Chapter 124

[500 Power Stones Reached!!! Next Goal: 1000PS]

"Here we are."

Gensou and Sasuke emerged from the forest into a clearing, looking at a towering, man-made, pencil-like mountain surrounded by deep chasms on all sides.

Sasuke glanced up, barely able to see structures atop the mountain.

"This is Mount Katsuragi?"

Sasuke, having learned their destination during the journey, was slightly surprised.

Without Gensou's guidance, he would have had no idea about this place or the Tsuchigumo Clan living here, who possessed a powerful forbidden technique.

"To intrigue Gensou-sama, this forbidden technique must be incredibly powerful," Sasuke thought.

Gensou stepped forward, saying, "Follow me closely. This place is riddled with traps."

"Understood."

Sasuke refocused and followed Gensou.

As Gensou stepped, black sealing patterns appeared under his feet, extending to seal the traps and explosive tags beneath.

Danzo was truly generous.

Not only did he hand over the Mangekyou Sharingan, but he also revealed all the secrets of the Root.

While looting the Root base, Gensou had taken not only advanced technology and materials but also sealing techniques from the Uzumaki Clan.

These formed the foundation for his rapid progress in developing the Yin Seal and improving the Reaper Death Seal.

Using these techniques to disarm the traps here was a trivial task.

Soon, Gensou led Sasuke through the Tsuchigumo Clan's trap-filled land to the edge of the chasm.

The thirty-meter-wide chasm was an impassable barrier for ordinary people, but not for ninjas.

However, the chasm was protected by a barrier that had deterred many who sought the Tsuchigumo's forbidden technique.

Gensou did not destroy the barrier with brute force like he did at the Fire Temple.

The Tsuchigumo Clan's barrier required precision targeting of its weak points.

The Mangekyou Sharingan under Gensou's mask spun, rapidly analyzing the entire barrier.

A few minutes later, he focused on a corner of the buildings atop Mount Katsuragi.

That was the barrier's weakest point.

"Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

Gensou extended his hands, creating a transparent cube that shot towards the corner of the building, silently reducing it to atoms.

With a pop, the barrier dissipated.

Gensou and Sasuke leapt over the chasm, landing on the mountainside and swiftly ascending.

At the same time, inside the Tsuchigumo Clan's main residence on Mount Katsuragi, the aging leader, En no Gyoja, heard the sound of the barrier monitoring crystal breaking. His aged face tightened.

Beside him, his attendant, Tonbee, couldn't believe it. "How could the barrier break? Could there be intruders? But the traps around Mount Katsuragi haven't been triggered!"

En no Gyoja, with the experience of the Third Great Ninja War, said solemnly, "This can only mean one thing. The enemy is extremely powerful!"

"Tonbee! Take Hotaru and escape through the secret passage to the Hidden Mountain Village!"

Understanding En no Gyoja's intention, Tonbee anxiously said, "Master, let me stop the enemy. You take Hotaru and escape!"

En no Gyoja shook his head. "The enemy seeks me. Hotaru is our clan's only hope. I entrust her future to you. Tonbee, do not hesitate!"

"...Yes!"

With a final bow to En no Gyoja, the teary-eyed Tonbee rushed to Hotaru's room, grabbed the confused girl, and dashed towards the secret passage.

En no Gyoja sighed in relief, sent out a distress signal, grabbed his cane, and headed to the front door. As he opened it, he saw a man in blue wearing a white whirlpool mask.

"En no Gyoja?"

Gensou looked at the elderly man with long, white hair and asked calmly.

En no Gyoja did not deny it. Having experienced much in life, he nodded and asked calmly, "Who are you?"

Gensou replied, "Just a scholar. I'm here to study the Tsuchigumo Clan's forbidden technique. In exchange, I can offer a suitable return."

En no Gyoja ignored the offer of a "suitable return."

Many had made similar offers, but in their eyes, a kunai or a basic ninjutsu scroll was considered a fair exchange.

Assuming Gensou was the same, En no Gyoja sighed and said, "Another seeker of forbidden techniques. Young man, forbidden techniques are named so for their unbearable consequences."

Looking seriously at Gensou, he continued, "If the Tsuchigumo Clan's forbidden technique was as powerful as rumors say, capable of withstanding anything, why would the clan be reduced to me, an old man living in solitude, with the rest either dead or departed?"

"Young man, have you considered this?"

Gensou glanced at En no Gyoja.

This old man was lecturing him.

In some sense, he wasn't wrong.

However, Gensou wasn't here to take the forbidden technique.

"I'm not here to steal your technique. I only wish to observe how the Tsuchigumo Clan's 'Fury' technique absorbs and stores chakra and natural energy and then releases it."

Gensou meant every word he said.

But En no Gyoja didn't believe him.

Knowing the name and process of the Tsuchigumo Clan's technique indicated thorough preparation, making it hard to believe Gensou was merely observing.

But any delay was beneficial.

Knowing Tonbee was escaping with Hotaru, and seeing the man before him was skilled enough to bypass traps and break the barrier, En no Gyoja, now powerless and without his forbidden technique, sighed.

"The Tsuchigumo Clan has long lost its former glory. Only I possess the forbidden technique now, but I'm near death and lack the strength to perform it."

He coughed weakly to emphasize his point.

Gensou's next words shocked him.

"I don't need you to perform it. Isn't there your granddaughter?"

Crack!

The cane in En no Gyoja's hand splintered under his grip.

"You..."

He stared at Gensou in disbelief.

(End of Chapter)