Chapter 76

"Urgh, I won't touch you even with a stick until you're dead that's for sure." I said as I was facing the current Molecular Release user who was looking like an old man with light blue hair and too many members growing around his body

I disabled the man in front of me by using Mud Release to slowly suffocate him while I made it difficult for him to use his ability by burning him with Plasma Release.

Just like I did with Crystal and Magnet, I learned by myself Mud Release and Plasma Release, the former was to make it possible for me to produce Elixir Mud, a kind of medicine only found on one island, while the latter was out of curiosity since I saw my son, Yushiro, use it back at Rōran.

Mud Release was made by combining Earth and Water, not difficult to think about, while Plasma Release was using Fire, Lightning, and Yang Release, making it a Kekkei Tōta which wasn't surprising since it was capable of breaking down molecules into ions, something that made it nearly impossible for someone to recover from.

Aside from them, I have yet to use against someone the two Release I got from Hiruko, but one thing was sure, his chimera technique nerfed their abilities because I was able to do far more than him in less time.

Swift Release was a combination of Lightning and Wind, and unlike Hiruko who could only speed himself up, you could actually modify the speed of anything you touched, speeding or slowing them.

This could make projectiles extremely deadly, while fighting someone slowed down and speeding up yourself could make any Taijutsu battle a breeze.

As for Dark Release, I would have been disappointed if its only utility was to absorb chakra-based techniques just to release them with more power later.

But I knew that it was a Kekkei Tōta made from Earth, Yin, and Yang Release, a surprising combination that could explain its ability to 'negate' Ninjutsu.

One ability of this release however made me think that the Nara Clan may have been related to them since it allowed the user to use his shadow but also others' to fight or even inanimate objects by implementing shadows in them.

Nevertheless, while I was deep in thought, I sensed my opponent's life leaving his body which meant that I could finally use Suijin without any horrible consequences such as getting parasited by him.

"Suijin." I said as I brought his body near me before he transformed into the usual weird amalgam that my right eye absorbed

'And another one' I thought as this was my 21st combined Release already, and the more I had the better I could face different kinds of threats

While I was ready to go back on the Ancor Vantian, a clone of mine told me that one of the drones found a child-like beast with orange hair and rocky-like skin killing several people in the middle of a road within a mountainous area.

'Found him' I thought as I closed my eyes and teleported to the drone before falling in front of the orange-haired 'beast'

Not even a second after landing, the small beast rushed at me with a mad chuckle but before he could reach me, I let out "Go to sleep, boy." before releasing a large portion of my killing intent at him, not even leaving him the time to flinch as he fell unconscious

The 'beast' body then lost its monstrous appearance, only leaving a very young boy with orange hair and surprisingly quite muscled for that age.

It was none other than Jūgo, a boy whose ability was to constantly intake natural energy without dying from it, albeit he became mentally unstable with great urges to kill.

"Here, I will give you this." I said as I put two wristbands on the boy which were the ones I used back when I couldn't regulate the natural energy I absorbed constantly

These wristbands would make natural energy flow in and out of him while keeping a certain amount within himself so he could still use Senjutsu.

This was the only way I could help him for now since he will need to learn, and master, Sage Mode so he can transform and regulate his natural energy without getting violent and murderous.

Something I will help him with but this will have to wait since he's far too young for now.

I will let him rest on the Ancor Vantian and talk with him once he wakes up... He should accept to join me easily if I can take care of his madness and murdering urges.

"Now I didn't expect this boy to kill seemingly trained shinobi." I said out loud as I saw the five men he killed and could notice that they had some training, although only one could be considered a Jōnin

"Let's absorb them." I said again before using Suijin on each one of them only to discover that they came from a Clan using a Kekkei Genkai that wasn't necessarily feared but could be useful nonetheless

Those guys were capable of using Sound Release, a Kekkei Genkai that was considered weak and useless because many shinobi could use sound-based attacks by using different kinds of tools.

But this may be caused by their dumbness since they only think of sound as a way to make their foes lose focus or create some blasts similar to wind gusts... But you should be able to create certain vibrations that can break infrastructures or even make someone's organs blow from the inside.

Also, if you control sound then you should be capable of making yourself completely silent when breathing or walking or just deprive someone of their hearing by silencing an entire area.

All in all, this could be useful one day, an unexpected reward that I wouldn't pass upon.

'Anyway, let's head back to the Ancor Vantian' I thought as I carried the young boy before teleporting into my luxurious apartment on the last floor of the main hotel

Appearing inside of the living room, I was greeted by Yukimi and Tenzō who were reading books containing a lot of imagery about the fauna and the flora of this world, making the room quite a mess with all the books laying around.

"Yuichi-sensei! Who is he? He looks tired!" Yukimi happily asked as she got up and came near me to see how the boy looked, curious about everything

"Nee-san you're bothering Sensei with your questions." Tenzō exclaimed as he was still immersed in the books but surprisingly one of them was about the basics of a shinobi

At first, I thought that this boy would always be shy and scared of the unknown, however, the more he learned about the 'outside world', the more he became calm and serious...

He even asked me if he could also become a shinobi like his sister and work for me.

I didn't deny his request and used Kunitokotachi just like I did with his sister to stabilize, and actually awaken, his Smoke Release.

I was surprised when I realized that the boy couldn't transform into smoke, it made me wonder why he never left the cave... Maybe something to do with his young age but now he could also transform into smoke as he wishes, just like his sister.

