Naruto: The Senju Af Chapter 208: Kekkei Tōta[bonus]

Chapter 208: Kekkei Tōta[bonus]

"That bastard..."

Terumi Mei and Ao stared at the figure radiating golden chakra, the same figure who had just crushed their signal flare underfoot. Both wore grim expressions.

As shinobi, they had long since accepted death. Neither of them feared dying.

What they could not accept was this—

they might not be able to send the information back.

They had learned something unbelievable, something that could throw the entire ninja world into turmoil. At this point, they no longer cared about their own lives.

All they wanted was to get that information back to the village. To get it into the hands of people they could trust.

But the arrogant man before them was far stronger than they had imagined.

His speed, strength, reflexes, and even the intensity of his chakra were all monstrously high.

For someone like that to appear inside the village—

there was no way he had come with good intentions.

After all, that was the power of the Nine-Tails.

No ordinary shinobi could possibly handle that.

To bring down someone like him, they would likely need the Mizukage and the village’s top experts all working together just to barely keep him suppressed.

To their credit, the two of them were still thinking clearly.

Even after just a brief clash, they had already formed a fairly accurate understanding of the situation.

In truth, using the Nine-Tails’ power against enemies at their current level really was overkill on Hikaru’s part.

If he were not trying to get more familiar with this state while also achieving the strongest intimidation effect possible, he would almost feel embarrassed to use it.

Judging from canon, Naruto and Sasuke’s growth paths had each risen and fallen at different times, but overall, they had always maintained a certain rough balance.

From their earliest days—Rasengan colliding with Chidori, Curse Mark against the first tailed-beast cloak—they had already reached a subtle equilibrium.

Later, Naruto gained Sage Mode, but Sasuke killed Itachi and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, restoring that balance.

The only time the gap truly widened was when Sasuke obtained the Eternal Mangekyō, around the point when Naruto’s control over the Nine-Tails was roughly comparable to what Hikaru was using now.

But whether it was exactly the same or not, Naruto at that stage could still fight a Sasuke who had not fully unleashed Susanoo.

Then, once Naruto completely released the Nine-Tails’ power and entered what could be called the second stage of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode—then layered Sage Mode on top of it—Sasuke also brought out the true power of his Mangekyō.

At that point, the two of them were finally balanced again in the truest sense.

As for the final battle at the Valley of the End—

that had long since crossed into the realm of gods fighting.

One had absorbed the chakra of all nine tailed beasts and combined it with Susanoo at its ultimate state.

The other wielded the nine separate chakra types bestowed by the tailed beasts while also absorbing natural energy.

In the end, their final clash was effectively a draw—

though it also beat all the arrogance out of Uchiha Sasuke.

By that kind of horizontal comparison, the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode Hikaru was currently using ought to be measured against the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

And if he wanted to be more precise, it would be the Eternal Mangekyō at the stage where its wielder had only just obtained it and was still learning to handle its power.

But even so, the Eternal Mangekyō was already an absurd, supernatural level of strength.

For Hikaru to use that kind of transcendent power against opponents who were nowhere near the peak of the ninja world—

that really was excessive.

Still, excessive or not, Hikaru did not care.

There was a saying he liked:

If you are not embarrassed, then the embarrassed one is someone else.

Honestly, Hikaru would have loved to be like Uchiha Madara—crushing his enemies while casually tossing out one cold line after another.

But when he fought without relying on these higher states, even the system’s evaluation of him did not place him that high.

Being cautious, being careful, and using overwhelming force to crush the enemy outright—

that was how you avoided turning over the cart at the last second.

Besides, he was currently playing the role of a supreme villain.

Why should a villain care about things like fairness?

"It seems you’ve run out of options," Hikaru said in a calm, indifferent voice. "So I’ll kindly offer you a choice. But don’t waste my time."

As he spoke, he flicked a kunai toward Terumi Mei and Ao.

The blade landed precisely between them.

That single act made both of them deeply uneasy.

They had already guessed what Hikaru was trying to do, and their anger only grew stronger.

But Hikaru could not have cared less what they were thinking. He simply continued:

"One of you can live and do something for me. The price is killing the other.

Of course, you can refuse. But trust me—I have other methods."

By "other methods," he meant forcibly controlling them.

Strictly speaking, Hikaru did not actually think the control methods he currently possessed would work that well on two elite Mist ANBU.

But he could say it anyway.

No one here could tell whether he was bluffing or not.

After all, he had already displayed such terrifying power that very few people would dare doubt a man like him.

