Chapter 184: The Shinigami: "Fine, Fine, You're All Playing Me, Right?"
After greeting Tsunade and the others, Kinoshita Genichi formed a hand seal and used Wood Release to construct a wooden house on the grass, complete with a platform inside. Tsunade and Biwako Sarutobi went inside to wait. Minato also left a Flying Thunder God kunai in the house. Ina, meanwhile, went to Kushina's side.
After all preparations were made, Genichi nodded.
"Then let's begin!" Minato said in a grave voice. He immediately formed hand seals and opened the Eight Trigrams Seal on Kushina's abdomen.
"What's going on?" The slumbering Nine-Tails immediately sensed that something was wrong. The seal was being opened. Although it didn't know what was happening, it immediately began to push its way out.
Gurgle, gurgle~
A large amount of crimson Tailed Beast chakra began to bubble from Kushina's abdomen. The intense pain made her break out in a cold sweat. Ina used her own chakra to protect the fetus inside Kushina, preventing the Nine-Tails' power from eroding it. Fortunately, at this moment, the Nine-Tails only wanted to escape. Its power surged outward, simultaneously draining Kushina's life force.
Boom!
A terrifying and immense power of the Nine-Tails shot into the sky, forming a fearsome pillar of chakra energy.
Hiruzen, holding the Adamantine Staff that was the transformed Enma, had a grave expression. "Such astonishing power…"
Soon, all of the Nine-Tails' power had poured out of Kushina's body. The chakra pillar collapsed, falling like a stream of water, and then quickly condensed into a giant, nine-tailed fox.
The Nine-Tails.
"ROAR!" it howled, then looked down and saw the people it hated.
"Humans, die!" It raised its front paw to crush them.
But Minato had already vanished with Kushina and Ina a step earlier.
Genichi clapped his hands together. Thick vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Nine-Tails' claws.
"Wood Release… that brat named Kinoshita Genichi!" The Nine-Tails' gaze fell on him. It then roared, unleashing a terrifying chakra storm that instantly blew apart the vines restraining it.
"So strong!" Hiruzen, his armor and robes flapping in the storm, was secretly shocked. He was just about to make a move when giant wooden hands rose from the ground, grabbing the Nine-Tails' tails, limbs, and body.
Wood Release: Hotei Technique!
Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!
Vines intertwined, and a Wood Golem as tall as the Nine-Tails rose up. The next moment, Hiruzen saw the wood dragon coiled around the golem shoot out, wrapping around the Nine-Tails' neck, its mouth opening to bite down on its head.
"Damn you, you bastard human…" The Nine-Tails struggled but couldn't break free. The vines were constantly absorbing its chakra, in turn strengthening themselves and making the restraints even stronger.
"What are you trying to do?" it stared at Genichi and asked. Something was not right.
"Nine-Tails," Genichi said from atop the Wood Golem's head, "your power is too great, so it must be split."
The Nine-Tails was taken aback. The words sounded a little familiar, but then it became furious. "Split? Don't you go too far!"
Genichi was unmoved. His Mirror Eye opened, and with a single glance, he locked the Nine-Tails in place with the Heaven and Earth Seal. He then created a wood clone, which formed hand seals and summoned a prepared White Zetsu.
His Primordial Spirit left his main body and entered the Zetsu, controlling its body to fly through hand seals.
Clap!
The Zetsu clapped its hands together, and with a strange laugh, the specter of the Shinigami appeared behind it.
Reaper Death Seal!
The Zetsu's soul was now also bound beneath the Shinigami.
Under Genichi's control, the Shinigami's arm, which was covered in seals, passed through the Zetsu's body, extended rapidly, and then plunged into the immobilized Nine-Tails.
Damn it, what are they doing? I feel like my consciousness is being pulled away. The Nine-Tails couldn't move; even its senses had been sealed away. But the Shinigami's power was invading its body and touching its consciousness, so of course, it could feel it.
"Seal!"
Genichi did not pause, controlling the Zetsu's body to perform the final step. The Shinigami's arm ripped out half of the Nine-Tails' power and pulled it into the Zetsu's abdomen. With a puff of white smoke, the sealing was complete.
However, the genjutsu holding the Nine-Tails in place also failed. Fortunately, it was still bound by the Wood Release, so it could only watch helplessly.
At this moment, the sealing was complete, but because Genichi was controlling the Zetsu, the jutsu was still being maintained.
Minato appeared with Kushina and began to reseal the Nine-Tails. Ina came to Genichi's side. With a clatter of chains, her Adamantine Sealing Chains shot out and drilled into the White Zetsu's body, attempting to forcibly pull the Nine-Tails out.
"This binding force…" Ina's forehead was beaded with sweat, the chains pulled taut. She couldn't pull it out. The Nine-Tails' power was now entangled with the Zetsu's soul, bound by the Shinigami's power.
The wood clone raised an eyebrow slightly. "It seems we can't snatch him. Let it be, Ina."
Ina nodded and retracted her chains. Genichi's Primordial Spirit also left the Zetsu's body, and the sealing ended.
On the other side, Minato had also resealed the Yang-Nine-Tails into Kushina's body. Seeing his wife was safe, he smiled. "It's finally done without any accidents."
"How is Genichi?" Kushina asked, still a little weak.
Minato looked up and smiled. "He should be starting to release the Reaper Death Seal. Don't worry, he'll be fine."
On top of the Wood Golem.
Genichi looked at the Zetsu's corpse, a little helpless. "Looks like I still have to do the ritual dance."
"Good thing you brought the mask," Ina couldn't help but laugh.
"This is called foresight."
Genichi formed hand seals and summoned two more White Zetsu. His Primordial Spirit then left his body and controlled one of them. The other was bound by the wood clone's Wood Release. Ina took out the Shinigami mask she had brought.
Genichi, controlling the Zetsu, took the mask and put it on. The next moment, the Shinigami appeared behind it. With a thought, the Shinigami took the knife from its mouth and sliced its own stomach. A cut appeared on the Zetsu's abdomen, but no blood flowed out. A soul emerged from the Shinigami's hold, floating in the air.
Genichi's Primordial Spirit immediately returned to his main body, and the wood clone had already formed hand seals and performed the Impure World Reincarnation, using one Zetsu as a sacrifice to revive the first one. At the same time, the Nine-Tails also appeared inside the reanimated Zetsu's body.
Next, the wood clone controlled the reanimated Zetsu, injecting the Yin-Nine-Tails into Genichi's own Eight Trigrams Seal. The whole process was completed in less than a minute. The Yin-Nine-Tails now appeared in the cage of the Eight Trigrams Seal inside him.
"This chakra… it's that bastard Kinoshita Genichi! How did I end up inside his body?" the Nine-Tails was furious. "Damn you, you bastard! To think you'd split me in two!"
Unfortunately, the seal was too strong. It couldn't get out.
Ignoring the Nine-Tails' powerless cursing, Genichi had the wood clone send the Zetsu that had been cut and the one that had performed the Reaper Death Seal back to the lab. Waste not, want not. As for the one used as the sacrifice, it was burned to ashes.
After dealing with all this, he finally dispelled the Wood Release.
"Genichi, are you alright?" Tsunade asked immediately, looking at him as he descended from the sky.
"Don't worry, the seal is fine," he smiled.
"When do you plan to go find Madara?" she asked, glancing at his abdomen.
Ina, holding the Shinigami mask, was a little nervous.
"In a few days," he said after a moment's thought. "Don't worry, there won't be any problems."
"You'd better come back in one piece!" Tsunade huffed, then turned and walked away, her twin ponytails swinging.
"Genichi, Kushina and I will be going then," Minato said with an awkward smile.
Kushina covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, and then was taken away by Minato's Flying Thunder God.
"We're leaving too, Genichi," Hiruzen said, putting his pipe back in his mouth, and slowly walked out of the barrier with his wife, Biwako.
Genichi sighed. Tsunade's temper was really unpredictable.
"Genichi, how about I go with you?" Ina suddenly said in a small voice.
"What would you go for?" he asked with a smile.
"I… I can heal your injuries," she said, looking down.
"If I'm injured, wouldn't it be safer for me to just teleport to your side with the Flying Thunder God?" he laughed.
"Oh, I guess that's right," she said, nodding blankly.
He reached out and pinched her cheek. "Just be a good girl and wait for me at home."
She subconsciously rubbed her cheek against his hand, then nodded with a slight blush. "Mhm."
Genichi looked at her, his fingers twitching. He thought for a moment, then pulled her along. "It's been a long time since we've been to the hot springs. Let's go."
"Eh? At this time?"
"Why not?"
"Isn't it a little early?"
"Even better. We'll have a pool to ourselves, with no one to disturb us."
"Eek, Lord Genichi, you're a little bad~"
There was no mixed bathing, but for ninja, that was no problem. Genichi transformed into a small child, and to a chorus of "kawaii," was led into the bath by a blushing Ina. Besides, he was still a child anyway, just a little tall for his age.
Don't be fooled by how bold Ina was sometimes. Now, in the steamy air, her head was spinning, and she was led into the hot spring pool by him. Huh, when did my clothes come off?
An hour later, the two of them came out of the hot spring.
"Ahh, that was refreshing," Genichi stretched. He had been cooped up in the lab for the past few months and was getting rusty.
Ina was still blushing. Lord Genichi had been too bad just now. But… she had liked it. She looked up at his profile in the sunlight. "Lord Genichi is so handsome."
The two of them strolled down the street, heading home leisurely.
"Ina, should we move to a bigger house? And have Shizune move in with us?" he suddenly asked, turning his head.
"Eh? Is that alright?" she blinked. "What about your aunt and uncle…"
"They've been wanting to move for a long time," he smiled.
"Then there's no problem. You can decide, Genichi."
