What's wrong with having a large harem if you're the emperor of the ninja world?

"Recognize your place... His Majesty's woman..."

"Disobedient...get rid of it..."

"Serve him well... please him..."

"Making him happy...is the only way to plead for Konoha...and save lives..."

These words entwined her mind like poisonous vines.

In despair, people will instinctively grasp at any straw that seems to offer a lifeline.

Even if that straw itself leads to the abyss.

A morbid, self-comforting logic began to grow and spread in her heart...

yes……

What Quan said...

That seems to make sense...

I'm already his...

Resistance will only bring suffering, and even death, to yourself and everyone else...

But if I give in to him...

Try to please him...

perhaps……

Perhaps there really will be a chance to plead for Asuma?

Can you get better treatment for Shikamaru, Choji, and the others?

even……

At some point in the future.

Could we beg him to show mercy to Konoha?

Once this thought arises, it's like finding the seed of a crack.

It took root and sprouted wildly in the despairing heart of Kurenai Yuhi.

It provided a seemingly "noble" reason for her current powerlessness and humiliation.

It provided her with a twisted fulcrum to keep living.

Yes……

I did it to protect everyone...

To protect Konoha...

I had no choice but to do this...

I am not giving in...

I am... I am enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens...

She desperately tried to convince herself and numb herself with this idea.

They were trying to cover up the unspeakable shame and crumbling beliefs deep within their hearts.

All of a sudden.

Even she herself couldn't tell the difference.

Is this a pathological attachment resulting from brainwashing?

This is the beginning of Stockholm syndrome.

Or is it a desperate, self-deceptive survival strategy employed in dire circumstances?

Kurenai struggled to get up from the ground.

Wipe away the tears on my face.

I straightened my disheveled clothes.

His eyes were still empty, but there was an eerie, resigned "calmness" about them.

She gazed in the direction Di Yan had left.

That man swallowed everything she had, like an abyss.

At this moment, however, it seemed to have become the only twisted "hope" she could grasp.

She took a step.

As if being pulled by an invisible thread.

They followed step by step towards the palace...

.......

49 This is not a dream; Ino's worldview is shattered.

at the same time.

Inside the side hall's sleeping quarters.

Consciousness struggles to rise from the bottomless darkness and illusion, like a sunken ship.

Yamanaka Ino let out a painful and muffled groan.

Slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing I felt was aches and pains all over my body, as if it had been taken apart and put back together.

In particular, there was a tearing, excruciating pain in my body.

This made her frown instantly and gasp.

"Well……"

Ino blinked blankly.

What comes into view is an unfamiliar, extremely luxurious dome and drapery.

This is not a place she is familiar with.

Followed by.

Some chaotic and embarrassing fragments of memory.

It rushed into her brain like a tidal wave!

The swirling mist... the burning body temperature...

A man's face, so handsome it was almost otherworldly, yet carrying a wicked smile...

Strong arms...

And her own body, completely out of her control, coiling around her like vines...

Those breathless, heart-pounding gasps and sobs...

"what!"

Ino's rationality returned completely in an instant.

She suddenly sat up from the soft bed.

The strenuous movement aggravated the pain in her body, causing her to grimace again.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the inner terror.

This is not a dream!

Those memories are real!

She...she really...

She ducked her head sharply.

Seeing the bruises all over her body and the bloodstains on the messy sheets...

The last glimmer of hope was utterly shattered!

My mind goes blank.

The immense shock rendered her almost unable to think.

Why is she here?

Who is that man?

correct……

It's Teacher Hong!

It was Teacher Hong who gave her that glass of water!

And then she...

But... but in my memory...

I was clearly...active at the time?

What exactly is going on?

That feeling of being completely unable to control one's body and desires...

Losing...the most precious thing...

In this inexplicable situation...

They gave it to a terrifying man whose name they didn't even know...

Endless grievances, shame, fear, and confusion overwhelmed her like ice water.

Ino could no longer hold back.

She suddenly hugged her knees and buried her face in them.

His thin shoulders trembled violently.

He let out suppressed, desperate sobs.

Just as she was crying her heart out and feeling completely lost.

"Ino... Ino? You... you're awake?"

A timid girl's voice, filled with surprise and worry, came from the side.

Ino suddenly raised her head.

Through her teary eyes, she saw a figure she never expected... Hinata Hyuga!

Hinata was standing by the bed.

She was holding a neatly folded, brand-new light purple kimono.

Her signature white eyes were filled with complex emotions.

There was concern, sympathy, and shame...

There is also a deep-seated fear that Ino cannot understand.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?"

Ino, as if grasping at a straw, asked anxiously.

But she soon realized how disheveled she looked.

With a gasp, she abruptly pulled the disheveled sheet over her naked body.

Her original clothes had long since disappeared.