Chapter Sixty-Three: Surname and Name

  Chapter Sixty-Three: Surname and Name

  "White! Sir, how... why are you making this face? Are you thinking of leaving?" Kumaoro had never seen me make this expression before, especially not after I had genuinely smiled, and it made him feel flustered.

  "It's nothing, sir, you won't leave, really." Just like last time, sir, you won't leave, right?

  "Don't mention anything related to the adult's name again, unless the adult brings it up themselves, got it?" This expression, I had seen it twice before. The first time was when the adult said his title - Yoroshiku; the second time was at the bottom of the cliff in Mizu no Kuni, by the waterfall. That feeling was as if the adult's expression wasn't from the same world as ours.

  The child hung his head and said nothing.

  I shook my head, making myself clear once again. All of that is in the past now. My siblings are no longer here, and that place has lost all its value for me to return to. The only remaining traces of my siblings are him and our surname "Yuan".

  "Sixteen nights, you have your own surname, having a surname of your own is something to be envied. Giving up one's original surname is the same as giving up one's own bloodline. You should still use your own surname! Just like Bai Hejun and others who also kept their surnames!" I am too, although I think I don't have the qualifications to use it.

  "A surname" represents a person's spiritual identity. Even orphans often give themselves a surname. I've always thought that people without surnames are like those without homes, one is spiritual and the other is real.

  "But I don't want to have that surname, I don't want to bear the destiny of protecting that person, I don't want to be surnamed 'Tian' or 'Shou'! None of us want it!" Jiu Ye really didn't want this surname, his only hope now was to get rid of the restraint of this surname, but he wouldn't think that in the end, he would still return to this surname, and it would be voluntary.

  Are we...? Although a new integrated personality has been re-fused, after all, it is mainly based on the strongest personality "Chongcuo", and many oral habits are still the same as "Chongcuo", just like when excited, often use "we" as the main word for "I".

  This kind of blood feud is the hardest to eliminate, just like Uchiha Sasuke's hatred towards Uchiha Itachi, isn't it something that can't be understood unless you're one of the parties involved?

  Or even if it's the person involved, they can't understand this resentment, right? "Ming".

  "Is that so?" But "surname" is still important to me, and you now haven't made me feel like I can take on that surname, because even the current me isn't good enough, let alone the previous white one, which was only temporary.

  "If you don't want to protect him, then kill him? "Heaven" and "Hunter", from now on, the Heaven's Guardian has disappeared. What lives now is "Heaven Hunter Sixteen Nights". I placed my hands on Sixteen Nights' shoulders, facing Nine Nights' face, "Now let's introduce ourselves, I am Jaku Zan."

  "Hello, Tian Xun Jun, I am Mizuki Shirabe." He bowed slightly.

  "I am Kaguya-hime, nice to meet you." Kaguya-hime looked a bit unwilling.

  "You... hello, I am... Juuroku Yoru, Heaven's Hunter Juuroku Yoru. From now on, please guide me often!" Juuroku Yoru stood up very seriously and bowed at a 90-degree angle towards the three of us.

  "Wait, I didn't agree to you following us." Don't make decisions on your own. "We've already settled this, we're individuals and I don't need the weak! If you want to follow me, show me your worth!"

  I'm not usually a good talker, but I've always felt that there's an extremely weak and faint sense of familiarity about Sixteen Nights, it feels like a blood relation, however, this body can't possibly have any relatives by blood, even if it did, it wouldn't be possible for it to be Sixteen Nights, back in the cave, I didn't have any perception at all, was it because I had an affinity with Sixteen Nights' past? Or is it just a "misconception" due to this faint blood connection?

  I'm not that weak, so there must be some other special reason, or it has something to do with Ku's silence this time... previously, whether it was Shirabe or Kimimaro, Ku strongly opposed them following me... does this mean Ku wants Juunana to follow me?

  Then let's give each other a chance!

  "That... Tanigawa's sixteenth night, you're sure you want to follow me? I won't be a good person, and I don't want to be one either. What I do might be bad things. Following me isn't a wise choice."

  Living a dull life is no longer an option for us, but you still have the chance. I don't know how you made the decision to follow me, whether it was out of gratitude, impulsiveness, or confusion, but I won't pry. However, now that you've made this choice, I'll take you to Konoha because I owe you a great debt. You don't need to know how I came to owe you this debt; just know that even after saving you and leaving, the debt remains so large that it's difficult for me to repay. So I agree to bring you back to Konoha, but following me requires sufficient strength - enormous strength. The weak only die by my side.

  So, once I feel that your strength is too weak, or you are growing too slowly, I will let you leave, or I will leave myself. Do you still want to follow me?

  I hope that this child with a similar background to mine can have a normal, peaceful life. That is also my hope, our hope. Unfortunately, after I got this "Vortex Whirlwind" body, I had long lost the qualifications for a normal ordinary person's life.

  I tried my best to hope that I could persuade Juroku Yoru not to follow me, but just as Kuya was never able to change my mind once it's made up, the situation is the same this time.

  "Yes, Father." replied Juroku-ya firmly.

  Dad... I'm not old yet, am I?! The blood in my heart is boiling!

  "Sixteen Nights, although your birth was with my help, I've already said that this isn't entirely my credit." To be honest, the one who helped you hatch is probably Kyuu! If you want to call someone, you should be calling him "Father", not me like that.

  "But it was you who gave birth to me, so my father is you! The blood and body recognize you as my father! Moreover, there is a voice in my heart that tells me to call you this way, it says to protect you!"

  What have you done now?! Isn't having Bai and Jun Mochi enough for you?! You're still adding more to me?!

  I'm unable to speak out about Jiu's existence, it's really a grievance! If I had known that the method Jiu told me to solve multiple personalities would have such aftereffects, I'd rather let him have nine more personalities! That despicable Jiu is now pretending to sleep on me! This matter isn't over yet!

  "Our ages aren't about the same? It's not good for you to call me like that?" I struggled to say.

  But unexpectedly, Juroku-ya shook her head and said: "To be honest, I was born today, from your hands, Father."

  Even so, I still can't give birth to a six-year-old child who is the same age as me, okay?! "Are you going to listen to everything I say?"

  "Ah!"

  "Then don't follow me, I'll help you find a quiet village to settle down?"

  "I want to follow Father."

  "......Then can you stop calling me 'Dad'?"

  "This is etiquette! Etiquette must not be abandoned!"

  I'm so frustrated! My previous personality was clearly more outgoing, why did I end up becoming such a serious and steady person?! "Well... just call me 'sir' then! That's good enough, right?!" Anyway, since I have to choose between two bad options, I'll just pick the one that's slightly less terrible.

  "Yes, sir!"

  Finally done, if it wasn't I would really have to consider "abandoning the kid".

  It's already a bright morning, but I feel like I've lost all my energy for the whole day, and there's a kind of spiritual weakness!

  It seems like I've overlooked something...

  If there's someone laughing beside me right now, I really can't help but kill them to silence them. Fortunately, it's just Bai, Junmaru, me, and the culprit here, so no one should leak what just happened.

  It feels like today is the most exhausting day of my life.

  Rarely did I notice the faint playful smile at the corner of Juroku's mouth as I indulged in self-pity.