Chapter 119: Shisui's Body Flicker Formation - The Newborn Dawn!
Konoha's position in the Land of Rain lies along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
War is a continuation of politics. When the four great nations each attempt to carve a piece from the Land of Fire,
Konoha knows this war will be a protracted, grueling battle.
However, Konoha's internal divisions regarding the current war strategy are profound.
Danzo Shimura, a member of Konoha's leadership council, advocates for swift and decisive action: a massive invasion of the Land of Rain, across the border, deep into the Land of Wind, and complete destruction of Sunagakure to demonstrate Konoha's strength and intimidate the other shinobi villages.
Konoha certainly possesses such strength.
However, this proposal is quickly dismissed by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, citing Sunagakure's desert location making it easily defendable and difficult to attack; the Chiyo and Ebizō siblings being too cunning strategically, playing defensively and refusing rash moves; Sunagakure's severe internal strife; and the need to conserve strength to deal with Kumogakure in the Land of Fields.
Shimura Danzo was powerless to argue, and could only declare,
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, puffing smoke from his pipe, replied,
"Danzo, I'm the Hokage."
Danzo then slammed the door and left, scheming in the shadows.
The disagreement among leadership affected the front lines.
At this moment, two forces existed within the Konoha camp.
One was the standard shinobi force led by Jiraiya, and the other was the Root operatives brought in by Orochimaru.
The camp was located along the border.
Due to the country's unique climate,
the side facing the Land of Rain was covered in dark clouds with thunder and lightning.
Meanwhile, the side facing the Land of Fire showed typical spring scenery, vibrant and full of life.
As a Root shinobi, Tsukasa was destined for the side with thunder, lightning, and relentless rain.
It was a setting that perfectly suited his current mood.
Entering the camp, Tsukasa still looked dazed and bewildered.
In modern terms, he was being completely played by Orochimaru.
First given a Kusanagi Sword, now being worked like a pack mule.
The next battle would involve him fighting one against a hundred, like a hundred mules combined.
Soon,
he'd even have to cross the vast Land of Rain to carry out an insane assassination attempt on a village leader!
Originally, this was exactly what Tsukasa had hoped for.
He was even worried that Orochimaru wouldn't push him hard enough. If he developed doubts about Tsukasa's talent, that would be problematic.
Now it seemed Orochimaru did recognize his talent, but that didn't stop him from working Tsukasa to death.
The outcome perfectly matched Tsukasa's expectations,
but
he remained expressionless, feeling a wave of unease in his heart.
Could it be that his cheap master had copied Great Elder Setsuna Uchiha's playbook, waiting until the critical moment when he was about to die to suddenly appear and rescue him?
Moreover,
Tsukasa shuddered at the thought of Orochimaru—who had evolved into the cunning snake of later years—forcibly teaching him a series of life-saving ninjutsu he'd developed.
He was already incredibly abnormal,
with barely any normal ninjutsu at all. He possessed only bizarre techniques like Immortality, Earth Grudge Fear sutures, Physical Regeneration, and the Zero-Tails.
If he added Cursed Seal Transformation, Snake-style Ninjutsu, Ryūchi Cave Summoning, Orochimaru-style Substitution, Soft Physique Modification, Triple Rashōmon, Living Corpse Reincarnation, Eight Branches Technique, and genetic modifications—
he might even end up learning Sage Mode.
Tsukasa felt the urge to slap himself!
He stood at the border,
half in sunlight, half in rain.
Feeling the agony of becoming even more unkillable, yet also the joy of being able to seek death once more, he closed his eyes and couldn't help twisting his body and shadowboxing the air.
"This is a damn curse!"
Tsukasa grew angrier the more he thought about it. The more he pondered, the more wrong it seemed, and the more uncomfortable he felt.
Finally,
he looked at his hand, gritted his teeth, aimed it at his face, and swung violently!
But then—
"Eh~, hey hey hey!"
"Tsukasa-kun, what are you doing?!"
A clear, urgent voice suddenly rang out.
The next moment,
a figure suddenly appeared before Tsukasa with incredible speed, grabbing his wrist firmly.
This forcefully interrupted Tsukasa's attempt at self-punishment!
"I won't let you hurt yourself like this!"
Tsukasa looked up, and upon seeing the newcomer, his eyes widened as if he'd seen a demon!
This person was none other than
Shisui Uchiha,
whom he hadn't seen since leaving the village a week ago!
Tsukasa subconsciously took half a step back, his body trembling, and memories of his struggles suddenly began surging back like a tide.
He had become what he is today, all because of this person!
It was him, it was him, it was him!
Recognizing Shisui, Tsukasa was so overwhelmed with emotion that his Sharingan activated involuntarily, his pupils trembling wildly!
If this guy hadn't stolen his mission to the Land of Rain,
he wouldn't have gone to the Land of Hot Water, wouldn't have encountered Shinnō, Kakuzu, the Jashin Cult, Orochimaru, and other creatures who were each more troublesome and harder to kill than the last.
