Chapter 384: Can't Let the Second Hokage Find Out
"Amenotejikara!"
When Sasuke activated Amenotejikara, he gritted his teeth and poured all his strength into it.
Just like how Kakashi would shout "Kamui."
Fortunately, he did not fail, Sasuke achieved an effect similar to Kamui.
He had actually used Amenotejikara to tear apart the target!
Sasuke felt a surge of excitement.
What did this mean?
It meant that his ocular technique was no longer purely supportive, it now possessed powerful offensive capability!
However…
Sasuke's expression suddenly froze.
Kamui tore space by applying ocular power directly to space itself, causing it to distort.
In other words, that was Kamui's inherent function.
But Amenotejikara was different. Its original effect was simply swapping.
Sasuke had come up with the idea of swapping only part of a target, thereby producing a tearing effect similar to Kamui, but to do that, he had to expend extra ocular power to precisely control the target area.
That was the key difference between Amenotejikara and Kamui.
If Kakashi used Kamui to transfer a massive target, the ocular power consumed would also be enormous.
Amenotejikara, however, did not have that limitation.
Whether Sasuke swapped places with the Ten-Tails or with a fly, the consumption was the same.
Both counted as swapping "one unit", requiring the same amount of chakra.
There was a default "unit" size.
Now that Sasuke was trying to shrink that default size, the chakra consumption skyrocketed.
Sasuke staggered.
At the same time, the activated Amenotejikara warped slightly, its power briefly slipping out of control.
Originally, Sasuke, using Tenko (Heavenly Fox) combined with Amenotejikara, had aimed at Senju Tobirama's upper body. But due to that momentary instability, the target shifted to the lower body.
"Hm?"
Sasuke noticed something strange.
He had transferred the Second Hokage's armor and pants over, but he himself hadn't swapped places.
So what exactly had gone over?
Activating Tenko (Heavenly Fox) to check, he saw a lilac flower inserted into Tobirama's "vase."
A drop of cold sweat formed on Sasuke's forehead.
Fortunately, an Impure World Reincarnation body had no sensation, and with Tobirama's chakra drained, he had no perception at all, so he hadn't noticed anything.
As long as Sasuke returned in time and removed that lilac flower…
In any case, he absolutely could not let the Second Hokage find out.
Otherwise, Tobirama, who always went on about the "innately evil Uchiha", would definitely deepen his prejudice against the Uchiha clan.
Sasuke had already decided that he would become an ally of justice in the future and restore honor to the Uchiha. He absolutely could not bring further disgrace to his clan.
However…
Sasuke decided to conduct another experiment.
That accident just now made him realize that he could swap objects with other objects without involving himself at all.
This was a remarkable discovery.
If he could master this technique…
It would be terrifying.
With Sasuke's combat intelligence, he immediately thought of a practical application.
If he held a kunai infused with Chidori, then used Amenotejikara to swap the target with the kunai, wouldn't that result in a "guaranteed Chidori hit"?
That was incredibly useful!
He had to test it right away.
Sasuke activated Tenko (Heavenly Fox) again, still targeting Senju Tobirama.
The previous target, the clothing, hadn't been transferred yet, so he would continue using it as the swap target.
Sasuke had taken Orochimaru as his teacher and inherited his spirit of experimentation, but neglected proper caution.
At this point, he was already at his limit. Using Amenotejikara again, and once more at a high-intensity, high-consumption level of "precise slicing", what would the result be?
Sasuke staggered again, and directly fainted.
Even so, Amenotejikara still activated successfully.
However, due to another fluctuation, the aim went off again.
The key difference this time was that previously, even when he mis-aimed, the armor and pants provided some obstruction. Now, everything was completely exposed.
A "vase" with a lilac flower inserted into it was transferred over, and Sasuke, collapsing unconscious, ended up pressing down on it beneath him.
---
Back in Konohagakure Village.
Sakura, Ino, and Kushina found Team 8, who were on patrol in the village.
"Hinata, Shino, Kiba, come help us find Naruto."
Ino waved as she called out.
All three members of Team 8 were tracking-type ninja, making them perfect for searching.
"Naruto? That guy's back? Since when?"
Kiba Inuzuka looked confused.
"Woof woof."
Akamaru barked beside him.
"What? Akamaru, you say you smell Naruto?"
Kiba understood immediately, surprised, but then his face suddenly turned pale as he remembered something.
The reason Akamaru could recognize Naruto's scent went back to the Chūnin Exams.
Naruto had once held a balloon filled with… something unpleasant, and mercilessly used Rasengan on him and Akamaru.
So the "Naruto scent" Akamaru was detecting might not be Naruto's actual scent at all, but…
Kiba felt nauseous and gagged a couple of times.
"Woof woof."
"There's also some strange, refreshing fragrance mixed in with Naruto's scent?"
Kiba felt like he was about to break down.
Sometimes having such a keen sense of smell wasn't a good thing.
He had clearly picked up the scent of the medicated oil Naruto had applied.
"Wait… why is Naruto's scent up in the sky?"
As Kiba kept tracking, something felt off.
Had Naruto ascended to heaven?
"Uh… sorry about that. I accidentally sent Naruto flying."
Killer Bee scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
"You sent him flying and now you're asking me to help? Neither I nor Akamaru can fly!"
Kiba nearly collapsed.
"It's fine. We remember the general direction Naruto was sent flying in. We just need to search that way."
Ino pointed into the distance.
"…Alright."
"Team 8, move out!"
The group began heading in the direction Naruto had been launched.
Meanwhile, Kiba and Akamaru used Fang Over Fang, repeatedly leaping into the air and landing again. After doing this over and over, they finally caught Naruto's scent midair.
"I found him, no, wait! It's gone?!"
Exhausted from repeatedly using Fang Over Fang, Kiba and Akamaru were devastated to discover that just as they were about to pinpoint Naruto's location, his scent vanished in midair.
Man and dog both collapsed, physically and mentally drained.
Now they could only rely on Shino's insects and Hinata's Byakugan.
"Um…"
Hinata gently tapped Sakura and Ino.
"What is it? Did you find Naruto?"
Sakura turned and asked.
"No… but I found Sasuke."
Hinata pointed in a direction.
"What? Sasuke?"
Sakura was startled and immediately ran toward where Hinata was pointing.
"Wait, Sakura, over there..."
Hinata reached out to stop her, but it was too late.
Sakura had assumed Sasuke would be standing or walking somewhere in the forest, but he was lying down.
As she ran toward the indicated direction, Sakura suddenly felt her foot step on something.
Then she heard a muffled groan from below.
"Ugh…"
(End of this chapter)