After parting ways with Uchiha Itachi, Izumi sent her clone back home while she herself headed toward the legendary Root headquarters—an underground fortress notorious for secrecy and ruthless operations. The shadows of the village's dark underbelly awaited her.
Izumi's crimson Mangekyō Sharingan activated, and instantly a translucent, shimmering shield appeared, enveloping a two-meter radius around her body. It was a protective barrier against detection and attack, an essential tool when sneaking into enemy territory.
As she approached the entrance to the Root base, Izumi's keen eyes watched the surrounding area carefully. She noted how her barrier effectively bypassed the ninjutsu senses of the Root operatives.
So it can evade the heightened sensory abilities of ninja, Izumi mused silently. I had thought this barrier only blocked the conventional five senses—but this is beyond that.
With the precision and silence of a trained assassin, Izumi slipped inside.
The dimly lit corridors were guarded by shadows lurking in every corner. She soon found herself behind a lone Root ninja standing vigilantly in the darkness, his eyes sharp and alert as he concentrated on the perimeter.
Izumi's fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt of the sword at her side. Slowly, carefully, she drew it from its sheath—its metallic hiss slicing the silence.
Yet the elite ninja in front of her remained oblivious.
A brief smirk crossed Izumi's lips, and she sheathed her sword silently.
No need to make a scene just yet, she thought, suppressing the urge to reveal her Mangekyō Sharingan's power. If they notice me activating it now, things will get messy.
Izumi continued to explore the base stealthily, winding her way through the labyrinthine halls until she located a secured chamber where numerous forbidden ninjutsu scrolls and secret incantations were stored.
Standing before the sealed door, Izumi examined the mystical wards etched upon its surface.
Incantations designed to keep intruders out… but they won't stop me.
She grinned with quiet confidence. After all, I'm the best at dispelling curses.
Summoning her dark spiritual energy, Izumi extended her hand. Black Divine Ink began to crawl over her skin like living shadows, pulsating and shifting with a life of their own.
Her ink-covered palm pressed firmly against the door. The intricate incantations inscribed on the door's surface shimmered and intertwined with the Divine Ink, merging into a seamless whole.
With a faint hum, the door unlocked and creaked open.
This was the unique power of Divine Ink—the ability to nullify all talismans and incantations upon contact. The ancient seals recognized the Divine Ink as part of themselves, thus refraining from triggering. More impressively, Izumi could even modify these spells by imprinting her own power onto them.
Entering the chamber, she was greeted by a dazzling sight: shelves upon shelves stacked with scrolls that radiated potent chakra, each containing forbidden and powerful ninjutsu.
Izumi reached for one of the scrolls, but her hand suddenly froze mid-air.
"Hmm? Sealing techniques and additional incantations are on this too?" she murmured with a sly chuckle. "Danzo really was cautious..."
Without hesitation, Izumi grabbed the scroll, and with the overwhelming power of her Divine Ink, nullified the layered sealing techniques instantly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Izumi said with amusement, "There really are a lot of techniques here."
She examined the scroll's contents, her lips curling into a predatory smile.
"Hehehe, there's even Edo Tensei…"
Her eyes locked on the four characters written boldly on the scroll: Edo Tensei — the Forbidden Reanimation Jutsu.
Without hesitation, Izumi began to study the scroll in earnest.
But midway through, the scroll's text began to shift and transform, suddenly becoming a living technique attempting to activate itself.
Izumi's pupils dilated in shock.
"This is…"
In a flash, Divine Ink erupted violently from her body like a black tide. It surged forward, invading the very essence of the ninjutsu, suppressing its activation and calming the volatile energy before it could fully manifest.
With a relieved sigh, Izumi licked her lips, grinning broadly.
"Phew! That was close," she chuckled darkly. "Danzo, that old fox, actually planted a trap in such a crucial scroll."
"If it weren't for me, some poor fool might have fallen for it."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"As expected, reading scrolls with just Divine Ink is boring."
"Reading it this way, with the jutsu trying to trigger itself, gives a thrilling sense of sneaking a peek into forbidden secrets."
Izumi methodically scanned the scroll from beginning to end, absorbing every bit of information.
"Hmm, a ninjutsu that requires a living sacrifice…"
She smirked, thinking of the Second Hokage.
He must have had his reasons for this.
Would a normal person even conceive such a technique?
