Being Invited

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During one of their nightly training sessions, Horyu decided to test the limits of his new abilities. With Yoru as his target, he closed his eyes, letting the earrings' enhanced perception guide him. He could sense Yoru's movements through the owl's subtle shifts in the air, each wingbeat sending ripples through the darkness that Horyu could 'see' with his enhanced senses.

"Trying something new?" Yoru asked, intrigued by Horyu's closed eyes.

"Just testing the waters," Horyu replied, his focus unwavering. Suddenly, he launched himself towards Yoru, his movements guided by the perception the earrings provided. Yoru, surprised by the accuracy of Horyu's approach, took to the air, a laugh echoing in the night. "Not bad, Horyu. Not bad at all."

The session continued with Horyu successfully tracking Yoru's flight patterns, even managing to predict his landings. It was a testament to the effectiveness of the earrings and Horyu's adaptability. Yoru, ever the skilled flyer, was impressed by Horyu's ability to keep up, a rare feat for anyone not of the owl tribe.

After the session, as they rested on the forest floor, Yoru turned to Horyu, "You've come a long way, Horyu. I remember when you couldn't even see in the dark without those glowing eyes of yours."

Horyu chuckled, "Yeah, those were the days. But I've learned a lot since then."

Yoru's gaze sharpened, "Planning on leaving soon?"

"Sooner than you think. There's a lot I need to do, and time isn't exactly on my side," Horyu replied, his tone serious. The conversation shifted to Horyu's plans, his goals outside the Twilight Realm, and how he intended to utilize the skills he'd honed here.

There was one more subquest in the Kurohana Quest series for Horyu, titled The Silent Guardian, which seemed to hint at a future challenge or threat to the tribe. Despite his uncertainty about the nature of this threat, Horyu felt prepared. The Kurohana Owl Tribe, rulers of the Twilight Realm, safeguarded the Realm Tree, a symbol of their dominion. If the System assigned this quest, Horyu was confident a situation would arise where his assistance would be crucial. Yet, a part of him wondered about the System's intentions. 'Considering the quest about facing Itachi's Tsukuyomi, could the System actually lead me into danger?' he pondered, shrugging off the thought as he prepared to return to the Uzumaki village with Toru.

Summoning Toru again, Horyu shared his progress and thoughts on the Uzumaki village mystery. Despite Toru's lack of scholarly interest, his straightforwardness provided a fresh perspective that Horyu found valuable. Over the months, Horyu had pieced together clues and knowledge, standing on the brink of unraveling the village's secrets. He could almost taste the breakthrough.

As they landed near the Uzumaki village, Toru hooted, breaking the silence, "So, what's the big plan today?"

Horyu glanced at the village, his eyes scanning the familiar yet mysterious landscape. "Close to figuring it out. There's something here, a puzzle piece I'm missing."

Toru, scratching his head with a wing, seemed puzzled. "And you think you'll just stumble upon it?"

"More or less," Horyu replied, a smirk playing on his lips. "These puzzles don't stand a chance."

They walked through the village, Horyu's steps leading them towards the central structure where the Shinigami was sealed. He paused, considering the silent buildings around them. "This place... It's a vault of secrets. Just need the right key."

Toru, looking around, added, "Seems peaceful. But the deadly kind of peaceful."

Horyu nodded, focusing on the sealed building. "There's more to this seal. The Uzumaki didn't just trap Shinigami; they must have left a message."

Pulling out a scroll he'd taken notes on, Horyu began to unravel the seal's layers with a methodical precision. Toru watched, fascinated despite himself. "What are you looking for?"

"An entrance, a trigger. Something," Horyu muttered, his concentration intense.

Horyu spent long days and nights scrutinizing the complex seal that guarded the island of the Whirlpool Country. This seal did more than just bar entry; it shackled the Shinigami's specter army, preventing their escape or invasion. By the third month of his six-month venture since arriving in the Uzumaki lands, Horyu uncovered a stunning revelation while studying the Shinigami's seal. The seal wasn't just a barrier; it was siphoning power directly from the Shinigami. This realization hit Horyu like a ton of bricks. The Uzumaki Matriarch had crafted a seal that not only protected the island from external threats but also harnessed Shinigami, the very entity that betrayed them, as an endless source of power.

Since Shinigami was immortal and could always feed on the emotions of souls in his stomach, the barrier around the Whirlpool Country was as eternal as Shinigami himself. This ingenious setup also ensured that the specter slaves, bound to Shinigami, wouldn't dare attempt to break the seal. Any attempt on their part would merely drain Shinigami's power further, weakening them instead of liberating them. The Uzumaki Matriarch's seal was not just a defense mechanism; it was a self-sustaining prison, leveraging the Shinigami's hunger against him and his enslaved specters.

"The Uzumaki were brilliant... and ruthless," Horyu remarked, admiring the cunning of the seal's design. He turned to Toru, who was looking at him expectantly. "Breaking this seal would unleash all kinds of chaos. We need a workaround."

Toru hooted in agreement, his eyes scanning the perimeter of the barrier. "So, how do we get to the artifacts without tearing the whole thing down?"

"This is insane," Horyu muttered under his breath, his gaze locked on the seal's intricate patterns. "Using Shinigami as a battery... That's genius and twisted at the same time."

Toru, perched beside him, tilted his head, trying to grasp the magnitude of Horyu's discovery. "Sounds like they got the last laugh, huh?"

"Yeah," Horyu responded, a wry smile on his face.

Toru ruffled his feathers uncomfortably. "So, what now? You just gonna stare at it?"

Horyu shook his head, his mind racing. "No, there's got to be another way. The Uzumaki wouldn't have left it like this without a fail-safe or a clue."

For weeks, Horyu and Toru scoured the area, Horyu diving deeper into the seal's mechanics, searching for any hint of a hidden mechanism or entry point that wouldn't disturb the seal's integrity. The task was daunting, the complexity of Uzumaki sealing techniques far surpassing anything Horyu had encountered.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the land, Horyu sat back, exhausted from yet another fruitless search. Toru landed beside him, a fish clutched in his talons. "Dinner," he announced, dropping the fish beside Horyu.

Horyu looked at the fish, then back at the seal. An idea sparked in his mind, a connection made in the depths of his exhaustion. "Toru, you genius," he exclaimed, startling the owl.

"What? What'd I do?" Toru asked, genuinely puzzled.

"The fish... it's not about breaking in. It's about being invited," Horyu realized aloud. "The Uzumaki... maybe they left a way for their kin to return, a way to bypass the seal without breaking it."

With renewed vigor, Horyu returned to the seal, this time not looking for weaknesses but for signs of an invitation, a key hidden in plain sight. Days turned into weeks, but Horyu persisted, driven by the belief that the answer was there, waiting to be found.

Then, one day, as the first light of dawn crept over the island, Horyu found it—a small, almost imperceptible anomaly in the seal's pattern, a deviation that didn't match the rest of the sealing technique's perfection.

"This is it," Horyu whispered, excitement coursing through his veins. "This has to be the key."

Toru looked confused, tilting his head. "Is it that easy to be invited?"

Horyu shook his head, eyes narrowed as he studied the seal. "No, of course not." He gestured toward the seal, pointing out a specific part of the pattern that resembled a ritualistic basin. "See this? It's for Uzumaki blood. They're supposed to offer their blood here to bypass the seal."

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