Chapter 196: Soul Extraction

"Is the younger generation always this arrogant now?"

A ninja wearing a breathing mask scoffed, raising his short-handled scythe and pointing it at Naruto.

"I wasn't too eager before, but now it seems I have to teach you a lesson."

He vanished, moving at incredible speed.

"Hanzō of the Salamander," the ninja resembling Gaara began to say, "This kid is going to—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Hanzō had already swung his scythe, using a sword technique known as "Iaido," which involved drawing and cutting with the sword in one swift motion during high-speed movement. This was one of Hanzō's signature moves, and he had previously defeated seasoned samurai with this technique.

But...

It had no effect whatsoever.

Naruto raised his hand and caught the blade between two fingers. "This kind of swordsmanship is rare among ninjas."

Hanzō's eyes widened in disbelief.

"But that's not how you use Iaido," Naruto said, applying slight pressure with his fingers, causing the blade to snap with a sharp crack. "You were charging up from such a distance."

"Have you fought too many opponents slower than you and developed bad habits?"

Hanzō remained silent, quickly releasing his weapon and forming hand seals.

A massive summon appeared amidst a cloud of white smoke—a gigantic salamander that immediately released a thick, purple poison mist from its mouth.

Hanzō narrowed his eyes.

This was his summon, the "Salamander," known for its extremely potent venom. Even Hanzō, who had built up resistance, could be affected by it.

This creature was one of the key reasons Hanzō earned the title of "Demigod" in the ninja world.

But...

The other group's reaction was oddly calm.

While it made sense that the younger members hadn't witnessed his abilities before, Orochimaru should have been more wary—after all, he had suffered greatly from Hanzō's poison in the past. If it weren't for Tsunade, neither he nor his teammates would have survived.

Were they overconfident? Or...

The poison mist quickly engulfed Naruto's face.

"Unaltered biological toxins," Naruto remarked from within the mist, completely unaffected. "I haven't seen such a primitive and clumsy method in a long time."

With a casual wave of his hand, the mist contracted, captured by an invisible net, and condensed into a small, solid crystal the size of a thumb.

The crystal floated away, carried by the wind toward the reanimated ninja, though the dead weren't affected by poison.

Hanzō was in disbelief.

He hadn't even used any specific technique...

How was this possible?

And what did Naruto mean by "primitive" and "clumsy"? Was this the disdain of a higher-dimensional being toward a lower-dimensional one?

Hanzō brought his hands together to form seals.

Naruto appeared before him in an instant, pressing down on his wrists. "I've already given you a chance."

"Now it's my turn."

Spiritual energy surged as threads manifested and pierced Hanzō's body, locking onto his chakra and gradually drawing it out.

"What kind of technique is this?" Hanzō struggled, his voice trembling with a mix of physical discomfort from the forced chakra extraction and fear.

Orochimaru squinted.

"Edo Tensei" is a unique jutsu. Up until now, it's the only technique he hasn't fully comprehended, making it hard to imagine how the Second Hokage originally developed it.

The reanimated dead, unless released by the summoner, are effectively immortal, with a constant supply of chakra.

But could their chakra actually be extracted?

There was no more time for observation.

"My apologies, Naruto." Hashirama Senju bowed, his hands clasped together. "But I must now fight against you."

Tobirama Senju, silent, raised his hands to form seals.

Massive trees erupted from the ground.

Raging rivers surged, and swirling sand mixed with molten fire.

Naruto paid no attention to these attacks. He turned to Karin and said, "Now's a good opportunity."

"Pick your opponents."

Karin nodded and scanned the area.

Her eyes settled on Deidara.

The blond, high-ponytailed youth scratched his head. "Hey, are you planning to fight me?"

"Really?"

Karin didn't respond. She drew her sword and vanished in a flash.

What she needed now was to quickly familiarize herself with her weapon's power.

And there was no one better suited for that than Deidara, who constantly threw explosives.

Neji set his sights on the Third Raikage and engaged him.

Orochimaru took a step back, moving behind the group, clearly not intending to participate in the battle.

After all, Naruto had yet to return his arms.

Sasuke, in an instant, appeared before Itachi.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon," Itachi said calmly. "It seems you've mastered the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."

"I know everything about Konoha and your actions," Sasuke replied, equally calm.

Itachi hesitated, then lowered his raised hand. "I see."

"The only regret," Sasuke continued, pulling out two scrolls and tossing them to the ground.

With a puff of white smoke, two bodies appeared.

"I only managed to kill Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. Danzo's head was taken by Naruto before I could get to him."

