Kannabi Bridge (16)

Gnawing into the chunin's soul, Yami had no idea what he was doing. He was desperate, using this method to see if he could restore some of his energy.

As for the consequences of his actions, he realized them the moment he took the first bite.

A burst of energy flooded into his body, but he had no time to pay attention to it as his mind was occupied with receiving a massive amount of memories.

But he didn't stop until he consumed the soul entirely.

"Agh!"

A guttural cry escaped his lips, and his eyes seemed to lose focus. Different memories and wills clashed in his mind, wrestling for control.

The clash caused him to clutch his head and roll on the ground like a snake in agony.

"What's wrong with him?"

His cries stopped Takeshi and Sasaki in their tracks. Because they had been leisurely following him, they didn't see him rip the chunin's throat out, but seeing all the blood covering his mouth and the chunin's corpse beside him, they had a rough idea of what had happened.

"This... This sick fucker..." Shocked and angry, Sasaki glared at Yami, his revulsion growing as he pieced together what had occurred.

"Kill you!"

Without waiting for Takeshi's instructions, he pulled out a kunai and rushed forward.

Just as he approached Yami, Sasaki felt a weird sensation, a tingling in his mind that made him stop in his tracks and clutch his head.

"What's this?!"

Takeshi also had a similar reaction, narrowing his eyes as he looked for the only culprit that could be causing this. But seeing Yami still lying on the ground and writhing in agony, he doubted it was him behind this strange attack.

The sensation he was feeling wasn't that intense, and so far, aside from a little headache, it didn't show any danger. But seeing Yami rolling on the ground, Takeshi suspected that he might have been hit with a similar attack but on a much larger scale.

"Are there other enemies around?"

This was bad news. He was still poisoned, and Sasaki was basically useless as he couldn't perform jutsu with one hand. If they were attacked by an elite team, they might be done for.

Forming a series of hand seals, Takeshi slapped his hands on the ground. He closed his eyes and felt as the detection waves spread through the area, but he didn't detect any other enemies.

"There's no one else..." Takeshi muttered, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Then what's causing this?"

Even though he didn't detect anyone, he didn't want to risk it as the enemy might be concealing themselves, so he instructed Sasaki. "Sasaki, finish him off now, and let's get out of here."

Surprised, Sasaki nodded. He noticed that his captain's tone seemed a bit solemn, which made him realize something was wrong.

Tightening his grip on the kunai, Sasaki threw it, aiming straight for Yami.

The kunai cut through the air and quickly approached Yami, but he was still in his own world, not sensing any danger and only focusing on sorting out the mess in his mind.

Suddenly, a nearby tree branch bent unnaturally and blocked the kunai, saving Yami.

"Huh?"

Surprised, Sasaki looked at the branch.

"Pro...tect... protect... pro..."

The sudden childlike voice made him look aside at the source. There he saw the tree bark suddenly twist and morph into a humanoid face. Its eyes stared at him as it spoke.

"Protect... protect..."

"What the?!"

Sasaki staggered back, surprised and weirded out by this strange ninjutsu.

"Sasaki! Get out of there!" Takeshi's sudden shout reached him.

But before Sasaki could react, the nearby trees also morphed into similar humanoid faces before their branches shot out, wrapping around his limbs and pulling him off the ground.

"Captain! Help!" Sasaki screamed, struggling against the tree's grip.

The tree branches tightened their grip on Sasaki, making him wince in pain. "Captain! Do something!"

Takeshi knew he had to act fast. "Hang on, Sasaki!"

Just as he was forming hand seals, the thick branches suddenly tightened their grip on Sasaki's limbs. Before he could let out a scream, they violently pulled, ripping his limbs from his body. Blood splattered as Sasaki's body fell lifelessly to the ground.

"Sasaki!" Takeshi roared in horror and rage. He couldn't comprehend what was going on. The trees suddenly seemed to come alive and killed Sasaki.

"Could it be that ninjutsu mentioned in the legend?!"

Seeing how the trees seemed to sway and protect Yami, Takeshi couldn't help but link this bizarre phenomenon to the stories he had heard: the legend of the strongest ninja in Shinobi history, the man who established Konoha, Hashirama Senju.

"No, it's impossible… according to what I heard, only Hashirama could use Wood Style..." Takeshi tried to deny his assumption, but looking at the current state of the trees, it was undeniable that Yami was controlling them.

"Could it be that Konoha deliberately leaked such news to protect those who could use Wood Style until they grow into their full potential?"

Thinking about the consequences of such a possibility, he didn't dare dismiss it and was prepared to go back to the village to report to the Tsuchikage.

"And I should capture him and bring him back with me."

Meanwhile, Yami was finally able to deal with the massive information that flooded his mind, but he was still confused about his real identity. He had two sets of different lifetime memories, making him unable to determine which one was originally his.

But after a while, his will seemed to prevail. He regained clarity and saw how the trees covered him, with humanoid faces on their bark.

"This…"

He could feel a slight connection with them, different from the usual one when he used his spiritual energy to animate objects—they had a bit of intelligence.

"Did I unintentionally infuse my soul with them?"

It looked like while he consumed the new soul, some parts had somehow merged with the trees, creating a bond that allowed him to control them or move freely to their will. They even seemed to have a bit of intelligence.

Many questions ran through his mind as he wondered how he could achieve similar results since their birth was merely an incident. But unfortunately, he had no time to think as Takeshi was slowly approaching him.

Yami extended his hands, commanding the trees to stop the enemy. The trees obeyed, and the faces in the bark twisted, branches shooting out toward Takeshi.

Looking at the numerous branches heading toward him, Takeshi showed no intention to dodge. He quickly formed seals before taking a deep breath, his chest swelling.

"Wind Style: Great Wind Blades!" Takeshi shouted, expelling a powerful gust of wind from his mouth. The wind blades cut through the approaching branches with ease, slicing them into pieces. The force of the jutsu was so intense that it even severed the trees, causing them to fall with loud crashes.

Dust and debris filled the air as the trees were decimated. Takeshi stood there, panting slightly, surveying the destruction he had wrought. But when the dust finally settled, he realized something unsettling.

Yami's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Takeshi's eyes darted around, searching for any sign of his opponent. "Where did he go?" he muttered to himself, his frustration mounting. He couldn't let Yami escape; he needed to capture him and bring him back to the Tsuchikage.

A sudden rustle made Takeshi look down, and there near his feet, he saw explosive tags with the same weird twisted face on the trees.

"Shit."

The eyes on the tags blinked before they suddenly exploded.

Without hesitation, Takeshi flickered back, but his legs were still caught in the explosion.

Leaning against a tree, Takeshi looked at his seared legs as they trembled, barely able to hold him up.

"Shit… shit."

He cursed himself for not expecting to fall for the same trick the enemy used to immobilize his squad.

"I should get out of here."

He had no idea where Yami was as his figure was concealed, but now that he was injured, he no longer had any intention of capturing him. All he wanted now was to go back to the village and report his findings to the Tsuchikage.

But just as he tried to leave, he felt a sudden tug on his leg. A root held his leg tightly.

"Fuck!"

The twig's strength wasn't great, and he managed to break it in two seconds. But that brief moment was all that Yami needed.

Thrust!

A blade penetrated Takeshi's chest just as he broke the root. Looking behind him, he saw Yami's figure silently become visible.

"You bastard!"

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Takeshi felt his limbs getting cold.

"Now, now, no need for the harsh words. Aren't we friends?" Yami said, pulling out the poisoned blade from his chest. "Don't worry, I won't kill you… I just want to try a little experiment with you!"

****

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