A True Hero Does Not Succumb To Greed
The night sky of early summer is beautiful.
There was not a single cloud floating in the sky, and the stars flickered like crystals, shining with emotionally moving radiance.
Sandalwood crickets appeared on stage to take over the place of the dragonpill crickets, and they sang their emotional songs in the grassy bushes, creeks and tree branches.
The Konoha village was radiantly lit, as if it was reflecting the bright starry sky.
One by one the dark green bamboo houses stood in the night wind, and beneath the star dome it had a tranquil and peaceful ambience.
Yami was not in the village now, but he had snuck into the secret cave among the rock cracks.
He half-kneeled on the ground, his hand caressing the image wall, his palm emitting a lump of blue-coloured moonlight.
On the image wall, the original scene was already gone, and it was now no different from the other surrounding stone walls. If Yami did not remember this position, who else would know that hidden under this image wall was Flower Wine Monk's strength inheritance?
On a night over a month ago, the image wall transformed and the Flower Wine Monk's secret hideout appeared. The image wall first showed a video of Flower Wine Monk bathed in blood, but proclaimed he was leaving his inheritance. Next was a line of bloody words, hinting for the discoverer to break the image wall and the cave opening would appear. Then the words vanished, and the image wall's Photo-audio Gu's strength was depleted, and the image wall went back to being an ordinary wall.
Although he knew about the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance, Yami did not have the time to explore it.
As it was an unexpected occurrence, he had to kill Uchiha Sasuke on the spot and was busy that night getting rid of the evidence. Towards the impending interrogation, he had to plot carefully and had restricted his activities inside the village.
Until when Uchiha Itachi left and after the academy elder stopped his investigations, about ten days later, the attention had waded and Yami could finally sneak back into the cave.
In the aperture, the green copper sea was reducing as Yami deployed his primeval essence into the Moonlight Gu on his right palm.
The Moonlight Gu emitted a gentle moonlight and flickered continuously. Under its effect, the rock wall was shaved off slowly, and large amounts of rock powder fell on the ground.
This was Yami's extensive control of the Moonlight Gu, the same method he used to open the gambling rocks.
Compared to opening rocks, this method was more coarse, but in breaking this thick rock wall, this method seemed a little too gentle.
This was the sixth day that Yami was using the Moonlight Gu to shave the rock wall.
On the floor was a thick pile of dark red coloured rock powder.
Logically speaking, Elemental Mountain's soil was all green-coloured. But here, the soil were strangely bright red and emitted a dark glow.
But fortunately so, because of this source of light, Yami did not need to prepare a torch.
In order to avoid being suspected, Yami did not use any tools. Steel hammers and pickaxe were undoubtedly better for breaking the rock wall, but if he did, the sound of the wall breaking would reverb all over the area.
Regardless of whether the outside world would hear a faint or loud noise, Yami wanted to eliminate all such possible suspicious points.
Fine details often decided in one's victory or defeat.
To Yami, being cautious is not just his good point, it was more like a habit to him.
In his past life he had been careless and carefree, but he quickly paid a hefty price. There is a saying that goes, 'people get more cowardly when they age'. Yet actually this is not cowardness, but patient cautiousness. 500 years of experience ingrained the word caution into his soul.
"Puff..." Taking in a deep breath, Yami slowly stopped the transmission of his primeval essence.
He plopped onto the ground, extremely exhausted.
He had dug around three inches of thickness out of the entire slab of image wall that was the height of half a man.
Yami wiped the sweat off his forehead while exercising his shoulders and stretching his legs. Due to long hours of squatting, a sense of numbness was felt from his legs.
'Knock, knock, knock'.
Yami bent his fingers and knocked on the rock wall.
Hearing the sound, he was slightly happy in his heart, as he could tell the wall was getting thinner.
Closing his eyes to meditate, he checked the situation inside his aperture once again.
The green copper primeval essence had less than 20% left.
"Continue working hard!" Yami grit his teeth and stretched out his right hand again on the rock wall.
The water-blue coloured moonlight sustained a glow for around fifteen minutes, then Yami suddenly halted his actions. He took out his right arm and found out that the rock wall had a small hole in it already.
