Chapter 169: Level 4 Physical Regeneration
The moonlight was cold and clear, the wind biting and sharp.
Hyuga Ritsu passed through the dense pine forest and reached the summit of the small mountain peak. He stopped atop a frost-covered boulder, his Byakugan taking in every detail within a radius of several miles. The Cloud ninja pursuers had been left far behind, and this desolate mountainside showed no signs of human presence.
A perfect place to use the Chimera Technique.
Ritsu exhaled a white breath and set down the wooden cocoon he'd been carrying. His arms surged with chakra as he forced the structure through the accumulated snow like planting a gravestone, driving the wood directly into the mountain rock beneath his feet.
Then he rapped his knuckles against the cocoon.
The wooden panels sprang open as if coming alive, exposing C's head and chest while his limbs remained firmly bound. His face was filled with fury, golden hair whipping wildly like a lion's mane in the cold wind.
He had endured the full force of Ritsu's Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Every chakra point in his body was completely sealed, showing no signs of loosening even now. All he could do was glare at Ritsu—at least there was no need to worry about Sharingan genjutsu at this point.
"Byakugan, Wood Release... you're that new Hyuga Clan Head, aren't you?"
C stared at the tiger mask before him, seeking confirmation.
Ever since Troy's death, the Cloud ninja had intensified their intelligence gathering on Konoha. Through spies willing to risk exposure, they'd learned that the new Wood Release user was the Hyuga Clan's new head, the one nicknamed "White Yaksha"—Hyuga Ritsu.
However, the Cloud ninja hadn't concluded that Ritsu was Troy's killer. The evidence of Sharingan genjutsu controlling Troy was undeniable. Surely Ritsu hadn't infiltrated their camp alongside an Uchiha to assassinate Troy together? Investigation of the scene had confirmed Troy faced only a single opponent.
Therefore, C judged that the two camp attacks were perpetrated by different individuals. This time, his attacker was likely White Yaksha himself.
But—
"You don't need to know who I am. Just die as a confused ghost."
Ritsu had no interest in satisfying C's curiosity. In this world, even the dead could speak, so one must be extremely cautious. There was no point in fulfilling an enemy's dying wish for knowledge—it served him no purpose whatsoever.
He struck C's face with a single palm, knocking him unconscious.
Then his hands formed the necessary seals steadily. The nineteen seals of the Chimera Technique completed one by one, chakra flowing through specific pathways. His hands, now glowing with brilliant blue chakra, pressed against C's chest.
The third time using the Chimera Technique, everything proceeded smoothly.
However, C differed from White Zetsu—he was human after all. The process wasn't as seamless as when Ritsu had completely absorbed the White Zetsu to obtain Wood Release. Unfortunately, even completely devouring that White Zetsu had only yielded Wood Release itself, not techniques like Mayfly or the Transformation Technique that White Zetsu possessed—those infiltration and transformation abilities that ranked among the shinobi world's finest.
Wood Release: Transformation Technique was powerful, but clearly inferior to White Zetsu's ability.
Ritsu's mind wandered as his hands continued their work unaffected. The first time he'd used the Chimera Technique, he'd suffered extreme pain. The second time brought no sensation. Now there was no pain or discomfort at all—only a comfortable feeling, as if his body were soaking in hot water.
Especially his head. A faint itching sensation emanated from both sides of his forehead, where continuously transforming chakra gathered at the temples, as if something were gestating.
Correspondingly, as Ritsu's aura steadily rose, C's life force grew increasingly faint. After just over half an hour, as the moon reached its zenith, C drew his final breath and stopped breathing entirely.
At that same moment, the pair of black horns on C's forehead suddenly emitted sounds like shattering glass. Like broken ice, they crumbled and dissolved, transforming into dim points of light that disappeared into the cold wind.
Ritsu slowly withdrew his palms from C's chest.
He looked at his hands, intense joy spreading across his face.
Unprecedented power flowed through his body. Both the quality and quantity of his chakra had undergone distinct changes compared to before. His chakra's intensity had risen to another level entirely, and his maximum reserves had increased dramatically. With this massive chakra capacity, calling himself a "human-shaped Tailed Beast" wasn't an exaggeration in the slightest.
Though he hadn't gained a new Kekkei Genkai like when he'd obtained Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) and Wood Release, he could sense that both his chakra and body had undergone marvelous transformations. Perhaps... he could now consume Tailed Beast flesh like the Gold and Silver Brothers to acquire Tailed Beast chakra.
Ritsu raised his hand to touch his forehead. A pair of curved horns had emerged from his temples on either side. They felt quite smooth, with no sensory feedback. Even when he squeezed and pulled hard, there was no response—their hardness was considerable. His grip strength could snap table legs as thick as teacups, yet he couldn't do anything to these horns of his.
Shadow Clone Technique.
A shadow clone appeared before him.
Ritsu saw himself—long black hair cascading down, now accompanied by a pair of jade-white horns with a slight curve. The horn tips weren't sharp but rounded and smooth.
"Tch. This is going to be somewhat difficult to explain."
Ritsu scratched his head with some frustration.
This change was rather conspicuous. Setting aside how his Konoha comrades might react to seeing him this way, if the Cloud ninja saw these horns, it would be hard not to connect them to the missing C. After all, throughout the entire shinobi world, only the clan descended from the Gold and Silver Brothers in the Hidden Cloud Village had people with horns growing from their heads. Nowhere else had horned humans appeared.
However, this worry was entirely a happy problem.
Ritsu took less than a minute to work it out. "If the Cloud ninja have objections, I'll just beat them until they don't."
He convinced himself with this simple logic.
Then he shifted his attention to his "superpower." After acquiring this bloodline inherited from Otsutsuki Kaguya that C had carried, his superpower of Physical Regeneration had naturally achieved a new breakthrough.
