I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

Chapter 469: Moon Breathing

At the Konoha training grounds, Kakashi, Inuzuka Midori, and Enzui had once again assembled.

"Have you noticed any changes in your body recently?"

Nagasawa asked directly.

Based on past experiences, even though he had awakened their spiritual power talent and had them train it, there was always the possibility that the resulting energy could become a Ninja World version of spiritual power, rather than identical to the kind from Bleach.

This was the case with Haki. Thanks to Nagasawa’s template, he had One Piece-standard Haki, but the others, like Kakashi, developed a Chakra-based version of Haki unique to the Ninja World. Its strength was tightly linked to their chakra levels.

Nagasawa couldn’t say for sure whether Ninja World Haki or One Piece Haki was superior, but given the chakra-based foundation of their world, it was clear that chakra-powered Haki was a better fit here.

If a ninja entered Sage Mode, and their chakra evolved into Sage Chakra, Haki would undergo a qualitative transformation in power. Even Nagasawa used it in Six Paths-level battles.

So now he was curious, would a Ninja World version of spiritual power appear as well?

"Not much change. If anything, it feels like my training speed has gone back to how it was before."

Kakashi replied.

In the Ninja World, unlike some cultivation-type worlds, there weren’t clear realms or levels. Terms like Genin and Jonin mostly referred to roles and loose power tiers. But just like in those worlds, the further you progressed, the harder it became to improve.

For example, the Third Hokage stayed in the Kage tier for ages but never reached Tobirama’s level.

Most average ninjas hit a wall at Chuunin, and as they aged, they declined further. The fastest period of improvement was between ages ten and twenty.

Kakashi, who had reached Jonin by age twelve, felt this most acutely.

But recently, ever since training in the spiritual energy techniques Nagasawa had given him, his improvement had weirdly picked up speed, contrary to what he expected.

Enzui had a similar experience. Only Midori looked confused.

"Really? I didn’t feel anything..."

Midori stared suspiciously at the two, as if wondering whether they were conspiring against her.

"So your cultivation speed increased..."

Nagasawa ignored Midori and fell into thought.

Clearly, Kakashi and Enzui were more reliable. They had only recently begun training, so any improvements wouldn’t be dramatic yet. Someone as careless as Midori might just not notice it.

"Any changes in your chakra lately?"

Nagasawa asked again.

Spiritual power and spirit pressure were fundamentally different from Haki. His research showed they were tied closely to one’s mental and spiritual energy, though their relationship with chakra remained hard to define.

Nagasawa theorized that spiritual power might eventually lead to a unique chakra, similar to how Sage Chakra was a separate, special form.

But unlike Sage Mode, which was well-defined, this would require much exploration.

"Nope."

All three shook their heads.

Nagasawa wasn’t bothered. It was still early, no changes were expected yet.

He resumed logging their data.

Currently, he was recording progress every two days.

He was eager to know whether awakening Bleach-style spiritual power in ninjas had any side effects, or if it only brought benefits.

If it was all upside, he could roll it out fast. The earlier they started, the faster their growth would compound.

Nagasawa planned to observe them for two months. If no issues appeared, he’d expand the test group. After half a year, he’d scale it again. And if two years passed without incident, he could fully commit to mass awakening.

After wrapping up his data collection, Nagasawa left, letting them train on their own.

This kind of training was like chakra extraction, it didn’t need constant instruction.

Plus, he was currently busy with Sasuke.

It had been confirmed, Sasuke was not suited for Sun Breathing. Forcing it had only ended up injuring his body.

So if Sun Breathing didn’t work, it was time to go with Moon Breathing.

Nagasawa believed that Moon Breathing would be perfectly suited to Sasuke.

In Ninja terms, Sun Breathing correlated with yang-type chakra. And compared to yang, yin clearly suited Sasuke better.

But the Moon Breathing Nagasawa had in mind was completely different from the one in Demon Slayer.

In that series, Moon Breathing was also derived from Sun Breathing, like all others, but the five foundational breathing styles were heavily modified by Yoriichi to suit the Demon Slayer Corps’ physical makeup.

Only Moon Breathing was a direct offshoot of the original Sun Breathing, making it stronger than the other derivations, though still weaker than Sun itself.

But Nagasawa’s Moon Breathing was not a mere offshoot.

He had developed a completely separate style, opposite in nature to Sun Breathing.

During its creation, Nagasawa had reverse-engineered parts of Sun Breathing, making the two very close but fundamentally opposed.

"It’s finally done. I wonder if Sasuke can actually learn it this time..."

Nagasawa thought, sorting through the finalized documentation.

It was as strong as Sun Breathing, and just as difficult.

Whether Sasuke could master it remained to be seen. But this was, in Nagasawa’s view, the best match for him.

If even this failed, then it’d be time for Flame Breathing.

But if that happened, Sasuke might never live it down in front of Naruto, because Flame Breathing was clearly a lesser version of Sun Breathing.

As he organized the beginner-level sections of the style for Sasuke’s training, he noted the boy’s frustrated expression.

He hadn’t been allowed to practice Sun Breathing recently. Nagasawa had him focusing on foundational training instead, though it was obvious Sasuke was not satisfied.

Elsewhere, after assigning tasks to a White Zetsu clone, Black Zetsu stopped tailing Itachi and returned to the Akatsuki base.

