"How is it?"
"It's an extremely peculiar structure. To artificially create a monster like that using external Yin Release chakra… that's already beyond S-rank difficulty."
Yamanaka Inoichi gave his conclusion.
Yagyū Souma let out a heavy sigh.
Inoichi was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Senior, why were you even thinking about replicating a monster like that?"
Souma spoke with visible heartache.
"…Uh."
Inoichi was instantly speechless.
Souma reminded him earnestly, "We only need to make the opponent temporarily unstable. Just use your own Yin Release chakra and contaminate the target with a similar method!"
"…That's true."
Inoichi laughed awkwardly.
Indeed.
Why was he obsessing over recreating Ido?
He'd completely gone down the wrong path.
"So, have you figured it out now?" Souma asked.
"I'll… go back and research it more."
Inoichi felt embarrassed, but still had to say it—
not everyone could understand and master something at a glance like Souma.
Please, at least consider the talent level of normal people!
He felt deeply aggrieved inside.
As head of the Yamanaka clan, when had he ever been made to feel like this?
And the worst part was—Souma was doing all this for the Yamanaka clan's benefit.
Inoichi couldn't refute a single word.
"Research it as soon as possible," Souma said.
"Even if you can only interfere a little, that's already enough. Extend this technique further, and you can even force the target into complete mental fragmentation."
"This won't be very useful on village comrades," he added calmly,
"but during interrogations? It might be devastating."
"Indeed… even split personalities still retain parts of their original memories…"
Inoichi pondered for a moment, then felt genuine admiration for Souma's thinking.
This technique wasn't just for combat.
Interrogation, infiltration—its applications were enormous!
The Yamanaka clan choosing to cooperate with Souma was absolutely the right decision.
He felt fired up.
"Souma, anything else?"
"Anything else?"
Souma thought for a moment.
"There's also Mind Chaos Technique. I think it's worth developing. If it really can't be done, then just swap people like we did earlier—not everyone can quickly adapt to someone else's power."
"I've written that down already."
Inoichi coughed lightly.
"Nothing else for now. Get your clansmen learning it as soon as possible—especially Mind Disruption Technique. Once that's mastered, both the Intelligence Division and ANBU will see a massive boost in combat strength."
"Of course!"
But the ones who would benefit the most… were undoubtedly the Yamanaka clan themselves.
As one of the Ino–Shika–Chō families, the Yamanaka weren't weak—but they were still far from the very top.
Recently, watching the Aburame clan rise so rapidly, the elders who once opposed cooperating with Souma were practically tearing their intestines out with regret. A few had even been hospitalized from sheer anger.
Now that full cooperation had begun—
The next clan to take off would definitely be the Yamanaka!
Inoichi was secretly thrilled.
"I'll kill you all once I get out! I'll eat every last one of you!"
Ido had completely lost its sanity.
A monster born of slaughter and human darkness, pinned to the ground and treated as a research sample—
the humiliation was unbearable.
Souma found it too noisy.
And maintaining this knockoff Deity Gate required senjutsu chakra.
He wasn't Senju Hashirama.
Even with his chakra shroud absorbing natural energy, he was barely breaking even. What he was consuming now was pure combat reserve.
"How do we kill it?" Inoichi asked, looking at Souma.
Direct mental bombardment was possible.
But even though all three of them specialized in mental energy—even Kurenai, the weakest among them, had a large reserve—
Souma's method of mental attack was simply too crude and direct.
It was effective, yes—but the consumption was terrifying.
The three of them together probably wouldn't last until Ido was completely erased.
Souma looked at Kurama Yakumo.
"Loose the knot where it was tied."
"…?"
"This thing exists because of Yakumo's negative emotions combined with her Yin Release manifestation. Unless she resolves it, killing this one will only lead to a second, a third."
"…I see."
Kurenai, standing some distance away, had naturally heard everything.
She looked at Yakumo.
Yakumo's face showed hesitation.
The existence of Ido had completely exceeded her expectations—but…
After a long moment, she took a deep breath.
"I don't need you to help me anymore. Please disappear… my negativity."
Her mental state shifted slightly as she spoke.
Soon, Ido—once solid and stable—began to distort and collapse.
"You—! I helped you so much! Why are you abandoning me? Why?!"
"No—!"
Ido's voice, full of hatred, echoed throughout the room.
That terrifying, twisted chakra dispersed, slowly fading into nothingness.
Ido was gone.
Yakumo collapsed into Kurenai's arms, a gentle, almost sweet smile forming at the corner of her lips.
Souma walked to the window.
He pulled the curtains open.
Warm sunlight poured in, illuminating the entire room.
"This finally looks like a place someone can live in."
"That Kurama Yakumo…"
On the way back, Inoichi couldn't help speaking in a low voice.
"Her mental state still doesn't seem very stable."
"Yes."
Souma nodded.
He wasn't a psychiatrist in his previous life—but in this world, with his extraordinarily fine perception, he could clearly sense fluctuations in mental states.
Occasionally acting as a mental health professional wasn't out of the question.
"Yakumo killing Ido looks like recovery," Souma said,
"but in reality, Ido originated from her personality and her inability to stabilize her kekkei genkai."
