Chapter 16:
...
The cold of the Icebound Forest cut to the bone, even for someone like Itachi, who had endured extreme conditions in his past life as a shinobi.
Yeah… The snow crunched beneath his feet as he moved forward, and the icy wind blew, lightly ruffling his dark hair.
This place, located in the far north of the continent, was an endless white wilderness, where every corner seemed like a labyrinth of frozen trees and snow-covered mountains.
All around him, everything was calm, except for the occasional howling wind that cut through the silence like a blade.
Itachi knew this place was home to powerful creatures… ice spirit beasts that could tear a regular human apart in seconds.
However, his goal was clear: to obtain the perfect ring for his Ice Silk Worm, his second Martial Soul. Which on record was his only official Martial Soul so he had to increase its power that for now was practically useless, but after doing a proper research he managed to figure out the best way to make his Ice Silk Worm more useful.
He had spent days traveling to this desolate place, gathering information and analyzing his situation.
Though research on twin Martial Souls was limited in this world, Itachi had reached his own conclusions after closely studying his body.
The key lay in physical strength.
Yup, that is all.
The pressure of sustaining two Martial Souls with spirit rings was immense, and a body unable to endure it would simply collapse.
But Itachi trusted in his resilience; his ninja training and the unique modifications provided by his first Soul Ring and the Spirit Bone along with the Sharingan made him more than capable of attempting this.
…..
…..
The Icebound Forest was a hostile place, yet Itachi advanced calmly, leaving barely a trace in the snow accumulating beneath his feet.
As always, each step was calculated, his gaze hidden under the effect of his Skydream Crown, scanning every inch of the terrain with the precision of his activated Sharingan.
For days, he had searched for a spirit beast suitable for his Ice Silk Worm, but he knew that with his current spirit power level, directly confronting a creature nearing 1,000 years of age would be a dangerous gamble, even for him.
Well… It wasn't impossible, but the power gap meant that a single mistake could cost him his life.
So… yup. For this reason, he had decided that this wouldn't be a battle of brute force; instead, it would be a strategic hunt.
...
After several hours of exploration, Itachi finally found what he was searching for:
An Ice Web Spider!
An impressive creature nearing 1,000 years of age.
Thanks to his Sharingan and Spirit Bone, Itachi could easily determine that the beast was still a few years away from breaking the millennial mark, making it precisely the target he had been seeking all this time.
'My body still can't handle the full power of a 1,000-year ring... but one close to this level is well within reach. I'd say there's about a 77% chance of success' he calculated.
"Hn. That's more than enough," he concluded.
Itachi had discovered that spirit rings up to about 999 years old could still be absorbed without fatal risk.
However, once a beast reached 1,000 years of age, the significant physical and energetic transformation they underwent drastically reduced his chances of successful absorption to less than 50%.
The Ice Web Spider was a large ice spirit beast with a bluish-white body that shimmered like crystal. Its long, thin legs looked as though they were made of pure ice. The spider moved slowly through the forest, weaving its powerful, flexible, and resilient frozen webs between the trees. It left a trail of icy webs behind as it moved.
And yes. It was perfect for what he needed as the first ring for his Ice Silk Worm.
From his hiding spot, Itachi observed every movement, analyzing its behavioral patterns and the best way to confront it.
"A direct fight isn't an option..." he murmured to himself. While he had enough skill and power to battle most spirit beasts under 1,000 years old, he also knew that this spider was out of his league in a head-on confrontation.
Then, an idea began to take shape in his mind.
If he couldn't defeat the spider directly, perhaps he could use the environment and the other creatures in the forest to his advantage.
'Create a distraction… and make another beast do part of the work for me'
...
The key to his plan lay in luring another spirit beast, one almost as strong as the spider, using his clone.
This way, he could pit them against each other.
The idea was risky, but Itachi trusted his Spirit Bone's abilities to pull it off.
Activating the Imitation ability of his Skydream Crown, Itachi's clone altered its appearance to resemble a creature similar to the Ice Web Spider. Its body transformed into that of a translucent, icy creature, exuding an aura of frost that could fool most spirit beasts.
Now disguised, the clone began moving through the forest in search of a suitable candidate, while the real Itachi kept his eyes on the primary target.
After some time, the clone encountered an ideal spirit beast: a Frost Sabercat about 800 years old.
The imposing feline had long fangs and a snowy white coat that blended perfectly with the icy environment.
Without hesitation, the clone provoked the sabercat. It leaped from a nearby tree, emitting a sound similar to the screech of a spider and launching small ice projectiles created with its spirit power, mimicking the attacks of the Ice Web Spider.
Well… In reality, these were fire projectiles from a ninjutsu, but the clone had used the illusionary abilities of the Skydream Crown to make them appear as ice, further confusing the spirit beast.
