Chapter 335: The Ascension of the Soul
In the dark cavern.
Hiss!
Sensing that Hiruko's five senses had been extinguished, the snake tail on Kabuto's body flicked its tongue.
"His Genjutsu is becoming more and more terrifying. This isn't just a simple disruption of chakra to create an illusion anymore. Is it a technique that transmits chakra through sound to strike the soul directly?"
Kabuto attempted to force control, trying to erase the reanimated Hiruko's consciousness to let the body act on instinct, but he found it was useless. Based on his current knowledge, he began to deduce the nature of Tonbo Tobitake's abilities.
Both the soul and the body can refine chakra independently, but doing so causes an imbalance, making that chakra uncontrollable. Developing the ability to control such unbalanced chakra is what defines a "Secret Technique."
In other words, since both the soul and body contain chakra, Tonbo's Genjutsu was directly disrupting the enemy's spiritual chakra.
"As expected of Tonbo Tobitake. To find a way to disrupt the volatile nature of pure spiritual chakra... such attainment..."
Kabuto thought of Lord Orochimaru. In certain fields, they were both at the absolute pinnacle, surpassing the heights of previous generations of ninjas. Only someone like him or Orochimaru, who delved deep into the truths of ninjutsu, could understand just how impressive this level of mastery was.
It meant that in terms of Yin Release nature transformation, Tonbo Tobitake had pulled ahead of his predecessors by a landslide. Kabuto believed that even the legendary "strongest Genjutsu" might not work on him. Much like Orochimaru's research into Hashirama's cells, this was a breakthrough that defied conventional imagination.
"However, I have surpassed Lord Orochimaru. I won't let you have it that easy."
Having understood the release mechanism of Tonbo's jutsu, Kabuto's hands quickly wove a series of signs. He had prepared countermeasures against wide-range Genjutsu users.
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation."
Powerful Senjutsu chakra flowed through the connection of the Reanimation Jutsu, crossing skies, earth, and forests to reach the various battlefields, injecting itself into the bodies of the reanimated powerhouses.
"I can't cover everyone, but the weaker ones don't matter to the outcome of the war anyway." Kabuto pushed up his glasses, a smirk playing on his lips.
The Coastline.
"Hmm? Is the caster behind the scenes looking down on us? Is he afraid we'll fall for a Genjutsu?"
Kinkaku felt a strange sensation within his neural network, as if it had come to life, transforming into a living entity to protect his soul.
"Seems so. It means the enemy has a powerful Genjutsu specialist. We can't let them underestimate us!" Ginkaku grumbled.
Boom!
Without warning, both brothers simultaneously erupted with Tailed Beast-level chakra. Red chakra shrouded their forms.
"By wrapping the body in chakra, the enemy has no chance to disrupt us from within. Aside from Jinchuriki, only we two brothers can pull this off." The Gold and Silver Brothers shared a boastful laugh.
"Hey! Where's the support?" Darui shouted, watching the transformation. He immediately notified HQ.
"The Ino-Shika-Cho team is arriving shortly. Just hold on a bit longer!" The voice of the communication ninja crackled back from Headquarters.
"One down, and the photography was perfect." Tonbo Tobitake looked at the reanimated Hiruko, who had been sealed by the sealing team, and checked the photo in his camera.
The composition was flawless, perfectly capturing the cruelty of war while highlighting his own cool demeanor. Once he compiled the photos from all the battlefields and sent them to a magazine, they would definitely take the world by storm. Of course, he wouldn't neglect photographing others; a red flower needs green leaves to stand out, after all.
He picked up his camera again and began filming other areas. Meanwhile, his combat shadow clone arrived at the battlefield where Asuma was fighting.
With his powerful sensory abilities, he instantly noticed that the reanimated ninjas had changed. A powerful mental Genjutsu defense mechanism had been applied to their minds. Furthermore, it utilized research on the properties of the neural cells he had lost in the past, combined with another defensive ninjutsu.
"Truly a civilian genius like me. Give him a little material, and he can innovate and create something entirely his own!" Tonbo marveled.
He couldn't control those nerves. Fundamentally, they weren't his nerves anymore; they were new things developed using his cells as a base. It was very different from his own "Enforced Execution" technique. Just as Hashirama couldn't use the cells on Madara's body to control Madara, Tonbo couldn't control these.
"In that case, I can't use the Sonata of Darkness. I'll have to use ordinary ninjutsu to interfere with the enemy's brain. It'll just be a standard five-senses Genjutsu that can be broken with a simple technique like the Aching Muscle Punch."
The Sonata of Darkness was a terrifying illusion that extinguished the five senses, leaving the victim's mind in an endless void; the chance of a person breaking it themselves was practically zero. It was the ultimate version of a sensory Genjutsu—far more powerful than the Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu, which only blocked vision.
"It's enough. Not just anyone can break a standard Genjutsu."
Tonbo smiled slightly, not particularly bothered. The Sonata of Darkness was just a standard technique anyway, not a Sage version. If it was broken, so be it.
He placed the flute to his lips and began assisting Asuma in the showdown against Shinnosuke Sarutobi. He also looked out for the other ninjas nearby. Naturally, he made sure to stand in a cool pose; his shadow clone was still filming, after all.
Trill~
Shinnosuke Sarutobi, who had been overwhelming Asuma, suddenly heard the sound. Just as he was about to unleash a ninjutsu, he froze.
"Hey, are you my dad? You're pretty good with Earth Style, pushing Uncle Asuma back like that!"
A boy appeared before him, arms crossed. Despite the heat, he wore a long muffler. His hairstyle was similar to Shinnosuke's, and he had a wide, confident grin. Shinnosuke recognized that face instantly—it was a younger version of himself. And the muffler around the boy's neck... Shinnosuke remembered clearly that Konohamaru's mother had knitted that.
"Konohamaru... you've grown so much... Asuma was right, you will surpass me..."
The reanimated Shinnosuke's eyes welled with tears as he began to mumble. He knew it was a Genjutsu. He knew it was likely a technique from Konoha's specialists used against him. But it felt good. To see the grown-up Konohamaru... he wished time would slow down just for a moment so he could look a little longer.
Gradually, through the power of familial love, his soul began to change. Breaking free from Kabuto's control, his reanimated body started to crumble and weather away. The Genjutsu broke as the image of Konohamaru vanished.
"Asuma, tell Konohamaru to keep working hard!" Shinnosuke said his final words to Asuma before his soul ascended to the heavens, nodding once to Tonbo Tobitake for the illusion.
"I'll make sure of it," Asuma laughed. He hadn't expected to free his brother without a sealing tag.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!