Soul Fire

Issei headed west, heading straight for the depths of the desert in the Land of Wind.

In my memory, once you leave the Land of Fire and reach the Western Borderlands the Land of Rivers, you can see a vast Gobi Desert of Gobi Desert bordering the Land of Wind. I never imagined that a large area of protective forests had been planted along the border of the Land of Rivers.

Upon reaching the depths of the desert in the Land of Wind, one could clearly sense that the area of the desert Oasis had expanded considerably.

It seems that the world is indeed focusing on economic development. In fact, if Ninjutsu were applied to production, the short-term productivity that ninjas could generate could be a hundred or even a thousand times that of ordinary people.

Of course, when it comes to technological development, the most crucial element is the mind, not Chakra.

Even ordinary people with no Chakra talent can gain the ability to refine Chakra through Cell Experiment.

It must be said that this Parallel World has been very fruitful. As long as all the experimental materials and scientific research technology obtained are handed over to the original body, the journey will be complete.

No wonder all Wizard have an almost obsessive passion for exploring the unknown world. An unknown world may have many risks, but risks are often proportional to rewards.

Thinking of this, Issei reached out and touched the scroll in his pocket. It contained the remaining small amount of Urashiki Cells. Most of the Urashiki Cells were used up in the process of growing Sasuke's arm, but Issei also gained more proficient skills.

After negotiations, he obtained four more pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan from Kabuto's Orphanage, as well as cells from a clone of Shin Uchiha.

These four pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan, with almost identical abilities and similar Eye Power power, will become the focus of future experiments.

Since we've already mastered the complete Cloning Technology, if the experiment succeeds, the original body should also be able to clone more Mangekyō Sharingan, at which point we can conduct experiments on the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

The only thing that worries Issei right now is that the Mangekyou Sharingan he and his original body have awakened is extremely powerful. Although it is at the same level as the Mangekyou Sharingan of the Uchiha Shin clone, the difference in power is huge.

"It's a pity that Orochimaru and Kabuto were unwilling to leave this world. Otherwise, they could have assisted in the experiments and accelerated the pace of technological breakthroughs."

Issei sighed inwardly.

Before leaving, he invited Kabuto and Orochimaru to return to the world where his original body was, but both of them refused.

Dou now only wants to take good care of the children in the Orphanage and be a good director. He will only participate in and help with scientific research experiments when needed, and he is no longer willing to devote himself to the experiments.

When they parted, the only thing Kabuto said to Issei was to ask him to send his regards to Nonō in the world where his original self resided.

Upon learning that the dean of the other world was still alive and doing well, Kabuto seemed happy, but he didn't want to disturb him.

As for Orochimaru, his refusal was not firm, but he still decided to stay in this world.

Perhaps there are still things in this world that Orochimaru cherishes.

Issei did not force the issue.

Everyone has their own ambitions, and besides, the gains from this trip have already been enormous.

Anyway, he acquired a lot of scientific research technology, and with the talent of Yakushi Nonō, he can definitely help the original body. And Kabuto from the other world is obviously no worse than Kabuto from this world.

Once Orochimaru is subdued, a powerful research team will be formed.

Two days later, just as Issei arrived near the Ruins of Loulan where the dragon Dragon Vein was located, he suddenly heard a deafening explosion coming from afar.

"This is..." As he looked at the Firelight shooting into the sky in the distance, Issei's pupils constricted.

It seems his caution was absolutely necessary; such a commotion could only be created by a battle between at least Kage Level powerhouses.

Considering Sasuke's strength, Issei didn't plan to help. After Sasuke received the arm transplant, his physique, Chakra, and Eye Power were all enhanced in all aspects. His right eye also evolved into the Rinnegan, and his left eye became the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, whose Eye Power was above that of the ordinary Rinnegan. His current strength is probably firmly above that of the original Sasuke.

If Sasuke can win, he doesn't need help.

If he can't win, Issei will definitely not go.

With that in mind, he found his direction and headed towards the Ruins of Loulan he remembered. His immediate priority was to get back.

However, just as Issei arrived outside the ruins of Ruins of Loulan, a fatal sense of crisis suddenly arose in his heart, and a feeling of goosebumps filled his entire body.

