While waiting for Junior to show up, Sasuke ignored the bartender's attempts at small talk and occupied his mind by thinking about what he was going to do after leaving this club.
Surely, he would have to find a place to spend the night and finally get some proper rest. Even before he joined the war, Sasuke had been fighting nonstop, and not even dying had taken him out of the game for long.
After that, I need to get ready for Beacon. He didn't know what the initiation would be like, so he would at least have to learn a few more things that were considered common knowledge. This would all be so much easier if I could read someone's memories.
Too bad that was no longer a viable option.
Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't have time to formulate a solution before he snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed someone sitting down next to him. He almost got angry about it, already imagining what would come next.
However, this only lasted a second before he remembered the hood he was wearing.
Right, no one can see my face now. This made Sasuke relax a little before looking down at the half-empty glass in his hand. This "tea" is stronger than I thought...
Enough to be able to affect him, someone immune to almost all the poisons known in his home world.
"Strawberry sunrise, please! Oh, and put one of those little umbrellas on it!" Yang placed her order and ignored the bartender's comment about her age. And what do we have here? She sat down next to an interesting guy, wearing something that would make Ruby lose her breath. I think he's a Huntsman or a student, like me. His style was very much like her little sister's, all black and red. "Nice cloak, but if you hide your face like that, you won't attract any girls."
Reluctantly, Sasuke turned to his unwanted company and came across an extremely beautiful blonde girl with lilac eyes, perhaps his age, and it was disappointing to see that someone so young had forgotten so much of her decency at home.
Even taking into account the standard of the place, she stood out as much as her feminine weapons displayed with provocative pride.
"Maybe that's the point," he replied simply, returning to his tea. Without seeing my face, she'll lose interest pretty quickly and leave me alone.
Or so he thought, underestimating just how powerful his curse could really be.
"Wow, what a sexy voice you've got there~" Yang leaned on the counter, smiling teasingly. "I wonder if the rest of you are just as sexy?"
Her Yangsense was beeping, telling her that there was a prize hidden under this strange hood that wouldn't let her see anything but a shadow. If not, this boy would at least be a nice distraction until she found Junior, depending on his reactions.
Suddenly, Sasuke was beginning to think that his tea wasn't that strong and finished it all in one gulp, irritation taking over.
What else would he have to hide to have a peaceful passage in this world?
"Then what?" Sasuke said with his unfriendly tone, looking at the smiling girl who was beginning to resemble the annoying blonde he had left behind. "Are you going to try to harass me using my hands next?"
Luckily, her eyes were lilac; otherwise, Sasuke wouldn't know how to deal with a female version of his only friend. In fact, if he stopped for a second to think about it, a lot about Naruto would make sense if he were a girl, and such a thought was haunting to the point of almost making Sasuke want another drink.
"Maybe, they seem quite attractive to me." Yang wasn't kidding; his hands were almost perfect, with his pale skin, smooth and soft in a feminine way, yet retaining the masculine look that couldn't belong to someone much older than her. Maybe I really did find a hidden gem~
That would explain why he was hiding his appearance... or so she hoped. There was also a chance that he was a faunus, but Yang wasn't prejudiced and even liked a cute kitten.
In the worst-case scenario, he was a criminal or had some injury marking his face, and again, she didn't care.
All this mystery only served to make her even more curious.
Smiling mischievously, Yang tried to hold his hand, hoping to see him blush to the point where his fingers would turn red. She had that kind of effect on even the toughest of guys, so a recluse like this would be no different. To her surprise, however, he immediately backed away and almost assumed a hostile physical language towards her.
Yang was taken aback, not expecting such a reaction.
While she knew she was being intrusive, never before had a guy reacted like this, not even when they had a wedding ring in their hand.
Men were like that, simple creatures who didn't hesitate to throw their loyalties out the window the moment a beautiful woman walked towards them, and no one was more beautiful than Yang Xiao Long.
It might have been her overconfidence, not to say arrogance, speaking, but it didn't change the fact that it was true.
In that case, for a guy to really react this way, there could only be one reason, which showed itself in his beautiful, delicate skin, in the fact that he didn't want female attention and turned away from her in disgust, looking annoyed or perhaps jealous.
"Oh, I see!" Yang felt like a detective putting pieces together and unraveling a mystery. "You cut the other way!"
Too bad she was terrible at it, and it wasn't long before Yang regretted opening her mouth when she heard the crack of the empty glass in this mysterious guy's hands.
Suddenly, based on the gleam of a red eye with three black commas that lit up within the shadow of his hood, perhaps Yang should have considered more seriously the option of him being an extremely dangerous criminal who was clearly angry with her.
Even the bartender swallowed dryly as he took a few steps back, waiting for the worst to happen.
