Chapter 95: The Epoch-Making Advancement of [Shadow Secret Techniques]!
Leaving the Hokage's Office.
Nara Keisuke did not rush to immediately test the effects of his newly acquired [Flying Thunder God Technique]. He got his bearings and chose to head to the nearby Manten-dō.
"Welcome! This is Manten-dō! The ninja tools we sell here—"
After recognizing the visitor's face, the shopkeeper's greeting behind the counter went from enthusiastic to reserved. "Oh, it's you, sir... What product do you need this time? Is it the same raw wood for making chakra paper as before?"
Although it had been a long time since they had last met, the Manten-dō owner still had a deep impression of this very picky yet generous "Aburame ninja." After all, a normal ninja wouldn't ask bizarre questions like, "Do you sell the Sage of Six Paths' ninja tools?"...
"No, I'm not here to buy wood today," Nara Keisuke said, shaking his head.
For the past few months, he had been staying in Kikyo Castle and had rarely returned to the village proper. But even so, he had still forged a large number of [Nature Masks] of all attributes, from "Yin and Yang" to the "Four Symbols." He didn't need any more mask reserves for the time being.
As for where the raw materials for these [Nature Masks] came from... Konoha wasn't the only place that could sell wood. After the forging of his chakra metal blade [Little Jizō] was completed, Keisuke had specially commissioned Lady Cat to have her ninja cats purchase some of the special wood from the Land of Iron and bring it back to Konoha.
It was precisely thanks to the efforts of these ninja cats that Keisuke had finally confirmed that the SSS-rank miscellaneous item [Branch of the Divine Tree] he had purchased from Manten-dō had originated from the Land of Iron! (Chapter 47)
Although this still couldn't completely rule out the possibility of the Great Pillar's atavistic mutation, considering Hashirama's range of activities during his lifetime and the time when the special wood in the Land of Iron was discovered, Keisuke had concluded that the precise source of this SSS-rank item should be the Gedo Statue! In other words, in the decades after Uchiha Madara's faked death, his real hiding place was in the Land of Iron. At the very least, he must have summoned the Gedo Statue within its borders!
'Uchiha Madara is still alive right now, and he's still up to a lot...'
Keisuke pushed down the thoughts in his heart and looked around the Manten-dō shop. "Boss, do you sell paper talismans for the [Summoning Technique] here?"
"Of course! Please wait a moment, sir!" The owner quickly counted out a stack of special white paper from under the counter. The shape and size were similar to a paper bomb. "How many would you like, sir?"
Leaving Manten-dō with the special talismans, Nara Keisuke went home—the one next to the Ninja Academy. He took out the key from a corner of his ninja tool pouch, but found that it wouldn't fit into the keyhole at all.
Speechlessly putting the key away, Keisuke was about to turn and leave. But at the last moment, he chose to pound on the door.
Bang! Bang!
"Open up!"
A series of hurried footsteps came from inside. Nara Keiko, dressed in home clothes, pulled the door open, just about to scold the rude person. But when she saw who it was, she was slightly taken aback. "Eh? Little Kaku?"
"It's me, Keiko." Keisuke lowered his clenched fist, his tone faint. "When did you guys change the locks? How come I didn't know?"
"Sorry about that," Nara Keiko said without a hint of sincerity, while also stepping aside. "Come on in. Come and visit the love nest of me and my dear husband."
Keisuke sighed. He knew the nature of this mushy couple and couldn't be bothered to complain right now.
Entering the house, he discovered that not only the lock, but the interior decoration had also undergone a huge change. The most eye-catching feature was the intimate photos of Nara Shūsuke and Nara Keiko that could be seen everywhere. Of course, among these photos, Keisuke also made frequent appearances, but mostly in the form of a "fetus"...
Feeling the tons of sweet critical damage, Keisuke stopped in his tracks, directly took the appointment letter out of his ninja tool pouch, and stuffed it into Keiko's hands.
