Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Water Release "Genbu"
"So this is... the power of the Uchiha..."
A line of blood tears also flowed from Obito’s right eye. The continuous use of Kamui placed a considerable burden on him, but fortunately, his body contained Hashirama’s cells, allowing him to recover.
Outside, Pain’s figure finally appeared.
"Banshō Ten’in!"
The Deva Path Pain raised his hand, unleashing a burst of gravitational force, attempting to pull apart the Susanoo.
But the power of the Complete Body Susanoo was too great; it merely shook slightly before stabilizing its form.
"Pain, we can’t let him escape!"
Obito said urgently.
The Deva Path Pain’s Rinnegan were emotionless as he pressed his hands together:
"Chibaku Tensei!"
A black sphere rose into the sky, the ground shattered, and countless rocks were drawn up towards it.
Shisui’s Susanoo also began to be pulled by the gravity.
"Ryōta, remember—"
Shisui looked back at Uchiha Ryōta behind him. His right Mangekyō had already dimmed and was on the verge of going blind.
"Live on, and tell your older brother... Konoha needs the Uchiha, and the Uchiha also need Konoha..."
Before his words faded, Shisui manipulated the Susanoo, its left hand’s Spiral Sword slicing fiercely towards the core of the Chibaku Tensei!
Simultaneously, its twin wings spread wide, and two long swords shot out as streaks of light, slashing towards the Deva Path Pain!
Boom!!!
The Spiral Sword collided with the Chibaku Tensei, a terrifying explosion sweeping across the area.
The two long swords were repelled by the Shinra Tensei, but they successfully forced the Deva Path Pain back.
Seizing this opportunity, Shisui used his last ounce of strength to hurl Uchiha Ryōta and another Anbu member away with force!
"Go!"
The two Uchiha transformed into streaks of light, racing swiftly in the direction of Konoha.
Obito wanted to give chase, but the Complete Body Susanoo’s final attack had already arrived.
Shisui’s right eye was completely blind, but he burned his last vestiges of ocular power, manipulating the Susanoo to deliver one final strike.
The Spiral Sword, the twin-wing long swords—all three weapons erupted with power simultaneously!
Green chakra flames swept across the entire battlefield!
Boom—
The battlefield was completely engulfed by light.
...
The scene ended there.
The crystal shattered with a "crack," turning into powder.
Silence fell within Ryūchi Cave.
Sora was quiet for a moment, then slowly spoke:
"Shisui... died after all."
He felt a pang of emotion in his heart.
In the original story, Shisui was ambushed by Danzo, had his eye stolen, and committed suicide by jumping off a cliff—a stifling death.
In this life, he had lived nearly two more years, fought fiercely against three Kage-level opponents plus the Deva Path Pain on the battlefield, finally awakening the Complete Body Susanoo and dying in battle.
It could be considered... a heroic death.
But Sora felt something was off.
"Why did Nagato let Uchiha Ryōta go?"
He frowned in thought.
Given Pain’s strength, even if Shisui sacrificed himself to cover their escape, leaving behind a Jōnin-level Uchiha like Ryōta wouldn’t have been difficult. Chibaku Tensei could have covered a much larger area, or the Human Path could have directly extracted his soul.
But Nagato didn’t do that.
At the very end of the vision, the Deva Path Pain didn’t even pursue; he just quietly watched Uchiha Ryōta escape.
"Could it be..."
A thought flashed through Sora’s mind.
"Was Nagato intentional?"
Intentionally letting Uchiha Ryōta go, allowing him to bring the news of Shisui’s death back to Konoha.
And then what?
Ryōta was Takumi’s younger brother, and Takumi was an ultimate bro-con, on the same level as Uchiha Itachi.
If Ryōta had died on the battlefield, Takumi might have gone berserk, even defected from Konoha.
But now Ryōta had survived, though severely injured...
Where would Takumi’s anger turn?