His jet-black eyes instantly turned crimson, and as the Three-Tomoe appeared, they converged towards his pupils, transforming into a pattern of overlapping triangles that looked somewhat like an inverted pyramid made of building blocks.

Mangekyō Sharingan!

Boom--!

The azure Chakra instantly struck Issei's back. He was hit like a cannonball, and with a whoosh, his body spun forward and crashed heavily into a stone pillar ten meters away, embedding himself in it.

At that moment, a ninja wearing a black cloak with a red shirt and pants underneath appeared and stood in the spot where Issei had just stood.

He had short, silver-white hair, wore a white mask, revealing a high, straight nose, tightly closed lips, calm and indifferent eyes, and exuded a powerful Chakra aura.

At his feet stood a red-skinned toad the size of a palm.

Looking at Issei, whose body was embedded in the stone pillar, Kashin Koji frowned slightly and slowly Earth Flow. Although Amado had ordered him to capture him alive, he didn't like trouble, so as long as the target was alive, that was fine.

Moreover, the ninja that Jigen cared about was definitely not weak.

He just didn't expect his opponent to be so easily defeated.

Just as Kashin Koji reached the stone pillar, his body suddenly froze.

As his body embedded in the stone pillar, Issei's body slowly began to fade into nothingness and then disappeared.

Pfft!

The sound of a sharp blade piercing through flesh rang out.

Kashin Koji turned around and looked.

Issei, holding his Ninja Blade, pinned the red toad that remained in place to the ground and said, "You were hiding inside this toad just now, which is how you successfully avoided my senses. You have a very meticulous mind."

The moment he sensed the danger, Issei activated "Izanagi Loop," mainly because he had a warning, but he didn't expect the attacker to be able to bypass his senses.

This toad- Summoning Beast's abilities were too unique, so Issei killed it the moment he made his move.

"The Mangekyou Mangekyō Sharingan, that was your Dōjutsu just now, Izanagi?!" Kashin Koji's eyes turned cold. To be on the safe side, he used Summoning Technique to hide inside the toad's body before striking Issei with a single blow, but he didn't expect Issei's reaction to be so fast.

"You even know this?" Issei frowned slightly, and as soon as Kashin Koji finished speaking, he deliberately closed his left eye slowly.

This guy who suddenly appeared could also Rasengan, and his Summoning Beast was a toad similar to a toad. His height, size, and the half of his face showing under the mask all reminded him of someone: Three Ninja Jiraiya.

In Naruto's memories, Jiraiya in this world had already died at the hands of his disciple Nagato, and his body had fallen into the deep sea, which is difficult for humans to reach. Therefore, the person in front of him is definitely not Jiraiya.

However, since Cloning Technology has already emerged in this world, and even the Mangekyō Sharingan can be cloned, it wouldn't be surprising if Jiraiya well.

"It seems unlikely that I'll be able to get you to come with me directly."

Kashin Koji didn't say anything more. He formed hand Hand Seals, put the oil he had refined into Chakra in his mouth, and spat it out while using Fire Style to ignite it. Multiple fist-sized, high-temperature fireballs flew rapidly toward Issei.

' Fire Style: Flame Bullet!'

The first move he made was Ninjutsu that Jiraiya often used.

"Are you a member of the Kara? Why did you arrest me? Did you kidnap Anrokuzan?" Issei retreated quickly, dodging as he asked. Although trying to communicate might not yield any results, he didn't want to try to find out if the person in front of him was a talkative person.

' Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet!'

Issei's response was an enhanced large fireball. Compared to ordinary Fire Release Ninjutsu, the fireball, made by burning Chakra- refined oil, had a higher temperature, greater destructive power, and a significantly increased flight speed.

Boom!

Issei dodged again, and the huge fireball landed on the ground. The viscous hot oil spread out but did not immediately seep into the ground through the sand. The flames remained on the surface of the sand for a long time.

Immediately afterwards, a series of fireballs rained down on Issei, seemingly unafraid of killing Issei.

Seeing that Kashin Koji had no intention of saying anything more, Issei finally became serious. With a large amount of Eye Power consumed, the silver-white Chakra quickly materialized on his body.

Wow!

A huge, silvery-white arm suddenly swung out, easily sweeping away the pouring fireballs.

Mwah mwah mwah.

The subsequent Great Fireball struck the silver-white Susanoo, but it was like a drop of water falling into a lake; apart from faint ripples, it didn't even cause a splash.

Under the blazing sun, the silvery-white Chakra seemed to emanate from a tangible form, appearing as a silvery-white metallic giant. Its growth and expansion were completed in a very short time.

"Susanoo?"

A flicker of emotion crossed Kashin Koji's eyes. He had thought he could easily defeat his enemy, but he hadn't expected that his opponent would possess the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan and use Susanoo so easily. It seemed that without getting serious, it would be impossible to capture his opponent easily.

' Toad Oil Bomb!'

Kashin Koji leaped away, dodging Susanoo's sweeping attack. His abdomen bulged, and then a large amount of thick, viscous toad oil was sprayed from his mouth, covering most of Susanoo's body with toad oil.

Issei immediately felt a sluggishness in Susanoo's body, as if its joints were locked up, making it very difficult to move.

Taking Susanoo, Kashin Koji completed the Hand Seals before landing and slapped his hands on the ground.

' Earth Release from the Yomi Swamp! '

The soft sand beneath Issei's feet suddenly turned into a flowing swamp.

Just as he was about to sink into the swamp, he suddenly leaped out.

When Kashin Koji saw the opening in Issei's Susanoo below his body, he immediately increased his Chakra output, causing the area of Yomi Swamp to expand rapidly, including Issei's landing point.

Immediately afterwards, Kashin Koji unleashed another Great Flame Bullet, a massive fireball that blasted towards Issei from the gap Susanoo.

After completing this series of combined attacks, Kashin Koji suddenly stood still with his hands clasped together.

Issei was somewhat puzzled, but after confirming Kashin Koji's strength, he no longer held back.

Boom!

Before Issei landed, Susanoo grew again, its size quickly exceeding twenty meters. Its entire upper body transformed into a Samurai wearing armor, and a Serpentine Giant Sword appeared in Susanoo's hand.

Immediately afterwards, Susanoo expanded again, and a large amount of white Chakra, almost tangible, gathered and condensed on Susanoo's body. Its already exaggeratedly huge size expanded once more, doubling in size from more than 20 meters to become a towering giant more than 40 meters tall.

The Susanoo originally only had an upper body, transformed into a complete human form, with two legs growing from its body, becoming a giant with three heads and six arms.

Susanoo - Fourth Form!

Boom--!

When Susanoo fell into the vast Yomi Swamp created by Kashin Koji using Earth Release, it splashed up a large amount of mud. The originally expansive swamp turned into a shallow beach under the forty-meter-high Susanoo, with a depth that barely Susanoo's calves.

With a simple wave of its hand, the Fourth Form of Susanoo extinguished the scorching flames. The sticky toad oil on its body, under the expansion of its enormous size, became like a small puddle of dirt, which could not affect Susanoo's movements at all.

"Huh? This is Sage Mode?!"

At this moment, Issei was about to launch an attack on Kashin Koji when he sensed that the Energy Field emanating from Koshin Koji's body had changed instantly, and the Natural Energy had become surging.

'Immortal method· Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan! '

Kashin Koji, having entered Sage Mode, leaped into the air, raising his right hand. A ball of Senjutsu Chakra gathered in his right palm, then expanded rapidly in the wind, its diameter exceeding three meters in an instant.

However, compared to the forty-meter-tall Susanoo, the Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan is like a small ball.

Issei watched Kashin Koji launch the attack, he urged Susanoo raise the Serpentine Giant Sword, which was more than ten meters long, and slashed down with force.

The moment the Serpentine Giant Sword in Susanoo's hand struck the giant Rasengan, the Senjutsu Rasengan suddenly expanded, and the surging Chakra instantly engulfed the Serpentine Giant Sword in Susanoo's hand, along with its arm.

Boom--!

A deafening explosion rang out, and the Serpentine Giant Sword in Susanoo's hand broke in half and fell to the ground, while the arm holding the Serpentine Giant Sword also disappeared from the shoulder.

"As expected of Senjutsu, its power is truly astonishing!"

Issei looked at the arm that Susanoo completely lost and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

If his Mangekyou Sharingan hadn't evolved from the power of the Rinnegan, he might not have been able to withstand that attack.

Even so, he felt his eyes were slightly sore and had a throbbing discomfort.

As Issei increased his output of Eye Power, the arm that had disappeared from Susanoo regrew back, and then he grabbed the broken Serpentine Giant Sword on the ground. All six arms gripped the hilt and raised it high.

This time, Issei is serious. Kashin Koji's strength won't allow him to hold back. He originally planned to capture him alive to extract information, but now it seems that if he's not careful, things might go wrong.

Fortunately, it is supported by powerful Eye Power, the vitality of Hashirama cells, and the bloodline and Soul Power of the user. Otherwise, an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan would probably go blind very quickly after using the Fourth Form.

"Can this really be restored?!" Kashin Koji was shocked.

Although he has never directly fought against a ninja with the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Kara has conducted a detailed investigation in this area, and ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan could never have such power.

Issei used Izanagi with only one Mangekyō Sharingan, yet the Eye Power of his single eye was so strong that it could support the recovery of Susanoo. This completely contradicted the information he had.

Seeing Susanoo's six arms clench simultaneously, unleashing a massive serpentine sword beam, Kashin Koji immediately Hand Seals —'Sage Art: Five Fire Divine Flame Fan!'

A raging inferno shot into the sky, a sea of flames surging forth and completely engulfing the entire Susanoo.

Issei immediately felt as if the entire Susanoo had melted. This heat was far beyond what ordinary Fire Style could match. So he controlled Susanoo leap out of the sea of fire, and then controlled the Serpentine Giant Sword in his hand to absorb the flames into it.

At this moment, facing the rapidly approaching sword light, Kashin Koji immediately used the Summoning Technique to summon a giant toad over ten meters in size.

The toad was covered in metal armor, and its forelimbs held up a metal shield almost the same size as its body, blocking the serpentine sword light released by Susanoo.

Whoosh!

The enormous serpentine sword light crashed down, slicing the metal shield in half and severing the giant toad's forelimbs, sending green blood soaring into the sky.

Bang!

After suffering a fatal wound, the giant toad instantly turned into smoke and vanished.

Although the serpentine sword light was weakened and its flight speed was reduced, it still struck the Kashin Koji was using the 'Immortal Technique: Needle Jizo '.

Driven by Senjutsu Chakra, Kashin Koji's short white hair rapidly hardened and grew, completely covering his entire body.

Boom!

Kashin Koji coughed up blood and was sent flying backward, but he managed to block Issei's full-force attack with a series of defensive maneuvers.

Boom boom boom!

Issei controlled Susanoo walk towards Kashin Koji, and the giant hand reached down to grab.

At this moment, the Kashin Koji below suddenly opened his eyes and used his Summoning Technique again.

Boom--!

The raging flames fell again, but on a much smaller scale than before, only covering the chest area of Susanoo.

' Summoning Technique: Samadhi Fire!'

Just when Issei thought that the Kashin Koji was resorting to his old tricks, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

The flames caused Susanoo to begin to melt, and then the flames burned through Susanoo.

Issei was instantly engulfed by a mysterious flame.

"Ah~!"

A piercing scream emanated from Susanoo's chest, and then the entire Susanoo instantly disintegrated.

Thump!

A charred humanoid object fell from the sky, its fate unknown.

Boom!

Kashin Koji, however, did not relax at all. With a flash, he dodged the sudden attack by relying on the Taijutsu enhancement and reaction speed of Sage Mode.

Where he had just stood, a large pit with a diameter of more than two meters had appeared.

Issei, with his eyes closed, stood beside the pit.

The charred humanoid object that had just fallen to the ground also blurred and disappeared.

"What kind of flame is that? Why does it have such power?" Blood flowed from the gaps in Issei's tightly closed eyes, which seemed to be the result of overusing his Eye Power.

Of course, it's just that my eyes feel a little uncomfortable.

It's probably still a long way from blindness.

"It is the Samadhi Fire summoned from the Flame Mountain. It is a flame that cannot be extinguished by any means. Even if it has regenerative abilities, it cannot survive in the flame. Because the Samadhi Fire does not contain Chakra, the methods of absorbing Ninjutsu are useless against it. This is my last resort."