Terumi Mei and Ao exchanged a glance.

Then Ao silently drew a kunai.

His expression turned resolute.

He had already made his choice.

"Then let it be me."

His voice was flat as he stood and took several steps forward, raising the blade toward his own chest.

"If I die, she gets to live. Right?"

"Right."

Hikaru nodded lightly, though there was a faintly mocking look in his eyes.

"As long as she helps me with a few things, and so long as it doesn’t harm Kirigakure’s core interests, I’ll let her go."

"I hope you mean that."

Ao gave a faint nod and took a deep breath, as though gathering his courage.

But at that exact instant, a violent surge of chakra exploded behind him.

A water dragon burst up from the ground and roared toward Hikaru.

At the same time, Ao hurled the kunai in his hand at Hikaru, then rapidly formed seals.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"

As his seals completed, dense chakra-filled mist began spreading outward.

The instant he finished, he did not hesitate for even a moment.

With grim determination in his eyes, he flashed a hand signal to Terumi Mei and then ran in the opposite direction without looking back.

"Ao..."

Terumi Mei clenched her teeth.

Ao’s meaning had been obvious.

He was telling her to flee at once.

He would act as the lure, retreating slowly in another direction to draw Hikaru after him.

They had already accepted that they could not win this fight.

Someone had to stay behind.

Someone had to live and carry the information home.

Since Terumi Mei was uninjured, she was the obvious choice to escape and report what had happened.

As for Ao—his condition was already poor. Choosing to sacrifice himself was only natural.

She let out a low, bitter sigh and immediately dashed away.

But before she could get far, a kunai silently stabbed into her shoulder.

...

After splitting from Terumi Mei, Ao ran straight toward the Kaguya Clan’s district.

To him, death itself was not frightening.

What terrified him was the thought that such vital information might never be delivered, and the devastation that would bring to the village.

Yes, Kirigakure had already become a nightmare of a place.

And yes, the Fourth Mizukage’s conduct had left people in despair.

But even so, the village was still his home.

And within that home, there were still elders like Genji who were worthy of trust.

He was willing to give everything for that village.

Even his life.

"The only pity," Ao thought grimly, "is this Byakugan..."

That eye had been one of the village’s treasures.

The fact that Kirigakure had entrusted it to him was proof of its faith in him.

But now he could not even pass it on before he died.

The thought filled him with guilt and helplessness.

"Forget it. There’s no point dwelling on that now. Even if I die, I must destroy this eye first."

He had already made up his mind.

Better to destroy the Byakugan than let it fall into enemy hands.

But now was not the time to do that.

The eye was still sealed and could be activated at any time.

He still needed to fight.

Still needed to keep going.

Still needed to buy more time.

With that thought, he activated the Byakugan again and searched for the mysterious enemy.

Honestly, their entire strategy was risky.

That arrogant man was simply too fast.

If anything went even slightly wrong, both of them could be caught.

But they had no other options left.

The signal flare had been destroyed. What else could they do?

"Damn it!"

The moment Ao looked through his Byakugan, his face turned ashen.

To his horror, the arrogant enemy had created a Shadow Clone and split off to pursue both of them at once.

For one brief moment, Ao genuinely thought the man must be from Konoha.

Nine-Tails power.

Shadow Clone Technique.

It was hard not to connect someone like that to the Leaf.

That said, Shadow Clone was said to exist in every major village’s archives to some degree.

The technique had too much practical value in war.

Countless shinobi used shadow clones for reconnaissance, and once they were captured and interrogated, it was inevitable that the technique would leak.

Still, very few outsiders actually used it.

Not only did the technique require considerable chakra, but any damage sustained by the clone would also be felt by the original.

On top of that, each village had its own preferred clone techniques.

Naturally, most shinobi chose what was most familiar to them.

But the man in front of him was different.

With the Nine-Tails’ power behind him, the drawbacks of Shadow Clone meant almost nothing.

And with his level of strength, the technique was absurdly effective.

"I need to move faster!"

Ao gritted his teeth.

Even though he could see Terumi Mei’s situation through the Byakugan, he forcibly stopped himself from paying attention.

If he let his concern for her interfere, he would lose his focus completely.

He had to reach the Kaguya Clan’s territory as fast as possible.

Only by causing a greater disturbance could he possibly draw the village’s attention.

But then, a kunai wrapped in golden chakra tore through the air and shot straight for the center of his back.

Ao knew that if he did not dodge, he was dead.