He immediately stood up and kicked.
With a thunderous noise, the hole expanded and became as big as a bamboo basket.
Yami cautiously took a few steps backwards. He felt a sense of staleness emitting from the hole and permeating into this secret cave.
The secret cave's ventilation was not good. Yami thought about it for a moment and decided to leave the rock crack, returning to the outside world.
Only after a while did he return.
The stale feeling in the cave was slightly better than earlier, and Yami continued to expand the size of the hole, sometimes using the Moonlight Gu, and at other times using his hands to dig, or his legs to kick. After a while, he finally expanded the hole into a size that he could fit into.
Looking from the hole, there was a diagonal path downwards.
The path was initially narrow, but the deeper it was, the wider it got. A person must lower their head when entering at first, but towards the latter half of the path, they are able to take large strides with straightened backs.
The cave's walls were a weird red soil colour, emitting a faint red glow. This caused the passage's interior to be visible.
But the path was very long and extended beyond what the eye could see. Due to the angle, Yami could not see what was at the end of the path.
He stood at the cave entrance and did not immediately step in, instead squinting and standing on the spot.
A strength inheritance was not like a legacy inheritance.
Legacy was when a Gu Master died and left behind his belongings. Those who find this legacy can find the items on the corpse.
A strength inheritance is when a Gu Master who is on the verge of death and reluctant to let his legacy go extinct, or to benefit the future generations, or wants to leave behind his last trace of existence in the world, purposely set hurdles to test the people who arrive.
Taking the Flower Wine Monk for example, he set up this inheritance with a clear objective - it is to nurture an avenger, to take revenge on the Konoha Clan!
If the person who comes along is able to pass these trials he(she) would obtain all sorts of benefits. The person who gets through the final test would obtain the entire strength inheritance.
According to the two factions, strength inheritance is split into the righteous inheritance and the demonic inheritance.
Righteous inheritances often had exquisite design, to test the nature and character of the person. Those who fail midway, would not be in any mortal danger.
Demonic inheritance was more complex.
Those demonic cultivators were often insane and persistent, cold-blooded, or a mass murderer, unable to be assessed by normal standards.
Some demonic inheritances had trials that tested the mind. With lots of mind-boggling decisions to make, a lot of people would fall into deep and painful thoughts without getting a single result.
Some demonic inheritances were extremely simple, being a secret room with Gu worms and primeval stones inside.
Some demonic inheritances were extremely cruel, and failure midway often spelled death.
Some were more extreme - a few demonic cultivator's inheritances were a huge lie, being a giant trap itself. They followed the rules of 'bringing someone down with them', and even right before dying, they would set up this trial and trick others.
"Which type does Flower Wine Monk's inheritance belong to?" Yami thought deeply.
With his previous life's memories, he was clear of any future famous demonic inheritances. But this one in particular, no one discovered it in his lifetime, and Yami was left unaware of the details.
"By right, the chances of a trap isn't high. Otherwise the Flower Wine Monk would not design this image wall. But is there a hidden mechanism?"
Yami picked up a rock and threw it into the cave.
The rock rolled in the path and quickly rolled out of Yami's sight; he could hear a series of colliding sounds echoing in the cave.
Yami fell into deep thought. The rock testing results showed that it was safe.
But he did not enter the path yet, and instead took out some rock powder and spread it around the entrance of the secret cave. At the same time, he spread a layer on the rock crack entrance.
Next, he squeezed out of the narrow rock crack and left the place.
Around a few hundred meters from the river in a hidden bush, he found the green bamboo wine that he had brought along this time. Opening the seal, he drank a huge mouthful and purposely spilled some of the liquor, getting it on his clothes and making him smell of alcohol.
Carrying the wine, he went back to the village, and upon reaching the school hostel, it was exactly midnight.
If he did not return at night often, people would get suspicious. This was better, going out early at night and returning late at night.
When finding the Liquor worm, Yami already did this, and with that background, such behaviour was not peculiar.
The stars fade and the sun appears, a night of silence.
The bright morning sun shone on Elemental Mountain.