This was about to escalate in the wrong direction, and Yang didn't want to start a fuss without seeing Junior first.
"Sorry, sorry!" She was quick to raise her hands in surrender and apologize. "I've always wanted a gay friend, so I was kind of excited about the possibility of you being one!"
For the second time on the same day, Sasuke put his self-control to the test to avoid making a bloodbath.
This nonsense again. He hated that every time he turned down a girl, he was immediately considered a homosexual. "Just, how did you come to that conclusion?"
Sasuke tried very hard to ask this question without getting carried away. His voice, however, no longer sounded as attractive as Yang thought because there was now a bone-piercing chill attached to it.
"Hmm, well, not to brag, but..." Yang ran a hand through her long, golden hair, crossed her curvy legs, and hugged herself to accentuate her exuberant breasts, smiling with self-confidence that grew even more with the open mouth of the bartender, who couldn't even blink. "There's no man in the world who would turn down the chance to hit on me!"
Again, this wasn't arrogance but a fact that had been proven over the years since she had entered her teens!
"I hate to admit it, but..." the Bartender whispered, almost hypnotized by this goddess. "She's not wrong."
This girl was the type who could destroy a marriage without even trying.
"Nobody asked you." Sasuke wanted to strangle this man for intruding. "Don't you have any more tea to serve around?"
The last thing he needed was someone intervening.
"You're the only one who drinks this tea... Speaking of which, one more?" the Bartender offered, believing that just a drink could lighten the mood of someone so sinister. "This one's on the house."
Sasuke's first intention was to tell this meddlesome man to go to hell, or to send him there himself, but even he believed he needed a drink to deal with all this nonsense.
Yang didn't know who the hell drank tea in a nightclub, but only until she saw what it really was and swallowed dry. This was the kind of drink Uncle Qrown would kill to have a sip of, inevitably piquing her curiosity.
"Can I have some tea too?"
"I wouldn't recommend it."
"Only if you don't value your life."
The answer came in sync from the bartender and unexpectedly from Sasuke.
Yang pouted and settled for the cocktail she already had in front of her.
"Anyway," Sasuke resumed the hated subject after having a little more of his drink. "You've just met a man who isn't interested in your visual futility."
Yang didn't fully understand what "visual futility" meant, but she was pretty sure she was just offended for being beautiful.
"So you're saying that you're not attracted to me at all, but that you're not..." She folded her hand down in a self-explanatory gesture. "I really doubt that."
If there was one thing that life had taught Yang, it was that she was desired and coveted at every turn. Honestly, it was impossible for her to walk around without attracting stares, even in casual clothes or her school uniform, and this had been happening for some time now.
So, for her, a man who wasn't related by blood, who didn't feel anything for her, wasn't a real man.
As for Sasuke, this wasn't the first time he'd heard this kind of stupid accusation, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Normally, he wouldn't even deign to enter into a conversation like this, but it was a subject that had been bothering him for some time now.
He hated this simplistic, sexist way of thinking that most people had, and it seemed that Remnant was no different.
Women could reject men at will, and that was seen as normal; the opposite happened, and that person would consequently be considered a homosexual.
That didn't seem fair.
Besides, since when did Sasuke have an obligation to reciprocate the carnal and fanciful desires of someone who only saw the status of the Uchiha clan and the legendary lineage they could get from him?
They saw his appearance and competed for him as a trophy for personal satisfaction, ignoring what he wanted or felt. Others saw his strength and wanted him as a guarantee of a better future, where he was just a means to an end. Some feared his strength, but still wanted him to impose that fear on other people. Finally, there were the pious girls with their words of solidarity and affection, foolishly believing they could reach his heart that way.
For those reasons, Sasuke never did and never would respond to such superficial desires and feelings.
Only when a girl could see beyond all those superficialities would Sasuke entertain the possibility of romance.
As for what to do with this girl, Sasuke was tempted to remove his hood, use everything in his power to seduce her, and then ravage her in a way that would make her even more obsessed with him than Sakura and Naruto combined before abandoning her without looking back.
Surely that was the drink talking, as he would never do anything like that, but the thought was tempting.
"Considering the way you behave, dress, and talk, it leads me to believe that you've bedded a fair number of men." Sasuke turned completely on her, using words that made the always amused expression on her face die completely, and the bartender took a drink of his own. "So tell me, why would I be interested in someone like you?"
An illusory silence reigned in Yang's mind, trying to understand what had just been said to her. Certainly, she dressed provocatively, but that was only for freedom of movement, to distract malicious guys, and to raise her self-esteem.
Yang could talk and act like an experienced woman playing with men, but only for the fun that came with the reactions and how satisfying it was to see them eating out of the palm of her hand.
