. Over the centuries, Akira and Kaguya had traveled through countless worlds, fulfilling their duty to the Ōtsutsuki clan. Each conquered planet had made them more powerful, their chakra reaching levels beyond comprehension.
Sitting on a rock overlooking the ruins of an ancient civilization, Kaguya gazed at the purple sky of this dying world. "It's been so long since we saw the master," she said sadly.
Akira remained silent, his eyes now cold and distant. His face no longer expressed the emotions of the past, as if the years had frozen his heart.
Suddenly, the air tore apart in front of them, forming a dimensional portal. Kaguya's heart skipped a beat. "Mas-" she began enthusiastically, but her voice died down when she recognized the visitor.
An Ōtsutsuki guard emerged from the portal, his rigid posture betraying his nervousness. "Akira Ōtsutsuki, disciple of the elder Yumi Ōtsutsuki, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, you are summoned before the assembly of elders. Any resistance will be considered treason," he announced in a voice that tried to sound authoritative but trembled slightly.
Kaguya's face paled instantly. Being summoned before the elders was rare and often meant serious consequences. Akira, however, remained impassive, as if the news didn't affect him. Without a word, he stood up and followed the guard, with Kaguya following closely behind.
As they crossed the portal, they were greeted by an impressive armed force. Dozens of Ōtsutsuki guards surrounded them. With his senses, Akira spotted other guards hidden in the corners of the immense white marble columns. It was a show of force that would have intimidated anyone, but it left him unfazed. He knew he could eliminate everyone within twenty meters in a matter of seconds if necessary.
The procession moved through the majestic corridors of the palace, their steps echoing on the crystal floor. The walls, adorned with frescoes depicting the clan's millennia-old history, seemed to watch their passage.
They finally stopped in front of an imposing golden door. Complex patterns intertwined on its surface, converging towards the emblem of the Ōtsutsuki clan at its center. Before the guard could announce their presence, a cold voice resonated from the other side: "Enter."
The doors opened silently, revealing a vast circular room. Twelve elevated seats formed a semicircle, occupied by the clan's elders. Their faces were partially hidden by their hoods, but their eyes gleamed with an unsettling light.
In the center of the assembly, on the highest seat, sat a familiar figure, the patriarch of the clan. His appearance had not changed, but his aura had transformed, or rather Akira had become far too powerful to feel the fear he once felt, which was different from Kaguya who encountered him for the first time.
"Akira," his voice was formal, devoid of warmth as usual. "You stand before the council today to answer for the actions of your master."
Akira maintained his impassive gaze, but his mind quickly analyzed the situation. What had Yumi done to involve the council? Had they crossed an invisible line? Had they become too powerful in the eyes of the clan?
The elder's words echoed like thunder in the room, interrupting Akira's thoughts. "Elder Yumi is sentenced to 20,000 years in the temporal prison, guilty of high treason."
The ensuing silence was deafening. Kaguya's eyes widened in horror, and she stepped forward hastily, her voice trembling with rage and incomprehension. "This can't be..."
An overwhelming pressure suddenly descended upon the room, a tangible manifestation of the elders' power. Kaguya was forced to kneel under this invisible force, her body trembling under the effort to resist. Yet, Akira remained perfectly still, as if the pressure were just a light breeze. His once warm eyes had turned into two frozen lakes, fixed on the patriarch.
"Are you aware of what you're doing?" Akira's voice was calm, almost detached, but each word carried the weight of a thinly veiled threat.
For the first time since the beginning of the audience, the patriarch's mask of coldness cracked. A smile formed on his lips, a cruel expression that would have sent shivers down even the most hardened spine. It wasn't the smile of a benevolent leader, but that of a predator savoring its prey.
"Yes!! I am aware," he replied, his voice overflowing with unhealthy satisfaction. "You have become too powerful to leave uncontrolled, so we can't let such force escape our grasp, but most importantly for the clan's balance."
The elders watched the exchange in silence, their faces hidden in the shadows of their hoods. Some seemed uneasy, others silently approved. The tension in the room was palpable.
"So, that's why you imprisoned the master?" Kaguya's voice trembled with anger, even though she was still held down by the invisible pressure. "To control us?"
The patriarch barely spared her a glance. "Yumi had become a problem long before that. She asked too many questions, challenged our traditions, our authority. But yes, her imprisonment also serves to remind you of your place."
"Is this decision truly motivated by the clan's balance?" Akira asked. "Or rather, are you afraid of me!?" Akira said with a disdainful smile.
A heavy silence fell on the assembly. The elders stiffened in their seats, their eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.
"Watch your language, insolent!" thundered one of the elders as he rushed towards Akira.
In an instant, Akira appeared in front of him. With a swift movement, his hand gripped the elder's face before violently throwing him to the marble floor. The impact echoed throughout the room, creating a spiderweb of cracks beneath the fallen body. Before the elder could even realize what was happening, Akira's fingers plunged into his chest. With a sinister crack, he tore out the still-beating heart.
A murderous aura exploded around Akira, saturating the air with a suffocating pressure. The other elders, petrified by this display of brutality, remained frozen in place.
"The... the twelfth elder..." stammered one of them, his voice trembling.
"Ah... so it was him, the second elder," murmured Akira with a clear, sharp voice that resonated in the room's silence. His lips stretched into a cruel smirk. "Pathetic."
The patriarch, seated on his throne, observed the scene without flinching. His impassiveness unsettled the elders, who, despite their rage, dared not intervene. The execution of their peer had chilled them to the bone.
Akira turned on his heels, his hands dripping with blood leaving a crimson trail on the pristine floor. Kaguya, who had freed herself from the pressure before, followed him in silence. At the entrance of the room, he stopped and tossed over his shoulder, in a frosty voice, "I suggest you hold the leash tightly."
Only silence answered them, broken only by the sound of their footsteps fading away, leaving behind the still warm corpse of the elder.
The news of this murder spread like wildfire. Within hours, Akira's name became synonymous with a threat to the established order.
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[Somewhere in the depths of the universe]
A dimensional rift tore through the air, allowing Akira and Kaguya to emerge in a world with purple skies and barren lands. Breathless, Kaguya turned to Akira.
"What should we do now?" she asked, her voice tinged with worry.
Akira's smile widened, revealing his teeth in a predatory expression. "If the clan considers us a threat..." His voice lowered, almost caressing. "Then let's give them a real reason to be afraid."