The next day, Samui was exhausted and took the day off.
Even with her enhanced physique from Yami's cells, she couldn't handle an entire night of intense activity.
Yami spent the day studying Hotaru the activation method of the Dohatsuten. At night, he brought Hotaru into the grove to test the Forbidden Technique.
"Relax. I don't need you to gather too much power. As soon as you feel it's becoming uncontrollable, release it immediately. Got it?"
Yami skillfully removed half of Hotaru's clothing and calmed the girl's nerves.
Stop trembling. It's making me dizzy.
Hotaru nodded obediently. "Master, I'm ready. I'll cooperate fully."
"Good girl. You don't have to move. I'll handle it myself."
Yami stepped back and began forming hand seals according to the scroll's instructions.
"Tsuchigumo: Seal Unleashed!"
Black sealing patterns spread across Hotaru's fair skin, writhing like tadpoles. After absorbing chakra, the marks turned black and red and drilled into the pitch-black bead on her back.
As the sealing runes disappeared, the previously dull bead began to emit a white glow.
Yami could clearly sense the surrounding natural energy surging madly into the bead. Its absorption efficiency wasn't inferior to his own Sage Mode.
Hotaru's chakra was also being rapidly consumed.
Sage chakra is formed by balancing physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy. But in Hotaru's case, her chakra wasn't fusing with the natural energy. Instead, it was reinforcing the bead, allowing it to hold more natural energy.
Still, this wasn't a problem. What Yami sought was a method to continuously absorb natural energy.
"Hotaru, take a few steps," Yami instructed.
Hotaru did as told, leaping between several trees. But soon, she grimaced in pain.
"Master, I can't hold it anymore."
The natural energy stored in the black bead had reached its limit—or rather, Hotaru's limit. White light enveloped her body and continued to flash, as if it could explode at any moment.
"Then release it."
Yami was also eager to witness the true power of the Dohatsuten. Seeing Hotaru's anxious eyes, he smiled gently, extended his hand through the white light, and placed it atop her head, gently ruffling her hair.
"Don't worry about me. If I can't even block one jutsu, what kind of master would I be?"
"Then, Master, please be careful. This Forbidden Technique doesn't harm the user, but if anything happens, you have to run…"
Hotaru reminded him with concern, then released the stored energy.
In that instant, the world turned white.
Centered on the two of them, the uncontrollable natural energy and Hotaru's chakra erupted into a violent shockwave that spread in all directions.
The deafening roar echoed through the nearby forest, startling countless birds into flight. But the explosion's radius wasn't wide, only around a hundred meters.
Soon, the white light faded.
Hotaru's legs gave out, but she was caught by a hand. Barely opening her eyes, she was shocked.
Yami stood unharmed, wrapped in translucent blue skeletal armor.
It was a skeletal arm that caught her—frightening in appearance.
"Master, what… what kind of jutsu is this?"
"Susanoo."
Yami reached out and pulled Hotaru into his arms. The girl panted softly as the black bead on her back slowly released streams of runes that reentered her body. The bead also temporarily lost its ability to absorb natural energy.
Yami looked around. Aside from the small area they stood in, the surrounding terrain had been blasted into a deep crater with a 100-meter diameter and a depth of seven to eight meters at its deepest point.
Purely in terms of destructive power, it wasn't weak. But the long charge time meant enemies wouldn't stand still and take it.
It had potential for sieges or set-piece battles, but wasn't ideal for mobile combat.
Holding Hotaru in a princess carry, Yami asked, "Can you release it again in a few days?"
"Yes. Once my chakra recovers, I won't need to wait that long."
"Then rest properly so you can focus on practicing the ninjutsu I taught you."
Hotaru nodded with a smile.
And so, Yami's group remained at Mount Katsuragi.
Once every three days, Hotaru would release the Dohatsuten technique for Yami to study, while spending the rest of the time training in ninjutsu under his instruction.
Although Yami possessed all seven chakra attributes, he believed his strongest affinity was Wind Release—and it was also his favorite.
So he taught Hotaru Wind Release.
Hotaru surprised him. In addition to her natural Lightning affinity, she also had the other four basic chakra attributes. Her talent wasn't bad, and she had the potential to develop into a full-attribute shinobi.
Even without the Forbidden Technique, she would become an excellent kunoichi with proper guidance.
In truth, Yami could have taken Hotaru back to Konoha immediately and continued studying the black bead there.
The reason he chose to stay at Mount Katsuragi… was because time was running out.
The old man's life force was flickering like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment. Yami wanted Hotaru to accompany him through his final days.
…
Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
"Yami-sama, the target has been captured."
While Yami was guiding Hotaru through a Vacuum Sphere drill, Yuji appeared behind him and knelt to report.
