Ryujin Jakka

Anko and Itachi's match ended in a complete victory for Itachi. After he let Anko down from the tree branch, she immediately charged at him again, still unwilling to accept defeat and determined to get even.

Seeing this, Itachi remained calm. His Sharingan activated again, and he held his right hand before his chest with two fingers together in a Hand Seal.

"Genjutsu: Genso Gen."

Genjutsu: Genso Gen was a technique Itachi had mastered that required the Sharingan to cast. It could control the target's thoughts and return them to a scene buried deep in their memories, trapping them in an illusion they couldn't escape.

Of course, the illusion created by this technique could be a scene from the target's happy memories, or one from their painful memories.

In Yusuke and Kurama Naki's eyes, Anko, who had been charging at Itachi, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

But in Anko's perception, her vision flashed, and she found herself hanging from the tree branch again.

"What's going on? Didn't I already get down?"

Anko stared in confusion as she found herself hanging from the branch again, completely at a loss.

Seeing that Anko had been caught, Kurama Naki formed Hand Seals.

"Release!"

At her words, Anko's vision flashed, and she returned to reality.

Anko now realized she had fallen victim to Itachi's genjutsu. After being caught by him twice, she felt too embarrassed to keep competing with him.

Her face reddened, and she gave a huff. "You've got some skill, kid. I'll count this round as a loss for me."

Itachi replied politely, "You were holding back, Anko-senpai."

After he finished speaking, Itachi turned to Kurama Naki. "You really are skilled at genjutsu, Naki-senpai. You dispelled my Genjutsu: Genso Gen so quickly."

He was very confident in his genjutsu. In his view, at least a Chunin proficient in genjutsu would be needed to dispel Genjutsu: Genso Gen.

Kurama Naki still spoke haltingly. "I only know a little genjutsu. My taijutsu and ninjutsu are both quite ordinary, so I hope you'll all continue to teach me."

After watching Anko and Itachi spar, and seeing Kurama Naki dispel Itachi's genjutsu, everyone had gained a general understanding of one another's abilities.

Yusuke offered some advice for their future training. After leading them through some teamwork exercises, he dismissed them.

They would leave for Sunagakure the day after tomorrow. Yusuke didn't want his team to be exhausted from overtraining, so he gave them a day to rest and get themselves ready.

Back at the clan compound, Yusuke began making his own preparations. He had other plans in mind for this mission to Sunagakure.

After sealing the Nine-Tails' Yin Release Chakra and using it in his battle against Shisui, Yusuke had confirmed that the amount of Yin Release Chakra he possessed greatly affected his strength. He had also begun considering taking the Yin Release Chakra of other Tailed Beasts.

As luck would have it, his mission as a Jonin instructor leading a team to Sunagakure for the Chunin Ninja Exams gave him a chance to come into contact with the One-Tail, Shukaku!

After Sunagakure's first Jinchuriki, Bunpuku, died, the village sealed the One-Tail, Shukaku, inside the Teapot of Shukaku.

However, after Bunpuku, Sunagakure had tried to make many other ninja into the One-Tail's Jinchuriki. None of them could withstand Shukaku's violent nature. They all suffered mental breakdowns and died.

When the last Jinchuriki died, the One-Tail, Shukaku, seized the opportunity to break through its seal and escape into the Nara Desert near Sunagakure.

Since they still had no suitable candidate to become its Jinchuriki, neither the Third Kazekage nor the Fourth Kazekage had rushed to expend their strength capturing the One-Tail, Shukaku again.

But Yusuke knew that as Gaara grew older, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, would decide to make him a Jinchuriki. Rasa would then go to the Nara Desert, find the One-Tail, Shukaku, capture it single-handedly, and seal it inside the Teapot of Shukaku.

Although the One-Tail, Shukaku, had far less Chakra than the Nine-Tails, as a Tailed Beast, its power should still be on the same level. During the Nine-Tails Incident, the Third Hokage had been almost helpless against the rampaging Nine-Tails and could only rely on Minato and his wife to save the day.

From that, it was clear that the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was actually very powerful. Though Orochimaru had assassinated him with apparent ease in the original story, there must have been more to it than met the eye.

After preparing the scrolls he needed for various Sealing Jutsu, Yusuke activated his Sharingan and entered a state of mental introspection.

In this state, only an instant passed in the outside world. But Yusuke constantly expended ocular power during the process. Once it ran out, he would be forced out of his introspective state, even if he wanted to remain in the Mental World.

He returned to the mist-shrouded land in his Mental World. The Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka, still stood amid the heavens and earth, wreathed in blazing flames. The enormous Sharingan in the sky turned its gaze as Yusuke moved, while the Nine-Tails lay motionless on the ground, its face bruised and swollen.

"Wait. Something's wrong. Why is the Nine-Tails bruised and swollen? And why is it acting so obedient?"

Yusuke couldn't help feeling puzzled.