He twisted hard to the side and narrowly evaded the strike.

But in that same instant, the golden figure had already appeared in front of him.

"Water Release: Azure Dragon Piercing Hand!"

Ao struck again with Azure Dragon Piercing Hand, his Byakugan blazing as he thrust at Hikaru.

But Hikaru merely tilted his body aside and avoided the attack with effortless ease. Then, with one hand, he threw a kunai into the nearby water.

The surface rippled.

Then a human-shaped figure burst from it and leapt away.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Retreating while fighting against the pain tearing through his body, Ao used one of his loudest and most chakra-draining jutsu.

But his injuries were catching up to him.

Or perhaps it was simply that Hikaru was too fast.

Just as Ao was about to complete the seals, Hikaru—wrapped in pale golden chakra—had already reached him.

With one hand, Hikaru seized Ao’s still-forming seal.

Then he twisted it hard in the opposite direction.

"Aah!"

A shinobi’s fingers were intimately tied to his chakra control.

The burst of pain was so severe that Ao cried out involuntarily.

In truth, he wished he could scream even louder—

anything to draw more attention, anything to warn the village.

But Hikaru gave him no such chance.

His other hand shot forward and clamped around Ao’s throat, cutting off any further sound.

"Shh. Don’t shout in my ear. I don’t like that."

Hikaru’s tone remained mild, but the pressure of his grip only increased.

At the same time, his free hand gathered chakra.

An instant later, a sealing technique was driven straight into Ao’s body, locking down his chakra entirely.

"I know what you were trying to do. You wanted to act as bait and protect that woman, so I indulged you.

Unfortunately for you, I know Shadow Clone Technique, and I’m quite confident she can’t break one of my clones.

As for you..."

He paused and glanced into the distance.

A moment later, one of his shadow clones returned, carrying an incapacitated Terumi Mei.

There was a clear wound on her shoulder, and no chakra fluctuations could be sensed from her body.

The meaning was obvious.

Her chakra had been sealed as well.

She glared at Hikaru with fury and despair burning in her eyes.

She understood now.

It was over.

"I saw your Byakugan from the start. Originally, I wasn’t even planning to take it. In fact, my first offer was genuine. One of you could live and carry some information back.

Strictly speaking, that wouldn’t have benefited me at all.

But we’ve suffered losses in Konoha before too, and personally, I despise the kind of rat-like schemes that fester in the gutter.

But if you mistook my goodwill for weakness, then you truly deserve death.

The Byakugan means little to me—or to us—but I don’t mind having one more test subject."

By the time he finished, both Ao—still pinned by the throat—and Terumi Mei had fallen into utter despair.

Hikaru showed no trace of pity.

His hand tightened.

Then he jerked sharply to the left—and immediately wrenched hard back to the right.

Crack.

With a sickening snap, Ao’s neck broke.

"No!"

Terumi Mei let out a grief-stricken scream and tried to rise, but Hikaru’s clone pressed her back down before she could move.

Hikaru calmly removed Ao’s mask.

Then, without hesitation, he placed his hand over the sealed eye.

His fingers dug in hard.

Blood quickly stained his gloves.

"Go deal with the ANBU team that’s coming, and the Kaguya on the move too," Hikaru said as he worked over Ao’s corpse.

"Do it cleanly. You know what to do."

"I’m your shadow clone. Of course I know what you’re thinking."

The clone grinned carelessly and vanished in an instant.

Hikaru, meanwhile, held the bloodied white eyeball up before his face, examining it in silence. Once he confirmed it was intact, he turned his gaze toward Terumi Mei.

She looked blank now.

As if the shock had hollowed her out.

Only when Hikaru approached did she look up again, fixing him with a cold, murderous stare.

"That’s a nice look. If you were an Uchiha, I might actually have to be wary of it."

He crouched beside her and continued indifferently:

"Our agreement still stands. Killing him was simply your punishment.

If you want to live long enough to carry your intel back, then be obedient..."

Then, with a faintly amused tone, he added:

"After all, keeping my word is my ninja way."

...

While Hikaru dealt with Ao’s corpse, had his shadow clone wipe out the approaching ANBU and Kaguya, and began arranging the scene to cover his tracks—

in the Mizukage’s office, a black-and-white figure slowly rose out of the floor.

Seated behind the Mizukage’s desk was a man in a black robe and an orange spiral mask.

Uchiha Obito.

He had already been controlling Kirigakure for quite some time.

After Rin’s death, he had inherited everything Uchiha Madara left behind and formed his own plan.

