Chapter 98: Punishing Danzō, Gift for Kushina
"This is a Sharingan genjutsu!"
The moment they were pulled into the illusion, relying on his Kage-level consciousness, Danzō immediately realized what was happening. He tried to draw a weapon and cut himself, hoping the pain would stimulate his nerves and break the genjutsu.
But when he attempted to move, he found his body had already been unknowingly bound tightly to a cross—completely immobile.
Just as Danzō was about to bite his tongue to shatter the illusion, Ling Yu's eerie voice came from behind him.
"It's useless. This is a pseudo-Tsukuyomi space I specially prepared for you. In this space, every factor—time, location, mass, everything—is under my complete control. You can only leave the genjutsu after enduring 12 hours inside."
Ever since he copied Mikoto's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Ling Yu had been secretly developing this terrifying genjutsu.
After a full year of work, he had only managed to extend the pseudo-Tsukuyomi's duration to 24 hours. Reaching the true Tsukuyomi's 72-hour level was still far off.
This alone showed just how difficult it was to master Tsukuyomi.
"What?! Senju Ling Yu, you must know that attacking a fellow Konoha ninja is a grave crime—especially when you dare raise your hand against me, the Hokage's advisor! This is treason! If you release me now, I might convince the Third Hokage to show leniency. Otherwise, prepare to be declared a missing-nin and hunted endlessly by Konoha!"
Hearing Ling Yu's voice, Danzō quickly tried to use his position to threaten him.
"Hmph! Missing-nin? Guess who the villagers of Konoha would believe more—me with my current reputation and status, or you? With my strength right now, I fear no one in the entire ninja world. You think your threats mean anything? You seriously underestimate me."
Ling Yu showed no fear of such low-level intimidation. He had nothing but contempt for Danzō's words.
He created five shadow clones. Each held a long blade. Two by two, they walked toward Danzō and the others.
"Senju Ling—"
"Enough talk. The moment you decided to act against me, you should have considered ending up like this. Now enjoy the next 24 hours properly."
With a wave of his hand, Ling Yu sealed Danzō and the others' mouths. Impatience flashed in his eyes. He no longer wasted words with Danzō. Raising his long blade together with his clones, he stabbed straight through the chests of all three—"Pfft!"
"Mmgh…"
Even though Danzō had endured countless wars and suffered injuries large and small—his pain tolerance already extremely high—he still let out a muffled cry of pain the instant two long blades pierced his body. The sensation felt more real than reality itself.
The two Root ninja beside him fared even worse. After being impaled by two blades, the overwhelming pain made their entire bodies tremble violently.
"Giving up already? Don't worry—I didn't stab too much. Every minute, my clones and I will stab you once. Over 24 hours, that's only 2,880 stabs in total."
Saying so, Ling Yu pulled out another long blade and—together with his clone—stabbed into the other side of Danzō and the others' bodies.
In the time that followed, Danzō and the two Root ninja were tortured stab after stab by Ling Yu. Even if they fainted from the pain, Ling Yu made sure they continued feeling the same agony even in unconsciousness.
…
Although Danzō and the two Root ninja suffered 12 hours of torment inside the illusion, only one second passed in the outside world.
When the three of them finally exited the genjutsu space, their minds and bodies had already been broken countless times. Their bodies went limp and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Danzō—who had already been gravely wounded by Ling Yu's Susanoo slash—was now the worst off. After being specifically targeted and tortured for 24 hours in the illusion, his breathing was now extremely weak. It seemed he might die at any moment.
"Ling Yu… what did you do to them…?"
Tsunade saw Danzō and the others collapse the instant they looked at Ling Yu. Confusion appeared in her heart.
"Nothing much. Just gave them a small lesson. Don't worry about them. Let's go."
Stepping over the three collapsed bodies, Ling Yu gave a simple explanation, then opened a teleportation gate and pulled Tsunade inside with him.
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded and didn't press for more details.
Back at the Senju compound, Konan, Kushina, and Mikoto were sitting quietly on the sofa watching television.
"Big Brother Ling Yu! You're back!"
The moment the teleportation gate opened, Konan sensed the familiar presence. A bright smile spread across her face as she ran to greet Ling Yu, who stepped out.
"Mm, I'm back."
Picking up the little angel-like Konan, Ling Yu walked over and sat down between Kushina and Mikoto.
"Ling Yu, you're not hurt, are you?"
Mikoto reached out and checked his body for injuries, asking with concern. Worry was also clear in the eyes of Kushina and Konan beside her.
The instant the Nine-Tails broke free, the three girls—far away in Konoha—had all felt the overwhelming chakra pouring from it. The sheer volume of chakra surpassed even the combined total of Konoha's ninja.
And when Ling Yu clashed with the Nine-Tails using Wood Release, the entire village shook as if an earthquake had struck. One could imagine just how intense the battle had been.
"I'm fine. Don't worry. The Nine-Tails is strong, but it's just a tailed beast. If I wanted, I could have subdued it instantly."
Ling Yu gently stroked Konan's hair and smiled reassuringly at the three girls.
"Rinne is fine too. The Nine-Tails seal was successful. However… Grandma Mito couldn't hold on in the end. She has passed away."
Noticing the lingering sadness on Kushina's face, Tsunade sat beside her, pulled her into her arms, and spoke softly to comfort her.
"Thank you, Big Sis Tsunade. I'm okay."
Kushina took a deep breath and forced a smile.
"Kushina, don't worry. We'll always be with you. Here—I have a gift for you."
Setting Konan down in Mikoto's arms, Ling Yu took out the now soulless Nine-Tails chakra flame and placed it in front of Kushina.
"What is this?"
The immense energy radiating from the red flame instantly drew Kushina's attention. She looked at it curiously.
"You've always been complaining about your strength, right? This is half of the Nine-Tails' chakra that I cut from it. As long as you absorb it into your body, you'll gain the Nine-Tails' chakra. Your overall strength will rise dramatically."
"Don't worry—the Nine-Tails' consciousness has already been erased by me. Right now, this is just a harmless mass of chakra."
Placing the red flame in front of Kushina, Ling Yu held her hand and guided her to grip it tightly. He slowly led her in absorbing the Nine-Tails chakra.
"Come on—just like refining chakra. Absorb the Nine-Tails chakra in your hand."
Following Ling Yu's instructions, Kushina slowly absorbed the chakra flame. As she did, her body gradually became cloaked in a fiery red chakra aura.
Her chakra reserves surged like a dam filling with seawater. By the time the flame in her hand completely disappeared, Kushina's overall strength had risen to peak Kage-level—on the same level as Mikoto and Tsunade.
--------------------------------
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkshield