Chapter 611: Celestial Sealing Technique?
"Has Isshiki shown any unusual activity?"
Kenichi looked at Hagoromo seriously.
"My preparations are almost complete, but I still need to confirm his current situation before deciding whether this war can proceed smoothly."
Then he continued.
"How are your preparations going?"
"And what did you do with Black Zetsu?"
A trace of concern appeared on Hagoromo's face.
Before confronting Isshiki, neither he nor Kenichi dared to be careless.
Isshiki was simply too dangerous.
Even the slightest mistake could result in a devastating loss.
"There isn't much more I can prepare on my side."
Hagoromo's expression turned serious.
"I've already made several arrangements."
"As for the Pure Land, releasing my mother remains our final contingency."
"If there truly is no other option, I can still unseal her."
"But if the two of us can resolve this crisis ourselves, then I would rather leave her sealed for now."
Hagoromo still had serious doubts about Kaguya's state of mind.
Until he understood exactly what his mother intended to do after being released, he had no desire to let her out prematurely.
It sounded strange to speak that way about one's own mother, but given Kaguya's circumstances, caution was necessary.
"All right."
Kenichi nodded.
"I have no objections."
"If you're confident, then so am I."
He paused.
"What about the sealing jutsu research?"
"There are plenty of Uzumaki Clan members in the Pure Land. Their clan specialized in sealing techniques."
"I still think you should let them experiment."
Kenichi genuinely believed that relying on the Uzumaki Clan was the best option when it came to sealing jutsu.
Even Kushina, who had never been regarded as the greatest sealing genius in Uzumaki history, had considerable skill in the field.
She had even submitted a unique sealing technique to Kenichi.
After testing it, Kenichi discovered that it could not quite achieve the effect he wanted.
Even so, he had to admit that Kushina was extremely talented.
"I considered your suggestion."
Hagoromo shook his head helplessly.
"I also had the Uzumaki Clan members in the Pure Land conduct research."
"They did produce several interesting sealing techniques."
"Unfortunately, they're still somewhat different from what I need."
"Most of those Uzumaki are only around the jonin level."
"The techniques they designed simply cannot reach the standard required for opponents at our level."
Hagoromo had genuinely tried.
He had gathered the deceased Uzumaki and asked them to design seals capable of restraining an enemy like Isshiki.
They had submitted several impressive techniques.
But impressive by ordinary shinobi standards was not enough.
Against Isshiki, the gap was still enormous.
Kenichi, however, became interested.
The Uzumaki might not possess Otsutsuki-level chakra.
But their ideas could still be useful.
Even if the original versions were too weak, perhaps the underlying principles could be adapted.
"What if we use their sealing techniques with our chakra?"
Kenichi's eyes brightened.
"They themselves may not possess chakra powerful enough to reach the necessary level anymore, but we do."
"If the technique itself is sound, could we replace the original power source with our own chakra and strengthen the result?"
Hagoromo fell into thought.
The proposal sounded somewhat unusual.
But it was not unreasonable.
After considering it for a moment, Hagoromo nodded.
"We can try."
The two began examining the sealing techniques created by the Uzumaki.
"For example, this one."
Hagoromo pointed toward one of the designs.
"It works by targeting changes in chakra nature."
"Once activated, it seals one of the target's chakra natures."
"In other words, after being affected, the target loses access to certain nature transformations."
"The problem is that the user must first know what chakra natures the target possesses."
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
What was the point of something like that against Isshiki?
More importantly...
Did Isshiki even care about ordinary chakra nature transformation?
Kenichi himself had already reached a level where elemental affinities barely mattered.
At his current strength, if he wanted to use a particular ninjutsu, he could generally use it.
The distinction between individual chakra natures had become far less important.
For someone like Isshiki, it was probably even less relevant.
The technique was certainly interesting.
But for Kenichi's current purposes...
It was mediocre.
He continued listening as Hagoromo introduced the other seals.
Kenichi gradually fell into thought.
Researching sealing jutsu personally would be difficult.
He had never specialized in the field.
And some of the techniques being proposed were extremely strange.
Kushina's submission had been even stranger.
Her seal relied on extreme celestial phenomena to create the conditions necessary for sealing.
The first time Kenichi read it, he genuinely wondered whether he had misunderstood something.
At the time, he had even stared at Kushina and hesitantly asked:
"Knowing fate is easy, but defying heaven is difficult?"
Kushina had simply looked confused.
She clearly had no idea what he was talking about.
That had immediately confirmed something for Kenichi.
Kushina was definitely not a transmigrator.
Of course, thinking about it afterward, the idea itself had been ridiculous.
How could Kushina possibly be a transmigrator?
It was just that a sealing jutsu based on changes in celestial phenomena sounded so absurdly grand that Kenichi had briefly suspected he had encountered a fellow traveler from another world.
Perhaps someone who had once enjoyed dramatic sayings about defying heaven and changing fate.
Still...
Kenichi had to admit that Kushina possessed an incredible imagination.
The fact that she had independently conceived such a method amazed even him.
Among the several sealing techniques Hagoromo presented, however, one eventually caught Kenichi's attention.
The principle was surprisingly simple.
Yet after considering it carefully, Kenichi realized that it might actually work.
Its feasibility was quite high.
The only problem was that this feasibility applied almost exclusively to Kenichi himself.