"Someone like her is still extremely dangerous if she doesn't learn how to suppress her own desires."
"What a pity," Inoichi sighed.
If Yakumo could become a shinobi, she'd surely make a name for herself and restore the Kurama clan's glory.
Unfortunately, she'd been weak and sickly since childhood—never fit to be a proper shinobi.
Souma didn't think it was a pity.
"Her frailty comes from her excessively strong mental consciousness. Kekkei genkai can be a blessing—but sometimes, they're a disease."
"You mean… her physical condition is caused by her bloodline?"
Inoichi froze.
That thought had never occurred to him.
Souma nodded.
"Congenital weakness is one thing. That alone could potentially be compensated later."
"But her mental power is naturally overwhelming. Over time, it continuously places extreme strain on her body."
"So her body never gets proper rest?" Inoichi murmured.
"Exactly."
At this point, only the two of them were walking together.
Kurenai had stayed behind at the estate—Yakumo, freshly healed, was extremely dependent on her.
After a few minutes of silence, Inoichi suddenly asked,
"Then… is there really no way to treat her?"
"There is," Souma replied.
"But it's risky. I can't guarantee success."
To be precise—it was a bit dirty.
Souma's idea was to seal away part of Yakumo's mental energy, or—without affecting the main personality—actively guide the creation of a benevolent secondary personality.
Because of the potential side effects…
He was waiting for someone.
The most famous medical expert in the entire shinobi world—
Tsunade.
"You two—Kurenai-jōnin, she—"
"You're still here?"
Souma looked at Kurama Unkai approaching from the roadside and smiled slightly.
"Senior, Yakumo is fine for now. Kurenai-senpai is taking care of her."
"Fine… really?"
Unkai trembled. "Is that… truly the case?"
"For now, yes," Souma said calmly.
"But her condition is a kind of mental-domain bloodline illness. It's been treated, but not cured. Psychological therapy will be even more important going forward."
Unkai was overwhelmed with emotion.
"Earlier… I overheard something on the roadside. I apologize—I didn't mean to eavesdrop. But if you can truly cure her, the Kurama clan is willing to give anything!"
Unkai wasn't heartless—he'd only been afraid.
If Yakumo could truly become a normal shinobi, he would fully support it. After all, she was the only awakened kekkei genkai user left in the clan.
"That method," Souma explained,
"put simply, is to create a kind version of Ido before she unconsciously creates another one herself. It still requires discussion and refinement."
"The technology itself isn't mature yet either."
"…I understand."
Unkai gritted his teeth.
"The Kurama clan doesn't have much wealth, but we do have genjutsu scrolls…"
Souma only smiled gently, telling him not to get overly excited and that the clan no longer needed to keep Yakumo under constant watch.
Though it wasn't a complete cure, she wouldn't relapse anytime soon.
Inoichi watched from the side, expressionless.
Genjutsu?
Unless they were offering a kekkei genkai itself, with Souma's abilities, those scrolls were honestly meaningless.
What Souma cared about was knowledge.
As long as knowledge existed, infinite possibilities for jutsu followed.
Inoichi glanced at him, then returned to pondering Souma's earlier idea.
Creating a benevolent Ido…
Striking first.
It would siphon off part of Yakumo's mental energy. Combined with sealing techniques, her physical condition might actually improve.
Of course, her genjutsu power would weaken slightly after the split.
But—
Once her body recovered and grew stronger, her mental power could be rebuilt.
And a benevolent Ido might not even be a burden—it could be an asset.
Inoichi felt deep admiration.
A brilliant concept.
Now all that remained…
Was Tsunade.
After parting ways with Unkai, Inoichi lowered his voice.
"You're waiting for Tsunade-sama?"
"Yes."
Souma nodded.
"I've heard she doesn't want to come back. Even Jiraiya-sama couldn't convince her."
"…That so?"
Souma hesitated, then realized—
Originally, Orochimaru's appearance had shaken Tsunade out of her despair and solidified her resolve to become Hokage.
But now—
Orochimaru had been buried for several days already.
The Evil Sealing Method wouldn't be hard to research, but Souma had zero interest in releasing that old schemer.
If Tsunade didn't become the Fifth Hokage…
No matter how he thought about it, he seemed like the next best candidate.
Young, sure—but if the Third pulled something like "Vice Hokage" or "Administrative Assistant," secretly handing power over—
No.
Souma didn't want to deal with Hokage paperwork anytime soon.
As for Kakashi—
That guy could barely manage himself.
Outsource again?
Absolutely not.
Many of his upcoming research projects still required Tsunade's expertise. Without her, he had no one to discuss medical and bodily research with.
Souma's resolve hardened.
"What did Jiraiya-sama say?" he asked.
"Nothing earlier today—hmm? Wait…"
Inoichi paused, then looked up.
"That hawk is our direct communication line with Jiraiya-sama."
"Go check it—now!"
Souma instantly used Body Flicker, racing back toward the village.
If something had changed on Jiraiya's side, he needed to prepare—
whether that meant dragging Kabuto out to act in a play, or going personally to persuade Tsunade.
After all—
He'd just met the First and Second Hokage.
"Maybe… I can do both."
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