Chapter 389: Seven Billion

Chapter 389: Chapter 389: Seven Billion

Inside Kirigakure’s Secret Technique Archive.

Hyuga Kagami quietly flipped through the scroll in his hands, occasionally nodding slightly and occasionally furrowing his brows.

What was recorded on the scroll was none other than the Hōzuki Clan’s secret technique, the Hydrification Technique, the most representative Water Style secret techniques of Kirigakure’s prestigious Hōzuki Clan.

The reason Kagami was studying the Hōzuki Clan’s Water Style secret techniques was because he had discovered that, due to the difficulties he was encountering in developing the Blaze Release Kekkei Genkai, he had been forced to spend far more time controlling his Fire Release clone.

As a result, the compatibility between his soul and the Fire Release clone had continued to increase, to the point where it was even showing faint signs of surpassing his Water Release clone.

At this rate, once the Fire Release clone completed the development of the Blaze Release Kekkei Genkai, its overall degree of development would undoubtedly surpass that of the Water Release clone.

To increase the success rate of his Kekkei Mōra Plan, he had to ensure that every clone remained balanced with the others.

Therefore, he had no choice but to collect additional Water Style secret techniques to further strengthen the Water Release clone and raise its degree of development, ensuring that the Water Release clone and Fire Release clone remained on the same level.

However, the Hōzuki Clan’s Water Style secret techniques were not so easy to master.

They seemed to involve bloodline inheritance to some extent, apparently requiring the Hōzuki Clan’s unique constitution in order to cultivate them. Kagami had tried practicing the technique using his current Fire Release clone, but he couldn’t grasp it at all.

Just as Kagami was deep in thought, a figure approached him.

It was none other than the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, whose body was still covered in medical bandages.

Yagura glanced at the secret technique scroll in Kagami’s hands and said coldly, "Outsiders cannot learn the Hōzuki Clan’s secret techniques."

Kotoamatsukami had only altered a portion of Yagura Karatachi’s will, implanting a false life experience and a fabricated goal for him to strive toward. It did not completely distort his personality. His way of thinking and his manner of behavior remained fundamentally his own.

Itachi, who had once been affected by Kotoamatsukami, was a perfect example of this.

Furthermore, the alterations made by Kotoamatsukami were permanent. Other genjutsu could neither dispel nor overwrite Kotoamatsukami. In Kagami’s own understanding, Kotoamatsukami simply possessed an extremely high priority—an extremely high level of authority!

After all, Impure World Reincarnation was a terrifying forbidden technique capable of truly distorting the boundary between life and death.

In the original timeline, after Nagato was resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation, he was still capable of using the abilities of the Rinnegan. Yet the Rinnegan had already been removed from his corpse by Obito, and those eyes had never belonged to Nagato in the first place. His soul did not contain Rinnegan chakra either.

Logically speaking, after being resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation, he should have been incapable of using the Rinnegan’s abilities.

And yet, Impure World Reincarnation distorted the boundary between life and death, allowing him to regain the ability to use the Rinnegan he had possessed while alive.

From this alone, it was obvious that the forbidden technique Impure World Reincarnation possessed an extraordinarily high priority.

Faced with the undead resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation, the Allied Shinobi Forces had been practically helpless. Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu were all ineffective against them. Their only option had been to use various sealing techniques to seal the undead away.

And in Kagami’s memory, aside from domineering sealing techniques, there were two techniques whose priority surpassed even Impure World Reincarnation.

One was the Truth-Seeking Balls, which contained chakra of all seven transformations—Yin, Yang, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water.

The other was Kotoamatsukami.

Once struck by a Truth-Seeking Ball, even an undead body resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation could not regenerate.

Meanwhile, Kotoamatsukami could override the control of the caster of Impure World Reincarnation, allowing an undead individual resurrected by the technique to completely regain their freedom.

In the original timeline, Itachi had used Kotoamatsukami to break free from Kabuto’s control. He then turned the tables on Kabuto, using genjutsu to force him to release the entire army of undead resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation.

Therefore, after having his will altered by Kotoamatsukami, Yagura Karatachi had already become someone Kagami could trust.

Kagami glanced at Yagura.

"How can you be so sure? Don’t tell me Kirigakure has already tried it?"

Yagura Karatachi nodded.

Kagami’s brows immediately furrowed tightly.

"Wouldn’t that mean the Hōzuki Clan’s secret techniques are practically the same as a Kekkei Genkai?"

Yagura thought for a moment and was just about to answer, but when the words reached his lips, he shook his head and remained silent.

The corner of Kagami’s mouth curled upward.

"There must be some way to learn the Hōzuki Clan’s secret techniques, right?"

Yagura crossed his arms over his chest and said coldly, "Aside from the Hōzuki Clan, members of the Yuki Clan who possess Ice Release also have the possibility of learning the Hōzuki Clan’s Water Style secret techniques. The two clans frequently intermarried, so both sides possess some recessive genes from the other. However, the Yuki Clan has already been wiped out, so there’s no point discussing it now."

"The Yuki Clan can also learn the Hōzuki Clan’s Water Style secret techniques..."

Kagami rested his chin on one hand, a smile slowly forming at the corner of his mouth.

His Water Release clone just so happened to have been fused with cells from Haku of the Yuki Clan. If members of the Yuki Clan had the potential to learn the Hōzuki Clan’s secret techniques, then his Water Release clone should possess that same potential as well!

At that moment, Yagura removed the massive sword strapped to his back.

"This is the Samehada you wanted."

The instant Kagami took Samehada from him, his expression changed.

"So heavy!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

After casually swinging it a few times, Kagami planted Samehada against the ground.

The weight of Samehada was far beyond his expectations. With the slender physique of his female Fire Release clone, merely swinging the sword was extremely strenuous, making it difficult to use in actual combat.

Yagura looked Kagami up and down before saying coolly, "Using an oversized ninja sword requires specialized training. Your physique isn’t suited for Samehada."

"Tch, I’m taller than you, you know!" Kagami curled his lips, then grumbled inwardly, "Even if I can’t use it, can’t I just sell it?"

Yagura’s face darkened. He let out a cold snort before taking out a ledger.

"These are Kirigakure’s accounts."

Kagami hurriedly set Samehada aside and reached out to take the ledger.

But after only giving it a cursory glance, his expression turned incredibly ugly. Completely throwing his composure out the window, he roared,

"SEVEN BILLION IN DEBT?!"

Yagura turned his face away, avoiding Kagami’s furious gaze.

At this point, Kagami was certain Yagura must have committed suicide in the original timeline.

If it were him saddled with a hole this massive, he might have developed suicidal thoughts too.

Continuing to flip through the accounts, Kagami discovered that more than half of the seven-billion deficit consisted of compensation payments owed to the families of shinobi who had been killed or injured.

Due to Kirigakure’s years of constant internal turmoil, the casualty rate among its shinobi was astonishingly high. Although the compensation paid for each individual shinobi wasn’t particularly large, there were simply far too many people entitled to receive it.

Once accumulated, the total had become an astronomical figure.

"Obito really showed no mercy!"

Obito had embezzled all of Kirigakure’s compensation funds. The families of the shinobi who had been killed or injured over the years hadn’t received a single ryō.

With that being the case, it would’ve been strange if Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, hadn’t ended up completely isolated and abandoned by everyone around him.

This was only possible because Kirigakure was the Village of the Bloody Mist, where strength reigned supreme. Had this happened in any other shinobi village, Yagura would have been driven out of office long ago...