At first, one question had lingered in his mind.

If Madara truly possessed so much influence in the Land of Water, then why had he not stopped any of this?

Black Zetsu’s explanation had been simple:

Even if Madara had influence, the Mizukage was still the one with the greatest authority in Kirigakure.

Consumed by hatred, Obito had never really examined that explanation too closely.

But with such an enormous political inheritance placed in front of him, there was no way he would not take advantage of it.

His plan had been straightforward:

Control the Mizukage.

Become the real ruler behind the office.

Only then could he truly take revenge on the Land of Water.

He would avenge the woman he had loved most.

And that was exactly what he had done.

Of course, he had not been working alone.

Controlling another person completely was no simple matter.

He was not Madara.

And he only had one Mangekyō eye.

Even though he believed that, one day, he would be able to accomplish it even with a single eye—

right now, he could not.

But if the target was a jinchūriki, and he himself was an Uchiha who had learned the proper methods for controlling tailed beasts, then the situation changed completely.

Yagura Karatachi was the Three-Tails’ jinchūriki.

That gave Obito the perfect opening.

With help from that gloomy black creature said to embody Madara’s will, he successfully took control of Yagura.

More accurately, all he needed to do was catch Yagura’s already fragile mind—still locked in struggle with the Three-Tails—inside genjutsu and tangle that consciousness together with the beast.

Unless the two one day truly came to trust each other, Yagura would never break free of that illusion.

Once he had the Mizukage in hand, and once he had spent some time learning how to use that control properly, Obito’s confidence only grew.

And with Black Zetsu—disgusting as ever, and seemingly good for little beyond reconnaissance—he steadily pushed Kirigakure further and further toward extremity.

Now, everything was getting worse by the day.

Of course, not everything had gone well for him during that period.

At the very least, there were now two people he would never forget.

One was his former teacher, Namikaze Minato.

The other was his former classmate, Senju Hikaru.

Or perhaps, he thought bitterly, it would now be more appropriate to call him Senju Hikaru.

After successfully testing his methods on a jinchūriki like Yagura, and after unexpectedly learning from Kakashi when the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki would give birth, Obito had not hesitated to make a move on Konoha.

He had intended to make it a grand one.

What he had never expected—

was to fail so completely.

He had first lost to Minato.

Then he had been utterly crushed by Hikaru.

That defeat had hit him hard.

Though Uchiha Obito had "died" young, and although much of what he knew afterward had been taught to him by Black Zetsu, hatred had given him reason to keep learning.

Through that process, he came to understand the feud between the Uchiha and the Senju. He learned some of the history that had once unfolded between them.

And that only made his defeat at Hikaru’s hands even more intolerable.

Had the cycle of fate begun again?

Back then, Uchiha Madara lost to Senju Hashirama.

Now he had inherited Madara’s name, and Hikaru had inherited Wood Release.

And in the end, this new "Madara" had once again lost to Senju Wood Release.

Ever since that humiliating defeat, Obito had returned to Kirigakure with a dark and unstable mood.

That ugliness had only made his methods inside the Mist even harsher.

More brutal.

More bloody.

It was as if all the humiliation and rage he had swallowed in Konoha had been redirected onto Kirigakure instead.

The Kaguya Clan was now his chosen target.

The most suitable one.

The easiest one to strike.

At the moment, he was simply waiting for the right timing.

Waiting for the opening to make his move.

"Why are you here?" Obito tilted his head toward Black Zetsu. His voice carried neither warmth nor chill. "Shouldn’t you be over at the Kaguya side?"

"Because I found something interesting," Black Zetsu replied flatly.

In truth, he found Obito’s tone irritating too.

But to him, that was perfectly normal.

The Uchiha were all lunatics.

Though Obito had returned from Konoha looking like a beaten dog, here in the Mist he was effectively the real Mizukage.

Of course he had become arrogant again.

"What did you find?" Obito frowned. "Did the Kaguya finally start their rebellion?"

"No. Not yet. Though it’s close."

Black Zetsu shook his head slowly, then spoke in a low voice.

"But that’s not why I came. I found something in the village. Something strange. Something even I found hard to believe."

"What?" Obito’s tone sharpened. "Then spit it out. I hate people who only say half of what they mean."

Black Zetsu looked at him and said quietly:

"You probably won’t believe me when I say this.

I found a Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki... in Kirigakure."

...

Inside a hidden farmhouse somewhere in the Mist, Hikaru studied the small child before him and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

At the moment, he had no idea that his presence had already been exposed.