When the Nine-Tails saw Yusuke approaching, it suddenly shrieked in terror, like a battered wife. "Ah! Don't come any closer! I know I was wrong!"

Yusuke's mind filled with question marks. He had no idea why the Nine-Tails was so afraid of him.

"Nine-Tails, what's going on? Why are you bruised and swollen?" Yusuke asked.

The Nine-Tails slowly backed away as it shouted, "You did this to me! Do you want to do it again?"

"Please, just let me go!"

Watching the trembling Nine-Tails, Yusuke was utterly confused. He had no idea why he could frighten it so badly, or where the injuries on its body had come from.

"Tell me what happened, or I'll make you go through it again," Yusuke said coolly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Though he had no idea what had happened, Yusuke could only bluff his way through if he wanted to learn the truth.

At his threat, the Nine-Tails shuddered all over and had no choice but to explain everything again.

But in the Nine-Tails' eyes, Yusuke was a complete sadist. After beating it to a pulp, he was making it recount the whole thing. For the mighty Nine-Tails to be reduced to this was simply outrageous!

When the Nine-Tails finished, Yusuke furrowed his brow and thought it over.

According to the Nine-Tails, Yusuke had visited the Mental World not long ago. The Nine-Tails had talked back to him a couple of times and been beaten black and blue. Somehow, the beating had even left injuries on its spirit. It was truly unbelievable.

"Could it be..."

Yusuke turned to the Zanpakuto standing in the Mental World and tried calling out to it. "Ryujin Jakka, is that you?"

At Yusuke's call, a figure slowly emerged from the blazing flames. He couldn't make out its features yet, but its eyes were like two razor-sharp blades, piercing through layer after layer of fire.

Under that fierce, overbearing gaze, Yusuke felt his breathing seize up, as if he were facing an unbeatable opponent.

The moment the Nine-Tails saw the figure, it backed away even farther and cried out in terror, "It's him! It's him! He's the one!"

"That gaze! No wonder something felt off when I first saw you. You look exactly the same, but your eyes are completely different!"

As the Nine-Tails spoke, the figure emerged fully from the flames. It was unmistakably identical to Yusuke in appearance and clothing.

But their eyes gave away the difference. Yusuke's gaze was calm as still water, while this person's was filled with sharpness and domineering force.

"That's right. It is I!"

Ryujin Jakka looked at Yusuke. A pressure unlike anything he had ever felt washed over him, and his body felt as if it were trapped in a quagmire. Even speaking became difficult.

"Is this Reiatsu?" Yusuke managed to ask.

Ryujin Jakka withdrew its Reiatsu and spoke slowly. "You have some ability. My Reiatsu didn't leave you unable to speak."

"But you are still a long way from earning my recognition!"

Yusuke furrowed his brow at Ryujin Jakka's words.

He knew he hadn't brought out Ryujin Jakka's full power, but he had never figured out how to train in its power.

Though he had thought of using the Tailed Beasts' Yin Release Chakra to wield Ryujin Jakka, he had a vague sense that this wasn't the right path.

"The wielders of Zanpakuto are called Soul Reapers, and Soul Reapers fight using spiritual power."

"As long as your spiritual power is strong enough, every technique will be immensely powerful—not just my flames."

As Ryujin Jakka spoke, two swords identical in form to its Zanpakuto appeared in its hands. It tossed one to Yusuke.

"Pay attention," Ryujin Jakka warned.

Guessing that his opponent meant to spar with him and teach him how to use a Zanpakuto, Yusuke readied himself to counter its moves.

Ryujin Jakka held the scabbard in its left hand and the hilt in its right, taking the stance of a swordsman about to draw.

"Nadegiri!" A sharp glint flashed in Ryujin Jakka's eyes as its blade shot from its scabbard at an unbelievable speed.

Yusuke's vision blurred. He immediately raised his sword to block. By then, Ryujin Jakka had already returned its blade to the scabbard and was standing behind him.

With a clatter, the sword in Yusuke's hands broke in two, its tip falling to the ground.

Yusuke stared blankly at the half-sword in his hands, reflecting on their exchange.

"Was it because of your Reiatsu? I could feel its sharpness along your blade. It seemed impossible to block." Yusuke turned to Ryujin Jakka and asked.

"Correct. The difference is in the quality of our Reiatsu. You use the spiritual power of this world's Tailed Beasts to fuel your Zanpakuto."

"But that only makes up for a difference in quantity. Even if you gathered ten Tailed Beasts, or a hundred, the quality of your spiritual power wouldn't change!"

"If your spiritual power reached a certain level of quality, you could suppress an enemy's soul with Reiatsu alone—or even erase it."

Ryujin Jakka spoke slowly.

"Then how can I improve the quality of my spiritual power?" Yusuke asked.

As always, thank you all for your support!

The author's updates on posting two chapters a day are canceled from now on, because readers took them as a deliberate attempt to keep everyone in suspense!

As the author said before, they expected to finish leaving their job in mid-September. After that, they would start posting two chapters a day!