About ten minutes later, the pain began to subside, and Yukikaze gradually regained control of his body.
But staring at Seii, who was standing so close, he didn't dare make another move.
Noticing the shift in Yukikaze's deanor, Seii spoke calmly, "So, ready to keep going?"
Yukikaze didn't respond directly. Instead, he locked eyes with Seii and asked, "What exactly do you want?"
Seii didn't press for a promise of surrender—he knew that was unlikely. Skipping over the question, he answered, "Nothing much. I just need your help with sothing."
"Help?" Yukikaze frowned, confused.
"Yep," Seii replied.
"With what?" Yukikaze pressed.
"Simple. I need you to use your Ice Release when I ask you to," Seii stated plainly.
Yukikaze blinked, baffled. "Use my Ice Release? What's that supposed to an?"
Seii didn't bother hiding his intentions. "I want to learn the power of Ice Release."
"Impossible!" Yukikaze shot back without hesitation. "You don't have the Yuki Clan's bloodline. There's no way you can learn Ice Release from . It's just not possible!"
Despite Yukikaze's firm rejection, Seii's expression didn't waver. He just looked at him calmly.
That steady gaze made Yukikaze uneasy. He opened his mouth to say more but suddenly recalled the Lava Release Seii had used the previous night.
Wait a second… Yukikaze thought. If this guy is Seii in disguise…
His confidence faltered. As if reading his mind, Seii stayed silent for a mont before raising his right hand. With a thought, he gathered a mass of Lava Release chakra, shaping it into flowing molten rock.
"It—it's really you!" Yukikaze muttered, stunned as his suspicions were confird. "But how is that possible?"
Suddenly, he looked around frantically. "This is an illusion, isn't it? You must be using so kind of genjutsu to make
see this!"
As he spoke, Yukikaze lunged, his hand clawing toward Seii's throat.
But it played out like before. Before his hand could reach Seii, familiar sealing patterns appeared, locking his movents. At the sa ti, excruciating pain tore through his soul, overwhelming him with even greater intensity than before.
Even with the Heart-Sealing Soul Contract: Instant Teleportation Mark binding him, Yukikaze's body visibly trembled. This pain was far worse than the last ti, both in intensity and duration. The previous episode had lasted ten minutes; this one dragged on for a full fifteen.
When he finally regained control, Yukikaze couldn't hold himself up. His legs buckled, and he dropped to one knee, fingers digging into the dirt. The lingering agony was like phantom pain from a severed limb in a past life.
Minutes passed before he fully recovered. Standing again, he looked at Seii with newfound wariness.
A sealing technique that inflicted such extre pain was sothing he'd never even heard of, let alone seen. Given Seii's reputation as a genius, Yukikaze suspected this obscure seal might be his own creation. Just how ruthless is this guy?
He decided to play along with Seii's demands for now and look for an escape later. No more reckless tests like the one he'd just tried.
That's right—his claim that everything was an illusion wasn't genuine. It was a ploy to test Seii again, to see if he could take him down. The result? Failure. The seal activated without Seii even needing to control it, aning capturing him wouldn't break its hold.
Worse, based on the escalating pain from his two attempts, Yukikaze feared that another try might kill him before he could escape. Better to agree to Seii's terms and bide his ti.
Just as Seii had predicted, Yukikaze lacked the resolve to go all-in and risk everything. But that was only natural— even ants cling to life, let alone humans.
Noticing the change in Yukikaze's gaze, Seii didn't dwell on it. He moved on as if nothing had happened, laying out his demands. Yukikaze listened intently, both to avoid giving Seii an excuse to punish him and to understand his thought process.
If Seii could master Lava Release and was now targeting the Yuki Clan's Ice Release, he must have so confidence in succeeding. That approach, that thod, was worth studying. If Yukikaze could escape with it, the Yuki Clan might rise to beco a top-tier bloodline clan.
Seii, unaware of Yukikaze's scheming, would've scoffed if he knew. His thod was the widely known fusion technique of the ninja world—hardly a secret. His success ca from sheer effort and the aid of his system panel. Even if Yukikaze learned it, escaping this isolated island or leaking any information was impossible.
To ensure that, Seii had spent the previous night weaving intricate restrictions into Yukikaze's Heart-Sealing Soul Contract: Instant Teleportation Mark. If Yukikaze sohow broke free under those conditions, Seii would have to question reality itself.
And so, with each harboring their own hidden motives, they cooperated smoothly—one explaining earnestly, the other morizing diligently. It took about half an hour for Seii to outline what Yukikaze needed to do and the rules he had to follow.
Ignoring Yukikaze's grim expression, Seii left first. The task wouldn't officially start until tomorrow. Not because he wasn't prepared, but because he knew Yukikaze wouldn't fully buy into his words yet. He'd likely spend the day testing the boundaries.
Seii was giving him that ti to verify things for himself. Only when Yukikaze gave up hope of escape would he comply fully. Plus, it was a chance for Seii to catch any oversights.
(End of Chapter)
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