In the academy, the elder spoke about important details. "Tomorrow, we are choosing the second Gu worm for refinement. Everyone here has experience in successfully refining Gu worms, and this time you can solidify your experiences. For the selection of the second Gu worm, consider it carefully. With the experience of cultivating these few days and understanding of your own body, consider it as a whole. Normally, it is best if you pair the second Gu well with your vital Gu."
A Gu Master's first Gu was known as the vital Gu, and once it was chosen it would be the footing stone of their development. After that, the second and third Gu worm would be nurtured upon this footing stone and decide the Gu Master's cultivating direction.
After hearing the academy elder's words, the youngsters began to ponder, and only Yami was sleeping soundly on the table.
He had worked hard for half the night yesterday, and after returning to the hostel, he still continued in his Gu Master cultivation, nurturing his aperture. When the sun had risen, only then did he sleep.
The academy elder looked at Yami and frowned, but did not say anything.
Ever since the clan leader spoke to him, he had adopted a 'let Yami do as he wishes, I am not going to give a care' attitude.
"Which Gu worm should I choose?" As the students thought about it, they subconsciously looked towards Yami.
"Speaking of which, Yami already has his second Gu worm."
"Yeah, that is but a Liquor worm; to actually get a Liquor worm out of gambling rocks, his luck is off the charts!"
"If I had the Liquor worm, I would advance to middle stage first too huh?"
The students' thoughts varied, having admirers and jealous people among them.
Ever since that day after the interrogation, Yami's Liquor worm was successfully exposed. The origins of the liquor worm did not raise suspicion. The clansmen were both enlightened and also exasperated at Yami's luck.
"Why don't I have such luck, sigh!" Shino Aburame who was also a C grade talent sighed deeply in his heart.
Quite a while ago, his grandfather had asked around and tried to procure a Liquor worm for him. To think that even as a family branch's inheritor, he was not able to have one; to think Yami managed to get the Liquor worm before him.
Compared to Shino's envy and depression, vice chairman Naruto was full of spirit.
"Brother, I will definitely surpass you." He looked at Yami and said in his heart before looking away.
These days his eyes were shining with light, and he felt a sort of excitement towards life. His face was flushing red and his forehead was glowing, even his steps were quicker and lighter.
The academy elder saw all of it, and immediately understood that the Konoha Clan leader had started secretly teaching Naruto.
These underhand methods were obviously not for the public to know.
The academy elder turned a blind eye to this.
Soon it was night once more.
Yami entered the secret cave again.
Ring ring ring…...
In his hand, a wild rabbit was struggling, and there was a bell was on its neck.
This was a wild rabbit that Yami caught on the mountain, the bell was naturally attached by him.
After a day, the stuffy smell in the secret cave has dissipated, and the air was fresh.
The cave's passage entrance was open; it was silent inside. Yami half-kneeled on the floor as he inspected the floor. Yesterday he had sprayed rock powder all over the area, and this thin layer of powder was inconspicuous.
"The passage entrance's rock powder is intact, thus it seems that during my absence, nothing strange has crawled out of it. The rock crack entrance does have a footprint, but that's mine, so evidently no one else had come here." Yami felt at ease after his inspection.
He stood up, using his hands to pull the dead vines from the wall. Next he sat on the ground and his leg was used to hold the wild rabbit in place, leaving his two hands free to weave the vines.
This was work that normal Gu Masters wouldn't know, but Yami had too much life experience. In his past life, many a time was he so poor that he couldn't afford to feed his Gu worms, leaving them to starve to death one by one.
For a time, he had primeval essence but no Gu worms; he became just like a mortal person, even living was difficult. Having no choice, he learned to weave the grass ropes into straw sandals, hats etc. and sold them in exchange for primeval stone fragments to feed himself.
While twisting the grass ropes in his hands, Yami's memories resurfaced.
The anguish and suffering from back then had transformed into his soundless laughter now. The rabbit underneath his foot continued to struggle, the bell ringing nonstop.
A pair of two strings touch for long, ten thousands of twists and thousands of returns make their inseparable love numerous.
Delicately and slowly, with the passing of years, letting them converge. Complications, entanglements and turns present.
Weaving the grass ropes, isn't it just like experiencing life?
In the secret cave, the red light shone onto Yami's face, showing his youthfulness and experience intertwining together on his face.