"Then I'll leave this matter to you and Shizune," he smiled. "This is where we'll be living in the future. You two should put your hearts into it."
She was taken aback for a moment, then nodded happily. "Yes!"
Back home, he didn't go to the lab, but instead helped his parents at the dango shop. He had originally planned to spend the afternoon with Shizune, but she and Ina had excitedly gone to look at houses, so he could only wander around alone.
"Huh?"
He suddenly stopped. In a tavern, he saw a familiar figure. He smiled and walked in. "Lady Hokage, drinking secretly here."
Tsunade, who was having a small drink, was startled. She looked up and saw it was him. "I'm just having a couple of drinks," she huffed. Her new team of secretaries had been expanded to ten people, and her workload had been greatly reduced. Many things just needed a glance and a signature, so she finally had time to sneak out for a drink. She hadn't expected to run into this little bastard.
She glanced at him and said lazily, "You're not in the lab today?"
"I've been busy for so long. I also need to relax and rest," he shook his head.
"Are you planning to have Shizune move in with you?" she huffed.
"Hehe," he smiled.
Tsunade couldn't help but grit her teeth, her hand almost crushing the cup. "Shameless little bastard."
"Do you want to come live with us too?" he asked.
"Get lost!" her eyebrows shot up.
"Yes, Lady Hokage!" He ran off in a flash. He was really afraid she would hit him. After all, she really would.
After leaving the tavern, he thought for a moment, bought some fruit, and then went to the Uchiha clan to visit Namiichi's mother. Misen was tending to her flowers and was surprised to see him at this time.
"I've been busy for a while. I just got some rest, so I came to see you, Aunt Misen," he smiled.
"You don't have to be so polite," she chided, but she was very happy to lead him inside and make some tea. The two of them chatted about this and that, and an hour passed without them noticing.
He took his leave, and she stood at the door, watching him go, silently praying, I hope he can come back safely. Although he hadn't said anything, she felt that he was about to go out on an important mission. This had already become a habit of his, to come and see her before leaving for a long time.
After leaving, he did not immediately leave the Uchiha compound, but instead went to Fugaku Uchiha's house. Fugaku was quite surprised by his sudden visit but was still very polite.
"You've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, haven't you, Clan Head Fugaku?"
With this one sentence, Fugaku almost spilled the tea in his cup. The usually calm and composed Uchiha head was a little flustered for a moment. Hiding the awakening of the Mangekyō could be a small matter or a big one, especially with Madara very likely not being dead.
Looking at Fugaku's slightly stiff face, he took a sip of tea and smiled coolly. "There's no need to be so nervous, Clan Head Fugaku. For me and the Fourth Hokage, the Uchiha having a pair of Mangekyō is not a bad thing. It makes Konoha stronger, which is a good thing."
Fugaku took a deep breath. "My apologies, Genichi-kun. The reason I concealed it was to prevent some of the more radical members of the clan from getting any ideas." The power of the Mangekyō was enough to make some already arrogant Uchiha even more inflated. Although the clan's situation had changed now, there was never a shortage of people in this world whose greed was insatiable. For many of the radical Uchiha, the current measures of the Konoha leadership were what should have been done all along, a correction of a mistake. With a pair of Mangekyō, someone might think that Fugaku should be the Hokage.
"Your original intention was good," Genichi shook his head, "but you can't keep your Mangekyō unused forever."
Fugaku sighed helplessly.
"Feel free to display it, Clan Head Fugaku," he chuckled. "If anyone thinks the Mangekyō makes them invincible, I can show them what true invincibility is."
Then, before Fugaku could think further, he changed the subject. "Actually, there is another matter I came for today. Does the Uchiha clan have an ancient stone tablet?"
Fugaku hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Indeed."
"Please take me to see it," Genichi stood up. "That thing may be related to Madara."
Fugaku immediately suppressed the thought of refusing. "Please follow me, Genichi-kun."
Soon, the two of them arrived at the Naka Shrine and entered the secret room below. This had always been the Uchiha's meeting place.
Fugaku lit the brazier with a fire jutsu and looked at the stone tablet before him. "This is it. The contents on it can only be deciphered with the Sharingan. The stronger the dōjutsu, the more you can see. You also have a Sharingan, Genichi-kun. You should be able to see a part of it."
Genichi looked at the tablet. The text on the surface just recorded a piece of history and was nothing special. However, the truth was often hidden beneath history. A very interesting metaphor.
He smiled to himself, and then the diamond-shaped mark of the Yin Seal on his forehead split down the middle. As the flesh parted, a blood-red eye opened, and then transformed from a three-tomoe to a Mangekyō.
Fugaku felt that powerful dōjutsu and couldn't help but turn to look at him. His pupils constricted. "The Mangekyō Sharingan! How is that possible?"
The fact that Genichi could freely control the Sharingan was already very shocking. But to now have awakened the Mangekyō… it was simply unbelievable.
(End of Chapter)
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