Chapter 73: The Future of Ritsu's Kekkei Genkai Fusion Technique
Suikazan Fuguki gasped for breath in great heaving gulps. The slightest excessive movement brought the painful sensation of a sharp blade piercing the skin of his throat, making his body stiffen. In an instant, his breathing became light and gentle.
"If you don't want to die, change back now!"
Ritsu urged him.
Samehada possessed the dangerous ability to devour others' chakra, so he hadn't used the Gentle Fist style against Fuguki while he was fused with the blade. Instead, he'd employed Shikotsumyaku to deal with this bastard.
Suikazan Fuguki gritted his teeth but made no move.
However—
Samehada actively separated from Suikazan Fuguki on its own, hopping and bouncing toward Ritsu's body.
"...Samehada!"
Returning to human form, Suikazan Fuguki watched his beloved blade discard him like trash. For a moment, his heart filled with despair and powerlessness. The instant Samehada departed, Ritsu used the white bone in his hand to strike Suikazan Fuguki several times in rapid succession. Using this hard bone, he forcibly executed the Gentle Fist pressure point technique, sealing Fuguki's chakra.
Then—
He looked at Samehada hopping and bouncing beside him like a fawning puppy begging for food. After two seconds of hesitation, he reached out, grasped Samehada's hilt, and tentatively fed it a small amount of chakra.
In the next instant—
Samehada writhed, as though it had eaten some luminous delicacy. If someone wrapped it in bandages now, it would probably demonstrate some kind of clothes-bursting technique!
Simultaneously, Ritsu felt a sensation arise within him as natural as moving his own limbs. As long as he wished, he too could fuse with Samehada at any time and transform into that half-shark appearance like Suikazan Fuguki.
Moreover, after devouring the chakra he'd fed it, Samehada returned a portion of chakra to him within seconds.
"Samehada, how interesting!"
Ritsu smiled faintly, accepting this ninja blade that held little practical use for him. He then formed hand seals to create shadow clones that scattered to retrieve the chakra-sealed Kaguya Daizo, the broken Executioner's Blade, and Ao's severed head.
At this time—
Hoshigaki Kisame and Ringo Ameyuri had both fled over ten kilometers away. These two were quite shrewd. When Ao had shouted for them to escape, they had, like Suikazan Fuguki, unanimously chosen to flee immediately without hesitation.
At that moment, Ritsu had chosen to focus on Suikazan Fuguki, giving them time to escape.
Afterward, when Suikazan Fuguki's Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave technique enveloped everyone, those two had already been positioned at the edge of the ellipsoid water prison. When Ritsu used Rotation to shatter the water prison, the pair had continued seizing the opportunity to run frantically. Because Ritsu's gaze had remained locked on Suikazan Fuguki throughout, they'd truly managed to escape successfully.
Ritsu didn't particularly care about this.
In the past, he would naturally have done everything possible to end the life of someone like Hoshigaki Kisame—an enemy who would be capable of hunting Jinchuriki in the future. But now there was no need to worry. Besides, if no one escaped, who would proclaim his glorious achievements today?
He certainly couldn't go back and boast about his own battle record, could he?
That would be far too undignified!
He didn't pursue Hoshigaki Kisame and Ringo Ameyuri. Instead, he examined the pile of spoils of war collected before him. First, he chose to send Kaguya Daizo to Dragon Cave as well, imprisoning him together with Kirishima Shinya, Gyokko, and White Zetsu.
These were all gifts he'd prepared for Teacher Hiruko.
Honestly—
Looking at these four prisoners in Dragon Cave, Ritsu couldn't help scratching his head. In just one night's work, he'd nearly gathered all the materials Teacher Hiruko needed for performing the Chimera Technique!
In contrast—
The materials his own Chimera Technique required were not easily obtained. He'd already acquired the Kaguya and Senju clan bloodlines. What remained were the three bloodlines: Uchiha, Uzumaki, and the Gold and Silver Brothers.
The Uzumaki clan had dwindled to very few members, leaving too little room for choice. Ritsu's preferred target was Nagato, but that person possessed the Rinnegan and was constantly monitored by White Zetsu. This required gradual planning.
The Gold and Silver Brothers' lineage was in the Cloud Village. The specific situation remained unclear, and he still needed to find a way to investigate.
Finally, there was the Uchiha clan—
This clan currently offered quite a few potential targets. Secretly eliminating an Uchiha and framing Danzo would be completely feasible.
But the problem was that the Uchiha were fellow villagers, and there was no grievance or enmity between them. His conscience and morals wouldn't allow him to randomly target an Uchiha.
Furthermore, ordinary Uchiha didn't interest him.
Unlike his own Byakugan, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan had clear hierarchical distinctions, and the concentration of their bloodlines obviously had tremendous differences as well.
Therefore—
What he wanted was an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, because the Mangekyo Sharingan should represent the evolutionary limit of the Uchiha clan. Beyond that point, one would need the Senju clan's bloodline to complement it and thereby awaken the Rinnegan.
Masters of the Uchiha clan who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan were exceedingly few. Setting aside comrades-in-arms like Uchiha Shisui with whom he'd fought side by side, only Uchiha Madara, the future Uchiha Obito, and a few others remained as options.
But clearly this wasn't something easily accomplished. His cultivation of the Chimera Technique would likely yield no new gains in the short term.
Fortunately, Ritsu wasn't in a hurry. The harvest from today alone was abundantly rich and would likely require considerable time to digest and absorb. He truly wasn't anxious to plot for new bloodlines.
Having clarified his path forward, Ritsu left Dragon Cave and returned to the present world. He sealed the broken Executioner's Blade in a scroll to prevent that prodigy favored by the ninja blades from summoning it back.
Then, he finally summoned a great snake. Carrying Samehada in one hand and dragging Suikazan Fuguki with the other, he leaped onto the serpent's head and rode it back along the original route.
The great snake moved through the forest with extreme speed.
Before long—
He found Kakashi and the others waiting beneath a large tree on the hillside, with his own shadow clone standing guard nearby.
"Clan Head Hyuga!"
Watching Ritsu arrive riding the great snake, Kakashi's eyes filled with wonder. His family background was distinguished, his training exceptional—he clearly knew how difficult obtaining a powerful summoning beast could be.
His own summoning beasts—the Eight Ninja Hounds—had been obtained when his father was alive, exchanged from the Inuzuka clan at considerable cost in favors. At the time, his father had told him that most ninja acquired their summoning beasts through chance encounters, with strength levels varying wildly, but most were inferior and possessed only one or two uses.
However, the summoning contracts of the Three Great Sage Regions—Mount Myoboku, Dragon Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest—were the best in the shinobi world. Signing one contract meant almost all the ninja beasts of the entire sage region could be commanded.
More critically, the Dragon Cave summoning contract was currently held by Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. That Ritsu could also command great snakes meant he must have developed deep connections with Orochimaru.
"Come up, Kakashi, Akiba, and Aika! It's time to return and demand an explanation. And I've captured an even more valuable prisoner!"
Ritsu called out, having Team Kakashi all climb onto the serpent's head. Together, they rode the great snake swiftly toward the frontline camp.
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