If he'd been in the Land of Rain, he would have died quietly in some unknown corner of the Shinobi World War,
just like the group of shinobi who died at the foot of that cliff.
This, this...
Tsukasa took a deep breath, closed his eyes in frustration, then forced a smile and raised his palm.
"Hey~!"
Shisui looked at Tsukasa with concern, sighed, and comforted him:
"Tsukasa-kun, you don't have to blame yourself so much."
"I've heard about the situation in the Land of Hot Water."
Shisui stood on tiptoe and patted Tsukasa's shoulder, saying seriously:
"No one could have done better than you. Even Great Elder using Izanagi wouldn't have helped."
"Don't take it so hard."
Upon hearing this, Tsukasa's smile froze.
Right, there was also Great Elder Setsuna Uchiha.
How could he have forgotten about him?
It was obvious what Shisui Uchiha was here for.
Shisui grinned and scratched his curly head.
"By the way, the Great Elder sent a messenger hawk asking you to train with Brother Shin'ya and me over the next few days to learn how to use the Sharingan."
"There are also basic ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, and various advanced techniques within the clan."
He pulled Tsukasa forward and said with a smile:
"Tsukasa, you haven't met Brother Shin'ya yet. He's a very strong and kind person."
"Under his guidance, I've been able to use these eyes perfectly, and I found that combining the Sharingan's genjutsu with the Body Flicker Technique seems to have a very special effect."
"Let's discuss this together later, I think..."
Tsukasa swallowed hard, looking at Shisui Uchiha—who appeared shabby but was actually a genuine prodigy—with horror. He immediately raised his hand to interrupt:
"Stop!"
"What did you just say? What do you want to discuss with me?"
Shisui blinked, then smiled brightly, scratched his head and explained:
"Oh right, I even forgot to name this technique. Why not just call it—"
"Body Flicker: Phantom Jutsu!"
Tsukasa gasped, staring at the kid in astonishment.
Shisui Uchiha truly was a genius!
Even without traveling to the Land of Hot Water, he had, as history dictated, developed the jutsu that would make him legendary—
the Body Flicker: Phantom Jutsu!
This powerful technique merged the Sharingan's genjutsu with the Body Flicker Technique.
In the shinobi world, physical techniques merged with ninjutsu were called Nintaijutsu. This young man had pioneered a comprehensive jutsu seamlessly integrating genjutsu, taijutsu, and even Kekkei Genkai.
The previous technique to incorporate genjutsu into taijutsu was Konoha-Style Willow!
The rank of that technique was S-rank!
Tsukasa felt like he was witnessing the birth of a legend,
and its name was Shisui of the Body Flicker!
This made Tsukasa cough uncontrollably, his scalp tingling. Shisui was actually going to teach him such a terrifying technique?
Enough! At this rate, he hadn't even begun fighting a hundred enemies alone, hadn't even started that insane assassination mission—
and he was being forced to become even more unkillable!
Is this even fair?
Is this even possible?
I refuse! My mind can't accept this!
"Ahem, Shisui, I appreciate your kindness, but this technique must be extremely difficult. Let's take our time,"
Tsukasa coughed repeatedly, forcing a subject change.
"Also, where are you taking me? This is quite far from base camp, isn't it?"
Before he knew it,
Shisui had dragged him out of the camp, into the Land of Rain, and he now found himself in a gloomy forest.
He looked around, surrounded by trees filled with lingering, foul miasma.
The sky was overcast, and a light drizzle was falling.
Raindrops landed on the treetops and grass on the ground, slowly sliding down.
At this moment, Shisui smiled slightly, released Tsukasa's arm, and said,
"It's like this—"
"Tsukasa, I met some friends in the Land of Rain. They've heard of you and want to meet you."
Tsukasa couldn't help but smirk, shaking his head and looking at Shisui, thinking, What kind of reputation does this guy think I have?
I'm just a low-ranking Chūnin, a small-time nobody few people know.
He immediately shook his head and said,
"Don't tease me, Shisui. I've been traveling like a mule for two days. I'm starving. There's no rush for training. Take me to find food first."
Tsukasa scratched his head, looked at Shisui and asked,
"So where's the mess hall?"
However, at this moment,
a bright and capable voice suddenly came from the treetops above,
and then three dark figures jumped down.
"A student of the Legendary Sannin, who exposed the evil Jashin Cult in the Land of Hot Water and defended against the Kirigakure prodigy Mangetsu Hōzuki, earning the title Shura."
"Uchiha Tsukasa!"
"Pleasure to meet you!"
The leader removed his hood, revealing short orange hair that seemed to shine even in the gloomy Land of Rain.
Then, with a bright grin, he addressed Tsukasa and spoke cheerfully,
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"I'm Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki organization!"
End of Chapter 119
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