Chapter 23

The day before...

"You want me to do what?"

Naoya has been adjusting to this twisted way of life since he became a Silky by Suiryu. He has tried to make do with what he has. The only benefit is that he regained part of his old technique. The catch is he can only use it when performing his 'duties' as a Silky. In other words, he can work, cook, clean, and defend with his former ability. But just now, what Suiryu is asking of him is beyond reasoning.

"I want you to get captured by Orcs, and I want you to fatten up said Orcs for us to butcher and use in a luau for Toshi," Suiryu explained and smiled.

"A luau?" Naoya asked skeptically. "Fatten up your own damn pigs." He didn't have time for these games. Yet, as he turned to try and leave, Suiryu already stood before him.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me correctly... then again, you have yet to learn about Toshi. Let's say this. You do this for him, and you will get a great reward. You will do everything you can to appease him when you see Toshi. As such, I suggest you do this."

Naoya paused oddly. "This isn't an order?" he asked curiously.

"I will make it one, but I wanted to see if you are curious enough to try this. I wouldn't be asking without reason. Besides, these Orcs think they are the best among the divine..."

"What?" Naoya demanded. "PIGS think they are better than me?"

"Oh yeah, big time," Suiryu replied without hesitation. "As I said, you are doing this to gain the favor of a dragon. You do know the power of that firsthand, don't you? With me, it's limited since I make it so. So you gain Toshi's favor. Whatever he gifts you, I cannot take away or override. At the moment, he outranks me."

"How?" Naoya asked. His back was up on this now. However, Suiryu won't explain it any further.

Now, he was curious. "What do I need to do?"

Suiryu's smile grew as he placed a hand on Naoya's shoulder. A surge coursed through him. "I have released your seal for now, meaning you can go out alone for this task. Do well. I'll consider allowing you to leave here more often without restriction."

Tempting, very tempting.

He peered at Suiryu once more. "Why me?"

Suiryu whispered into his ear, but for now, he would let that thought leave his mind for the time being. He didn't need to know THAT part of his power.

#

It was stupidly easy.

Naoya wasn't out of the house for more than an hour, near the grounds where Suiryu knew the Orcs liked to gather. He was told that Orcs like to congregate in groups. They also want to ensure they have an easy life. One thing they despise is cooking for themselves.

Naoya was now in their territory with a portable grill.

He sighed aloud as he began to cook.

He ensured to use ingredients that wafted in the wind and would gain the attention of anyone passing by. He barely cooked for twenty minutes when he heard deep, nostril breaths.

"Ooo, what's that?"

Peering up, he saw six rather large men before him. But he saw through their divine disguises. The Orcs took no time to find him. "Do you mind? I'm trying to work here!" Naoya snapped back.

One began to bring his face a little too close for comfort. They locked eyes when the orc smirked. "I heard about you. You're that new Silky everyone is talking about!"

"Oh, this the guy?"

"I am sure of it. I looked away momentarily and saw that Silky had made this garlic beef bowl. Your talent will be a waste here. Why not come with us?" he asked with a slimy grin.

He sighed. After all, this is what Suiryu wanted, and if there are more of them...

"Do I have a choice?" he asked in an affronted tone.

The orc put a hand on his shoulder. "No," he said bluntly. "Get moving,"

#

The orcs took Naoya to their den.

Deep in the underbelly of Kyoto, among the riff raft and gangs within the city, the orcs had made camp. Ironically enough, it's one of the few locations yet to be taken down by Rook and Sukuna during their hunting trips. Naoya forcefully pushed into an old motorcycle club, and at least fifty orcs were inside.

The place was revolting.

It stunk worst than anything he had ever smelt before. The orcs are everywhere. They drank, eat, and there appeared to be the odd corpses on the ground. Naoya wasn't too surprised, though, that they were mainly women.

"What have we here?!"

Naoya turned and saw a massive, oversized orc yet oddly enough had strong human features to himself. He sat on a chair that could easily fit several humans, but his frame took the whole chair up.

The strange thing was, he looked familiar.

"My King, we found a Silky! This one can cook for us!"

Their so-called King peered at him oddly, and Naoya did as well. "Why do you look familiar to me?"

The King, despite his size, did have a look to him that made Naoya appear to notice. His long blond hair, too, was odd since most of the Orcs here bore shortcuts. The King sneered at him at first but then smirked. "Then I guess I didn't lose my good looks. You see, I used to be a divine user. The strongest, in fact." he decreed.

"You are no Satoru Gojo," Naoya said defiantly.

"No, I wasn't a curse user. I was known as a model as well. Leo Adonis!" he said rather proudly.

Ah, that's why...

"So, you were a divine user? How did you become an Orc?"

His smile vanished instantly. "That damn clone of Sukuna, it was HIS fault I became like this,"

'Suiryu? Figures. This ought to be interesting,' Naoya thought. "Clone of Sukuna, huh? How did he do this to you?"

Adonis sneered. "He took away my divine power," he said bitterly. "I've been the strongest among the divine for fifty years. At least, I thought so until that string bean photographer..." his voice trailed off.

"How could he have taken your divine power? It is ingrained into the soul like curse energy, isn't it?" Naoya asked.

"It is, and yet, somehow, he managed to remove it from my body. I grew desperate to survive. So, I knew there were ways of becoming something else. The Orc path was the easiest and one I achieved effortlessly. Now, since I am the strongest, I led them!"

The orcs cheered to that. Adonis explained that he used his fan base to lure women here for the orcs to breed. But they are a little too rough, and most women die afterward. Not that he cares or anything, but Naoya was getting annoyed with the back story.

"Look, good for you in turning chicken shit into chicken salad, but I am NOT staying here." he protested.

Naoya suddenly found himself surrounded. "Oh, you're staying. We will decide if we will let you live after a meal or two. You do well, and we will let you go." Adonis explained.

That slimy smirk said it all.

They have no intention of letting him leave.

He glared at Adonis. "So be it. Where's the kitchen?"