"Don't worry about it, when I left the fortress to find what I needed to help your Clan more easily, I found this boy with a... Peculiar condition, kind of like you, he's cursed by his ability." I said as I moved towards a bedroom followed by the two youngster

Laying down the boy before cleaning him up from the dust and blood he had on him, Yukimi exclaimed "He looks so small and he was already bloodstained? Poor boy..."

"It's not his blood, don't worry... And unlike you who can die because of your ability, this boy instead loses his mind and become bloodthirsty against his will, making him kill others instead." I explained as she looked at Jūgo with a look full of pity

"Why are we born like this? With something we cannot control and ends up ruining our lives..." she said as she lost her usual smile and grabbed my clothes while looking at the ground, her brother once again patting her back to support her emotionally

'Blame Masashi Kishimoto for that one' I thought but couldn't tell them that as I replied "That's how life is... Some people are born talented, some aren't, some people are born in loving families, some aren't or don't even see their parents' faces once... That's life, however, it doesn't mean that you have to live all of it in despair. With hard work, you can make many things possible, and once you grow up you will be able to get a family of your own..." with a smile as I patted both of their head

"B-But, if you never appeared, we would have lived all of our life underground, clueless about the world outside and forever under our curse..." Yukimi said as she tightened her grip

"With 'if' we remake the world, girl." I first said as she looked up in confusion so I added "Don't think about how your life could have been, think about how it will go from now on."

"Yuichi-sensei... Just like I read, you are truly a benevolent angel." she said as she recovered her bright smile but got me confused this time "Wait, where did you read that?"

"I found a small notebook in my bedroom and since I was curious, I opened it and it was solely talking about you Yuichi-sensei." she told me as I remembered that her room inside of my apartment was the one Konan slept in when we traveled to the Land of Demons a long time ago

'I will never read the content of this notebook or I might die from a cringe attack' I thought as it was surely praising me from start to finish and I'm not thick-headed enough to endure that

"Anyway, let the boy rest, I will talk with him when he wakes up." I first said as I stopped ruffling their hair before adding "Oh, you can call for your clansmen and tell them that I can finally cure them quickly. Have them regroup on the ground floor, my clones will take care of them."

"Thank you Sensei!" they both happily exclaimed before running out of the bedroom to warn everyone about the great news

"These kids..." I mumbled before making clones that left for the ground floor so they would cure everyone by using the Molecular Release

My clones are capable of using Kekkei Genkai and Tōta but cannot use Genjutsu like Kunitokotachi which was one of the reasons why I didn't cure the Iburi Clan before getting it.

I was too lazy to cure them one by one.

'Nevertheless, I just need to wait for him to wake up now' I thought as I took a seat near the bed and started to produce the Five-Tails chakra to pass time

And after a few hours, while the Iburi clansmen were getting cured downstairs, the boy in front of me finally opened his eyes.

"How do you feel boy?" I asked as he raised his upper body and looked at me while holding his head

"I... Fine, thank you but what did I do? I-I didn't hurt you, mister?" he replied, slightly confused and scared that he harmed me when he lost control

"Don't worry, I was the one who stopped your rampage, although I won't hide the fact that you killed five people before I noticed you." I explained as he clenched his fists and mumbled "I-I'm sorry, I didn't want to..." as guilt was slowly filling him

"It's alright, you shouldn't blame yourself for something you couldn't control." I first declared as he looked up at me once more and whimpered "B-But..."

"In fact, I can help you with your trouble." I suggested as his eyes shone with hope before he exclaimed "Is that true?!"

Smiling as I got up and pointed at the wristbands I gave him, I first explained "Your ability is directly related to the natural energy flowing all around us, unfortunately, you can't regulate it yourself which is why you transform and lose your mind as you did."

"I also had some issues with natural energy myself but unlike you, it would simply transform me into a tree forever and kill me in the process. That's why I made those things I put on your arms, they will make natural energy flow in and out of your body without letting you reach the critical amount." I continued to explain as he was closely listening to everything I was saying

"T-Then how do you control yourself now?" he asked since he realized that I no longer needed such items on me

"Because I learned how to perfectly wield this energy, and only a few individuals achieved such feat." I explained as my wing sprouted on my back while the tattoos also appeared on my face

"C-Could you please teach me? I beg you!" Jūgo asked as he started kneeling in front of me, leaving the bed

"Mmh, I don't mind teaching you, however, you are far too young for this specific training... For now, I can teach you how to become a shinobi and use the restricted amount of natural energy you have to fight with it." I suggested as things were going according to plan

"T-Thank you mister-" "Yuichi Senju." I interrupted since he didn't know my name yet

"Thank you, Yuichi-sama... I promise to return the favor with my life." Jūgo replied as he now bowed with his head touching the ground

"And I promise to take good care of you, boy... But you still didn't tell me your name." I said as he looked up and with an apologetic gaze replied "Ah..! I'm Jūgo!"

'And another talented child recruited' I thought with a smile as this generation was going to bear many powerful shinobi

I was quite literally doing what Orochimaru did in the canon in his stead but at least I wouldn't use them for experiments and let them die without caring about their lives.

'Talking about Orochimaru, he's going to love the Molecular Release' I thought as the snaky man was still looking for a way to reach immortality, something I would help him with

After all, as much as he was a shut-in with weird tendencies, he was the first one, and one of few people, to know about my 'wrong' deeds... Some that I even hid from Tsunade.

A great friend of mine indeed.