"What's this? Eh? Jonin?!" Nara Keiko hadn't been a ninja for many years. She didn't even recognize the appointment letter in her hand at first. "Little Kaku, you're already a Jonin?!" she exclaimed in disbelief, looking at the letter. "How many years has it been? How come I didn't feel it at all? Speaking of which, you do seem to have grown a lot taller, so... Little Kaku, are you married?"
Before Keisuke could answer this extremely tangential gossip question, Nara Shūsuke, hearing the commotion, walked out of a room. He saw the lively scene at the entrance and had the same reaction as his dear wife. "Eh? Little Kaku?"
"It's me." Keisuke nodded to his old man and pointed at the Special Jonin appointment letter in Keiko's hand. "I came to deliver this to you... and also to take some things from the training room."
"Oh." Nara Shūsuke scratched his stomach, and wearing a pair of slippers, he unhurriedly walked to his wife's side and gave her a peck.
"..."
Nara Keisuke put on an awkward yet polite smile and went straight to the training room. This was probably the only place in the house that hadn't been changed. He quickly found the few [Nature Masks] he had made and placed here before, and also took out the stack of summoning talismans he had just bought.
[Summoning Technique: Lightning Flash Blade Transformation]!
Following the hand seal steps in his mind, Keisuke stored the few [Nature Masks] into the summoning talismans by category for later use. Yin, Yang, Water, Earth, Wind, Fire. A total of six talismans, which he carefully stored away.
Leaving the training room, Keisuke had intended to leave directly, but thinking of Shūsuke's previous research project, he stopped. "Shūsuke, your research from before... I'm almost finished with it."
Referring to the A-rank technique [Body Pathway Derangement] he had obtained from Tsunade, as well as the research data provided by his father, with the joint efforts of numerous [Shadow Doppelgangers], Keisuke had indeed already researched quite a few new secret techniques. Among them was the epoch-making advanced variant of the [Shadow Paralysis Jutsu]—the [Shadow Imitation Technique]!
[C-rank Technique: Shadow Imitation Technique]
[Technique Description: A demonic shadow that controls the enemy's body.]
[Technique Effect: Infuse one's own Yin Release chakra into a shadow, manipulating and changing the shadow's form to overlap with the target creature's shadow. Through the shadow's overlap, connect and penetrate the target's nervous system with Yin Release chakra, causing the target's every move to perfectly coincide with one's own.]
[Technique Evaluation: Connect, and move with me.]
Compared to the original [Shadow Paralysis Jutsu], the learning difficulty of the [Shadow Imitation Technique] was a bit higher. But its effect basically covered that of the original. When controlling an enemy with it, as long as the user did not move, the enemy would also stay still. And if the user moved, the opponent's body would also move along with them. It was reasonable for the difficulty level to have increased.
However, although Keisuke had successfully researched this C-rank technique, there was still a little bit of finishing work to be done to completely finish this special project. Because what he had researched was not just the [Shadow Imitation Technique], but also some other, more advanced secret techniques...
"My previous research?" Nara Shūsuke blinked blankly. He had been so lovey-dovey with his wife for so long that he had almost forgotten his original research project. At this time, he could only answer vaguely, "Oh, oh, you mean that..."
"Yes, the combined research of the [Shadow Secret Techniques] and the nervous system," Keisuke nodded. "When it's completely finished, do you need me to send the specific research results over?"
"No, no need." Shūsuke waved his hands repeatedly. "I'm not a ninja. You can just keep that stuff for yourself. Oh, right, don't forget to tell the Clan Head about this. He's also been paying close attention to the research of that new ninjutsu."
"Of course. When I've successfully researched it completely, I will definitely go find the Clan Head," Keisuke continued to nod, adding the second half of the sentence in his heart. 'And at the same time, get a new S-rank family mission from him!'
Not staying in Konoha for too long, Nara Keisuke quickly returned to Kikyo Castle and came to the private training ground he often used next to the medical research institute.