The Frost Sabercat reacted immediately, charging toward the clone with a furious roar.
Following the plan, the clone moved swiftly and strategically, leading the sabercat through the forest toward the spider, all while ensuring it maintained its disguise.
...
Once the clone had led the Frost Sabercat close enough to the Ice Web Spider, it used another ability of the Skydream Crown to vanish completely, blending into the environment like a chameleon.
The Frost Sabercat, now enraged, continued forward until it came face-to-face with the real spider.
The Ice Web Spider reacted instantly, letting out a piercing screech and launching a frozen web to defend its territory.
The Frost Sabercat, even more incensed by the clone's earlier projectiles, interpreted the attack as a direct challenge.
Now the real Itachi watched the unfolding chaos from the shadows, his Sharingan capturing every detail with precision.
Just as he had anticipated, the fight began almost immediately.
This was one of the key advantages of spirit beasts that hadn't yet developed true intelligence; they were easily fooled by such simple traps.
The Frost Sabercat attacked with ferocity, lunging at the spider with razor-sharp claws and icy breath. The Ice Web Spider, though slightly stronger, was forced to defend itself with everything it had. Its frozen webs covered the trees, creating a slippery and treacherous battlefield.
Itachi observed patiently as the two creatures fought.
Although the spider clearly had the upper hand in terms of resilience and skill, the Frost Sabercat managed to inflict several severe wounds before finally retreating in its Quick Step technique, severely injured.
...
When the Frost Sabercat fled, the spider was left visibly weakened. Its movements were slower, and one of its eyes was completely closed due to a deep wound. Itachi knew this was his moment to strike.
Emerging from his hiding place, he deactivated his camouflage and threw a kunai coated with an explosive tag directly to the right spot on one of the spider's injured hind legs.
So, yes, he did, Itachi had created in this world the explosive tags and they were actually one of the stuff that Innovation Forge was now selling and for which it was becoming so well known in the empire as many already wanted these explosive tags. It took him a while, but he had managed to replicate these using spirit power instead of chakra. Then the process had been practically the same only that in the seal he infused spirit power which was more fickle and dangerous than chakra to manipulate so it was tricky but with his Sharingan he managed to do it. Unfortunately he was the only one in Innovation Forge who knew how to make these so they could not keep up with the amount of orders they had for these, even so it had become one of the pillars of the whole operation to give them renown.
Now… The creature shrieked in pain but still had enough energy to attempt a counterattack.
The Ice Web Spider launched a frozen web at Itachi, but he dodged it with agility, using the trees for cover.
Following that Itachi continued his attack with finesse and precision, himself from a point visible to the beast and his clone from a hidden spot. Both throwing kunai with explosive tags at the many wounds of the spider, always hitting the right spots in order to inflict as much damage as possible along with the explosion. Since the best way to deal with a spider-type spirit beast was to disable its movement, therefore all their attacks were mostly directed at the wounds on its legs.
However, just as Itachi seemed to gain the upper hand, the spider made an unexpected move.
Using the last of its strength, it shot a web skyward and propelled itself upward in an attempt to escape.
With his Sharingan, Itachi predicted the movement.
So, his clone, positioned nearby, hurled a spirit-power-enhanced fire shuriken at the web, severing it before the spider could gain too much height.
Despite his efforts, the spider remained fast, even in its weakened state.
A long and exhausting pursuit ensued, with Itachi and his clone using every ounce of their skill and strategy to close the distance while still charging at the spider from a distance in order to slow down its movements.
Finally, after several minutes of relentless hunting, they cornered the spider in a dense cluster of trees that restricted its movements.
With one final, precise attack in coordination with his clone, Itachi drove his kunai into the core of the spider's body, ending the fight once and for all.
….
As the spider lay motionless in the snow, its body began to emit a faint yellow glow tinged with violet. A spirit ring, almost 1,000 years old, materialized above it, floating gently in the air.
Exhausted but satisfied, Itachi sat beside the spider's body and began the process of absorbing the ring, while his clone maintained a vigilant watch.
The forest's biting cold felt insignificant compared to the pressure Itachi experienced as the ring integrated into his body.
Yet, despite the difficulty, he remained focused, recalling his father's words back in Konoha:
"True strength doesn't lie in your abilities but in your determination"
That really was something Itachi kept constantly reminding himself.
Meanwhile, his clone barely had time to rest. Through his Sharingan, the clone detected something in the distance… a winged creature, much larger than anything he had encountered so far, flying in their direction.
"A 10,000-year spirit beast…" the clone murmured, feeling the pressure intensify once more.
Without hesitation, the clone followed Itachi's command to protect him, realizing the only way to do so was to distract and draw the beast away.
As the clone launched itself toward the approaching creature, Itachi continued focusing all his effort on integrating the spirit ring and its energy into his body.