Chapter 156: Uchiha Kagami!
"The Flying Thunder God Technique again..."
The white-masked man raised his right hand, gently touching the rough skin on his abdomen as he spoke with perfect calm. "Has the Second Hokage's space-time ninjutsu become so commonplace now?"
Nara Keisuke watched him warily, not responding to his question. The Yin Release Mask in his left hand was continuously feeding him chakra, replenishing what he had just consumed. Transferring chakra to and from the masks was one of their greatest functions. Keisuke's own reserves weren't particularly large, but that didn't stop him from carrying a number of "chakra power banks."
Still, the man's words inevitably made Keisuke's mind race.
'Known facts: He's an Edo Tensei user, knows about the Flying Thunder God, and is a master of Water Style.' An avalanche of combat analysis flooded his brain. 'And the A-rank mission is called [The Ghost of the Uchiha]...'
'That name could be referring to the mastermind, Uchiha Madara, or it could be referring to the attacker himself. When you put all the pieces together, there are only a few possibilities left.'
'First, rule out Madara. The old man hasn't reached the Edo Tensei stage yet. As for the others... Uchiha Izuna, or Uchiha Kagami? Or maybe...'
After a moment of silence, Keisuke took a step forward, looked the man directly in the eyes, and declared in a cold, accusatory tone, "The inherently evil Uchiha!"
A completely bewildered Minato looked from Keisuke to the enemy, having no idea why his ally would suddenly turn on their own village's Uchiha clan. While it was true that most Uchiha were proud and difficult to get along with, calling them "inherently evil" was a bit much, wasn't it? Minato wanted to use his own student, Obito, as an example. In his eyes, Obito was a positive, optimistic, and helpful young man of Konoha!
It wasn't just Minato. The white-masked man was equally stunned by Keisuke's words.
"As a Konoha ninja, how can you harbor such hostile thoughts towards your comrades from the same village?"
The code phrase didn't work. Looks like it's not Tobirama Senju.
Keisuke ruled out another possibility. Although the Senju and Uchiha had founded Konoha together, that didn't mean their members loved each other. The ones in love were Hashirama and Madara. The ones trying to kill each other were Tobirama and Izuna. From the very beginning, Tobirama had maintained an extremely strong sense of vigilance towards his Uchiha comrades. This "vigilance" was passed down to his successors and was even twisted along the way...
But speaking of Tobirama himself, to use an imperfect analogy, even if the Inuzuka clan's dog went missing, Tobirama would still mutter "the evil Uchiha." That was just how he was. A person with his personality would never say something as innocent and idealistic as the white-masked man just had.
'In that case, there are only two possibilities left.' A few more thoughts flashed through Keisuke's mind. 'Uchiha Izuna or Uchiha Kagami! Considering what he just said... the latter is more likely! But how could Uchiha Kagami be involved with Madara? And why would he intervene in the Third Great Ninja War as an Edo Tensei?'
In Keisuke's memory, Uchiha Kagami was a ninja who had died young. In that, he was exactly like his descendant, Uchiha Shisui...
Though his mind was racing, Keisuke didn't forget to respond.
"It seems you're quite concerned with the state of comradeship within our village, Mr. White Mask." Keisuke put the Yin Release Mask away. To avoid arousing suspicion, he deliberately left some of its chakra unabsorbed. "Why would you worry about that? As our attacker, shouldn't you be delighted by any potential discord in Konoha?"
'So that's why he said it!' Minato blinked, looking at Keisuke with surprise. 'The Uchiha clan certainly has a powerful and warlike reputation... using that here is a perfect way to probe the enemy for information.'
Faced with Keisuke's counter-question, the white-masked man was speechless. He couldn't very well say it was because he, too, was originally a Konoha ninja.
"Nara Keisuke," the man said in a low voice. "You are even more cunning than I imagined."
"You know me? Not by my title, but by my full name?" Keisuke narrowed his eyes. "So your target this time wasn't anyone else here... it was me?"
Saying too much always leads to mistakes. The white-masked man was finally learning that lesson. He stopped talking altogether, raised his hands, and began to form hand seals. Seeing this, Keisuke decisively raised his right hand, aimed his fingertips, and fired.
Spiraling Shadow Binding Bullet!
Having observed the battle from above, Keisuke knew that Minato couldn't inflict effective damage. And after his Spiraling Shadow Killing Cannon had confirmed the man was just a reanimated corpse, there was no point wasting chakra trying to hurt him. Against an Edo Tensei, restraint jutsu were clearly more effective.
The black pellet shot through the air like a meteor, flying straight for the white-masked man.
'The Nara clan's shadow techniques are long-range and extremely fast. I can't meet them head-on!' The man recalled the previous exchanges and the intel he had on Keisuke. He immediately aborted his hand seals and activated a high-speed movement technique instead.
"Water Release: Instant Water!"
He glided across the water's surface, narrowly avoiding the projectile. Minato silently moved to Keisuke's side to protect him. He didn't fully understand how the enemy had regenerated from such a grievous wound, but one thing was certain: even a direct hit through the heart would do no real damage. Under these circumstances, Minato, who couldn't even break the man's defense to begin with... was starting to feel a bit broken himself.