Looking over the vast collection of forbidden ninjutsu, Izumi's impatience grew. She knew that thoroughly studying all these scrolls would take too long.
Deciding to speed things up, a surge of Divine Ink burst forth, flooding her body and radiating outward.
The black spiritual ink spread like wildfire, infusing into the surrounding scrolls.
As the Divine Ink touched each scroll, the vast amount of written knowledge it contained was instantly copied and imprinted onto Divine Paper, a mystical medium under Izumi's control.
Within moments, the entire repository of Ninjutsu was absorbed into her personal collection.
Before leaving the chamber, Izumi paused and smirked wickedly.
She subtly modified the spells on the scrolls.
Even if Root members dispelled the original techniques, these altered versions would still activate when invoked.
Who the unlucky victim would be next was anyone's guess.
"I'll be back for you," she whispered to the darkened chamber.
---
As Izumi made her way back through the gloomy underground labyrinth, a sudden movement caught her eye.
A female ninja stood silently on guard. To Izumi's surprise, the woman bore the distinctive pale eyes of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.
A dangerous opponent, no doubt.
I can't resist the temptation.
Izumi's lips curled into a wicked smile as she stalked behind the two Hyuga ninja quietly stationed nearby.
With barely a sound, she struck, knocking both unconscious.
Swiftly, Izumi enveloped their bodies in a protective barrier and whisked them away to a secret base hidden from prying eyes.
Once there, Izumi knelt beside the female ninja, placing her hands gently on either side of the woman's head.
Black Divine Ink slithered into the Caged Bird Seal branded upon her skull, merging and intertwining with the intricate sealing spell.
"Ah, so this is the incantation," Izumi murmured, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"It connects directly to the brain and eyes."
"When the seal's power fades, or their eyes leave the body, it destroys both the brain and the eyes instantly."
Izumi smiled confidently, brushing a strand of hair aside.
"But that's no problem for me."
Before her eyes, the Caged Bird Seal on the Root ninja's head began to shift, transforming into a new, unfamiliar seal.
Without hesitation, Izumi plucked her own eyes from their sockets, crimson Mangekyō Sharingan and all, and allowed the Caged Bird Seal to revert to its original form.
Holding the intact Byakugan in her hand, she pondered.
There seems to be an even larger one on the moon.
I'll have to go there someday—no, I must go.
Blood seeped freely from the ninja's eye sockets, yet the woman remained unconscious on the floor.
Ninjas from the same village…
But then Izumi thought of her mother—the innocent woman who had done no wrong, yet was tortured and poisoned after invasive probing of her memories.
What crime did she commit to deserve such pain?
Anger flared deep inside Izumi's chest.
She decided to use these captured Root operatives for experiments related to her Divine Ink. She was determined to understand the limits and potentials of this mysterious power.
Using her genjutsu skills, Izumi cast a spell over the two unconscious women, forcing them to obey her commands and cooperate with her experiments.
She unleashed Divine Ink onto their bodies and observed keenly.
The ink clung tightly, refusing to be shaken off.
Next, Izumi directed the Divine Ink to contact their chakra networks.
Much like the rogue ninja from Kumogakure she had experimented on before, the Divine Ink merged seamlessly into their chakra.
The more it fused, the darker their chakra became, gradually turning as black as ink itself.
Izumi realized that the extent of the chakra's corruption directly influenced the degree of her control.
For example, she could condense the Divine Ink into a lethal talisman capable of stealing their lives.
Or, by focusing the ink within a specific part of the body—say, inside an arm—she could control its movement remotely, forcing the subject to commit suicide.
Concentrating the ink inside the brain allowed her to dominate their thoughts and actions outright.
She increased the corruption further until one subject's chakra was completely blackened.
When Izumi touched this individual, a shocking sensation surged through her.
She could control every aspect of his body and mind and even perceive his thoughts as clearly as if they were her own.
Though she had not expected such a terrifying ability, it made perfect sense.
After all, ink blackens white paper and water.
To Divine Ink, all energy was water.
By blackening the chakra—essentially the energy flowing within—the Divine Ink ensured complete obedience.
I am the master of this ink. Everything that turns black belongs to me.
"Hehehe... hahahaha!" Izumi laughed aloud, a dark thrill rushing through her veins.
Was this ability powerful? Absolutely.
Was it evil? Undeniably.
But in this world, only the strong decide what is right and wrong