As the intelligence officer, his work differed from the others. It was more frequent and more secretive.

But all this was easy for Zetsu’s unique abilities.

His urgency came from a growing sense of vulnerability. With Obito out of the picture, Zetsu grew much more cautious.

Now, aside from Nagato, he had no trustworthy pieces left. The rest of the Akatsuki were strong, yes, but limited in potential. No matter how much effort Zetsu put into cultivating them, they’d never reach Nagasawa’s level.

So when trouble hit the Village of Light, Zetsu dropped everything and rushed to the Land of Fields.

He had pursued Itachi to empower Nagato. If Nagato were gone, then even acquiring Itachi would be meaningless.

He couldn’t afford to wait another few millennia. He was desperate to resurrect his mother, Kaguya.

Zetsu felt strongly that if he missed this opportunity, the chance of someone awakening the Rinnegan again might not come for thousands of years.

Ninja progress wasn’t linear, it had regressed. The current generation was weaker than those from the Warring States period.

As for Nagasawa, Zetsu didn’t even count him. He was... abnormal. Something’s off with that guy, Zetsu thought.

Moving fast, he returned to the Akatsuki, but Nagato wasn’t there. Zetsu headed to the Village of Light and found him.

On the way, he saw the aftermath of Nagato’s battle.

"Holy... Look at these craters. The mountains got pulverized. What, did a Great Nation invade or something?"

Zetsu was baffled. Who could fight Nagato, now healed and stronger, to that extent?

Feigning innocence, he approached Nagato and Konan.

"Nagato, ’Madara’ is very displeased. The plan just started, and already one of our ninja villages was attacked. Could the operation be compromised?"

Zetsu was careful to stay in character. As far as the Akatsuki knew, he was a messenger of Madara, monitoring and assisting Nagato. He used "Madara" to pressure Nagato into revealing information.

But after he spoke, he noticed the strange looks Nagato and Konan gave him.

Weird... What’s with those looks? My wording wasn’t suspicious. Did "Madara" react too fast this time?

Zetsu had no idea, they weren’t suspicious because of timing.

They were trying not to laugh.

Because the person who attacked the Village of Light... was the same "Madara" Zetsu was talking about.

If it weren’t for their professionalism, they might’ve burst out laughing.

Nagato now knew that Zetsu was hiding the truth, still pretending Obito hadn’t been captured or defected to Konoha.

"Yes... it is suspicious. Something’s not right."

Nagato said coolly.

"Shall I investigate? Hehe..."

Zetsu offered, playing the eager intel agent.

"There are no leads. How would you investigate?"

Nagato shook his head.

"Oh? What happened exactly?"

Zetsu asked, surprised that he couldn’t help at all.

"Only one attacker. And he wasn’t even targeting the village, he came for Yahiko."

Nagato emphasized the name Yahiko.

Zetsu pretended not to notice the hint.

"Just one? That’s terrifying. I saw the battlefield outside, total devastation. Must’ve been a powerful opponent. But of course, not your match."

Nagato calmly explained,

"Yahiko was a real person. My friend. We trained under Jiraiya, one of the Three Sannin. Perhaps that’s how some details got leaked."

"And no, I didn’t defeat the intruder. He got away."

Zetsu was surprised. Even a Kage couldn’t stand against Nagato right now. Someone escaped?

"Are you sure it wasn’t Jiraiya?"

Zetsu asked.

"Not certain. But probably not, his eyes were Mangekyō Sharingan, and he used Susanoo."

Nagato answered.

Zetsu nearly jumped. He instantly thought of Obito, but when he heard "Susanoo," he dismissed it. Obito couldn’t use that.

"Madara once said Mangekyō users have unique powers. Did this one show anything special?"

Zetsu pressed.

"Not really. Strong illusions, maybe."

Nagato lied.

He had no intention of revealing Obito’s powers, and even planted false information to mislead Zetsu.

He had no choice but to admit the attacker used Mangekyō and Susanoo, those details were visible to many and easily confirmed.

But for anything beyond that, Nagato spun his own narrative.

"His overall strength was below mine. He just had excellent escape skills."

Nagato added flatly.

Zetsu remained silent but took mental notes.

With Mangekyō, the list of suspects narrowed significantly. According to his intel, Konoha only had three known users, Fugaku, Shisui, and Kakashi.

Zetsu first ruled out Kakashi. He only had one eye, Obito’s, and couldn’t use Susanoo.

But then he froze. Wait... Obito’s captured. What if they gave his other eye to Kakashi?

That would give him two.

But thinking further, Zetsu dismissed it. Kamui was too unique. Nagato hadn’t described anything like it.

And just like that, Zetsu eliminated his most accurate guess, Obito with dual Kamui.

Which wasn’t surprising, under normal circumstances, Nagato would never lie to him.

Zetsu still thought Nagato viewed him as a Madara’s agent, nothing more.

Unbeknownst to him, Nagato now considered both Obito and Zetsu as traitors, useful tools at best, destined for elimination after the plan was complete.

Zetsu, master manipulator for millennia, had just been out-fooled by one of his own "pieces."

And he had no clue.

As he considered his next move, Zetsu thought,

"Do I have to go to Konoha again? That place is dangerous... I’ll send a White Zetsu clone instead..."