Chapter 58: Journal, Cursed Immortality and Respect

Chapter 58: Journal, Cursed Immortality and Respect

__________ POV Narration__________

Immortality could be achieved in many ways.

In Ken's past life, it was nothing more than a pipe dream of a few deluded people.

However, in the world he found himself in, that pipe dream appeared to be a possibility.

Be it through curses or whatever other means, it was clear that immortality was achievable.

Hell, even Ken himself was technically immortal. His Nature Energy granted him a somewhat permanent regeneration.

The blind swordsman could recover from just about any wound as long as his body still had energy, and his energy was being replenished every second, the rate of which only increased as he grew older...

However, the best example of actual immortality that they had was Akira, who was now, by all accounts, impervious to most types of damage.

However, those were all strains of immortality... But they were incomplete.

Akira's power was born out of an amalgamation of curses that just happened to click right within his body.

And Ken's power could still be subverted, as he wasn't confident in surviving a decapitation(yet) and wounds inflicted by fire always regenerated slower.

No one had perfect immortality, at least no one that Ken was well aware of...

Saburo, however, seemed to have heard of something rather interesting while on his research.Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

Finding the ancestral shrine of a forgotten clan that had been ruined during the Warring States Period. There, Saburo was able to find a rather interesting journal in a well-hidden library.

"The story goes into detail, talking about a hermit that had mastered Genjutsu to its very peak, to the point where he was technically unbeatable.

With a simple hand sign, he could trick every sense of a person. Hear, sight, smell, taste. He could trap someone in either hell or heaven, anything his imagination allowed."

Ken listened to Saburo's story with interest, immediately intrigued by the possibility of there being someone with enough mastery of Genjutsu to actually affect him as well...

"The clan, however, was wiped out. The Hermit lost in battle, despite his overwhelming prowess, he couldn't ever defeat the man that was to become the God of Shinobi, Hashirama and his counterpart, Madara Uchiha..."

The Blind Assassin sighed as he remembered whatever information he had about the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama. Someone considered the greatest shinobi to have ever lived, with enough power to put a stop to the Warring States Period.

Madara Uchiha was just as powerful, and their union was what stopped the war in its tracks.

The Blind Swordsman didn't know much about the Uchiha, but he did know that the Sharingan was a dangerous Dojutsu and that they were impossible to catch in an illusion thanks to it.

Ken's knowledge of the history of the Shinobi world was quite decent after all, Tosho had done a good job in teaching him about the most legendary figures in their world.

"Madara Uchiha proved to be a great counter against the Hermit's illusions. Hashirama was a bit more susceptible, but even he could overcome them through sheer will..."

Ken scowled as a few questions rose in his mind.

'How did this Hermit even survive for one second against the two of them? If they both could resist Genjutsu, then how could he even begin to hold his ground?'

"That was when he discovered, that as long as one had enough mastery and will, one could bring illusions to reality, merge the plain of imagination to that of the living..."

Ken tilted his head when hearing that... If one could actually control reality as they would Genjutsu, then wouldn't they classify as a god?

"But he couldn't do it in any significant manner. At most, he could alter small facets of reality and only related to the caster...

He was killed in that fight... But he didn't actually die. Instead, in his last moments, he placed himself under a Genjutsu, one in which he allowed himself to live..."

"Thank you for entertaining my curiosity, Saburo. I seem to have taken up quite a bit of your time." Ken slowly got up and walked towards the door.

He still needed a bit more time to mull over his own thoughts and digest everything, but he didn't see the point in wasting any more of his researcher's time.

"No need to mention it, Leader... I will keep you posted on any findings I may have. If you need anything else, I will always be around these halls..." Saburo also stood up as Ken left, bowing slightly in a respectful manner.

The Blind Leader just nodded and left, humming a bit to himself as he clenched his hand a few times.

In the end, every story of Immortality that he had heard always made it out to be some sort of curse...

He simply had no example where it was a genuinely positive change for the people that were struck by it.

'That was certainly not what I expected to hear from Saburo... But I should get back to focusing on partial transformation... No use in mulling over some suffering immortal right now.'

The leader then went ahead with his partial transformation training. He went outside, still within the Dark Brotherhood compound, and sat down near the trunk of a large tree.

He took a deep breath and controlled the energies within his body before he started it.

His fingers formed almost invisible chakra blades at their tips, and Ken started by trying to transform only his right arm.

He did so successfully for one second before the arm turned once again into a statue...

The Blind Leader quickly unclogged his Tenketsu, allowing his chakra to flow into his arm once more.

The Blind Assassin repeated those motions for hours on end... Recruits spotted him at some point, but no one dared to disturb him. Not out of fear, but out of respect.

Ken didn't rule with an iron fist. Though his training was strict, and his methods were scary to some of them, no one actually feared the man that had created the Dark Brotherhood...

How could they fear the man that had given them another chance at life?

Besides, Ken had managed to instil one thing into all of the recruits at that point... Discipline.

It was something that an assassin needed for survival. It was something essential to Ken's organization.

The children with disabilities, the ones too young to care for themselves, and even the talented ones. They were all treated the same, treated like brothers and sisters. And all of them learned to respect the one that had made it all possible...

Indeed, it was that respect that stirred a powerful wish to one day be able to repay their 'Father' for all that he had done for them...

And it was that powerful wish that enabled all of them to keep up with the Dark Brotherhood's borderline sadistic training.

They were all pushed to the very limits of their bodies on a daily basis, only allowed rest days once every three weeks. And even then. not one of them ever complained about the training...

After all, how could physical pain ever compare to the pain they all felt when watching their families die?

How could it ever compare to the helplessness they all felt when they couldn't do anything to stop it from happening?

Ken and Tosho's methods worked wonders in turning the perceived trauma of the children into strength.

But they all still had a long way to go... So did Ken. They were all young, and they had their whole lives ahead of them...

And time moved quickly for those that trained diligently though... And one year passed before anyone knew it.

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Hope you liked the chapter! Had a bit of work yesterday, so I wasn't able to write much. This was pretty fun to write tho ;))

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