His Physical Regeneration, which had already reached the extreme limit of Level 3, was naturally pushed by the bloodline's power into Level 4. According to Academy City's classification system, this made him a genuine "Great Ability User."
So-called Great Ability Users possessed abilities that demonstrated tactical value within military operations—and this referred to fully equipped modern armies in worldviews containing both superpowers and magic.
In other words, even without using chakra or any Kekkei Genkai, relying purely on his physical body, Ritsu could now charge through an army seven times over. In the shinobi world, his body alone could contend with ordinary jonin.
Physical Regeneration as a superpower might sound like it only enhanced bodily recovery, but as the regeneration ability's level continuously increased, physical durability also improved dramatically. Arm strength, leg power, and all aspects of physical strength were enhanced.
Recovery ability was simply the most prominent aspect. Though he hadn't tested it yet, instinct told him that even if he lost an arm or leg, given sufficient time and energy replenishment, he could regrow them. Injury through physical loss no longer posed a problem for him.
Even internal organs—as long as they weren't completely destroyed all at once—could regenerate.
This was the power of Level 4 Physical Regeneration.
"Extraordinary survival ability? Truly excellent!"
Ritsu moved his greatly transformed body. His upturned mouth corners revealed his wonderful mood. The taste of growing stronger was truly intoxicating and impossible to resist!
He could feel that the changes brought by this enhancement weren't limited to these obvious sensations. Much deeper power still lay hidden, requiring manual excavation.
Looking up at the flawless bright moon, Ritsu smiled with pleasure.
He'd taken another step closer to the ancestor sealed within the moon. Now only the Uzumaki and Uchiha bloodlines remained. Once he completed these two bloodlines, he should truly be able to rename himself Otsutsuki Ritsu.
Of course, he didn't care about such trivial matters as changing his name. What he cared about was whether he possessed the power and infinite possibilities that name represented. Day after day, year after year of comfortable living was certainly enjoyable, but if there existed the possibility of experiencing even more beautiful scenery, who would refuse to take risks and explore that vast, boundless future?
Hyuga Ritsu certainly wouldn't refuse.
Standing atop this bitterly cold peak, his thoughts wandering for a while, Ritsu finally reined in those flights of fancy and pulled his attention back to present reality. He retrieved the storage scroll he carried with him and sealed away C's corpse. Though he'd extracted the bloodline power, C's brain still held tremendous value.
He looked around, confirming the scene held no trace of evidence, then immediately performed the Summoning Technique. He summoned Ryuchi Cave's most accomplished burrowing serpent to carry him underground back to the Konoha camp.
Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.
The night was deep, but the village had not fallen into peaceful slumber. Not only was the Raikage Building brilliantly lit—accurately speaking, lights blazed throughout the entire Hidden Cloud Village. Furious Cloud ninja stood on rooftops and in the streets, trying to find that damned murderer.
Yes, a murderer!
Around eight o'clock that evening, multiple murders had occurred in the village. An entire secret research facility—nearly twenty Cloud ninja—had been slain. Over ten Cloud ninja who responded to the alarm were all killed, their bodies shredded by Wind Release and scattered across the streets. The news couldn't be contained. Word spread from ten to a hundred, and the entire Hidden Cloud Village erupted in turmoil, frantically seeking the perpetrator.
At this point, even the Fourth Raikage could only follow the village's sentiment. There was no way to issue orders telling villagers not to act rashly. All he could do was dispatch jonin and ANBU to coordinate with the civilians' search efforts.
In fact, A, as Raikage, joined the search teams himself, allowing many villagers to witness his fury and his determination to capture the perpetrator. Unfortunately, he could only let the villagers see these things temporarily, not the scene of swiftly apprehending the criminal.
The perpetrator had vanished like a ghost. No matter how they searched, they found nothing.
Until—
"Raikage-sama!"
A young man with white hair, dark skin, and the characters for "Lightning" and "Water" tattooed on his left and right shoulders respectively found the Fourth Raikage A, who was leading numerous jonin and ANBU in the massive search.
A's physique was imposing, his muscles robust, his skin dark. At first glance, he exuded an overwhelming sense of power. This man was unquestionably a genuine powerhouse.
He looked toward the anxious messenger, his brow furrowing unconsciously. "Darui, what is it?"
"Raikage-sama, top-secret intelligence."
The young Cloud ninja named Darui was breathing slightly heavily, clearly having rushed here at maximum speed.
Seeing the anxiety and unease on Darui's face, A's mouth twitched involuntarily. He immediately waved his hand. Except for a few members from the Shadow Guard and ANBU at his side, everyone else withdrew in unison.
"Speak. What happened?"
Darui didn't hesitate. "The Frost Country frontline sent an emergency report through Summoning Technique—highest priority level." He retrieved a closely guarded encrypted message from inside his vest.
A's heart sank.
He didn't dare delay. He reached out to accept the sealed message, tore it open on the spot, and scanned it rapidly. Within mere seconds, A's already dark face truly became black as the bottom of a pot. His mood deteriorated even further—like adding frost to snow. The last time he'd experienced such terrible, wretched emotions was when he'd heard the news of his father's death—the Third Raikage.
And unlike that time's mixture of rage and sorrow, the emotion of fury clearly occupied a much larger portion of his heart now. Raging flames of anger made his destructive urges grow wildly. He wanted nothing more than to obliterate everything before his eyes!
"Darui, relay my command. The Raikage Advisor, all elders, and all clan heads are to assemble in the conference room at maximum speed."
A forcibly suppressed his raging emotions and issued his order.
Darui bowed his head in acknowledgment.
A massive storm was rapidly brewing and taking shape within Hidden Cloud Village.
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