In an unfamiliar forest, two figures darted through the surroundings—one leading and the other trailing slightly behind. Like ethereal apparitions, they weaved in and out of sight with astonishing speed.
These two were the individuals who recently departed Konohagakure in haste. The one in the forefront was none other than the puppet under the control of Hyuga Aoki. Presently, he raced forward in a state of panic. Close behind, in determined pursuit, was Kuroto.
It seed that Aoki's encounter with Itachi's Tsukuyomi had inflicted a severe wound upon his soul. Throughout their journey, he showed no restraint in expending his chakra. He pushed himself to continually escalate his speed.
At such an incredible pace, traversing an entire country within an hour or two wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. Ordinary shinobi would struggle to perceive Aoki's movents, let alone keep up with him. Even Kage-Rank ninjas would find it challenging to track him. Yet, for Kuroto, this wasn't a daunting feat. He managed to closely follow Aoki, maintaining a secure and consistent distance, even without relying on the Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Taking another graceful leap, Kuroto landed gently on a sturdy tree branch. He paused, allowing himself a mont to catch his breath, all the while analyzing the trajectory of Aoki's flight. Having ticulously tracked Aoki's movents westward across the Land of Fire, Kuroto's deduction took shape: "It's either the Land of Grass or the Land of Rain."
Having reached this reasoned conclusion, Kuroto didn't waste ti. He vanished once again, seamlessly resuming his pursuit of Aoki.
Kuroto's concerns about whether Aoki was aware of his presence had beco irrelevant. Kuroto was resolute in his mission; Aoki's potential awareness or indifference didn't sway him. Kuroto knew that even if Aoki had detected soone tracking and following him from the mont, he departed Konoha, it wouldn't alter Aoki's course, he would still return to his base!
Aoki's formidable strength and the urgency of restoring his soul left no room for concern over being trailed. The threat of his soul's imminent collapse overshadowed any other considerations—his sole priority was the preservation of his life.
And so, this duet of pursuit continued, the two figures weaving through the terrain until they arrived at the border of the Land of Fire.
Pittar Patter!
A soft, rhythmic patter of water droplets hitting the ground filled the air, announcing their arrival in the Land of Rain. "So… it's the Land of Rain," Kuroto mused, his words almost blending with the cascade of droplets. Strangely, despite the rain, his attire remained dry. An imperceptible layer, suffused with chakra, enveloped him, halting the droplets in their descent. Before they could reach his clothing, they vaporized, absorbed by the protective barrier.
Navigating the rain-soaked terrain of the Land of Rain posed challenges for tracking, but Kuroto's persistence held firm. Soon, the duo found themselves in a remote and secluded forest within the region.
Superficially, this forest resembled any other in the Land of Rain. However, Kuroto's Byakugan afforded him insights beyond the ordinary. He detected an unobtrusive concealed entrance—a hidden cave—and a network of subterranean passages beneath the forest floor.
"Is this where he's concealing the Giant Tenseigan?" Kuroto pondered lightly, as he observed the figure of Aoki’s puppet hurriedly entering the cave.
Allowing his intuition to guide him, Kuroto vanished from view, reappearing at the cave's entrance with a calculated thought, 'Traps are likely in place here.'
Before he could delve further into his suspicions, a sudden burst of movent disrupted the stillness. Like shadows coalescing into form, a multitude of figures surged forth from the cave's depths, encircling him in a siege.
Kuroto regarded them with an almost nonchalant deanor. "So, puppets for security, huh?" he murmured.
It wasn’t hard for him to deduce that these puppets were powered by the Tenseigan Chakra and exhibited a level of autonomy. The designs etched upon their forms, reminiscent of ancient craftsmanship, suggested an age far removed from the present era.
'Aoki must have found these puppets along with the Giant Tenseigan of the Hyuga Clan.’ Kuroto inferred, consciousness as he assessed the situation. He deduced that they were no ordinary automata – rather, they bore the strength comparable to high-tier Chunin-level shinobi.
“Not allowed to enter!”
“Not allowed to enter!”
“Not allowed to enter!”
The puppets, as if responding to an unspoken command, chorused a vocal cacophony that resonated as a warning to Kuroto, an audible manifestation of their refusal to allow anyone to enter.
However, Kuroto remained unyielding in the face of their display. Despite their numbers, he maintained an air of unruffled confidence.
With a seemingly casual glance, Kuroto posed a question to the puppets, "What if I really want to go in?"
“““DIE!!!””” A torrent of hostility reverberated through the air as the puppets responded to his question, unleashing a coordinated onslaught of chakra-infused blasts upon him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amusent flickered in Kuroto's eyes as Chakra blasts rushed at him. In response to their attack, he lifted both hands and ford a spherical barrier around him. The barrier not only protected him from the chakra blasts, but it also absorbed the onslaught of them as they hurtled towards him. The bursts of energy converged on his palms before dissipating.
"Heh, as if these tricks would work on ," Kuroto murmured with a self-assured chuckle, and added, “Now, it is my turn to attack.”
With the barrier in place, he slamd his hands together as several black lines extended from his feet and took the form of multiple geotrical formations on the ground. These geotrical formations on the ground enclosed all the puppets and started to glow. As soon as these geotrical formations glowed, the puppets started collapsing one by one as if they were out of power.
Soon, not a single puppet remained standing. Looking at all the fallen puppets, Kuroto muttered with a smile, “Did not expect that the Chakra transmission array that I created for Danzo would turn out to be useful here…”
The thod he had just used to deal with dozens of puppets is actually a Chakra Transmission Array. Back when Kuroto was helping/using Danzo to improve/test the Chira Jutsu, Chira Buds, and the Kekkei Genkai Absorption Ritual, Kuroto also assisted in improving the Chakra Transmission Array.
Therefore, he knows how to create it, and in his own free ti, he worked on it to make it completely reliant on characters and patterns without any need for hardware material. It took so ti and effort; however, he had succeeded in creating it. The result is before him. Using the Chakra Transmission Array, Kuroto had simply absorbed the Tenseigan Chakra that was being used to power up the puppets. Losing the source of energy, the puppets could no longer function and collapsed one after another.
After swiftly dealing with the puppets, Kuroto walked into the dark and damp cave. On the way, he did find a few more traps, along with many more puppets trying to stop him. However, he swiftly dealt with all the hurdles until he reached the center of the network of underground tunnels.
As he walked inside the hall, he noticed a person quietly standing with his back turned towards the entrance. However, Kuroto did not care about this figure because the thing beside him had garnered all his attention – it was a giant sphere emitting bright warm light.
While Kuroto was focused on the giant sphere, the figure turned around and looked at Kuroto with a mocking chuckle, “It turns out to be you… What a foolish mistake you made, Hyuga Kuroto!”
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