Capítulo 39: Kannabi Bridge (14)
Yami focused on the souls ascending in the beam of light, their ethereal forms drifting upward.
"Are they heading to the afterlife?" he wondered.
As he watched, his mind was flooded with questions. The concept of death in the Naruto world was enigmatic and poorly detailed. The Reanimation Jutsu was an odd technique that brought the souls of the dead back to the living world through some form of sacrifice. Did this mean these souls would remain in the afterlife for eternity? If so, how did Ashura and Indra's souls manage to be reincarnated over a thousand years? Were they special, or did their souls split, with one part going to the afterlife and the other being reincarnated? Could many people be reincarnations, or was it something unique to only those two?
The questions piled up in Yami's mind, each theoretical answer leading to more questions. As the souls continued to drift higher, he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and refocus.
"Let's see if this will work," he murmured.
Ignoring Takeshi, who was frantically searching and yelling, Yami moved stealthily toward the nearest dead body. He kept close to the trees, careful to avoid detection by any lingering sensor Jutsu.
Arriving at the corpse of a dead Chunin with a severed leg, Yami glanced up at the soul still floating above.
Yami extended his spiritual energy toward the floating soul. Once connected, the soul, which had been looking upward in confusion, suddenly turned its gaze downward. Its expression shifted from confusion to fierce fear as it screamed. Yami, however, was too focused on his task to pay attention to the soul's reaction.
As soon as his spiritual energy touched the soul, a connection was established, and a torrent of memories surged into his mind. The sudden influx of experiences and sensations was overwhelming, causing him searing, soul-ripping pain. He clutched his head, the agony making him scream out in distress.
The intense pain caused Yami to unintentionally exit stealth mode. His previously hidden body was now visible as he writhed in torment. His scream pierced through the forest, drawing Takeshi's attention.
Yami's vision blurred as unfamiliar memories and feelings continued to flood his consciousness. Unable to take it anymore, he forcibly cut off his spiritual energy.
The pain subsided abruptly as Yami severed his connection with the soul. However, he had no time to relax.
Takeshi's enraged voice rang through the forest. "Found you, Konoha scum!" The words were followed by a flurry of shurikens that whizzed through the air.
With his vision still blurry, Yami could barely make out the incoming danger. Hearing the shurikens draw closer, he instinctively rolled to the side to evade them.
He didn't escape unscathed, as two shurikens struck his shoulder. Yami groaned before quickly scrambling to his feet.
'Damn it! I can't see anything.'
He didn't know what had happened to him, but his blurry vision refused to clear, and his head kept spinning. The intense headache made it difficult to stay cool-headed.
Not wanting to be sneak-attacked again, Yami used his soul vision to locate the enemy. Immediately, he found Takeshi dashing toward him. However, he noticed something different about his soul vision technique.
Usually, when he used it, he saw people as a featureless mass of white energy. But now, he could clearly see Takeshi's figure and make out his features.
"That's bad." He saw Takeshi moving his hands, forming a series of hand seals before clapping them together.
Two massive hands of earth suddenly emerged from the ground, clapping together and trapping Yami in the middle.
"I will make sure to kill you in the worst way possible," Takeshi growled.
Seeing Yami trapped, Takeshi halted his steps and didn't immediately pursue him. He wasn't sure what had caused Yami to scream and exit his concealment jutsu, but he suspected it might be another one of Yami's tricks. He remembered how most of his subordinates had died because he underestimated Yami. Now, he was extra cautious.
Sure enough, seeing Takeshi stop, Yami clicked his tongue and immediately disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a log.
"Substitute?!" Takeshi narrowed his eyes, his suspicion confirmed. He looked aside to where Yami had reappeared a short distance away, panting and clutching his shoulder.
Without giving Yami a moment to recover, Takeshi formed a series of hand seals.
"Shit," Yami muttered.
Seeing the enemy preparing another jutsu, Yami tried to enter stealth mode but was shocked to find he couldn't.
"Damn it. Is my spiritual energy too low for it?"
Despite stealth mode not consuming a massive amount of spiritual energy, he had used it extensively. He'd kept soul vision active for hours while leading Kakashi and the others through enemy territory, which had exhausted most of his energy. He hadn't had a chance to recover. Then, he had turned hundreds of explosive tags into moving devices to take down this elite attack squad. Lastly, linking with that soul had almost depleted his entire reserve.
The only fortunate thing was that his vision was finally clearing, so he didn't have to rely on soul vision.
Takeshi's hands moved swiftly as he completed his jutsu. "Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!"
The ground beneath Yami spiraled inwards, trying to bury him alive and crush him.
Without a moment to think, Yami flickered to the side, but his eyes widened when he saw Takeshi suddenly appear in front of him.
'Shit, I can't dodge that.'
He saw Takeshi swinging a kunai toward his head, giving him no time to adjust his stance and counter.
As the kunai got closer, Yami's pupils dilated, and he moved his head back as much as he could. But he was still hit.
The kunai deeply scratched the corner of his lips.
Yami narrowed his eyes at the sensation of the kunai digging into his flesh, but at least he was safe. If the enemy had aimed for his neck, he would have been finished.
Yami pulled the short sword hanging behind his back and launched himself at Takeshi, engaging in an intense close-combat exchange. Takeshi blocked Yami's initial strike with his kunai, causing sparks and a ringing metal clang.
Seeing he was losing in terms of strength, Yami aimed a low swipe at Takeshi's legs. Takeshi leaped over the blade and countered with a downward stab. Yami twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
Immediately, Takeshi punched his ribs.
The force of the blow made Yami wince, but he retaliated with a slash aimed at Takeshi's arm. Takeshi narrowly avoided the attack, but it still scratched his arm, drawing a bloody line on his hand.
"Huh?" Takeshi looked at the wound before smiling. "Despite having weak chakra, you're not bad. To be able to injure an elite Jonin, you should be proud."
By now, Takeshi had regained his composure and wasn't letting the loss of his subordinates affect his fight.
"Hahaha." Yami suddenly laughed, coughing up blood, but he didn't care and continued to laugh.
"Why are you laughing, bastard?!" Takeshi asked, feeling confused and angry.
"Huh, it's nothing…" Yami stopped laughing and wiped the blood trickling from his lip. "I was just thinking about what my reward will be when I return your corpse to Konoha. I've never killed an elite Jonin before, but I'm sure I'll be handsomely rewarded."
"Heh, you think you can kill me?" Takeshi continued. "What gives you such confidence? Have you checked your current situation?"
Takeshi looked at Yami's battered body and scoffed, thinking he was merely bluffing and hallucinating.
"I don't need to defeat you…" Yami said, a smile never leaving his face. "Because I've already killed you."
Confused, Takeshi looked in the direction Yami was staring. His eyes widened as he saw the small sword wound Yami had inflicted, the area around it turning purple and his blood vessels becoming visible.
"That… poison," Takeshi shouted in horror.
"That's right." With a smile, Yami clapped as if praising him, but to Takeshi, it looked like mockery.
"Bastard, I'll definitely kill you."
***
I always wondered why only few people used poison in Naruto. To me, it's the perfect tool for a low level ninja to fight a strong opponent.
Thank you very much for your support!!!
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