They are not puppets.
That made Hyuga Shigeo think of Orochimaru using Juugo's innate sage transformation to refine curse marks that take geometric forms on some people.
Could this Yūmeiden be connected to Orochimaru or Juugo?
The four avoided the Yōton (Lava Release) ahead. The man on the chair—the so-called Yūmeiden—suddenly stood and ran back. A stone slab opened behind him and he escaped.
"Stop!" Shigeo lunged to pursue, but the four blocked him.
"What's the point of hiding?" Shigeo shouted. A Mokuton (Wood Release) bunshin appeared. It punched through the wall and gave chase.
The four corpse-like shinobi dodged the Yōton and leapt to attack. One even used the kekkei genkai Jiton (Magnet Release). With the curse mark, his chakra output was ten times normal. Magnetic sand surged from all directions to bury Shigeo.
"Yōton, Chokusetsu Shō (Yōton: Direct Burn Technique)!"
Even strong Jiton fears molten rock. The magnetic sand heated red, then Suiton (Water Release) cooled it into an iron plate.
The other three answered in kind. Doton (Earth Release), Fūton (Wind Release) and Raiton (Lightning Release) attacked from three directions. Fūton cut like blades, Doton covered, Raiton crashed. Each jutsu was above jōnin level.
A little girl hiding at the doorway was petrified. She had never seen such powerful jutsu. If she had died and the curse mark activated, would she become like them?
"Ranton (Storm Release)!" Shigeo evaded and used Ranton.
Even if their chakra was amplified tenfold by the curse marks, it could not match Shigeo's usual chakra output. Put his sage state aside. Even a single tailed-beast chakra could wipe these four out instantly.
Plus the Ranton he wielded was itself a kekkei genkai.
Beams shot in every direction. Laser-like rays struck the Jiton. Sparks flew. Three fell dead. The remaining Jiton user held a magnetic barrier for three seconds. After three seconds, a Mokuton rose from the ground behind him and pierced straight through his body.
The entire fight was fierce. Speed and ninjutsu were of master level. But it lasted ten seconds and was over.
Shigeo pursued. At the corridor's end he found Itachi. Itachi, coordinating with Shigeo's bunshin, was fighting the so-called Yūmeiden.
Then Yūmeiden suddenly froze, standing motionless. He had fallen into Itachi's Sharingan genjutsu.
The bunshin vanished. Shigeo walked to Itachi's side. They stood and looked at the pale "Yūmeiden."
"Tell me. Where are the ancient scrolls?" Itachi asked. He had come with Akatsuki business and would complete his mission first.
Yūmeiden moved. Shigeo and Itachi followed him back to the room he had occupied. On a wall he pressed a button. A hidden compartment opened containing four or five forbidden books. One described the forbidden jutsu for "chakra living-puppets."
There was also a notebook. It recorded his method for extracting human curse marks and other technical details.
"There is someone in their cult like Juugo—a natural absorber of nature energy—and that man is a medical-ninja. I thought Orochimaru ordered this. Now it seems not," Shigeo said while scanning the notebook. "He's under genjutsu now. No immediate danger. But if he uses curse marks, he's very dangerous."
Itachi took the innermost scroll. It was an ancient bamboo codex bound with sinew. He placed it on the table and carefully unrolled it. Crisp crackling sounded. Complicated oracle-script characters appeared. The writing was blurred but legible.
Shigeo leaned in and read. When he understood, he was shocked. This was the so-called "Jūshō Tenten."
No wonder this man wanted him dead.
The text described how to synthesize a Ten-Tails God Tree from human bodies. With this method the Gedō Mazō (Outer Path Demon Statue) isn't needed. The latter half of the codex was missing. The preserved portion warned of the danger posed by Ten-Tails jinchūriki and loudly proclaimed the Tree's threat to the shinobi world, including legends of the Tree devouring people.
"Shigeo, can you read these characters?" Itachi asked. He did not know this ancient oracle script.
"Mostly," Shigeo replied.
"Good. Since you've seen it, I'll take it with me," Itachi said.
"You don't ask what it records?" Shigeo asked.
"I don't care. I just finish the mission," Itachi said, carefully rolling the codex and wrapping it in yellow cloth. As he prepared to put it into his robe he suddenly asked, "What does it say?"
Shigeo answered succinctly: "Ten-Tails, God Tree, Tsukuyomi (Moon Reading), and the danger of people like me."
Itachi fell silent and stared at his friend for a long while. Finally he said, "Even without that, you are already very dangerous. I believe you can protect yourself."
Shigeo smiled. "Indeed."
They prepared to leave. Shigeo looked back at the man still trapped in the genjutsu and asked Itachi, "Aren't we killing him?"
"Not yet. We must wait until he awakens to find the second half of the codex. Also the so-called Divine Guardian Sect must be trawled slowly to draw out all the clues. For now we can't kill him," Itachi said.
Shigeo nodded. He left a Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) mark on the man so it would be easier to find him later.
By the shore, Shigeo warped out. Itachi spoke again, his face conflicted. After a pause he asked, "You… haven't returned to Konoha in many years, right? Not planning to go back? By any means?"
"I don't intend to return for now. If I decide to, I will. Want to find a place for a drink?" Shigeo asked.
Itachi shook his head and said nothing more. He waved and said, "Farewell. If there's news about the Divine Guardian Sect, I'll burn a summoning tag to find you."
"Mm," Shigeo replied.
Shigeo left. When he reappeared he was in the slum district of the Land of Rivers' capital, inside Ranshōmon (Blue Gate) headquarters.
(End of Chapter)
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