UTBW: Ch. 92

On the other side, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio had also finished their battle. Each of them was wounded, launching a frenzied assault where life was exchanged for life, and they finally managed to eliminate the remaining enemy ninjas.

Chōza died on the spot as a result.

"Hah… hah…" Shikaku was also in bad shape, his face pale and his breathing ragged like a broken bellows.

He saw the Uchiha approaching with Tsunade and Jiraiya tied up. A look of relief flashed in his eyes, but it quickly turned to gloom.

This time, the Ino–Shika–Chō had made the right bet. But it also meant that the Uchiha had claimed a great victory, and the Senju faction was destined to become history.

As old vassals of the Senju, the Ino–Shika–Chō would also fall into the dust of the past. Still, it was better than annihilation.

"Please report to the Fifth Hokage we have used their lives to atone for their mistakes!" Shikaku said hoarsely, breathing heavily as he stared at the Uchiha.

"Don't worry. We do not go back on our word," said the leading Uchiha ninja with a smile.

"Good… that's good." Shikaku let out a long sigh, his expression easing. With that breath, he slowly closed his eyes, and his chest stopped moving.

"Shikaku!" Inoichi cried out in grief. With a long sigh, he pulled out a kunai and placed it against his neck. The remaining Ino–Shika–Chō ninjas did the same, placing kunai to their throats.

Slash!

Inoichi took the lead, slicing open his carotid artery. The others followed suit, slitting their own throats. Within a few seconds, all of them collapsed, bleeding to death.

The thick stench of blood filled dozens of meters around, making the air sickly sweet.

"…Pretty decisive," murmured one of the Uchiha with a hint of respect in his expression.

Of course, what needed to be done still had to be done. They coldly gave finishing blows to each of the corpses, then poured oil over them and set a massive fire, burning all the bodies.

The great fire would erase all traces. No one would ever know what had happened here.

---

In Mount Myōboku, two puffs of smoke burst out, and from within them fell the figures of two toads.

The commotion drew the attention of nearby toads. They turned to look and were immediately shocked.

"Fukasaku-sama!"

"Shima-sama!"

The two old toads had reverse-summoned themselves back, falling straight from midair and hitting the ground like torn sacks. They lay motionless, like corpses.

"Are you okay?" A toad stepped forward, reaching out to touch the two elders—only to suddenly recoil as if shocked.

The toad gasped in pain, shivering. "It hurts!"

"Don't touch them, they're covered in lightning chakra. You'll get hurt," said Gamabunta, who walked over with a grim expression.

He looked at the two sages and turned to shout:

"Toads who know Wind Release, get over here and get rid of the lightning chakra on them!"

As he finished speaking, two toads quickly hopped over and began forming hand signs.

They exhaled powerful gusts of wind from their mouths. The wind chakra swept over the sages' bodies, reacting with the Lightning Release.

Sparks of electricity crackled, then were blown out by the gusts. But even with the lightning chakra dispelled, the two sages didn't wake, because the damage they had suffered was still present.

"What happened?"

Other toads had also gathered.

"Did they go help Jiraiya in battle?"

"Yeah, why did they suddenly return?"

"Could something have gone wrong on Jiraiya's side?"

"What do we do?"

"There's nothing we can do. It's hard to actively contact Jiraiya from here."

"Then we can only wait."

After some discussion, the toads moved the two sages inside to rest, waiting for them to wake up.

---

A month and a half had passed since the Fifth Hokage took office.

At this moment, the sun was shining brightly.

In the Hokage's office, Junichi was leisurely flipping through a massive scroll.

The Scroll of Seals, as Hokage, he was entitled to study Konoha's highest-level legacy. Generally, the Scroll of Seals contained forbidden sealing techniques.

Besides the Hokage, only the elders were allowed access. His first weeks in office had been productive, to say the least. The village's power structure had been thoroughly realigned.

Homura and Koharu had been stripped of their positions and lost the support of their clans.

He had arranged for them to personally witness the consequences of their failed schemes. He'd shown them Danzō reduced to manual labor, performing tasks typically reserved for the lowest-ranked genin, moving rocks in the hot sun, scrubbing floors in the intelligence division, all while wearing chakra-suppressing restraints that left him as helpless as any civilian.

The message had been clear: This is your future if you resist.

The two former elders were instantly reformed, deeply repenting their past actions.

No need to go into detail about that here.

Additionally, various ninja technique and sealing arts scrolls confiscated from the Sarutobi clan had also been delivered to him. Strangely enough, the Sarutobi clan's collection even included sealing techniques from the Uzumaki clan.

And not just a few, a full and complete set.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think it was the Sarutobi clan that married into the Uzumaki, not the Senju," Junichi muttered.

While reading the forbidden techniques in the Scroll of Seals, he was quietly circulating his chakra.

---

[You have practiced the Eight Gates. Proficiency +1]

[You have practiced the Flying Thunder God Technique. Proficiency +1]

[You have practiced the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique. Proficiency +1]

[You have practiced Edo Tensei. Proficiency +1]

---

System notifications kept flashing across the panel.

In two or three days, I should be able to grasp all of them, Junichi nodded slightly, feeling his progress.

Forbidden jutsu were relatively difficult to learn. He typically had to practice two or three times to increase his proficiency by a single point. But that wasn't a big problem. His current chakra reserves were enough to support a full day of forbidden technique training.

In a week, I should have fully grasped the Uzumaki fuinjutsu techniques. In a month, both my forbidden techniques and sealing jutsu will reach Skilled-level.

Then… it'll be time to start fishing. Obito… Without this eye in Kakashi, you won't be able to resist coming to retrieve it, will you?

He flicked his wrist, and a glass tube slid out from his sleeve, inside was a three-tomoe Sharingan.

Outwardly, it was just a regular three-tomoe Sharingan, but in truth, this eye had already evolved into a Mangekyō Sharingan.

If I integrate spatial ninjutsu with a sealing barrier and lock down an area, I can trap Obito. If that doesn't work, I can still use this Mangekyō to take him out.

Similarly, sealing techniques can be used to deal with Black Zetsu.

He glanced at the glass tube, nodded, and put it away.

He had been working every day on erasing the will inside the Kamui Mangekyō.

Although… Even without erasing the original will, he could still use the Mangekyō's power. But that came with two downsides:

Weakened power, in the original story, Danzō used Kotoamatsukami to control Mifune, but it was detected and dispelled by Ao. If Shisui himself had used it, Kotoamatsukami would have been irrevocable, because it permanently rewrote the target's mind.

Limited ability access, you could only use the Mangekyō's specific abilities via that eye.

But he wasn't satisfied with that.

Even Susanoo could be mimicked as a secret technique. So why not Mangekyō techniques?

The Mangekyō Sharingan's powers were based on Yin Release transformation.

Once his Chakra Modling Technique reached a high enough level, could he mimic those Yin-based changes and reproduce Mangekyō abilities? If that were possible, then the residual will within the eye would only serve as interfering noise.

He planned to clean it out in advance.

He wanted to preserve a pure source of ocular power, analyze the Yin Release transformation within, and then replicate it.