Chapter 63

[Sorry I was taking a nap! 1050 Power Stones Reached!!!]

Valley of the End

"He's already on the move, huh."

Standing atop the "Senju Hashirama" statue, Gensou glanced towards Konoha.

This outcome was not unexpected. Typically, a person wouldn't risk everything to follow someone just after a single meeting and a simple promise.

But Sasuke was not a typical person. For someone who didn't even care if Orochimaru used his body for revenge, it was normal for him to take a risk when presented with a better target.

Anyone who knew the history of the ninja world would know who to choose between Orochimaru and Gensou.

Gensou quickly withdrew his gaze and sat down cross-legged. He wasn't a babysitter and had no interest in fetching Sasuke. Everything depended on Sasuke's own fate and the arrangements of destiny.

In comparison, Gensou was more concerned about his own issues. He picked up two scrolls.

These were the medical forbidden techniques obtained from Shinnō.

As the forbidden techniques coveted even by Orochimaru, Gensou found them quite enlightening after reading through them.

Having fully mastered these techniques, he did not hesitate and formed a hand seal.

"Medical Forbidden Technique: Flesh Activation!"

In an instant, Gensou felt his cells activate and boil as his muscles swelled, and his speed, strength, and endurance increased.

Although these enhancements were just the icing on the cake compared to his overall strength, the primary goal of this technique wasn't merely this.

Soon, Gensou changed his hand seals again.

"Medical Forbidden Technique: Flesh Regeneration!"

In that moment, the activated cells within him glowed with a vibrant green light, rapidly healing all his injuries under his precise control.

Visibly, the various depressions and wounds on Gensou's body began to swell and heal like inflating balloons.

This included the severe chest wound. Flesh regenerated, bones knitted, and skin grew. Within moments, his scarred body returned to its original, smooth state, looking no different from that of a normal person.

Standing up and feeling his body, Gensou nodded in satisfaction.

"A very impressive medical forbidden technique."

Compared to other medical jutsu, these techniques obtained from Shinnō provided more immediate results.

Of course, being forbidden techniques, they had their limitations. They required an enormous amount of chakra, far more than an average jonin could muster, and demanded a strong physique as a foundation. Without this, a person could collapse from exhaustion before their wounds were healed.

Fortunately, these were challenges Gensou could overcome.

"Though it can't compare to Hashirama's seamless and instantaneous healing, it's still a very effective recovery method."

"The wisdom of later generations is indeed commendable."

Having healed most of his injuries, Hagoromo Gensou remarked. As for the final bit of healing...

Gensou touched his chest. Deep within, under the influence of the forbidden technique Eternal Slumber, the intertwining senjutsu chakra from Hashirama still stubbornly resided there.

While the medical forbidden techniques excelled in flesh regeneration, they weren't fine enough for the precise task of removing senjutsu chakra.

"I still need to make a trip to Konoha," Gensou mused.

If anyone in the ninja world understood Hashirama best, it would be Konoha, his home village. And in terms of comprehensive medical jutsu, Konoha's position at the forefront of the ninja world was unmatched, even by Shinnō.

Furthermore, successfully extracting and collecting the senjutsu chakra from within him would greatly aid in the study of senjutsu.

Gensou was naturally interested in senjutsu. In the absence of an opportunity to train with the three great sage regions, the residual senjutsu chakra within him was an excellent research subject.

But all this hinged on successfully removing it.

The study of chakra and jutsu wasn't done in isolation. Advanced research instruments were equally essential in the ninja world.

As the only existing sample, this was one reason why Gensou hadn't used more extreme measures to deal with the senjutsu chakra in his body.

Having made up his mind, but knowing the time wasn't right yet, Gensou looked again in Konoha's direction, curious.

"Now, let's see where the wind of change blows."

...

Boom! In the endless forest, a signal flare shot up through the canopy, exploding into a dazzling display in the sky.

"Damn kids!"

The Sound Four, moving swiftly among the trees, saw the flare above and glanced back at the pursuing Konoha kids, their faces filled with anger and killing intent.

"I'll kill them!" Tayuya pulled out her flute, eager to act.

Delayed by a Konoha patrol team they had encountered earlier, the Sound Four had beaten them but lost time, allowing Shikamaru's team to catch up.

Both sides were wary of exposing their backs to the other.

Initially, the Sound Four hadn't taken the young Konoha ninja seriously, planning to deal with them quickly. But the cunning Konoha kids kept their distance, periodically launching signal flares to call for reinforcements.

"If this continues, more Konoha ninja will arrive, and Lord Orochimaru's mission will fail!" Jirobo noted the seriousness of the situation.

Kidomaru glanced at Shikamaru's team, then forward, eyes cold.

"Their leader is cautious. A direct approach won't work. But the prey can't escape the web. Follow my plan..."

As the most adept hunter, Kidomaru quickly devised a strategy.

Behind them, under Shikamaru's command, the team maintained their distance from the Sound Four.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Kiba were getting impatient.

"Shikamaru, how long are we going to keep this up? If we don't hurry, Sasuke will get away!" Naruto urged.

"Yeah, let's just beat those guys first!" Kiba suggested.

"Those four aren't easy to handle," Shikamaru refused, "Even if we defeat them, we'll be too exhausted to chase Sasuke."

Since Sasuke wasn't with the Sound Four, Shikamaru decided not to engage them directly but to conserve their strength and continuously signal for reinforcements.

He knew their mission from the Hokage was to retrieve Sasuke. Wasting time and energy on the Sound Four would only lead to failure.

With just a bit more time, his plan would succeed.

(End of Chapter)