Chapter 199: Terrifying Genjutsu
Land of Waves.
"Ah~ No... I have so much money!"
Squelch!
Zabuza remained expressionless as the kunai in his mouth sliced across Gato's throat.
Clang! Clang!
Only then did he weakly release the kunai from his teeth, letting it clatter onto the bridge surface. He turned slowly, limping toward Haku's body.
"To think that just because of a few failures, you decided hiring ninjas was a waste of money... You looked down on shinobi far too much, Gato... Oh well. To have a world-ranked tycoon die by my hand, my life wasn't too pathetic after all."
Zabuza muttered to himself. The men hired to guard Gato were paralyzed by his lingering killing intent, not daring to move an inch—until Zabuza finally collapsed beside Haku.
"What did he mean by that?" Naruto asked, confused by Zabuza's words.
Kakashi explained, "I told you before, Gato was one of the world's leading tycoons. He once had countless ninjas under his command and used them to wipe out many rival factions—including the Hagoromo clan that joined our Leaf Village years ago. He also fought ninja forces in the Land of Hot Springs for control of the docks here in the Land of Waves, along with many other corporate battles."
Kakashi continued, "As time passed, Gato started to feel that hiring ninjas was a waste of funds. He shifted to hiring common thugs and gangsters, only hiring assassin ninjas when he specifically needed to eliminate a target. This 'use them and discard them' approach resulted in his current guards being mostly low-level mobsters. Otherwise, given his peak style, even if Zabuza and I teamed up, we would have been killed."
"Hey! Don't talk them up so much. We're pretty strong too! We played a key role against Haku and Zabuza!" Naruto clenched his fists. He hated people like Gato who started wars and made orphans.
Sasuke and Sakura both had faint smiles on their faces.
"Well, your performance was indeed unexpected," Kakashi said, scratching his head. "It seems Tonbo's training really gave you the right mindset. Keep it up."
It was true; in the battle against Haku and Zabuza, all three had played vital roles. Whether it was the reckless Naruto, the genius Sasuke, or even Sakura, they all displayed tactical thinking far beyond the level of a typical Genin. They were constantly coming up with unexpected maneuvers.
Kakashi was teaching them about the broader world because a mission involving a tycoon like Gato couldn't be solved by fighting alone. He didn't want them to get arrogant, which was why he had initially tempered their excitement.
"Um... that... could you... bury me next to Haku..."
Zabuza lay beside Haku, eyes wide for a long time. Realizing they hadn't noticed him yet, he finally had to speak up.
A Remote Village.
Whoosh!
Sizzle!
"Heretics who do not believe in Jashin... only by offering your blood to Lord Jashin can you find salvation!"
A village was currently engulfed in flames. The perpetrators were a group of black-clad cultists of Jashin. They ended the villagers' lives one by one while offering prayers over them. They drew rituals in massive pools of blood, chanting to their evil god.
Some villagers fought back, but their attacks hit the cultists only for the wounds to heal rapidly. Tonbo Tobitake watched from the shadows.
Their bodies aren't truly immortal yet; it's just increased healing speed. Are they using some special ritual to activate their cells and maintain a high level of regenerative ability?
He had been tailing this Jashin task force for a while now. After handling the business with Itachi, he began his stakeout, which led to interesting discoveries. The current cultists couldn't survive decapitation, but if a limb was severed, they could reattach it as long as the parts were held together.
This meant the Jashin Cult had already mastered a partial method of replicating immortality. Combined with their unique secret techniques, they were a terrifying group. Tonbo also noticed a flaw in Death Controlling Blood: the enemy had to be present for the ritual to start. It wasn't like the internet rumors suggested, where you could kill someone from across the world just by finding their discarded items.
The cultists used numbers to swarm an enemy and draw blood, then relied on their high regeneration to tank attacks while they performed the curse. Unless their heads or hearts were destroyed, they wouldn't die.
Still, this ability is frightening. Tsunade's regeneration requires the Mitotic Regeneration and the Yin Seal's stored chakra. These guys have it naturally.
"Alright, that's enough. Time to read their memories."
Tonbo had gathered sufficient intel; it was time to head home. He missed his wife and child. He dropped his Invisibility and greeted them: "Hi!"
Flash!
Every Jashin cultist locked their eyes on him.
"A survivor?"
"Is he a ninja?"
"One of those losers from the Hidden Hot Springs?"
"Who cares. Let his blood please Lord Jashin."
The cultists grinned maniacally, licking their lips. They charged him as a group—the Jashin cultists loved a good gang-up.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Their Taijutsu was decent, mostly at the Chunin level, with one leader at the Jonin level. They didn't hold back against Tonbo.
Clang! Clang!
Thud!
The Taijutsu exchange was raw and unadorned. Scythes clashed with kunai. Tonbo danced on the edge of their blades, seemingly escaping by a hair's breadth every time.
Rip!
A cultist's blade grazed his side, and a spray of blood flew out.
"Heh heh. Go meet Lord Jashin, little ninja."
The cultist licked the blood off his blade, and his skin began to take on the ritualistic skull-like pattern. He drew the symbol on the ground and proceeded to stab his own legs and torso several times.
"Ah! Argh! Gack!"
Tonbo immediately let out cries of agony.
However, the screams sounded... wrong. As the cultist continued to stab himself, he noticed Tonbo was indeed showing pain, but the voices of agony were coming from his own comrades.
"Mmm. Against people who aren't prepared, Five Senses Manipulation really is a bugged ability," Tonbo said, standing at the edge of the battlefield, watching the Jashin squad hack and stab themselves.
Unlike a prepared ninja like Itachi, anyone who lacked intel on him or lacked specific Genjutsu defenses was essentially dead the moment they faced him. He was increasingly amazed by his own powers. Five Senses Manipulation controlled sound, touch, sight, form, and quality. Once caught, it was virtually impossible to break out alone.
Because once you are caught, any action the enemy takes to "break" the illusion is just something Tonbo wants them to think they are doing. If Tonbo wants them to feel like they are weaving hand signs, they might actually be doing something as ridiculous as playing with themselves. Everything depended on his whim.
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