Time seemed to have stopped too, silently appreciating the young man weaving his ropes.
Ring ring ring...
An hour later, the wild rabbit rapidly entered the passageway, the bell on its neck ringing continuously. In a few breaths it left Yami's field of vision.
Yami held onto the improvised grass rope that he wove temporarily, and on one end the rope was attached to the rabbit's hind leg, dragging into the tunnel with it.
After a while, the rope stopped all movement.
But this did not mean the rabbit had reached the end of the tunnel. It could have been killed by a trap or just decided to take a rest midway.
Yami began to pull at the rope, retrieving it. The rope gradually tightened as he tugged.
On the other end, a force of strength suddenly tugged back as the rope started to move towards the cave again.
Evidently the rabbit on the other side had felt the tugging force and in its fluster, started to move deeper into the cave.
After many attempts, the rabbit finally reached the end of the path, and no matter how Yami tugged at the rope, it only tightened and relaxed.
Maybe the rabbit had reached the end of the tunnel, or maybe it had fallen into a trap and got stuck.
It was simple to test and find out the answer.
Yami started to retrieve the rope. His strength surpassed the rabbit by a mile, and eventually he dragged the rabbit out by force.
The rabbit struggled at the other end, but the rope was made from materials acquired from the Wine Sack Flower Gu and Rice Pouch Grass Gu. Although it had been dead for years, it remained sturdy unlike normal grass.
The wild rabbit was once again in Yami's hands jumping about. Yami inspected the wild rabbit and saw that it had no injuries, then he finally breathed out in relief.
"For now, it seems that this segment of the passageway is safe."
With this result, the rabbit thus lost its value and Yami killed it instantly, throwing the corpse on the ground.
He could not let the rabbit go, for animals also had memories. If it came back again, and like the Liquor worm, attracted outsiders, that would be very bad.
He breathed in deeply. After several tries and probes, he finally stepped into the passageway carefully.
Even with the wild rabbit exploring, there were many traps and mechanisms that specially targeted only humans. A small animal like the wild rabbit would be unable to trigger it. Thus, Yami still had to be careful.
The tunnel was straight, diagonally slanting towards the bottom. The deeper it was, the wider and taller the passage became.
Yami had to lower his head when entering at first, but after more than fifty steps, he was able to take large strides with a straightened back, and after a hundred steps, he could walk while lifting his upper arms and brandishing them left and right.
The tunnel was not that long, it was only around 300 meters. But Yami spent around two hours venturing before he finally reached the end of the path.
On the way, he was vigilant and explored step by step. At the end of the path, he was already sweating profusely.
"It is so troublesome without a detection Gu worm." Yami wiped the sweat off his forehead and after confirming his safety, calmed down and inspected the area.
This time at one glance, he was stunned.
At the end of the tunnel, there was a huge rock. The rock's surface was smooth and protruded towards Yami's direction, resembling Uchiha Itachi's belly.
This rock alone halted Yami's progression.
Other than this huge rock, there was nothing around Yami.
"Is it because of an accident that the tunnel path was blocked, causing this?" Yami squinted as he thought about the possibilities.
Before the Flower Wine Monk died, he was eager to set up the inheritance. He used the Thousand Li Earthwolf Spider and created a tunnel path. The path led deep within the mountains and to guide the inheritor in.
After hundreds of years, the passage was unable to withstand the corrosion of time and at one point, one of the areas collapsed due to lack of maintenance.
All sorts of accidents often happen in life.
"If this is the case, won't I be stuck at this point?" He went forward and touched the rock. This rock was halting his progression, its size was like a door, one could only imagine its overall thickness.
Yami could use the Moonlight Gu to carve away at the rock wall, but if he wanted to grind off this huge rock, it would take at least a year or two.
"It seems like I'm forced to use tools, I'll need to use spades and pickaxes to break the rock. Except if I do this, I might reveal some traces. The construction sounds might also travel out." Thinking of this, Yami frowned deeply. He was weighing the pros and cons.
If the risk was too huge, he would rather give up this strength inheritance.
After all, if others found out this secret, all the plotting and acting that Yami had done would go to waste, and his life would even be in danger!