"Finally caught him? He really knows how to hide."
Leaning back on a recliner, Yami set aside the magazine in his hand and said to Hotaru, "Keep practicing. I'll go take care of something."
"Okay, Master!" Hotaru responded energetically.
A few minutes later, outside the fortress, Yami met Shiranami—the traitor from the Tsuchigumo clan whom he had ordered Yuichi's group to apprehend.
En no Gyōja was also present. When Shiranami saw the old man, his expression turned feral. If he weren't restrained, he would've lunged to kill him.
"Thank you for your efforts, Hokage."
En no Gyōja bowed to Yami, then accepted the kunai handed over by Tonbei.
"Shiranami, when you killed your father, did you ever imagine you'd see this day?"
Yuichi and the others hadn't known Shiranami's background and were stunned by En no Gyōja's words.
Another Uchiha Itachi?
Yami understood their expression and shook his head.
"Though Uchiha Itachi isn't exactly a saint, he's still better than this beast."
"Shiranami murdered his own father just to obtain the Forbidden Technique that controls the Dohatsuten. At least Itachi acted for the good of the village."
Yuichi and the others now looked at Shiranami with undisguised disgust.
Worse than a beast.
Shiranami was the son of En no Gyōja's disciple. His father had tried to destroy the Dohatsuten Forbidden Technique, but Shiranami and a group of radicals opposed him. In his fury, Shiranami killed his own father and fled with several supporters.
Fearing En no Gyōja's strength, Shiranami had been hiding ever since, planning to reemerge once the old man died, find the technique's heir, and use the Forbidden Technique to intimidate small countries and establish a sixth great shinobi village.
Unfortunately, he encountered Yami.
To ensure Hotaru's safety once they left, Yami had tasked Yuichi's group with locating Shiranami.
Shiranami's four subordinates had mastered many combination techniques and could even fight a Jinchūriki for a while when working together.
But after receiving intel from Yami, Yuichi's team ambushed them, killing one immediately. The remaining three, without their full formation, were reduced to average tokubetsu jōnin and quickly defeated.
As for Shiranami, his word-manipulation jutsu was completely ineffective against the Uchiha, whose Yin chakra was powerful. He was easily captured.
"Old man, you're nothing but a coward," Shiranami sneered, even with a kunai pressed to his throat. "All you know is how to use the Land of Fire's power and sell out the Tsuchigumo name to become slaves of the great nations!"
Any lingering mercy in En no Gyōja's heart vanished. He slashed Shiranami's throat without hesitation.
He bowed to Yami again, then returned to his quarters with Tonbei's help.
That night, Hotaru was called into En no Gyōja's room. Soon, the sound of weeping echoed from inside.
By the time Yami arrived, the old man still wore a faint smile, but he would never wake again.
The next day, Yami's group left the fortress.
…
Meanwhile, in the Land of Snow—
Two figures flickered across a snowy plain, teleporting dozens of meters at a time, the gap between them gradually widening.
At the foot of a mountain, Senju Tobirama stopped and waited. A minute later, Sasuke finally caught up, panting.
Even so, Tobirama was quite satisfied.
That brat Yami really had an eye for people. This Uchiha kid's space-time talent was exceptional.
Not just space-time.
In terms of observation, tactics, combat skills, and ninjutsu learning, Sasuke was highly impressive.
But… why did it have to be another Uchiha?
And the kid looked just like Izuna. That made it worse.
A string of thoughts passed through his mind, but Tobirama showed no emotion. Once Sasuke caught his breath, he pointed out his flaw.
"Your Flying Thunder God technique is already solid. Combined with Sharingan, your reaction time isn't an issue."
"The only problem is your neural response. It's fine if you're using Flying Thunder God to dodge, but if you're closing in, even a delay of a few tenths of a second could be fatal."
Sasuke nodded, not arguing.
He knew his weakness was in his body. It took time for visual signals to reach the body, and he needed to train until his body reacted on instinct.
"So what should I do?"
"Pure training won't help anymore."
Tobirama's reply caught Sasuke off guard. Seeing the confusion on his face, Tobirama scoffed.
"How do you think real power is obtained? Training?"
"The world is still peaceful now. But in the Warring States era, shinobi your age had already been through hundreds of battles."
"Your teacher Yami built his name by killing his way to the top."
"You want to improve? Then kill. Return to the main continent. Take high-difficulty missions. Temper your instincts in life-and-death combat."
Tobirama's voice turned sharp, filled with murderous intent.
Sasuke fell silent, his gaze drifting southwest—toward Konoha.
Could he ever return there again?
As if sensing Sasuke's thoughts, Tobirama reminded him coldly, "We're not heading to Konoha. We're heading to the Bounty Station."
(To be continued.)
***
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