Soul Secured

The fallout from White Fang's death was still brewing, but it had little to do with Uchiha Feiyu, a Ninja Academy student about to graduate.

As the first outsider to discover that White Fang had committed suicide, Uchiha Feiyu was released outright after being questioned all night.

In everyone's eyes, the matter had never had much to do with him anyway. No one knew what Uchiha Feiyu had truly gained from this turmoil.

After returning home, Uchiha Feiyu shut the door and excitedly stretched out one hand. Pale blue motes of light emerged from his palm, instantly spreading out and taking the form of Hatake Sakumo.

However, the White Fang of Konoha's body was now translucent, and his eyes carried a faint confusion. He looked sluggish and dull.

Feiyu had long discovered that the Spirit Summons and Subjugation he cultivated in the Naruto World seemed somewhat different from that of the Hitori no Shita world. Perhaps because of the difference between Chakra and Qi, souls initially bound by Spirit Summoning basically retained neither complete reason nor thought.

However, as long as Feiyu circulated the technique, those souls would recover their consciousness after some time. The stronger they were, the faster they recovered.

Until now, Feiyu had only possessed animal souls. He had thought human souls might be different, but it seemed they followed the same rules as well.

With a light wave of his hand, Hatake Sakumo's soul, which had been floating in midair, instantly turned into a stream of light under the operation of Spirit Summoning and merged into Uchiha Feiyu's body.

In an instant, Uchiha Feiyu felt the Chakra within him surge dramatically. Although Hatake Sakumo was not known for his Chakra, as a Kage-level powerhouse, he possessed at least ten to twenty times more Chakra than Uchiha Feiyu did now.

Even though he carried no Chakra after becoming a soul, he still possessed immense Mental Strength. Once merged with Uchiha Feiyu's body, it gave him an increase of nearly double.

At the end of the day, Uchiha Feiyu's current Chakra was only somewhat stronger than a Chunin's, which was why the boost appeared so enormous.

The increase in Chakra was merely the most superficial benefit of the soul-possession ability. What could truly transform Uchiha Feiyu was Hatake Sakumo's own consciousness.

But the moment Hatake Sakumo's soul entered Feiyu's body, his vision went black as a vast flood of negative emotions instantly poured into his mind!

Frustration, collapse, despair, rage, worry...

The White Fang of Konoha, who had died by suicide, was clearly filled with resentment. To be driven to suicide by mere rumors and gossip, the White Fang of Konoha could, in a sense, be considered somewhat mentally ill.

If Hatake Sakumo had even a trace of Uchiha blood, he would have awakened a Mangekyo right now and shown those Konoha High Command what for!

Under the impact of those overwhelming negative emotions, Uchiha Feiyu's eyes turned blood-red, revealing a one-Tomoe Sharingan. The Tomoe within it spun continuously, and after reaching a certain limit, it instantly split into two Tomoe.

In that moment, Uchiha Feiyu felt both the quality and quantity of his Chakra grow once more. At the same time, the world before him became much clearer. Besides another increase in dynamic vision, he could vaguely see the flow of Chakra.

However, Uchiha Feiyu had no time to celebrate. He clutched his head for a long while before finally recovering from Hatake Sakumo's emotional onslaught.

Once he recovered, Uchiha Feiyu immediately closed his eyes and projected his consciousness into the mind palace within his sea of consciousness.

Within that mental world stood a figure wreathed in jet-black smoke.

The so-called black smoke was actually the resentment Hatake Sakumo had harbored at his death. The animal souls Uchiha Feiyu had captured before possessed limited intelligence, so their resentment had only taken the form of wisps of gray smoke.

Hatake Sakumo's soul was not only powerful, but he had also died with immense resentment. No wonder he had taken on the appearance of a Great Demon Lord in the mental space.

In truth, after this resentment had supported Uchiha Feiyu's Sharingan evolution into two Tomoe, most of it had already dissipated. In only a brief moment, all the black smoke vanished without a trace.

"Where... am I? The Pure Land?"

"My apologies, Senior Sakumo. You have not gone to the Pure Land. You are currently within my mental space."

Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, Hatake Sakumo quickly raised his head and saw Uchiha Feiyu standing before him.

"You are... Kakashi's Uchiha friend? Uchiha Feiyu? This is your mental space? You bound my soul?"

A strange expression appeared on Hatake Sakumo's face. He truly could not imagine encountering his son's classmate here.

In the White Fang of Konoha's eyes, Uchiha Feiyu was merely an unusual Uchiha with little drive and an unusually clear-headed outlook.

His talent was decent enough, but because he had enrolled at such a late age, his strength was only average. No matter how he looked at him, he did not seem like someone capable of binding his soul.

"That is indeed the case, Senior Sakumo. It is truly difficult to find a soul as powerful as yours, so I could only offend you."

As he spoke, Uchiha Feiyu lightly moved a finger. Hatake Sakumo immediately felt an immense force of restraint descend upon him.

The Eight Wonders of the Hitori no Shita world possessed bug-like priority within their respective domains. In the original story, even household immortals who had cultivated for centuries or millennia had no ability to resist practitioners of Spirit Summoning.

When he was alive, Hatake Sakumo would not have needed a second strike to kill Uchiha Feiyu. Yet after dying and becoming a soul, Uchiha Feiyu could control him with no more than a thought.

Of course, Uchiha Feiyu did not truly control Hatake Sakumo. He merely demonstrated that he possessed such an ability, then stopped exerting control over Hatake Sakumo's soul.

Just like the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, even if a tightly controlled reincarnated body and one with self-awareness had identical physical capabilities, their combat experience, fighting will, and other such intangible factors created a massive difference in strength. Naturally, Uchiha Feiyu wanted a self-aware Hatake Sakumo to help him.

Even so, Hatake Sakumo could still sense Uchiha Feiyu's ability to restrain him. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he spoke.

"I never expected... that even in death, I would find no peace. So, Uchiha Feiyu, what exactly do you want by keeping my soul?"

"It's simple, Senior Hatake Sakumo. I hope to borrow your power!"

"My power..."

"Yes. This secret technique of mine allows me to directly borrow the power possessed by the souls under my control. With a powerful soul assisting me, I can easily raise my own strength!"

"Although I can forcibly control the souls I possess, your willing cooperation, Senior, is what will allow this secret technique to achieve its greatest effect!"