Chapter 176: The Forbidden Art of Regeneration!
Uchiha Kagami's eyes fluttered open again. Surprised to still see Nara Keisuke and the others, his brow furrowed. "Shisui! Did you really—wait! My Edo Tensei hasn't been released?"
"As things stand, that appears to be the case, Kagami-senpai," Keisuke said, a strange look in his eyes. "Your current state could be described as a 'freely moving deceased person'."
According to Keisuke's earlier calculations, the reason Kagami hadn't returned to the Pure Land was twofold: first, because of Minato's seals, and second, because the caster, Uchiha Madara, was not actually dead. But now, it seemed there might be a third, deeper reason: Uchiha Madara had no intention of releasing the jutsu on him.
"How did this happen..." Kagami looked down at the cracks covering his palm, his heart filled with astonishment.
"It's likely related to the unique properties of the Edo Tensei," Keisuke offered as a possible explanation, before turning to Minato. "But as we discussed, since Lord Second Hokage developed this jutsu, the village should have a scroll with its records. It seems the only way to release Kagami-senpai now is to contact the Third Hokage."
Minato nodded in agreement, then summoned Kōsuke the toad once more, sending it back to Konoha with another intelligence scroll.
"Father," Shisui said, looking at his dad, the sorrow of their earlier parting now completely washed away. He had a feeling that the next time they had to say goodbye, he probably wouldn't feel much of anything.
"Shisui," Kagami replied, looking back at his son with a sigh. But deep down, a faint sense of joy was blooming in his heart. If one could continue to live, who would willingly choose to go to the Pure Land?
After the father and son had stared at each other for a while, Kagami remembered Keisuke's instructions. He found the Flame Uchiwa among the pile of scrolls and ninja tools and placed it in Shisui's hands.
"Shisui, you should understand the significance of this fan."
"This is... the Flame Uchiwa?" Shisui said, his voice a mixture of shock and delight as he held the fan. "Father, and Captain, you brought it back?"
Shisui knew Keisuke had gone on a secret mission, and considering his father's presence, he had guessed it was related to the mastermind behind the Edo Tensei. But he had never imagined they would actually bring back the legendary Gunbai.
"Shisui," Keisuke said from his lazy position under the tree, his voice directed at the canopy above. "It was my idea to give you that fan."
"Thank you, Captain!" Shisui said, overjoyed as he examined the fan. Although his primary weapon was a short sword, the Flame Uchiwa was an incredibly powerful purely defensive tool.
Just then, Kōsuke returned with the Third Hokage's decision.
"Kagami-senpai," Minato said, handing him the scroll. "These are Lord Third's orders."
Kagami took the scroll and read it. Hiruzen's orders were simple. He was to hide his identity, not reveal his existence to the outside world, and return to the village with Keisuke's group, where further arrangements would be made. He wasn't surprised. He knew his existence was not a good thing for the world. It was the same principle as before: the Uchiha clan and the Edo Tensei were a combination that should never be mixed.
Coincidentally, Madara's collection included several large, black robes. Kagami put down the scroll and immediately donned one. Still feeling it wasn't enough, he urged his son, "Shisui, go and find me a mask."
Shisui was about to move when Minato stopped him. "Wait a moment, Shisui-kun. There's one more thing I need to discuss with you."
Shisui looked at him, confused.
"This is something Keisuke needs to know as well," Minato said, gesturing to Madara's corpse. "During the mission earlier, a White Zetsu suddenly emerged from my body. It had been latently hidden there through some unknown means and could grow rapidly by absorbing my chakra. I suspect I'm not the only one. Shisui-kun, and Obito, it's possible you both have a White Zetsu on you."
Minato didn't suspect Keisuke for a simple reason: if there had been a Zetsu on him, it would have activated during the final battle to interfere, and would never have let him kill Madara so easily. He had narrowed the targets down to Shisui and Obito because they had both participated in the Kannabi Bridge mission and been attacked by Kagami. And most importantly, they were both Uchiha.
In hindsight, the reason Kagami had been able to pinpoint their location so accurately was likely because a Zetsu was secretly feeding him their position.
"A parasitic Zetsu?" Keisuke frowned. He knew what this technique was called—the Spore Technique. It worked by attaching a microscopic spore to a target, an incredibly stealthy process. Not even a Kage-level ninja could easily detect it.