Kashin Koji actually answered Issei's question and even explained the characteristics of Samadhi Fire.

At this moment, Issei's aura was much weaker than before, and both of his Mangekyō Sharingan were blind. To Kashin Koji, he had lost the ability to resist. Out of respect for Issei, a powerful ninja, Kashin Koji answered him.

Of course, this did not prevent Kashin Koji from taking action against him.

A ball of azure Chakra appeared in Kashin Koji's palm. Then, in a flash, he struck Issei in the chest, slamming him heavily to the ground. A huge crater was instantly left in the ground, and cracks spread out in all directions like a spider web.

"Pfft!" Issei coughed up blood and instantly became weak.

Kashin Koji felt Issei's chaotic Chakra and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected that there would be such a troublesome ninja in the current Shinobi World besides Naruto and Sasuke. He almost failed.

Just as Kashin Koji grabbed Issei by the collar and lifted him up, a smile suddenly appeared on Issei's lips.

"What?!" A chill ran through Kashin Koji's heart. Suddenly, he felt his hand become light as a feather; Issei had once again vanished into a phantom.

The next second, Issei appeared beside Kashin Koji, his five fingers spread open and then curled into a claw, gathering the five types of Chakra— earth, fire, water, wind, and lightning—and pressing them forcefully onto Kashin Koji's lower abdomen.

Kashin Koji felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen and was thrown out by Issei's power, crashing heavily into the pit. Immediately afterward, his Chakra was completely sealed.

' Five Elements Sealing!'

Looking at the five fingers pressed firmly against his lower abdomen, Kashin Koji was stunned. Then, seeing the bizarre pyramid-like pattern in Issei's eyes, he was even more incredulous. "How could this be? After using Izanagi, wasn't that..."

"Using Izanagi will indeed cause permanent blindness, but Infinite Izanagi will not!"

Issei explained that he had added another Four Symbols Sealing to Kashin Koji.

After doing all this, his spirits sank again, and he wasn't faking it.

Because after being burned by the Samadhi Fire, he did use the "Izanagi Loop" to change the outcome of his death, but the consumed Eye Power and Chakra would not be restored.

Most importantly, the moment he was scorched by the flames, Issei felt his Mental Power being rapidly depleted. In a short time, he consumed a large amount of Mental Power, which is why he felt so tired.

"Infinite Izanagi?" Kashin Koji was stunned, then said in a deep voice, "I was careless."

"It's not that you were careless, it's that I was more cautious," Issei replied, taking out a precious potion to restore his Mental Power from Storage Scroll in his pocket and drinking it.

Actually, he still had Demonic Defense Item prepared by his main body that he hadn't used, but the main reason for his victory in this battle was that he had more information and more trump cards.

"I'm very interested in the Flame Mountain and Samadhi Fire you mentioned. Could you tell me more about them?"

Issei changed the subject.

"Aren't you going to kill me? If you want to get information about the Kara, I advise you not to waste your time." Kashin Koji Jushi said calmly, seemingly prepared to be tortured and die.

"Your organization's leader Jigen, is a remnant of the Otsutsuki Clan whose goal is to destroy the entire planet. What benefit is there in working for him? Why not join our side?"

Issei said with a smile.

Kashin Koji was slightly taken aback. "You?"

"I'm not just referring to Naruto and Sasuke when I say 'we'," Issei explained, hoisting Kashin Koji onto his shoulder before heading deeper into the Ruins of Loulan.

The battle on the other side doesn't seem to be over yet. Taking advantage of this time, Issei needs to quickly activate the Dragon Vein Seal, then return to his main world, and then set up a barrier and Defensive Wizardry Array on the other side.

He had more faith in Naruto and Sasuke, but he was unsure of the strength of Jigen, the Kara of Kara. It would be best to seal off the Dragon Vein first to prevent anyone from using the same method to smuggle themselves over.

With this thought in mind, Issei went to the underground Dragon Vein, broke the seal, and disappeared into the Chakra Uzumaki with Kashin Koji.

P. S.: I'll start making up for missed monthly votes and adding extra chapters in May. Women only slow down my writing speed, so I've decided to focus on writing the book properly.