Seeing the figure appear before him in an instant—
Yamanaka Fū froze.
He wanted to run—
But he didn't even have the courage to take a step.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Did I say you could leave?"
Raiden's calm voice entered his ears—
Like a whisper from the depths of hell.
Fū stood there, completely rigid.
"Y-You… what are you?!"
His voice trembled uncontrollably.
For some reason—
Even his soul seemed afraid.
Raiden ignored the question entirely and spoke casually:
"I just want to live peacefully."
"But there are always flies that come buzzing around me."
"Killing one or two is fine…"
"But they just keep coming, disturbing my rest."
He looked at Fū calmly.
"You shouldn't have come at me with such ridiculous killing intent."
"If you didn't intend to kill me… you wouldn't have died."
"Tell me."
"Who sent you to assassinate me?"
The calm question struck like thunder in Fū's mind.
At that moment—
Every cell in his body screamed at him to answer.
Even his soul urged him—
Tell him.
"What… is happening?!"
"Why does my body want to answer him?!"
"This is impossible! He's extremely dangerous—I can't betray Lord Danzo!"
Fū roared inwardly.
His will surged—
And in an instant, he regained control.
"I can move again!"
"Good—now I'll use my clan's secret technique!"
Without hesitation, he formed hand seals.
Facing such a terrifying opponent—
Only the Yamanaka clan's secret jutsu might work!
"Oh?"
Raiden watched with mild interest.
"You broke free from just a tiny bit of my aura?"
He didn't defend.
He didn't dodge.
Not because he couldn't—
But because there was no need.
When facing an ant—
Would you bother avoiding its attack?
No.
"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Puppet Curse Technique!"
Fū unleashed everything he had.
His spirit surged forward—
Rushing straight toward Raiden.
But the moment he executed the technique—
He realized how utterly foolish he had been.
His mental energy moved at incredible speed—
Yet in that instant—
He saw something.
An endless, boundless cosmos.
His tiny consciousness—
Was trying to invade an entire universe.
"You're quite interesting…"
"You actually gathered your spirit… just to throw it away."
Raiden's voice echoed.
Fū's spirit hadn't even entered Raiden's body—
Yet they were already communicating.
"How is this possible?!"
"My spirit hasn't even entered him—how can he already speak to me?!"
Fū was horrified.
To the Yamanaka clan, this was a secret technique—
Yet to this person—
It was suicide.
And that vast, infinite presence he had just seen—
Was that really Raiden's mental world?
Impossible!
"Ahhh!"
Before he could think further—
A crushing force struck his spirit.
Fū clutched his head, screaming in agony.
"So weak…"
Raiden looked at him, speechless.
"Such fragile mental strength, yet you dared to separate it from your body and charge at me… what was he even thinking?"
For a moment, Raiden had been slightly impressed.
Breaking free from even a trace of his aura required strong will.
But the very next moment—
Fū had thrown his spirit at him with killing intent.
To Raiden—
That was nothing but suicide.
He hadn't even acted.
His instinctive mental response alone—
Had revealed just a fraction of his true consciousness.
That was the "cosmos" Fū had seen.
The only reason Fū wasn't dead—
Was because Raiden had restrained himself in time.
After all—
He still needed answers.
Otherwise—
Fū's soul would have shattered completely.
"Alright, stop screaming…"
Raiden said, slightly annoyed.
"This world is really strange… people keep using weak, pointless techniques to kill themselves."
To him—
That was exactly what it was.
Suicide.
"Now speak."
"Who sent you to assassinate me?"
This time—
He released just a tiny bit more of his aura.
In that instant—
Fū's pupils dilated violently.
It felt like his eyes might burst.
The entire world—
Even his soul—
Was telling him one thing:
Do not resist.
Tell him the truth.
Otherwise—
Your soul will be destroyed.