Despite all this, Yang never let anyone touch her; she never would if it wasn't the right person.
Yet this random guy had called her a slut just because she'd given him a little attention...
The glass in her hand shattered.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he felt this girl's Spiritual Energy, which they called Aura, fluctuate dangerously, and he could see the change happening with his Sharingan, but what caught his attention the most were her lilac eyes turning bright red.
Now she really did look like a female version of Naruto.
Everything I needed. Sasuke almost rolled his eyes before putting a little more thought into what was happening in front of him. Do they have Jinchuurikis around here?
Sasuke wanted to enter her mind and check right away, but there was a problem with Genjutsu not working as it should.
Should I use the Rinnegan? The idea took form in his mind, and he decided to ignore the possible side effects. She'll survive... right?
Yang snapped Sasuke out of his reverie with a blow across the counter in front of them, using so much force that she sent cracks throughout the surrounding structure and broke enough bottles to make the bartender turn pale.
"I'm pure, you bastard!" she shouted angrily and only then realized what she had said, her heart sinking with embarrassment. "I-I mean..."
Yang's eyes returned to their standard color as she looked around to see if anyone else had heard what she just said.
People seemed more surprised by the tremor that spread through the club than by the words that couldn't be understood over all the noise... Except for Sasuke, who heard every word and was unable to doubt his own hearing.
Truth be told, of all the things this girl could have said under the influence of her emotions, this hadn't even crossed his mind.
"Pure?" Sasuke repeated what she just said and saw this girl glare at him while blushing up to her ears. "Oh, you mean you're a virgin?"
The intensifying redness spreading across her face was an answer by itself...and a confirmation of her words.
At any other time, Sasuke wouldn't have believed what she said. However, no one would have believed him either if he said he was a virgin.
Regardless, it didn't change the fact that this definition of a sensual and seductive woman had become a raging force of nature and was now nothing more than a naïve girl.
Honestly, there was only one thing Sasuke could say to that:
"Hn."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Yang stood up, fury returning with force to redden her eyes a second time. This guy is fucking mocking me!
Nobody would do that to her and walk away as if nothing had happened!
"All right, who's causing a fuss in my establishment?!"
The impending conflict ceased before they could start, both turning to the newcomer.
The man was bulky, considerably tall, and well-dressed, almost socially, being closely followed by what Sasuke assumed were clones, but turned out to be people who really did look alike in almost every aspect.
Just as Tukson had said, Junior really did look like a bear in human form, even without being a faunus.
"Boss!" The Bartender almost cried with joy at seeing his salvation. "Do something before they destroy all my babies!"
His words were enough to end Sasuke's doubt and confirm Yang's suspicions.
"Well, well, blondie, you... Hyah!" Junior finished his words with a thin cry, almost reminiscent of that of a little girl.
The bartender and the henchmen recoiled at the sight of their boss having his parts grabbed by a thoroughly pissed-off girl.
"It's sir, blondie!" Yang squeezed harder to make Junior go pale, but the whole time she was imagining the hooded asshole in this idiot's place. If he has balls for me to grab. Perhaps she should clear this doubt up later, but for now, she couldn't forget the reason for having come to this nightclub in the first place and retrieved her Scroll to show a photograph. "I'm not in the mood, so tell me if you've seen this woman or not!"
This was the last chance she had to get some answers before going to Beacon!
As for Sasuke, he was watching the scene with a certain touch of empathy towards the man being the victim of this heinous but effective act of torture and questioning.
I suppose that being pure of body doesn't mean being pure of heart... Sasuke would know since he was like that too, but much worse. As for that photo. He saw a device similar to the ones many people used on the street, showing the image of a woman who looked very much like the girl herself. A relative... her mother, perhaps?
With that, it was clear that this girl had also come to this place to win Junior's favor... even if by force.
So she's not a whore after all. Sasuke rambled on and assumed that this made them even, since they had both made the mistake of misjudging each other. Unfortunately, she doesn't think the same.
Tilting his head slightly to the side, he dodged one of Junior's henchmen who came flying towards him and hit the bartender full on, finishing off the wall of liquors.
No more tea, it seemed.
"When I've finished with these guys, it'll be your turn!" Yang warned the asshole in the cloak and manifested Ember Celica, ready for action. "Now, where were we?"
Her attention then turned to Junior's henchmen, who kept coming at her.
Time to burn everything to the ground!
Looks like she's gone mad for good. Sasuke could see even more of his only friend in this girl as she annihilated those goons who looked like clones or twin brothers with ease and violence. She really didn't like what I said, huh.
She should blame herself for that, because he would never have done it if she hadn't provoked him first.
However, that didn't matter.
This was an opportunity for Sasuke to see what someone his age was capable of and what to expect from Beacon.
All he could hope for was that this girl wasn't a student or someone who intended to become one.
It would be problematic to have to deal with her on a regular basis.
That aside, this girl was clearly the strongest person present on the site apart from him. Not just because of the significant reserve of Spiritual Energy she had, but because of her sharp combat skills.
In addition, there was a constant oscillation that pushed her power higher as she fought and became angrier.
Last but not least were the firearms that Sasuke had heard so much about and which seemed to be worshipped in this world as some kind of divine entity.
In a way, he could understand why.
Firearms could fire small metal projectiles at speeds faster than sound, in large quantities, without requiring any physical effort from the user, and that was extremely convenient, as long as you could ignore the deafening noise they caused.
Such a thing could take down countless shinobi unaware of its existence. Sasuke could imagine it being just as useful against the Grimm and a good option for ranged combat, too. In a war without the presence of entities of power, like Naruto and me, this could be used to define the course of the battle.
The weapons this blonde girl used were a little different, taking the form of gauntlets that he hadn't even suspected were hidden in those bracelets. No, the gauntlets were the bracelets themselves after being transformed by some mechanism that was only possible thanks to the technological advances of this world.
Then there were the explosives she was using to complement her fighting style, based on recoil for movement and to cause more damage. If Sasuke wasn't mistaken, those explosives were made with the Dust he had heard so much about, and something he couldn't understand.
In a way, Dust seemed to be Chakra crystallized in an elemental state.
At the same time, it wasn't.
To think that something like that could form naturally. Sasuke would have to devote some time to learning more about this unique energy source. Something for later. For now, he would focus on what was happening in front of him, and he almost couldn't stop a small smile from forming when the blonde girl put an end to that annoying music by breaking the bench with the bear head of the costumed man. "She's not so bad."
Two other girls entered the scene, wearing dresses that didn't look suitable for combat, but Sasuke came to understand that this world had this kind of contradictory tendency.
Aura, pure Spiritual Energy, did not have an internal conduction system, like Chakra, so it had the freedom to emerge from the whole body and acted as a barrier to the users of this world.
However, it was strange.
When these girls hit each other, the Aura remained equally distributed throughout the body, but weakened evenly as the fight went on.
Why don't they exercise control over their own power? Sasuke couldn't see a logical reason for this that wasn't due to sheer incompetence. Fighting like this is extremely inefficient.
Only a shinobi with ridiculous amounts of Chakra, like the Raikage, could maintain such a distribution without worrying about meticulous control and balancing.
In fact, even Sasuke, with all the power he had at his disposal, didn't fail to direct his Chakra to the place to be hit, increasing the efficiency of the protection and reducing the loss of power in the process.
These people had as much Spiritual Energy as an ordinary Chunnin had of Chakra, which wasn't much. However, taking into account that this was only one part of a whole, it was impressive in a way, but not enough to be used without control.
Maybe... they don't know how to control it? Sasuke couldn't believe that was the case. The mere thought is ridiculous.
The spiritual side of Chakra represented the control to shape, while the vital part was the material used to give form.
The simplest way to explain this would be to compare Spiritual Energy to the hands of a craftsman and Vital Energy to the clay used to bring his imagination to life.
Only when combined could something incredible be created.
With that in mind, Sasuke looked at the Yin Seal of the Six Paths in the palm of his left hand.
Shadow Release, the manifestation of intangible ideas. Seals, Medical Ninjutsu, Cloning, Transformation, and...Genjutsu. These are all techniques that fall heavily into this category. Even his eyes and most of his abilities could be included on the Yin side of the spectrum. Maybe that's why illusions don't work, since I can't access and manipulate my opponent's Vital Energy.
The Aura would get in the way and not allow that to happen.
Sasuke found this explanation acceptable, but something still didn't make sense.
If they don't have access to the Vital Energy to give form to control, how do they create this perfectly distributed barrier around their bodies? Even now, he could see an Aura perfectly adorning every last strand of these girls' hair, but form couldn't be created from nothing and needed a base, raw material to work with, and they didn't have that without Vital Energy. Or do they?
It was enough to see the blonde girl take down one of her opponents and remain full of energy, almost as if she was feeding off the friction generated by the shock received in her Aura, which made Sasuke's eyes widen in realization.
"I see..." The answer was so obvious that he felt like an idiot for not understanding it immediately. "A living being cannot exist without life."
The very inhabitants of this world, be they human or faunus, were the basis that Spiritual Energy used to form control.
Although this analysis gave him many answers, there was still one thing that Sasuke didn't understand.
Why had the people of Remnant developed in this way? Using souls to protect life?
It was certainly an answer that Sasuke would have to look for later, but for now, he had acquired a lot of useful information.
Coming to this club turned out to be more useful than expected.