Chapter 7 - Spiritualization Technique, soul Seizing Technique
The Hokage's office was filled with smoke.
The Third Hokage leaned back in his chair, one hand resting on the desk, the other holding the pipe in his mouth, as he listened to the Anbu's report and puffed out smoke.
When he heard the squad leader's speculative guess that Kimura Yao had most likely been killed and turned into a human puppet, the Third Hokage, who was about to take a puff, paused. Then he took another deep drag, a flicker of surprise in his calm eyes, followed by unconcealed anger.
The Third Hokage had actually anticipated Kimura Yao's death for some time.
In fact, after hearing Minato's account of what happened with Kimura Yao, he knew that the child, Kimura Yao, had most likely met with misfortune.
After all, if it was just genjutsu control, what valuable information could a child still in the Ninja School obtain? There was no need for it at all.
Only by disguising oneself as a child and using that as a springboard to infiltrate the Konoha Ninja system could valuable intelligence be obtained.
Therefore, the person Minato encountered today was not Kimura Yao, but a spy using a special Transformation Technique to impersonate him.
However, what the Third Hokage never expected was that Kimura Yao was not being impersonated by a spy, but had been turned into a human puppet after death and was being controlled.
And he was still brazenly going to the Ninja School.
This was simply a provocation to him and to Konoha.
They clearly didn't put Konoha or him, the Hokage, in their eyes.
Unforgivable!
When that spy was found, the Third Hokage would make sure that person experienced the capabilities of the Konoha Anbu interrogation room, only then would his hatred be appeased.
As the Third Hokage thought this, Night continued to explain that the insects couldn't detect any Chakra threads around Kimura Yao, and detailed all of Explosion's possible explanations for Kimura Yao's abnormal physical condition. Finally, he asked the Third Hokage whether to continue expanding the search for the spy or to directly apprehend the person.
At this point, the Third Hokage's brows furrowed in seriousness after listening.
He trusted the insects' abilities; no matter how fine the Chakra threads were, they couldn't escape the perception of insects specialized in consuming Chakra.
If it was controlled by a human puppet, there couldn't be an absence of Chakra threads.
If there were no Chakra threads, then it meant it wasn't a human puppet.
If it wasn't a human puppet, then there were only two possibilities now.
Either the current Kimura Yao was still a spy impersonating him using the Transformation Technique.
Or the current Kimura Yao was indeed dead, but was being controlled by an unknown method not associated with a puppet master.
Between these two situations, the first one would be fine.
If it was the second, then it would be troublesome.
The ability to control the dead easily brought to mind forbidden jutsu like Edo Tensei.
If the enemy had mastered a forbidden jutsu similar to Edo Tensei, the threat to Konoha would increase dramatically.
Explosion said that Kimura Yao's body was very cold, suspected to be a dead person.
Secondly, the insects couldn't detect any naturally diffused Chakra from Kimura Yao, which basically ruled out the possibility of Kimura Yao being alive.
No matter what special Transformation Technique it was, as long as it was a living person, it was impossible for there to be no naturally diffused Chakra at all.
Therefore, the current Kimura Yao was most likely a corpse.
This meant the situation had come to the second possibility that the Third Hokage least wanted to happen: the enemy used an unknown method to control the deceased Kimura Yao.
The Third Hokage first ruled out his own Edo Tensei for this unknown method.
This forbidden jutsu was created by the Second Hokage, and only Konoha possessed it. He was currently in possession of it, and he knew everyone who had seen it. Kimura Yao couldn't have been brought back by Edo Tensei.
Besides Edo Tensei, the Yamanaka clan's Mind Body Switch Technique could also control the bodies of the dead, but only recently deceased bodies, let alone controlling a corpse for more than seven days.
So it couldn't be a secret jutsu like Mind Body Switch Technique.
Besides Mind Body Switch Technique, what other secret jutsu could control a corpse, allowing it to move like a living person, condense Chakra, and possess the memories of the deceased?
"Hmm… wait, there really is a secret jutsu that can do that."
"Spiritualization Technique!"
In an instant, a secret jutsu once famous in the Sengoku period appeared in the Third Hokage's mind.
This secret jutsu was collected by Lord Tobirama, the Second Hokage. Konoha inherited it to this day, and it wouldn't be surprising if others in the Ninja World had also inherited it.