"Not being able to personally kill one of the main culprits has always been a regret of mine."

Not far away, the Third Hokage turned his head.

He stared at the bodies of his two old friends, stunned and disbelieving.

But only for a moment.

Chains pierced through him, hoisting him up.

Itachi lowered his gaze.

"I saw Danzo's memories too," Sasuke said, his voice trembling slightly. "You were a good brother."

Itachi opened his mouth to say something.

"But even so, I still cannot forgive you," Sasuke cut him off. "You chose the village over our clan."

Itachi softly responded, "The clan planned a coup..."

Sasuke interrupted again, "I've heard that excuse enough times in Danzo's memories."

"It's absurd."

"To protect Konoha, a village, you slaughtered your entire clan—your parents, your friends."

"I cannot forgive you."

He repeated the sentiment.

Sasuke paused. "Naruto told me that in the future, once the Seireitei is established, those who have died can reunite in the Pure Land."

"But..."

"Itachi Uchiha, even now, knowing the full story, I still cannot accept what you did."

"So, as the last remaining Uchiha..."

"I will strip you—and that man named 'Obito'—of the right to be called Uchiha."

"Neither of you deserves to belong to our clan, the proud Uchiha."

Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"You didn't show your true power that day, did you?" Sasuke drew his blade. "Now, I'm going to kill you again."

Chakra and spiritual energy surged through the blade.

It resonated, letting out a battle cry.

The battlefield was divided into four parts.

Naruto was enduring the combined assault of dozens of ninjas.

But most of the attacks failed to affect him.

They didn't stop him from extracting Hanzō's chakra.

It was just a slow process, as he was working on another person's soul—one that was fragile. Naruto didn't want to shatter Hanzō's soul while extracting his chakra.

After all, Hanzō was just another pawn being controlled.

Several minutes later, Naruto completely extracted the energy.

Hanzō's body became faint, almost transparent.

He lowered his head, looking at his hands in disbelief. "What is this?"

"You're no longer under the control of Edo Tensei."

Naruto was thoughtful.

Indeed...

The Edo Tensei technique is directly connected to chakra.

"Thank you," Hanzō said with a complicated tone, reluctantly bowing his head in gratitude.

Naruto ignored him, casually tossing him off the battlefield.

Hanzō couldn't resist.

Having lost his chakra, he was free from Edo Tensei's control, but he had also lost all his ninja abilities.

Now, he was just an ordinary soul.

"This technique can be undone," someone said with a hint of excitement.

"That's great," Nagato said softly, stretching his arms. "Naruto, we're counting on you."

The First Hokage approached, saying, "Naruto, I never expected that even after death, we would cause you so much trouble."

"Please, help us return to the Pure Land."

"The dead shouldn't interfere with the world of the living."

But...

Though their intentions were good, putting this into practice was difficult.

To have their chakra extracted, they would have to remain passive for several minutes.

But the Edo Tensei technique commanded them to attack Naruto, and even when captured, the subconscious reflex instilled by the jutsu forced them to resist.

Even though the Adamantine Sealing Chains could suppress and seal them...

Some reanimated individuals could still avoid the chains, making them difficult to capture.

Like...

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, who could use the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"It seems we'll have to fight," Hashirama sighed, troubled. "This is terrible, Tobirama. You never should have developed this jutsu."

Tobirama snorted.

"With your abilities, Naruto, dealing with us as we are now should be more than manageable," Hashirama Senju said as he clapped his hands and formed seals, causing an even larger surge of chakra. "But still, be careful. Even though this body can only utilize less than half of its full power, my techniques..."

"Are still incredibly strong."

Tobirama positioned himself behind his brother, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with a lethal blow.

This was a strategy the two brothers frequently used during the Warring States period.

In Mist Village,

Obito Uchiha retrieved a scroll and sealed the unconscious Three-Tails.

"Your abilities are truly terrifying," he said as the sealing was completed. He then turned to the man standing beside him—a man with white hair, heavily bandaged.

"So, what about my payment?" the man spoke in a low voice, extending his hand. "I need the Sharingan."

Obito shook his head. "Our agreement was to gather enough tailed beast chakra."

"Right now..."

"We haven't fully captured all of them yet."

The white-haired man retracted his hand. "Then stop speaking in vague terms."

"Hurry up."

"Who's our next target?"

Obito counted on his fingers, "Sand Village, Mist Village, and the Four-Tails have already been sealed."

"Next up are..."

"The Five-Tails from Rock Village, the Seven-Tails from Waterfall Village, and the two from Cloud Village."

~~~

1/8 Bonus Chapters This Week! Please Vote for More!