For anyone else, performing the technique would be extremely difficult.
"This one is interesting."
Kenichi rubbed his hands together.
"According to what you said, the fundamental principle is to seal the target's five senses by interfering with the signals transmitted to the brain."
"For someone like Isshiki, I think this might actually be useful."
The moment Hagoromo had explained the technique, Kenichi realized that he possessed exactly the kind of ability needed to make it practical.
There were restrictions.
The execution would also be difficult.
But Kenichi happened to satisfy the requirements.
Hagoromo looked at him strangely.
"You mean that technique?"
"But to perform it, we would first need to expose Isshiki's brain and accurately determine the arrangement of the relevant pathways inside it."
He frowned.
"And if we already have the ability to open Isshiki's skull and examine his brain, why would we still need this sealing technique?"
Kenichi gave him a strange smile.
Of course he understood Hagoromo's point.
For an ordinary shinobi, the technique was absurdly impractical.
But Kenichi was different.
He possessed a deconstruction dojutsu.
He did not need to physically open Isshiki's skull.
He could observe the structure directly.
And he would not even need a complete microscopic analysis.
As long as Kenichi obtained a rough map of the relevant neural and chakra pathways inside Isshiki's brain, that should be enough to apply the seal.
Of course, using his dojutsu that deeply against Isshiki would consume a considerable amount of ocular power.
But there was another important factor.
Isshiki frequently used Sukunahikona to shrink himself.
And once Isshiki reduced his body to an extremely small size...
The amount of matter Kenichi needed to analyze would decrease dramatically.
That made observation through his dojutsu far more realistic.
At that point, Kenichi would only need someone to restrict Isshiki for several seconds.
Just a few seconds.
That should give him enough time to complete the necessary observation and apply the seal.
"I have an idea."
Kenichi looked at Hagoromo.
"But when the time comes, I'll need your cooperation."
He explained the plan.
Hagoromo looked genuinely surprised.
He had not expected Kenichi's dojutsu to possess such an unusual analytical ability.
It was almost unbelievable.
Still, Hagoromo did not seem particularly troubled by it.
Kenichi did not belong to this timeline.
Once Isshiki was defeated, Kenichi intended to return to his original world.
Whatever influence he possessed here would therefore be limited.
And even if Kenichi did somehow continue influencing this timeline, Hagoromo was not especially concerned.
For now, they shared a far greater enemy.
The Otsutsuki Clan.
Furthermore, Hagoromo had already considered another possibility.
If the future of this Shinobi World truly became hopeless, there remained one final escape route.
Kenichi's timeline.
Hagoromo could potentially seek Kenichi out and move there.
Conversely, if Kenichi's own timeline were eventually defeated by the Otsutsuki and Kenichi fled here, that would also provide Hagoromo with something valuable.
Information.
Kenichi would know what powers the Otsutsuki possessed.
And with that knowledge, Hagoromo could prepare this world far more thoroughly.
"If you only need me to restrain him for a few seconds, I can do that."
Hagoromo nodded seriously.
"And if he shrinks himself as you described, then I happen to possess a suitable technique that can specifically restrict a target in that state."
He and Kenichi were already on the same side.
Their success or failure was now connected.
Naturally, Hagoromo would help Kenichi complete the plan.
"What about Black Zetsu?"
Kenichi asked as the two left the laboratory.
"Where is he now?"
"I've temporarily imprisoned him."
Hagoromo spoke casually.
"He can't move at the moment."
"Do you want to see him?"
"Or are you planning to conduct experiments on him?"
Hagoromo had no particular feelings toward Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu might have been created as one of Kaguya's final trump cards, but that did not make him Hagoromo's brother.
Hagoromo had only one true brother.
Hamura.
So if Kenichi wanted to use Black Zetsu as an experimental subject, Hagoromo did not particularly care.
"Do you think Black Zetsu's body differs significantly from Hamura's when he was alive?"
Kenichi asked thoughtfully.
"If the difference isn't too great, then he might actually be useful for some of my research."
Then he smiled and glanced toward Madara.
"Besides, even if we ignore everything else, I'm pretty sure this guy would love to kill Black Zetsu himself."
Hagoromo glanced at Madara.
He said nothing.
Madara merely rolled his eyes.
But he did not deny it.
Kenichi was right.
Madara absolutely hated Black Zetsu.
If the opportunity arose, he would gladly kill Black Zetsu personally and make him pay for manipulating him in the past.
"Compared with Black Zetsu, there's something far more important."
Madara's expression became serious.
"Isshiki."
"That's why I came here."
He looked directly at Kenichi.
"The date you set for the war is almost here."
"Yet Isshiki still hasn't made any obvious move."
During this period, Madara had also been putting Sasuke through one brutal training session after another.
The results had been surprisingly satisfying.
Madara had to admit that Sasuke was interesting.
His strength was impressive.
His rate of improvement was remarkable.
And most importantly, the boy possessed enough resilience to survive Madara's methods without breaking.
That pleased Madara considerably.
Still...
Sasuke was not strong enough yet.
At the very least, the current Sasuke could not defeat Madara when Madara fought seriously.
"Of course."
Kenichi answered calmly.
"First, we let Sasuke awaken and master the Rinnegan."
The time had finally come.
Naruto, Sasuke, and the others needed to reach the strongest state they could achieve before the decisive battle began.
....
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