Just as they were about to make their move...
Shennong's relaxed, teasing voice came from the darkness. "I see the Yellow Flash's disciple, Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan. I'm afraid Minato Namikaze is here too. Get up and deal with these people quickly, pack up, and run..."
"!"
Shikahide Nara and the others abruptly turned their heads. The tall figure in the darkness was incredibly blurry, preventing them from seeing his true face.
And... he said...
Sizzle!
Sizzle, sizzle!!
The next moment.
A medical miracle unfolded.
Mingren, who lay on the ground and had been considered near death, began to heal at an eerie, rapid pace.
The injuries to his body recovered at an unbelievable speed.
His strength increased.
His muscles grew thicker, and his bones harder.
A few seconds later.
Mingren stood up without a scratch. In his cold eyes, black flames began burning openly.
Body Activation Technique!
A jutsu that only ninjas proficient in medical treatment could perform.
Shennong had learned this unique jutsu and taught it to Mingren.
When drifting through the Ninja World, how could one avoid getting cut?
To heal injuries quickly, ordinary Medical Ninjutsu definitely would not do.
Thus, Shennong had found a way to obtain Body Activation... in other words, the Body Regeneration Technique!
The main function of this technique was to use the jutsu to actively control one's own body and induce cell division.
Human cells had a limited number of divisions in a lifetime.
Strictly speaking, this was a jutsu that shortened one's lifespan.
However, that changed with the completion of the Dark Chakra Jutsu.
Dark Chakra was the power of the heart. As long as the heart did not die.
Power would continuously surge forth, even transforming into "real" flesh to replenish the body.
By combining Dark Chakra with the Body Activation Technique.
The body could undergo an endless positive cycle of... destruction → repair and growth → destruction → repair and greater growth...
In other words.
Mingren had become stronger than before!
[Strength... 7.4!]
Seeing this.
Asuka, Shikahide Nara, and the others froze in place once more...
Black Will
"Mon-monster!"
Seeing this.
The weakest Konoha ninja swallowed hard. He was also the youngest, only ten years old.
Mingren glanced at him.
Yet he saw deep malice within him.
Dark Chakra was the power of the heart.
Guided primarily by emotions.
After having this jutsu implanted, humanity's dark side was laid bare before Mingren.
"How many innocent people... have you killed?"
Mingren stared at him with blazing eyes, his expression ice-cold.
"Ah~!"
He suddenly cried out in panic and threw several kunai all at once.
Faced with the flying weapons.
Mingren stepped forward and attacked directly.
Sizzle, sizzle!
The kunai struck his body, spraying droplets of blood.
Yet Mingren paid no attention to his injuries. He stepped forward and extended his strong right hand.
Crack!
He grabbed the man's neck and snapped it in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the other man stopped breathing.
After taking one person down in a single strike, Mingren did not rush to attack again.
Because...
Visible to the naked eye, wisps of black aura rose from the corpse in his hand.
They were the resentment of the dead before death, their unwillingness, and the amalgamation of all kinds of Negative Emotions.
Perhaps in his previous life, such things would have been dismissed as superstition.
But in this world, where souls, Chakra, and Mental Energy existed...
The transformation of Negative Emotions into energy was nothing strange.
With a thought from Mingren.
That dark Negative Emotions energy was absorbed into his body, becoming nourishment for the Dark Chakra Jutsu!
The next moment...
[Strength... 7.5!]
The difference between strength 7 and strength 7.5 seemed small.
In reality, the gap was enormous.
In the Original Work.
Twenty-six-year-old Kakashi in Part One had strength 7 and could subdue the two Demon Brothers in one strike.
Asuma in Part One had strength 8 and could instantly kill a group of Otogakure Chunin in a single blow, making a stylish entrance before Shikamaru.
With his strength reaching 7.5, Mingren now possessed enough power to kill a cow with one punch.
Dealing with a few Extra Chunin was no problem.
Having completed the absorption and grown stronger again, Mingren casually tossed aside the corpse in his hand and looked coldly at Shikahide Nara and Tetsuya Senju, who clutched his broken leg.
Both of them had been stunned by the sight before them.
"Secret Jutsu... Shadow Binding Technique."
Sweat beaded on Shikahide Nara's forehead. The shadow stretching out from beneath his feet seized Mingren while he had paused.
This Secret Jutsu.
Had been passed down through the Nara Clan for generations and was the foundation of their clan.
Now...
He had caught this monstrously strong fellow with his shadow.
But Tetsuya Senju was injured and could no longer move.
Although Hanzo's Granddaughter was nearly exhausted...
No matter how he looked at it, the situation was unfavorable for their side.
They could only... wait for Captain Kakashi to arrive.
"Waiting for Kakashi Hatake? He can't come over. I used a little trick... It won't work against Minato Namikaze, but trapping his disciple for a while isn't a problem."
Standing in the shadows, Shennong shrugged and laughed.
It seemed like malicious amusement, yet also a kind of... despondence.
After hearing Shennong's words, Mingren's expression did not change at all.
"Damn it...!"
The next moment, Shikahide Nara's body began trembling.
Clearly.
The Shadow Binding Technique's restraint had both a duration and an effective limit.
The duration was not the issue.
He could hold on for a long time.
But the opponent was unbelievably strong and was slowly increasing his force, trying to break free.
"Even Explosive Tags are useless... How are we supposed to deal with a monster like this?"
Perhaps the only possibility was to wait for Captain Kakashi to arrive and use his powerful Chidori to kill this guy in one blow.
So before then, he had to hold on.
Seeing this, Asuka immediately drew her weapon, wanting to help.
But Mingren stopped her with a glance.
Asuka: "!"
What kind of eyes were those?
Asuka believed that her black sclera and red pupils were already strange enough.
However.
When she met those eyes burning with black flames, she could not help but feel waves of alarm.
The will expressed in his gaze was so firm.
Combined with those burning Black Flames, it was like... Black Will itself!
Like a Black Hole, drawing people in and devouring them...
After glancing at Asuka and stopping her with his eyes.
Mingren continued exerting force silently.
Whoosh!
As several of his fingers moved.
A black hurricane suddenly appeared.
This time, it was different from when he had absorbed the invisible Negative Emotions Mental Energy of others.
When the black Chakra hurricane appeared.
For the first time, helplessness appeared in Shikahide Nara's eyes.
Smack!!
A resounding slap landed across Shikahide Nara's face.
Before you continue