The more he thought about it, the more the Third Hokage felt that Kimura Yao must have been controlled by a secret jutsu similar to the Spiritualization Technique. (PS: The Spiritualization Technique here is set as being invented during the Sengoku period and not exclusive to Konoha.)
The Spiritualization Technique allows a person's soul to materialize, then perform a series of secret jutsu targeting the soul.
Killing another's soul, taking over another's body, and reading another's memories through soul reading ability—these are just the basic capabilities of the Spiritualization Technique.
The soul Seizing Technique is the strongest manifestation of the Spiritualization secret jutsu's power, and it is also the ability most desired by the Ninja who created this secret jutsu.
The soul Seizing Technique, as the name suggests, is an immortality jutsu that allows one to maintain eternal youth by seizing another's physical body through their soul.
If it was the Spiritualization Technique's soul Seizing Technique, all of Kimura Yao's current abnormalities could be explained.
Kimura Yao was indeed dead, but only his soul was dead; his body was not. The one controlling the body now was the hidden spy's soul.
The reason Kimura Yao's corpse was cold was because the hidden spy's soul was adapting to Kimura Yao's body, which is why it appeared as cold as a dead person.
This was a side effect only present with the Spiritualization Technique's soul Seizing.
Before the soul fully adapted to the body, the body would remain in a very cold state, like a dead person.
As for the inability to detect diffused Chakra, that might also be a side effect of the soul Seizing Technique.
The Third Hokage did not know the Spiritualization Technique, and very few people in history knew it, so detailed information was scarce.
No… there were still a few loopholes here that couldn't be explained clearly.
Firstly, a body possessed by a soul cannot condense Chakra at high loads for extended periods during the adaptation phase, otherwise it would exacerbate the rejection between the body and soul, leading to a prolonged adaptation period.
However, Minato said that Kimura Yao maintained a state of rapid Chakra condensation all day, which clearly did not align with the characteristics of the Spiritualization Technique's soul possession adaptation period.
Secondly, although the soul Seizing Technique could take over another's body to continue living.
But it would also be completely confined by the seized body, and would not live long.
Because there would be a significant rejection between the seized body and one's own soul.
This rejection was irreversible; the longer the time, the stronger the rejection, and the final result would be the physical body collapsing and dying due to rejection, and the soul naturally dissipating and disappearing.
Historically, during the Sengoku period, several Ninja who performed soul possession died within a year due to body rejection.
The point the Third Hokage couldn't understand was this: what value did Kimura Yao possess that would make a powerful individual skilled in the Spiritualization Technique sacrifice their life to seize his body?
One must know that a Ninja capable of performing secret jutsu like the Spiritualization Technique was at least an Elite Jonin level powerhouse.
And unlike other Elite Jonin.
A powerful individual proficient in the Spiritualization Technique, even when facing an Elite Jonin of the same rank, would result in an instant kill if the soul attack could not be blocked.
Historically, powerful individuals who mastered the Spiritualization Technique were all renowned and fear-inducing presences in the Ninja World.
Such a powerful individual would exchange their life to seize a child, only to gain at most one year of life.
Was it worth it?
Possessing the Spiritualization Technique, whether for killing enemies or gathering intelligence, seemed far more powerful than seizing a six-year-old child.
Why?
The Third Hokage put down his pipe, frowning, unable to understand.
Putting himself in their shoes, if it were him, he wouldn't exchange his life for one year of Kimura Yao's time.
If it were a renowned Ninja, like his disciples, perhaps there would be value in seizing them, but a six-year-old child couldn't possibly access Konoha's core secrets.
Even his disciples didn't have much access.
So it wasn't worth it at all.
Unless after the possession, they wouldn't die… Hmm, wouldn't die!
The Third Hokage muttered to himself, his pupils suddenly contracting. He thought of a possibility.
Perhaps the Spiritualization Technique's soul Seizing Technique no longer had the side effect of body rejection, truly achieving immortality.
Perhaps someone truly perfected the soul Seizing ability of the Spiritualization Technique.
This was not impossible; the Third Hokage never underestimated the creativity of geniuses in the Ninja World.
If… no, it must be that the soul Seizing Technique has truly been perfected.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for a powerful individual with the Spiritualization Technique to seize a six-year-old child who was an orphan and had no special talent.
Therefore, the soul Seizing Technique must have been perfected, and there would no longer be the risk of body rejection and death as a side effect.
As he thought of this, the Third Hokage's eyes grew brighter.
The jutsu of immortality, who wouldn't desire it?