Chapter 239: Confusing the Fourth Tsuchikage's Granddaughter
Chapter 239: Confusing the Fourth Tsuchikage's Granddaughter
What do I even need this thing for? Kurotsuchi looked at the scroll in her hand, utterly bewildered. I didn't say I wanted this!
She had a vague intuition that something wasn't right, but her body was severely injured. Her vision went black, and she fainted.
Ino's consciousness emerged from Kurotsuchi's inner world. First, she picked up the training scroll for Explosion Release Clay. Deidara had already undone the seal on it, so she opened it directly.
The core of this jutsu was still Earth Style ninjutsu, which is why it was completely vulnerable to Lightning Style. Deidara's frequent mention of "Explosion Release" was actually just empty boasts, similar to Minato Namikaze's "Scorch Release: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Type Zero"—just for show.
Great figures? Even great figures spout nonsense and even transmit incorrect information sometimes. Madara Uchiha explained his Eye of the Moon Plan to the Five Kage and numerous ninjas, sounding utterly convincing, but sadly, the entire thing was a product of Black Zetsu deceiving him from beginning to end. Fortunately, he died after the battle. If he had lived and thought back on the confident things he'd said, how embarrassed would he have been?
Explosion Release Clay was a secret technique that involved adding different concentrations of earth-nature chakra into specially made clay, causing it to explode based on the concentration and characteristics of the chakra. Deidara used the mouths on his palms to consume the clay to save the steps of forming hand seals and shaping. Ino had no need to modify her body; this wasn't going to be her primary combat ability. She could prepare the clay in advance, then manually inject chakra and form hand seals when needed to create explosive clay.
The difficulty of this secret technique lay in creating the special clay and in adding earth-nature chakra into it. Seeing the incredibly complex method for chakra manipulation, she felt this secret technique was truly challenging. She tried twice, but the clay's ability to absorb chakra was extremely poor, preventing effective shaping or remote detonation. The clay bombs exploded the moment they left her hand.
This definitely wouldn't work. Her "Ninja," "Wisdom," and "Hand Seals" stats were sufficient, but her Earth Style level wasn't high enough. She estimated Deidara's Earth Style was at the Kage-level Lv. 5, while hers was only at the Jonin-level Lv. 4.
She needed to allocate more points! Thankfully, Earth Style was also a prerequisite for Wood Style, so she'd have to invest in it sooner or later. She once again adjusted her point allocation plan. First, she would raise Earth Style to Lv. 5, then add a little to "Hand Seals," and finally train Water Style intensely and save up 'trouble points' to add to Yang Release.
After going in a circle, the problem came back: the most important thing Ino needed to do right now was cause trouble! Her relationship with Deidara was... well, those who knew, knew. If she didn't learn Explosion Release Clay, she'd feel she wasn't living up to her current image. Naruto's graffiti and transforming into Jiraiya for peeking—these steady sources of 'trouble points'—had disappeared. She urgently needed to develop a stable new source. She needed big pots of points, but the small pots couldn't be empty either.
In the short term, she couldn't see a more suitable scapegoat than 'classmate' Deidara.
She made a copy of the Explosion Release Clay scroll, which contained many of Deidara's insights on its use. She carefully put away the copy and shoved the original into Kurotsuchi's hand, then meticulously observed the unconscious girl.
According to Orochimaru's theories, there was a compatibility issue between the soul and the body. His Living Corpse Reincarnation couldn't just be forced upon any random passerby; the target had to be rigorously screened.
When Ino used Spirilization on Kurotsuchi, she discovered that this girl, in terms of personality, demeanor, chakra nature, and every other aspect, had nothing in common with her. Yet, this body was remarkably compatible with her soul. If Ino's own body were to die, she could even fly over and, at the cost of significantly damaging her spiritual form, merge with a portion of the other party's personality and take over this body for rebirth. This kind of possession would come at a huge cost, but in the absence of other options, it meant she had an extra life.
"Pretty girl, looks like we'll need to spend a few more days together..." Ino commanded her chameleon to continue hiding her body while her spiritual form slowly sank into Kurotsuchi's inner world. She didn't possess an organ like the Sharingan, but whether it was the Sharingan, Genjutsu, or the Mind Transfer Jutsu—even including the miraculous Kotoamatsukami—at their core, they were all Yin Release techniques originating from spiritual energy.
If the Sharingan was automatic transmission, she was currently manual. She used her Yin Release ability to subtly, little by little, make corrections and change Kurotsuchi's perception.
The unconscious Kurotsuchi woke up fifteen minutes later. She looked at the Explosion Release Clay scroll in her hand and only after a long while did she recall what had happened. She felt that recovering this secret technique for the village was perfectly reasonable and logical, with absolutely no problems.
Returning to the outpost built by Iwagakure near the border, she fell asleep the moment she entered the room.
"Brother Deidara?" Still half-asleep, Kurotsuchi suddenly found Deidara sitting by her bed, watching her. They seemed to have returned to how they were in their childhood.
"Little Kurotsuchi, Big Brother is back!" Deidara reached out and touched her face.
This startled her immensely. In her dream, she shot up from the bed and looked around, only to realize it was just her imagination. The tent, her clothes, the ninjutsu scroll – everything was her familiar environment.
A false alarm.
"Ah, it must be Old Man Tsuchikage putting too much pressure on me. It's so annoying!" Kurotsuchi reassured herself. She stretched out magnificently, then lay back down.
In her mind, the image of Deidara couldn't help but reappear. It was an image she was trying hard to forget, constantly telling herself he wasn't her type. But the harder she tried to shake off these thoughts, the more difficult it was to fall asleep. At first, it was just a blurry image, but as she thought about it, the image in her mind became clearer and clearer.
Was Brother Deidara a man or a woman? The image in her mind rapidly changed with her thoughts. One second it was a woman, the next it turned into a man. Her thoughts were constantly correcting, and the image in her mind was also adjusting itself, adjusting to a degree that matched her impression of him.
"I am your brother."
"I am your brother."
"I am you."
A series of voices, indistinct whether male or female, echoed in her ears. Kurotsuchi instinctively felt something was wrong. Something must have happened to her! Was she really this close to Deidara?!
A voice in her heart answered for her: Yes, we are senior and junior apprentices. Now the senior apprentice has entered the junior apprentice's body and merged together. Isn't this a very normal thing?
Where is this normal?! It's completely abnormal! Her consciousness was desperately resisting, but that voice chattered incessantly in her ear, constantly brainwashing her.
This is normal!
No, this isn't normal.
This is normal!
I still feel like something's wrong...
This is normal!
After repeated corrections, she and the voice in her heart reached an agreement. Hmm, it's indeed normal! After accepting this impression of normalcy, no matter how the Deidara in her inner world changed, she felt there was no problem with it.
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