Chapter 232: Tobirama's Hypothesis on Time-Based Ninjutsu
"So this is my good son?"
"He's actually quite handsome."
Standing atop a clay bird, Li Yao looked down at the naked, curled-up figure of his "good son," the corners of his lips lifting into a smile—though there was no warmth in it, only a cold ruthlessness.
Boom!
With a thought, Li Yao summoned a shadow clone in spirit form to possess the boy and first erase the sealing jutsu Danzō had placed inside his body.
Then, Li Yao personally used Will Purification Chakra to eliminate the faint traces of will in the boy's soul.
Konoha Hatsuharu had never opened his eyes since birth. He had been sealed with a technique that immobilized his entire body and locked inside a growth pod.
Now eight years old, he had never experienced anything—not even aware that he was human. His consciousness had remained as blank as it was in the womb.
He finally awaited the arrival of his "father," only to be possessed.
It could be said—Konoha Hatsuharu was even more tragic than Li Yao himself.
Li Yao showed no mercy. He struck without hesitation, even against his so-called "good son."
Perhaps it was because, to Li Yao, this child was merely the bloodline of Kimura Yao and the Third Hokage's daughter-in-law—he had nothing to do with him, so killing him felt no different than squashing a bug.
Soon after—
The boy's faint spiritual resistance was wiped out, and his soul was absorbed by Li Yao through his Rinnegan-infused chakra.
Then Li Yao cast Spirit Transformation to possess the boy's body.
In an instant, he had full control.
"Not bad."
"What a powerful feeling."
Li Yao stood up, feeling the immense chakra in this small body—it actually exceeded his expectations.
The surge of vitality coursing through him had returned.
His chakra levels were now almost on par with when his previous body had fused with White Zetsu cells.
Only the body had shrunk in size.
But that didn't matter. With a thought, he used his imperfect version of the Perfect Transformation Technique, instantly morphing into Kimura Yao's adult appearance.
This transformation didn't just give him back his old physique—it also eliminated the former drawbacks in chakra quantity.
He was now, in every way, Kimura Yao again.
"They're up ahead!"
"On the bird!"
Behind him, Danzō led eight Root shinobi in hot pursuit.
Danzō's face was twisted with rage. He had finally seen a glimmer of hope to create a supreme shinobi—he would never allow that hope to be stolen.
No matter who the enemy was, Danzō swore they would pay dearly.
"Danzō… let him live. That guy might be useful later."
Li Yao turned and glanced down at Danzō. Knowing his talent for stirring chaos, Li Yao figured killing him now would be too easy—a waste, really.
With a thought, eight black spheres of black hole-space-infused chakra formed in his hand.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh... Eight black orbs, each the size of a ping-pong ball, shot toward the hearts of the eight Root ninja at incredible speed. They couldn't dodge at all.
Though it was a long-range attack, and the Root shinobi were focused, they still managed to raise weapons and attempt to block.
Clang clang clang… Kunai and short swords struck the black spheres.
But it was like slicing air—no resistance. The orbs passed straight through the weapons and into the shinobi's chests.
Boom!
The orbs expanded within the body—but only within the chest cavity. Then they rapidly compressed and vanished into nothingness.
Everything inside the chest cavity was erased. The eight bodies crumpled to the ground, lifeless, breathless.
Step—
Danzō had just taken one step forward when his entire body froze.
He could not take another step. An overwhelming sense of fear gripped him.
Fast.
Too fast.
Eight elite Root ninja—each at special jōnin level—were instantly killed by a long-range attack. Not one could block it.
Those black spheres were like true black holes, swallowing everything. Kunai and swords had done nothing to slow them down.
Cold sweat dripped down Danzō's face. His back was soaked. The confidence he had earlier was gone. Now, he didn't even dare to move, afraid of provoking the attacker.
He knew—he'd been spared on purpose.
Otherwise, he too would've been dead.
Danzō remained frozen, watching the distant sky until the clay bird vanished from view. Then, and only then, did he finally exhale deeply and gasp for breath.
"Who was that?"
"Could it be… the mysterious shinobi who attacked Kumogakure years ago?"
Danzō's eyes narrowed in thought. There weren't many shinobi left who used flying clay. With that level of power, he could only think of one person—the Explosion Style user who single-handedly devastated Kumogakure six years ago.
But… what were those black spheres?
He stepped over to a fallen Root ninja, staring at the collapsed chest—nothing remained but a patch of skin, like a deflated sack.
This kind of attack… Danzō's heart grew heavier.
To erase only the contents of the chest without damaging the skin—such terrifying precision.
A certain figure flashed in his mind.
But he immediately dismissed it.
No—it wasn't him.
He'd seen the power of Dust Release firsthand. No one could survive that.
Then… who was it?
When had such a terrifying powerhouse emerged in the shinobi world?
Unmatched destructive power.
Unmatched speed.
Anyone possessing both was a true monster.
Like the Third Raikage.
Or the Sakumo of Konoha.
But this new enemy outmatched even them.
Danzō dared not pursue further.
He'd wait for the ANBU and Root to gather intel—learn what this opponent was capable of—and then act.
For now, in addition to Kirigakure, Danzō had another serious threat to monitor.
Meanwhile—
Sensing Danzō's retreat, Li Yao split into two shadow clones and opened the Scroll of Seals to study Edo Tensei and the Tandem Explosive Tags Technique.
Especially Edo Tensei.
That jutsu had even greater value than the Flying Thunder God.
Because it might involve time—one of the most mysterious and powerful forces in any world.
Space reigns, but time rules.
That wasn't just a saying. Time abilities were even more terrifying than space. Their insurmountability surpassed all else.
Edo Tensei, at its core, was a type of Summoning Jutsu.
But compared to the standard summoning formula, Edo Tensei's array was vastly more complex.
Some base runes were ones Li Yao didn't even recognize—likely discovered by the Second Hokage, Tobirama.
That man's genius in developing ninjutsu was truly godlike.
A normal summoning jutsu worked like this:
You form a contract with a summoning beast by signing your name in blood.
From then on, you could summon it. The creature could even summon you in return.
However, if you died, your name would disappear from the contract scroll, and the pact would dissolve.
Edo Tensei was different. You could still be summoned even after death—so long as your soul still existed.
While normal contracts were bound to the body—dying meant breaking the pact—
Edo Tensei was a soul contract. Even if the body died, as long as the soul remained unsealed, it could be summoned into the real world using a living sacrifice and some DNA as the medium.
That alone made Edo Tensei highly valuable.
But what truly made it forbidden was that the resurrected person possessed infinite chakra.
Immortality + infinite chakra = utter horror.
Especially the infinite chakra. It defied logic.
Why did Edo Tensei shinobi have unlimited chakra?
Even Tobirama didn't know.
The Scroll of Seals only recorded one sentence from him:
"It may be related to time."
That single line thrilled Li Yao.
Even more shocking—Tobirama had apparently taken inspiration from this infinite chakra effect and developed the Tandem Explosive Tags Technique, which could produce infinite explosions.
Li Yao had to admit—Tobirama's talent in ninjutsu development was terrifying. Even he felt outclassed.
(END CHAPTER)
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