What he was thinking about now was far simpler:

How exactly should he extract the power from this little boy?

Finding Kimimaro had gone more smoothly than expected.

Terumi Mei had cooperated surprisingly well.

Even though she hated Hikaru to the bone now—those cold eyes of hers looked as though they wanted to tear him apart—his words had still made her choose to gamble on obedience.

Especially since all Hikaru wanted was a discarded child from the Kaguya Clan.

A cast-off from the Kaguya.

That, at least, was not enough to seriously harm the Mist’s broader interests.

And Hikaru’s words had struck exactly where they needed to.

Terumi Mei did need to get the information back.

Of course, she had not believed Hikaru.

Not even a little.

And she definitely did not believe his nonsense about "keeping his word being his ninja way."

A terrorist.

A creature of outright evil.

How could someone like that possibly be trusted?

Besides, shinobi as a profession were already cold, ruthless people.

As an ANBU operative, Terumi Mei had never believed in pretty slogans.

The only reason she complied was because she wanted a chance to pass on the intelligence.

Hikaru had long since seen through her.

But he did not care.

Let her think whatever she liked.

It had nothing to do with him.

And this time, he actually did intend to keep his promise.

Not out of pity.

Not because she was some "canon character" worth sparing.

If he had wanted to preserve every canon figure, Ao would not have died so quickly.

What Hikaru wanted was for news of this masked figure to spread.

He wanted someone with standing to act as a mouthpiece.

The larger the myth around this persona became, the safer Hikaru himself would be.

Pulling his gaze away from Kimimaro, Hikaru glanced briefly at the unconscious Terumi Mei lying nearby.

After confirming she was still out cold, he found a place to sit down.

Though this operation had created rather more noise than he would have liked, everything was still, broadly speaking, under control.

And the gains had been enormous.

Not even counting Kimimaro—the sole surviving possessor of the Dead Bone Pulse—

Hikaru had also obtained a Byakugan without much surprise.

In a sense, he had now gathered the basic components for constructing a more purely ??tsutsuki-like foundational power.

Though that was still only a concept.

And only a basic one at that.

If the ??tsutsuki were really that simple, then Naruto and Sasuke would not have nearly flipped the table against an opponent with almost no real combat experience.

Hikaru did not know what he himself would become once he planted those powers and harvested the result.

But whatever the answer was, he was genuinely looking forward to it.

Especially now that—

"Especially now that my other fruit are fully mature. If they produce seeds, I can plant them right away."

With a flick of his wrist, several fruit of different colors appeared in his hand.

This batch consisted of advanced Fire Release chakra, advanced Wind Release chakra, and one especially unusual fusion fruit.

Which meant that at this very moment, Hikaru could create a Kekkei Tōta of his own.

Admittedly, he was still a little uncertain about what kind of Kekkei Tōta he ought to make.

But now that things had reached this point, there was no need to overthink it.

If the result was good, then it would become an excellent proof of concept, and provide a sound basis for future attempts.

If it was bad, then that was fine too.

At the very least, it would still tell him what combinations worked—and what kinds of combinations were likely to fail.

With that thought, Hikaru quickly swallowed the Fire Release and Wind Release chakra fruit.

The taste was, as expected, awful.

But in the next moment, two powerful streams of energy erupted inside his body.

They wound around one another, then rapidly merged into him.

Once they finally settled, a wave of information began drifting through his mind.

This was the defining trait of advanced chakra fruit.

They contained the complete process and result of chakra transformation brought to its highest shape and nature.

In that moment, the system’s greatness revealed itself once again.

It had never merely given Hikaru power.

It made him understand power.

By the time he fully absorbed the knowledge flowing through his mind, he had already picked up the final fruit—

the fusion fruit.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to endure the bizarre, almost unbearable taste and shoved the fruit into his mouth.

He had already decided on the three chakra natures he would combine.

So far, in this identity, the only elemental style he had publicly used was Earth Release.

So Earth Release was mandatory.

As for the other two, he chose Wind Release and Water Release.

That combination, he felt, should produce something interesting.

And their compatibility ought to be decent too.

Originally, he had considered Earth, Wind, and Fire.

But Dust Release was also a fusion of those three attributes.

He did not want to collide with that.

So he swapped Fire Release out for Water Release instead—an element he was much more familiar with.

Since this was his first fusion attempt, it was better to work with chakra types he understood well.

"But if this actually works... what exactly am I supposed to call it?"

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