Towards the mysterious organization that killed Shisui?
Or... towards the Konoha higher-ups who failed to provide timely support?
Sora rubbed his temples.
Political scheming was too troublesome; he still preferred direct action.
"But that last statement of Shisui’s..."
Sora shook his head.
Shisui, even in death, was thinking about the balance between the village and his clan. This breadth of vision truly deserved the title of "Will of Fire" successor.
Unfortunately, in the ninja world, having just breadth of vision wasn’t enough to survive.
Sora sighed, was silent for a moment, then asked:
"What is Uchiha Ryōta’s current situation?"
The White Snake Sage replied respectfully:
"According to reports from the Land of Fields, Master, after Uchiha Ryōta and the other Uchiha Anbu escaped the battlefield, they were ambushed twice more on their way back to Konoha."
"By the time they reached the Konoha border, only Ryōta remained; the other Uchiha had already died in battle."
"Ryōta himself was severely injured and unconscious. He was discovered by a Konoha patrol and is currently receiving treatment at the Konoha Hospital. It’s been half a month, and he still hasn’t woken up."
Sora nodded, said nothing more, and turned to walk out of the cave:
"Continue gathering intelligence on the ninja world, especially information regarding the Akatsuki organization and Konoha."
"Yes, Master."
The White Snake Sage bowed.
Sora transformed into a streak of five-colored light and vanished instantly from the cave.
...
Not long after.
Ascension Island, Underground Laboratory.
"Big brother Sora, is the jutsu development complete?"
Kabuto pushed up his glasses and came forward to greet him.
Sora nodded:
"How is the Water Release clone coming along?"
"Already finished cultivating. Follow me."
Kabuto turned to lead the way, and the two walked deeper into the laboratory.
Passing through multiple layers of protective doors, they arrived at a secret room filled with cultivation devices.
In the center of the room, six cylindrical nutrient tanks stood side by side.
Three of them were already occupied—the Vermilion Bird clone and the Hikage clone floated silently in a pale green nutrient solution, eyes tightly shut, in a state of hibernation.
Inside the third tank was a body bearing some resemblance to Sora’s original, except its hair was deep blue and its skin slightly pale.
"This is the Water Release clone, cloned using ’Haku’s’ cells."
Kabuto introduced it:
"Following your instructions, I strengthened its water-nature affinity and adjusted its chakra pathways to make it more suitable for performing Water Release jutsu."
"How is the body’s strength?" Sora asked.
"It’s reached the Jōnin level, but it will need time to acclimate before it can unleash its full power."
"The same as estimated."
Sora walked up to the nutrient tank and placed his hand on the glass.
Kabuto operated the control panel. The nutrient solution in the Water Release clone’s tank began to drain, and the tank door slowly opened.
Sora closed his eyes and performed the "Living Corpse Reincarnation" to separate his soul from his body.
Hum—
A faint, ethereal silhouette of a soul drifted out from the Vermilion Bird clone, hovered in the air for a moment, then dove into the Water Release clone’s body.
A few seconds later, the Water Release clone opened its eyes.
A glint of light flashed through its deep blue pupils, then it calmed.
Sora moved the fingers of his new body, feeling the flow of chakra within.
"The water-nature affinity is indeed very strong... but the perception of other natures is much weaker."
He thought to himself.
This was the limitation of the clones—each clone could only focus on a single nature. But it didn’t matter; what he wanted was specialization, then to merge them as one.
"How does it feel?" Kabuto asked.
"Not bad."
Sora stepped out of the nutrient tank, took a loose black robe, and put it on.
He walked to an open space in the center of the secret room and formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Chakra surged, and a lifelike water dragon emerged from the ground, coiling upwards with astonishing force.
Kabuto quickly activated the protective barrier to prevent the laboratory from being flooded.
Sora dispersed the water dragon and nodded with satisfaction:
"This clone has good potential. Let’s call it ’Genbu’."
