Chapter 126: Yin and Yang
Konoha Village.
Kurama Estate.
"Little Yakumo, I've come to see you again." Tonbo Tobitake arrived carrying a food container. He smiled as he saw the young girl approaching him.
"Thank you, Uncle Tonbo." Yakumo Kurama took the box, a bright, happy smile lighting up her face.
"Mhm. How has your health been lately? Have you been seeing the medical ninjas from the hospital regularly?" Tonbo asked with genuine concern.
What a realistic illusion.
If it weren't for the occasional feedback from his "HeartSteel" technique, it would be impossible to tell that the person standing before him was an illusion converted into reality. After two years of interaction, he had come to accept Yakumo as a real human being. She possessed all the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of anyone in the physical world. She had limbs, a heartbeat, and could even perform ninjutsu. Her only flaw was her fragile constitution.
According to the Clan Head, Yakumo Kurama, the girl before him was their ancestor reborn. However, through their time together, Tonbo felt she was simply an ordinary girl growing up in Konoha, striving to walk the path of a ninja to revitalize her clan.
It was her physical condition that held her back, preventing her from training like a normal shinobi. To repay the Kurama family for their secret scrolls and to study the techniques of the shinobi world's predecessors, Tonbo had researched tirelessly over these years. He had reached a conclusion: Genjutsu: Reincarnation carried severe side effects.
Yakumo's weak body was the price. Even if it wasn't her physical health, there would be other side effects preventing her from being like a normal ninja. This was the cost of twisting the illusory into the real—much like the cost of Izanami, it required a massive sacrifice. The "Ido" inside her was part of that price as well.
In reality, the price wasn't singular. This girl didn't have the memories of the first-generation Yakumo Kurama; she was a new Yakumo Kurama, simply gifted with an incredibly powerful Bloodline Limit.
"Thank you, Uncle. I'm okay... it's just that when it comes to practicing ninjutsu... my body just can't support it." Her smile faded as she spoke. Her clan placed great hopes on her, yet her body couldn't withstand the training—it was a constant thorn in her side. Furthermore, her parents had been killed by the monster inside her. She carried the immense weight of her clan and her own self-loathing every day. If it weren't for Kurenai Yuhi and Uncle Tonbo visiting her frequently, she didn't know what kind of will she would have used to keep going.
"Haha, protecting Konoha is a job for us old-timers who are still around. We don't need you on the battlefield yet. Don't be too hard on yourself; Murakumo wouldn't want his daughter to live under such pressure," Tonbo laughed.
Indeed, the misunderstanding from the original story had been cleared up by him. He had personally told Yakumo that the "Ido" monster was responsible for the tragedy and had worked with Kurenai to temporarily seal the creature. Now, he viewed Yakumo simply as a member of Konoha—a girl still finding her way. To him, she wasn't just an illusion; she was a real life.
The past two years of interaction had taught him how the first Yakumo Kurama achieved "Genjutsu Reincarnation." On one hand, the reborn life form possessed extraordinary talent; on the other, she existed exactly like a real human.
The side effects were massive, but Tonbo had to admire her research into Yin and Yang Nature Transformation.
That's right—Yin and Yang. Developing just Yin or just Yang leads to secret techniques like the Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Yin Release creates form out of nothingness,
Yang Release breathes life into form.
Yakumo's existence—the essence of Genjutsu Reincarnation—was a composite creation of Yin and Yang. Yin Release turned the intangible into reality, and Yang Release granted it life. It was a parasitic life form created at the cost of immense side effects—an ultra-large-scale technique nested within the bloodline.
Tonbo suspected the original price paid during the casting was even greater. It likely required the original Yakumo as the core, supported by the rest of the Kurama clan, all casting the technique simultaneously. The most obvious price was their lives, and the remaining price was the various side effects embodied in the girl before him.
The cruelty of the Warring States period had forced out such a transcendent ninjutsu. It was truly breathtaking. Tonbo admitted to himself that he couldn't do it. He had studied his own talent in Yang Release and found it to be merely above average—certainly not on Tsunade's level. Only in Yin Release did he feel he was unrivaled in the shinobi world.
"Is that so? But I still want to help the clan," Yakumo said gloomily.
"Just live well. You know your condition—as long as you don't get sick, you're already reducing the pressure on your clan," Tonbo advised. Yakumo had a personality similar to Naruto's; she was incredibly stubborn about her goals.
"Let's not talk about that. Are you here to practice ninjutsu today too?" Yakumo asked with a grin, looking forward to what was next.
"Yeah. I came to see you and to practice a bit. One of my recent techniques is almost complete."
Tonbo approached Yakumo. Aside from his debt to the Kurama clan, he wanted to observe her freakish Genjutsu Bloodline. After two years of research, his first technique of the "Phantasmal Deception " series was finally nearing completion. To be mindful of Yakumo's feelings, he had chosen the Kurama Estate as his training ground.
"Wonderful! Every time I see Uncle Tonbo's ninjutsu, I want to become a mature ninja even more!" Yakumo said enviously.
"Maybe when you're older. Who knows, your physical condition might improve then," Tonbo said, though in his heart he thought: If you haven't disappeared by then.
The two of them went to the mountain peak behind the estate, which offered a panoramic view of Konoha. Yakumo usually spent her time here painting the scenery. It was one of her few hobbies. She understood that the monster inside her was unstable, so she didn't demand to go out into the village. Instead, she was mature enough not to cause trouble for the clan or the village, focusing her daily joy on painting and ninjutsu.
"Wait until I set up my easel before you start practicing," Yakumo said, grabbing her brushes.
"Don't worry, I will."
Rumble!
Above the Kurama Estate, dark clouds suddenly gathered. Lightning rolled within them, looking as though it were gestating something—it had that feeling of "needing to poop but being unable to."
Yet, right next to the cloudy estate, Konoha remained bathed in clear, sunny skies. The contrast was stark.
Yakumo stopped her brush, looking at the sky and then at Tonbo, who was performing hand seals with a face that looked like he was suffering from extreme constipation. She giggled. It looked like Uncle Tonbo's ninjutsu development had failed again.
This wasn't the first time she had seen this. Every time, it felt like he was just one step away from success, and this time seemed no different. Currently, even she could make a patch of clouds rain, yet Uncle Tonbo still couldn't. It gave her a small sense of accomplishment.
Suddenly, a light breeze blew past. A hint of warm, moist air began to drift through the sky.
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