[Shadow Doppelganger Technique]!
A new [Shadow Doppelganger] emerged from the shadow beneath him. "Go inform Tsunade, tell her about the Third Hokage's instructions."
The [Shadow Doppelganger] took its leave, not wanting to waste any energy.
Keisuke, on the other hand, began to test the specific effects of the S-rank technique he had newly acquired. "First, let's test the maximum movement range of the [Flying Thunder God Technique]!"
Information about the technique flowed through his mind. He took out two special kunai mixed with chakra metal from his tool pouch—these were finely crafted weapons forged at the same time as [Little Jizō]—and left the formula mark of the technique on them.
With a continuous consumption of chakra, a special-shaped black mark appeared on the surface of the two kunai. Keisuke stared at the mark. Its shape was like a six-legged spider with its body caught in a ring. If one looked closely, one would find that the special mark was entirely composed of dense, black sealing script.
"This is indeed Senju Tobirama's version of the Flying Thunder God mark... completely different from the Yondaime's 'Love of the Shinobi' sword!" Keisuke nodded to himself, and then sensed the chakra consumption of creating the mark. "Creating the mark doesn't consume much chakra, but what about using it?"
Through the resonance of the [Chakra Crystal], a [Shadow Clone] appeared nearby with a "poof." It created a [Shadow Creature] and flew high into the sky with the newly marked kunai.
"According to the scroll's content, to use the [Flying Thunder God Technique], one must first sense the existence of the formula, and activate the formula through long-distance chakra resonance, thereby producing instantaneous movement on a space-time level."
Keisuke planted the remaining kunai in the ground, then closed his eyes and continuously sensed the formula in the sky. When he had fought Pakura, he had used the [Longsword of the Sky]. It wasn't some trick. It was because after long periods of motionless cultivation of the [Sage Clan Guidance Technique], he could now clearly sense the existence of natural energy!
It was precisely because of this long cultivation, plus the Yamanaka clan's [Sensing] technique, that Keisuke's current sensory range had become very vast. In his senses, the [Shadow Clone] carrying the kunai flew out of the Nara clan's grounds, out of Kikyo Castle, and even out of the great mountains that stood outside the castle.
Just as the kunai was about to fly out of his sensory range, Keisuke decisively activated the space-time ninjutsu.
[Flying Thunder God Technique]!
Swoosh—
In just a "single instant" in the conventional sense, as if he had flickered, Keisuke suddenly vanished from the training ground.
Outside the mountains, high in the sky.
Keisuke's figure instantly appeared next to the [Shadow Clone]. "Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen said." He once again sensed his own chakra usage. "Senju Tobirama's version of the [Flying Thunder God Technique] really does consume a lot. With my current conventional chakra reserves, I can probably only support seven uses, and then I'll be out of chakra. But if I use the [Chakra Crystal] to release it, I can use it many more times..."
Keisuke signaled for the clone to fly back a certain distance towards Kikyo Castle, and halfway there, he activated the jutsu again, instantly returning to the training ground. "The chakra consumption decreases as the distance shortens. That's good news."
The next moment, he flickered back again, returning to the clone's side. "By activating the chakra pre-stored in the formula, I can greatly reduce the chakra consumption of the jutsu. I've pretty much figured out the correct way to use it!"
Just as Keisuke was about to continue testing the jutsu's effects in all aspects, his movements suddenly stopped. The [Shadow Doppelganger] he had dispatched to find the golden goose had dispelled, sending back a memory.
"I already know about the old man's instructions. I've communicated with him many times. When he handles things, I have no worries." The Tsunade in the memory seemed to have returned to that calm and powerful Sannin, no longer showing the mellow beauty of her drunken state the previous night. "But Nara, I was originally planning to send you to the Kirigakure side; it would be safer, at least. But now that you've been promoted to Special Jonin, the old man might change his plans... In any case, you be careful yourself."
(End of Chapter)
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you