"Shisui, check yourself," Keisuke said, propping himself up against the tree trunk. "If you don't find anything, have Shizune and Retsu check you over later."
"Our resources are limited here at the camp, so this is the best we can do for now," Minato nodded. "I'll have Rin check on Obito later to be safe. Of course, it would be even better if we could get Hyūga-san's help."
"The technique is most likely what the White Zetsu itself called the 'Spore Technique'," Kagami provided. "Shisui, do as they say."
"Yes," Shisui said, forming a hand seal and creating a Shadow Clone. The clone activated its Sharingan and began to inspect his main body's chakra flow. Soon, it located a minuscule white spore, almost completely fused with the surrounding chakra.
"I've found it!"
As Shisui's main body tensed, the clone reached out to grab the spore. But the moment it made contact, the spore, as if it had a will of its own, activated its chakra absorption ability. It instantly drained the clone and began to feed on Shisui's own chakra. A mass of white tissue rapidly expanded on his body, almost engulfing him in a giant white ball.
"Shisui!" Kagami frowned, about to intervene. But Shisui, who had been prepared for this, calmly activated his special clone jutsu.
"Crow Clone Technique!"
The version of Shisui trapped inside the Zetsu dissolved into a flock of crows, which burst free from the encirclement and re-formed on the ground a short distance away, warily watching the Zetsu take on a humanoid shape.
This infiltration-type Zetsu looked at the four-man team of Keisuke, Minato, Kagami, and Shisui and wanted to curse the heavens. Were these enemies he could possibly handle? Damn it!
Using the chakra it had just absorbed, the Zetsu charged at the weakest-looking target—the lounging Keisuke—intending to take a hostage.
Swoosh—
A yellow flash went by. The White Zetsu's head was separated from its body. Minato had completed another reaping.
Keisuke raised a hand. He had wanted to keep another live specimen, but it seemed that was out of the question. Even a White Zetsu couldn't survive being decapitated.
"This one... is weak," Minato said, holding his kunai, his brow furrowed. "Far weaker than the one we met in the cave." The one in the cave could even use Wood Style. This one was as weak as a Chunin.
Shisui panted slightly. Having his chakra forcibly drained was not a pleasant feeling.
Minato turned to him. "Shisui-kun, are there any other spores on you?"
"I only found this one for now," Shisui shook his head.
"In that case, I'll be going," Minato said to the others. "I still need to check my own squad for spores. If the situation is complicated, I may need to inform Orochimaru-san."
By "complicated," he meant if it wasn't just Obito, but Kakashi and Rin had spores as well. In that case, unless his team was a specific target, there was only one other explanation—the Zetsu had implanted spores on a wide range of Konoha ninja.
Minato flickered away. Shisui also prepared to leave. "Father, Captain, I'll return to the camp to find a mask."
"Wait, Shisui," Keisuke said, taking out a mission scroll from his pouch. "Do me a favor and turn this in to Orochimaru."
"Understood, Captain." Shisui habitually took the scroll and instantly flickered away.
Keisuke returned to his previous lying-down position, waiting until a notification appeared on his panel.
[S-Rank Mission [Guerrilla Warfare Behind Enemy Lines] has been completed!]
[You have obtained one S-Rank [Shinobi Secret Scroll]!]
'One last S-rank reward before heading back to the village!' Keisuke looked at the notification. 'I wonder what kind of reward this S-rank mission Orochimaru casually handed out will give... it won't be another Dust Release, will it?' He recalled the reward from his last S-rank mission. With a thought, he opened the scroll.
[Opening...]
[Contents of this S-Rank Shinobi Secret Scroll: Technique]
[S-Rank Technique: Art of Cellular Regeneration]
[Description: Surpass the limits of humanity! The forbidden art of regeneration!]
[Effect: 1. By releasing Yang-nature chakra within the body, the flesh achieves a state of ultimate activation, allowing the user to recover from any non-fatal injury at super-high speed. 2. The user can absorb the flesh and cells of others to mitigate the burden on their own cells; they can also give their own cells to others to heal their injuries.]
[Evaluation: There are limits to what an ordinary ninja can accomplish!]
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