Chapter 164: Soul Possession

Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Soul Possession

Gazing at the water splashed all over the ground, Hyuga Kagami fell into deep thought.

In the demonstration just now, he had replicated Haku’s chakra circulation almost perfectly. Whether it was the amount of chakra used or the ratio between Water-natured and Wind-natured chakra, he had practically copied Haku exactly.

And yet, the result had been completely different.

"Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu really isn’t that simple..."

There was no doubt about it. Ice Release was by no means as simple as mixing Wind-natured chakra into Water-natured chakra.

The key lay not only in the circulation path and proportions of the chakra within the body. More importantly, it required the perfect fusion of the chakra natures of Water and Wind.

Still young, Haku couldn’t maintain a large-scale Ice Style technique like the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals for very long. Before long, he released the technique and lightly landed beside Hyuga Kagami.

Seeing that Hyuga Kagami seemed to be pondering something, however, Haku didn’t dare disturb him and obediently stood off to the side.

After thinking for a while without making any progress, Hyuga Kagami turned to Haku and asked,

"When you use Ice Release ninjutsu, do you feel anything unusual?"

"No."

Haku looked somewhat confused, not quite understanding what Hyuga Kagami meant.

Hyuga Kagami rephrased the question.

"Think carefully. When you use Ice Release ninjutsu and Water Release ninjutsu, what feels different?"

Haku thought about it seriously before answering,

"There really is something different, but..."

Hyuga Kagami hurriedly asked, "But what?"

Not knowing how to explain it, Haku became a little flustered.

"It’s just that I... I don’t really know how to describe what’s different..."

Hyuga Kagami patted Haku on the shoulder and softened his tone.

"Don’t rush. Take your time. Think it through, then tell me."

After calming down and carefully thinking it over, Haku slowly said,

"I think the biggest difference is that when I use Water Release ninjutsu, I only need to form the hand seals. But when I use Ice Release ninjutsu, not only do I have to form the hand seals, I also can’t let myself get distracted."

After saying this, Haku cautiously looked at Hyuga Kagami, afraid that he might be dissatisfied with his answer.

Hyuga Kagami, however, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So it’s concentration..."

The young Haku was unable to precisely summarize the differences between using Ice Release and Water Release ninjutsu, but with his exceptional talent, he had nevertheless managed to grasp a few of the key points.

Hyuga Kagami rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a while.

Then, suddenly, a bold idea occurred to him.

He brought Haku into the Forest of Death.

Afterward, Hyuga Kagami sat cross-legged on the ground and said,

"Haku, in a moment, I’m going to use a technique on you. Relax and don’t resist me in any way."

Haku immediately replied,

"Yes!"

Hyuga Kagami then extracted his soul from the Type-B clone and returned to his original Yin Release body, which was inside the laboratory not far away.

Seeing Hyuga Kagami suddenly lower his head and lose consciousness, Haku was immediately startled.

But remembering Hyuga Kagami’s earlier instructions, Haku didn’t dare move around, nor did he allow his thoughts to wander. Instead, he composed himself and obediently remained where he was, waiting for Hyuga Kagami to use his technique.

A short while later, Hyuga Kagami arrived while controlling his original body.

When the Tenseigan’s Soul Descent Technique extracted his soul, it would instantly return to his original Yin Release body. That was why Hyuga Kagami had deliberately brought Haku to the Forest of Death near the laboratory beforehand, allowing him to quickly return to the scene.

Hiding behind a large tree, Hyuga Kagami stared at Haku, who was looking around curiously, and slowly activated his Tenseigan.

After preparing himself for a moment, he once again activated the Tenseigan’s Soul Descent Technique.

This time, however, his target was not the Type-B clone sitting cross-legged in front of Haku.

It was Haku’s body.

Whoosh...

As though a gentle breeze had swept past him, Haku suddenly felt overwhelmingly drowsy.

At that moment, Hyuga Kagami’s voice sounded from deep within his mind.

"Haku, concentrate! Use an Ice Release ninjutsu immediately!"

Haku jolted in alarm.

His drowsiness instantly receded like the tide. Looking around in surprise, he asked in a low voice,

"Lord Kagami, was that you speaking to me just now?"

"It was me. Stop wasting time and hurry up and use an Ice Release ninjutsu!"

Hyuga Kagami urged him anxiously. It seemed that he couldn’t maintain this state of Soul Descent for very long.

This was the greatest difference between the Tenseigan’s Soul Descent Technique and Orochimaru’s Living Corpse Reincarnation.

Orochimaru’s Living Corpse Reincarnation worked by condensing all of his essence into a single whole before abandoning his body, then transferring it into another person’s body. Not only would he seize the other person’s body, he would even devour their soul.

After using Living Corpse Reincarnation multiple times, Orochimaru had devoured far too many other people’s souls. As a result, his own soul had become increasingly impure and fragmented, while his spiritual power had grown progressively weaker.

That was why Itachi’s genjutsu could counter him so easily.

The Tenseigan’s Soul Descent Technique, however, was different.

It merely transferred the soul from one place to another. There was no seizing or devouring involved.

Therefore, when Hyuga Kagami used the Soul Descent Technique on Haku, he couldn’t seize Haku’s body or devour Haku’s soul. His soul could only barely attach itself to Haku’s soul, temporarily residing within Haku’s body like a "guest."

Without a doubt, this placed an enormous burden on Haku.

At the same time, it was also a burden on Hyuga Kagami.

Because of this, he couldn’t maintain the Soul Descent state for long. Otherwise, not only would Haku’s soul be damaged, but Hyuga Kagami’s own soul could also suffer irreparable harm.

Urged on by Hyuga Kagami, Haku ignored the strange condition of his body and hurriedly began using an Ice Release ninjutsu.

Gathering chakra...

Forming hand seals...

Haku’s hand-seal movements were practiced, and the rhythm of his technique flowed smoothly from beginning to end.

"Ice Style: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

Whoosh...

Apart from a gentle breeze drifting through the surroundings, nothing happened.

Forget a large-scale Ice Release ninjutsu like Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals—there wasn’t even the slightest trace of mist or cold air.

Haku froze.

"Huh...!?"

Hyuga Kagami, whose soul was attached to Haku, was equally baffled.

"What’s going on?"

Hearing the urgency in Hyuga Kagami’s voice, Haku stammered,

"I-I don’t know either. It clearly worked before..."

After thinking it over for a moment, Hyuga Kagami said,

"Forget about Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. Pick a simpler Ice Release ninjutsu and try that!"

Haku formed another series of hand seals and shouted,

"Ice Style: Ice Mirror Technique!"

This time, the Ice Release didn’t fail.

In an instant, a gleaming, crystal-clear ice mirror appeared in front of Haku.

Because his soul was attached within Haku’s body, Hyuga Kagami could clearly perceive the entire process of Haku using the Ice Mirror Technique.

It felt almost as though he were personally using Ice Release himself.

And an experience like personally wielding Ice Release was undoubtedly the best possible lesson!

Hyuga Kagami withdrew his soul and returned to his original body. After settling Haku in, he took the Type-B clone and returned to the secret laboratory.

Now that he had experienced using Ice Release while possessing Haku’s body, he had already gained a rough understanding of how he should go about training Ice Release...