'I must develop a high-power jutsu that fits my fighting style!' The thought flashed through Minato's mind as he tightened his grip on his kunai. After his grueling battles on the Kumo front, sparring daily with the AB combo, he had often felt his own attack power was insufficient. Of course... that might have just been because A and B were just that "tough."
Minato was already planning to develop a seal-less, instant-cast jutsu to complement his speed-based combat style. He even had the inspiration for it already. Today's battle against this incredibly durable "immortal" had only solidified his resolve.
'But should I call it the Super Ultimate Death God Missile, or the Peerless Burst Wave Cannon?'
The white-masked man was clearly familiar with the Nara clan's techniques. Facing an opponent who could instantly cast shadow jutsu, he didn't rush in recklessly, instead dodging warily across the water, looking for an opening. Edo Tensei wasn't invincible. Sealing jutsu was its greatest weakness. He didn't know if Keisuke knew any, but he was certain Minato did—and was an expert at them. How could someone who didn't master sealing possibly have improved upon Lord Second's Flying Thunder God Technique to such a degree?
While the man searched for an opening, Keisuke was also observing his reactions. With Minato guarding him, he wasn't worried about being attacked. Faster than him? Minato will handle it.
'He's experienced my Binding and Killing Cannon bullets, so he's paying close attention to their trajectory and trying to keep his own shadow from overlapping with them... but he's only dodging the ones in front of him. He isn't paying attention to what happens to them after they pass.'
'Hasn't he gathered complete intel on my abilities?'
Keisuke's mind worked at lightning speed as he finalized his plan.
"Spiraling Shadow Binding Bullet!"
He raised his hand and fired again, this time at a much higher frequency. The man used his strange "Instant Water" technique to flee across the surface, not slowing down in the slightest. Backed by the infinite chakra of Edo Tensei, he could use the advanced movement jutsu without a care, dodging bullet after bullet.
Just then, Keisuke's rate of fire paused for a moment before he suddenly shot out several more black projectiles.
Spiraling Shadow Imitation Bullet!
The man used the same tactic, dodging out of the bullets' path. But this time, one of the black pellets that flew past him exploded just a short distance behind, transforming into one of Keisuke's Shadow Doppelgangers.
The doppelganger, now at point-blank range, aimed at the man's shadow, poured nearly all of its Yin Release chakra into its fingertips, and fired.
Spiraling Shadow Binding Bullet!
Never expecting an attack from behind, the white-masked man was finally hit. Powerful shadow tentacles erupted from the bullet, rooting him to the spot.
"What?!" he cried out in shock, trying to break free. But at that moment, the other Imitation Bullets also transformed into doppelgangers and swarmed the immobilized target. They all used the Shadow Imitation Technique, linking their shadows to his and reinforcing the paralysis.
Seeing his plan succeed, Keisuke decisively used his clan's ultimate binding jutsu—the Shadow Vise Technique! Immense, thick tentacles of shadow shot out from beneath him and connected to the immobile man, locking him down completely. The steel-cable-like shadows bound him so tightly he couldn't budge an inch.
But Keisuke didn't stop there. An almost invisible thread of shadow, hidden amongst the thicker tentacles, snaked its way toward the man's own shadow, intending to seal his consciousness completely. Held fast by the Shadow Vise, the man was helpless. Even an Edo Tensei had to follow the rules of forming hand seals, unless they were a master of seal-less jutsu. Unable to move his hands, he couldn't put up any effective resistance.
'Should I use the Sharingan...' Beneath the mask, the young ninja's brow furrowed tightly. But while he hesitated, Keisuke's shadow thread made contact with his shadow.
Shadow Manipulation Technique!
Keisuke's consciousness traveled along the thread and connected to the man's body. But to his surprise, as he "occupied" the vessel, he felt that it wasn't shaped like a normal human's. It was more like... a cocoon?
Keisuke took control of the strange body and began to move.
Before Minato's eyes, a deathly pale creature suddenly detached itself from the white-masked man's body, taking the strange mask with it. Beneath the mask, a young face was revealed. The man's gentle, round "dango" nose seemed vaguely familiar to Minato. But he ignored the man still being held by the shadow jutsu and focused on the white creature.
"Keisuke, be careful."
"Don't worry, Minato-san." Keisuke put on a show, sending a shadow tentacle to pull the unresisting white creature over to his side. "This thing is under my shadow's control."
"What is that creature?" Minato frowned, watching as the white being below them slowly began to change shape. "It looks like it's turning into... a person?"
"Let's put that aside for now, Minato-san," Keisuke said, gesturing toward the dango-nosed ninja. "The priority is to confirm his identity, isn't it? Speaking of which, I think you used a sealing jutsu once before? Could you seal him up for me? You know, seals are a bit more reliable than shadows."
"Right away!" Minato nodded, flickered forward, and flew through hand seals. A moment later, a Four Symbols Seal was placed on the reanimated ninja's body, completely cutting off his chakra flow. Just in case, Minato also placed a Flying Thunder God marker on him.
The "white-masked man" seemed to accept his fate with perfect calm, offering no resistance.
"Now then, it's time you introduced yourself," Keisuke said calmly, retracting the Shadow Vise while letting the other doppelgangers maintain their hold. "The undead ninja who knows the Flying Thunder God Technique."
The dango-nosed ninja sighed. "My name is... Uchiha Kagami."
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