"Haha, when it comes to matters of the soul, the Yamanaka Clan is the right place to go. We can go seal that monster right now, and we'll still make it in time for lunch!"
You're actually from the Akimichi Clan, aren't you?!
You're thinking about food even while we're fighting?
Kimura Takuya grumbled inwardly.
Ordinary people couldn't use ninjutsu in this illusion, so they'd have to rely on this guy's Soul Sealing Technique. He turned to remind them.
"This is the illusion world of Yakumo Kurama. Everything here is under her control, and she's invincible in this world.
And that monster is actually Yakumo Kurama's subconscious, so it's invincible here too.
Don't let your guard down. I've temporarily severed the connection between your five senses and your brains, too.
But if your brain dies in this world, your brains in the real world will die as well!"
Seeing Yamanaka Muku shed his earlier dismissiveness and grow serious, Kimura Takuya continued.
"When you encounter that monster, just restrain it. We'll find Yakumo Kurama and have her finish it off. Teacher Kurenai, when you encounter Yakumo, just calm her down."
Without realizing it, Kimura Takuya had taken charge of the three-person team.
A Special Jōnin and an Elite Jōnin had both unconsciously begun following his lead.
Kurenai Yuhi, who had hardly said a word, found this a little surprising.
This kid is surprisingly reliable.
Kurenai smiled faintly and nodded at Kimura Takuya, approving his plan.
The three of them began exploring the illusion world.
The sky was dark and covered with dense clouds.
The streets lay empty and desolate.
Every building was decayed and collapsed.
"We're still in Konoha. This is the Kurama Clan's compound."
Kimura Takuya looked around, identifying the setting of the illusion.
He pointed to the street ahead and continued speaking to Kurenai Yuhi and Yamanaka Muku.
"Yakumo Kurama should be at her house. Let's go take a look. Senior Muku, be ready. If we encounter the monster, restrain it immediately."
Yamanaka Muku checked and confirmed that he could still use his Sealing Jutsu, then nodded to Kimura Takuya.
"Don't worry. As long as that monster shows up, I'll pin it down for good."
The three cautiously approached Yakumo Kurama's house. None of them noticed that the scene behind them was slowly fading into nothingness.
At the entrance to the Kurama house.
Yakumo Kurama stood there, staring at her home.
The scene seemed familiar.
It looked just like what Kimura Takuya had seen earlier, when Yakumo's house had caught fire in the real world.
Sure enough.
The Kurama house suddenly burst into flames. A great fire appeared out of nowhere.
Yet Yakumo Kurama remained motionless. She didn't respond when they called to her.
Kurenai Yuhi stepped forward and put an arm around Yakumo, trying to wake her.
It was no use. Yakumo still didn't move.
Kimura Takuya wanted to go into the house and save her parents. They should still be trapped inside.
But he couldn't use the Transformation Technique in Yakumo's illusion.
Or rather, no one could use ninjutsu in Yakumo's illusion.
Only soul-based techniques could be used. All other techniques were impossible to perform.
Everyone was now a soul, with only Soul Energy and no physical energy. They couldn't refine chakra.
And without chakra, they naturally couldn't use ninjutsu.
As he pondered this, something struck Kimura Takuya as odd. He felt that something wasn't right.
He thought he might be able to use certain abilities.
Abilities.
Not ninjutsu.
He took a blade from his gear and secretly made a small cut on his finger.
Blood flowed out. He focused, and the wound healed at once.
Kimura Takuya couldn't help being shocked.
In the real world, a wound like this would take at least six hours to heal completely, even with his healing ability.
Now it had healed in a single instant.
It seemed his healing ability had become stronger in this illusion.
Why?
This was Yakumo's illusion. What did it have to do with me?
No.
Wait.
It wasn't because of the illusion!
It was because of the soul. In the real world, it was my body that healed. Here, it was my soul.
My ability came from my soul. When my body was injured, my soul had to affect reality to heal it.
That took more energy, and the healing was slower.
But in this illusion, my soul could heal itself directly.
So I'm invincible here, too.
This illusion can't hurt me at all!
Now that he understood his ability, Kimura Takuya rushed into the burning house.
"Hey, kid! You told us to be cautious, so why are you being so reckless?"
"There's no time to explain. Protect Teacher Kurenai and Yakumo. I'm going to save them."
"Damn kid, I just realized—we're both Jōnin. Why is a Genin giving us orders?"
Yamanaka Muku looked furious, but he still followed Kimura Takuya's instructions.
Kurenai Yuhi watched the burning house with concern. She didn't know how Kimura Takuya could withstand the flames, but she was certain she couldn't.
She couldn't use genjutsu here, either.
All she could do was hold Yakumo Kurama and try to wake her.
But Kurenai never expected Yakumo Kurama in her arms to suddenly pull out a kunai and stab her in the heart!
Thud!
"Yakumo?"
Kurenai Yuhi was stunned. She immediately stumbled several steps back, clutching her chest.
Seeing this, Yamanaka Muku sprang into action. He didn't care what was going on with the Yakumo Kurama in front of him.
He'd restrain her first and ask questions later.
He formed Hand Seals, and black chains appeared in Yamanaka Muku's palm, shooting toward Yakumo Kurama.
After wrapping around her several times, they bound her tightly.
"I've got her. What? What's going on?"
Yamanaka Muku had just thought he'd restrained Yakumo Kurama.
But then Yakumo Kurama began to disappear, bit by bit, like a pencil drawing being erased!
"How is that possible? My Soul Sealing Technique isn't just some ordinary-looking chains. It seals souls! How did she get away?"
Still shocked, Yamanaka Muku noticed that Kurenai Yuhi had fallen to the ground. He hurried over and helped her up.
"Senior Kurenai Yuhi, are you all right?"
"I-I'm fine. The kunai was blocked by my ribs. It didn't hit my heart."
Crash!
The window of the burning house in front of them shattered.
Kimura Takuya leaped out through it, carrying Yakumo Kurama's parents.
Something felt strange. It was as if his soul-sensing ability had suddenly been blocked.
His vision went black for a moment, then returned.
Then he saw Kurenai Yuhi lying injured on the ground, and Yakumo Kurama nowhere to be seen.
"Teacher Kurenai, what happened to you? Where's Yakumo?"
Seeing the scene before him, Kimura Takuya was shocked.
Yamanaka Muku then told him about Yakumo Kurama's strange behavior.
"It's my fault. I didn't think that monster would disguise itself as Yakumo."
It really was Kimura Takuya's fault. He hadn't expected the monster to pull a trick like this, exploiting the way he'd assumed things would go.
It had recreated a scene he'd seen before, making him think the person in front of him was Yakumo Kurama.
And to avoid arousing anyone's suspicion, he hadn't told the others that the monster could take Yakumo's form.
Although he'd severed everyone's senses in the real world, they'd be fine once they returned, as long as their brains weren't injured.
But if they died in this illusion, they'd really die in the real world, too!
One moment of misjudgment had almost led to disaster.
He held his hand above Kurenai Yuhi's wound and released his Soul Energy from a distance.
The wound healed rapidly, at an astonishing speed.
"Is that Medical Ninjutsu? Tuoye, can you use ninjutsu?"
"No. This is just a Soul Healing Technique. I can't use any other ninjutsu, either."
Kimura Takuya made up a name, then turned to treat Yakumo's parents.
Before long, Yakumo's parents regained consciousness.
Before you continue