Chapter 141 Ling: Can you lend me a bit more chakra for cultivation?
The process of adapting to the Tailed Beasts' chakra was much more painful than Ling had imagined. Especially after the Tailed Beasts' chakra in his body was completely consumed, he felt as if his whole body was being torn apart.
Although there were no obvious injuries on his body, the pain was so severe that even wiggling a finger was very difficult. Moreover, not only was his body exhausted, but his spirit was also a bit listless from resisting the Malice contained in the chakra.
However, Ling didn't give up this kind of cultivation. Instead, after a brief mental recovery, he asked The Nekomata's Journey to do it again.
During the second attempt to contain the Tailed Beasts' chakra, as his own chakra was almost depleted and he had no way to relieve or resist it, the pain from the erosion was even worse.
But for Ling, this pain became the best help to keep him sane. He just frowned and slowly savored the changes the Tailed Beasts' chakra brought to his body.
It's true that the Tailed Beasts' chakra gave him incredibly powerful strength, but every thing has two sides, and obviously, the drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
The negative emotions contained within it were the biggest obstacle preventing him from mastering the Tailed Beasts' chakra. For the Uchiha clan, who were generally more emotional, it was clearly impossible to completely cut off the interference of these negative emotions.
After consuming all the chakra passed on by The Nekomata's Journey again, Ling slumped against a tree and sat down weakly. "Is this... what the Tailed Beasts have to bear every day?"
"Sort of," The Nekomata's Journey jumped down from Ling's head and landed on his lap. Looking up at his cheeks, which looked extremely pale in the night, it asked, "I'm used to it, so it doesn't bother me. But aren't you overdoing it?"
"If you want to get familiar with and apply a certain power, you have to make steady progress step by step," Ling reached out and picked up the little Nekomata, holding it in his arms. "Moreover, I'm not as uncomfortable as Little Neko thinks. Instead, I even enjoyed it a little when the second attempt started."
The Nekomata's Journey looked up in surprise. "Although you're a descendant of Indra, enjoying something like this, which can be regarded as a kind of hardship, you..."
"Isn't it enough to make people happy to clearly feel yourself getting stronger?" Ling chuckled softly and pointed at his temple. "After the accident, it's been a long time since I've felt myself getting stronger so clearly.
And I've found something really interesting. Although the Tailed Beasts' chakra erodes the body and causes pain, it also keeps healing the body and strengthens it significantly..."
Ling began to list the advantages of the Tailed Beasts' chakra. His words were full of his love for the Tailed Beasts' chakra and his thoughts on how to make the most of it to strengthen himself in the few days before the war.
The Nekomata's Journey still looked up at Ling, as before. Tailed Beasts are pure chakra beings. They can naturally sense the emotions of others through the resonance between the creature's chakra and natural chakra. At this moment, it could feel that there was no deception in every word Ling said.
For this reason, it became even more confused. "Don't you also get a headache from the Malice inside?"
Hearing this, Ling stopped elaborating on his training plan. He tilted his head slightly, showing a somewhat distressed expression. "Indeed, those Malice are just like being forced to listen to clumsy and repetitive stories... It's really easy to feel gloomy after hearing too much."
"Just feeling gloomy?"
"Yeah - just feeling gloomy," Ling bent his fingers and stroked The Nekomata's Journey's fur one by one. "Although I can feel the panic, hatred, and resentment of those before death from the chakra wrapped in emotions, for me, it's just some insignificant and complicated things.
Little Neko, you know, I'm a human, and the lifespan of humans is really too short. It's so short that they can exhaust all their energy just caring about the things they care about..."
Ling's voice gradually faded. It was a long while before he spoke again. "Little Neko, there are so many things I'm afraid of. After my mother and second younger brother passed away, I've always been in a state of fear - I'm always afraid that I'm not strong enough, always afraid that the remaining two younger brothers will die, and always afraid that one day in the future, I'll die without even being able to say a last word to them..."
In this situation, I really can't say that those people are pitiful or feel indignant about what they've encountered.
"...But didn't you do such a redundant thing in the Land of Lightning before?" The Nekomata's Journey tilted its head. It didn't know if it was asking Ling or trying to convince itself. "Don't you have pity for them?"
"The world is already so bad. So when I come across such things, it's okay to intervene within my capabilities," Ling shook his head with a calm expression. "Moreover, as a ninja, I'm also one of the culprits who created these tragedies. How could I really be swayed by others' pity?
So, as I said, after experiencing those things too many times, I just feel annoyed. If you want me to have any more feelings, maybe you have to wait until I've really experienced death..."
The Nekomata's Journey looked at Ling's calm expression. It scratched its claws uneasily but couldn't say a word - or rather, it didn't know what kind of answer it really wanted from Ling.
"This is also the downside of being immortal, isn't it?"
Ling curled his knuckles to stroke The Nekomata's Journey's chin. A gentle yet somewhat helpless smile curved his lips. "For a creature like Little Neko, an immortal being, time means nothing. So I can't understand your musings, and you're unaware of my worries. It's very difficult for beings of different natures to understand each other..."
Feeling the warmth from Ling's palm, The Nekomata's Journey unconsciously lowered its head and sighed. "You're right. What answer was I even expecting from you?"
After a long silence between the man and the cat, Ling spoke again. "Although it might be a bit inappropriate, Little Neko..."
"Hmm?"
Ling gently placed the little Nekomata on his lap, then brought his hands together in front of his forehead. His voice was sincere. "I've rested enough. Can you lend me some more chakra to cultivate with?"
The Nekomata's Journey: ...Seriously, this just makes me feel even more conflicted.