Ninja World's Colossal Spirit?

Time in the spiritual world seemed to have passed for a long while, but Kato Xu could clearly feel that only an instant had passed in the real world.

Danzo looked at Kato Xu lying on the ground and slowly nodded. With a light tap of his Chakra-infused cane, Yamanaka Fū was awakened and slowly raised his head.

"No, I did not betray Root..."

Danzo's voice froze Yamanaka Fū's expression. His eyes behind the mask were filled with disbelief as he stared fixedly at Kato Xu.

"Lord Danzo... This... this is impossible!"

"I... I want to try again..."

"Lord Danzo, let me try one more time. This time, I'll definitely succeed..."

Before "Yamanaka Fū" could finish, Danzo interrupted him. A single Gale Palm sent Yamanaka Fū flying, his chest covered in blood...

"For the sake of your wholehearted devotion to Root, I'll spare your life this time..."

"Yamanaka Fū" lowered his head, endured the pain in his chest, and silently knelt on the ground.

"Yes! Lord Danzo..."

"Orochimaru, it seems your disciple has not let down your training..."

"Elder Danzo's Root truly is full of talent..."

Orochimaru's gaze fell upon Yamanaka Fū. That look, as though it could pierce through one's soul, made Kato Xu's heart tighten.

"Fū, wake Wei..."

"Then go to the medical division yourself. War is about to begin, and I don't want Root to have one more cripple..."

"Yes!"

Yamanaka Fū tapped Kato Xu's forehead, and he pretended to slowly awaken, his eyes seeming somewhat dazed.

"Wei... You have not failed my expectations. It seems it is time for you to take on some important responsibilities..."

"Lord Danzo! Wei has no second thoughts!"

"Mhm..." Danzo nodded gruffly, without the slightest hint of apology in his eyes. Even if he had beaten Kato Xu to death, he would not have spared another thought for it.

"War is about to begin. Wei, I want you to infiltrate Minato Namikaze's side. At the critical moment, launch a fatal strike, sabotage Minato Namikaze's mission, and make him Konoha's war criminal!"

"Wei, you can do that, can't you..."

"Yes! Lord Danzo!"

"Haku Fang, Minato Namikaze is next... Elder Danzo truly is cautious..."

Kato Xu had not seen Orochimaru for a long time. He seemed to have been busy with his research lately, though he also appeared somewhat dissatisfied with Danzo's actions...

"Orochimaru, based on my understanding of Hiruzen, Minato Namikaze is very likely a pawn he has put forward to earn military merit. This time, he will surely be entrusted with an important mission."

"Don't forget his identity... He is your good teammate Jiraiya's disciple..."

"Jiraiya? He will not become Hokage..."

The image of Jiraiya's foolish face with his thumb raised flashed through Orochimaru's eyes, and he chuckled softly.

"Hmph. Do you think you can completely understand a person? Excessive confidence is arrogance!"

"So that is why Elder Danzo's Cursed Seal is so powerful..."

"However, Elder Danzo seems not to understand that if you want to truly conquer someone, relying on fear alone will never be enough..."

Kato Xu could hear the contempt in Orochimaru's voice clearly, without needing any sensory ability at all.

"Impudence! Orochimaru, do not forget that you are still part of Root. You are still this old man's subordinate!"

Danzo's piercing gaze was like ice that had not melted for ten thousand years. The Root ninjas behind him also looked at Orochimaru with open hostility.

"At Elder Danzo's age, if you keep getting so angry, I fear you will not live to see the opportunity you desire appear..."

As he silently listened to Danzo's words, Kato Xu gradually gained a clearer picture of Konoha's situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was torn over the candidate for the Fourth Hokage. Danzo's motives remained unclear for the moment, but he supported Orochimaru and seemed even more eager than Orochimaru to clear away every obstacle.

Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze's faction were their primary opponents.

The next Hokage would likely emerge between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

But Kato Xu could not understand for the time being why Tsunade, the Konoha Princess and granddaughter of the most prestigious First Hokage, seemed to have been excluded by them from the very beginning...

"Wei, you may leave first..."

Although Danzo had completely set aside his suspicions, it seemed there were more matters Kato Xu should not know.

Danzo gave a slight nod. Kato Xu quietly acknowledged him and withdrew from the hidden chamber.

Yet as he left, Orochimaru's gaze seemed to carry a faintly strange smile.

Could Orochimaru have noticed something...

Kato Xu silently walked out of the passage. It was already the quiet, deserted dead of night.

A crescent moon hung like a hook, while a few stars flickered at the edge of the sky.

A light breeze brushed across his cheeks. The dim lights on the bustling streets condensed into a tiny speck in his eyes from far away, only to dissipate like an illusion.

Ordinary-looking things often concealed secrets unknown to others.

Kato Xu had long since learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, yet only recently had he discovered the unfettered imagination and lofty understanding of ninjutsu contained within it.

At the instant he created a Shadow Clone, all his memories were copied in an instant and transferred into the clone, which was entirely composed of Chakra.

Before the Shadow Clone dispersed, it possessed a completely independent personality.

And after it dispersed came the most miraculous moment, one that left Kato Xu in awe—the memories that had run parallel along the same timeline returned to the original body in an instant.

Kato Xu did not sleep all night. He simply kept casting the Shadow Clone Jutsu, dispersing the clones, then continuing again...

It continued until dawn. When he raised his head once more, the sky was already pale with the first light of day.

Standing before him was a black-haired youth with a black Kabuto hood and azure eyes.

"It worked..."

The two spoke in unison. Their expressions and appearances were as though Kagami stood between them.

After obtaining the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique, Kato Xu thought of the first Yamanaka Clan member he had encountered—Yamanaka Inoichi.

He treated spiritual power as a kind of wave, transmitting it like an electromagnetic signal. Then, through a special form of restraint, he bound that energy into a channel to transmit whatever information he wished to know...

Although he still did not understand how the memories of a Shadow Clone could return to the body instantaneously, that did not prevent Kato Xu from developing a small technique for instant communication between clones.

"Unfortunately, I was one step too late..."

If he had completed this technique before yesterday, then the spiritual clone of "Yamanaka Fū" separated from his spirit body would have allowed him to know Root's movements in real time.

But without Yamanaka Fū's soul and memories, he could not have developed such a technique so quickly.

With a light jab of his finger, he burst the Shadow Clone. Kato Xu sat cross-legged on the floor of the small bamboo building and created another ten Shadow Clones.

Looking at the ten identical selves sitting cross-legged around him, Kato Xu slowly closed his eyes and entered his spiritual world.

Faint soul fluctuations gradually spread throughout the training ground.

However, they were confined to a radius of only a hundred meters. He could now completely control the sensory technique brought by soul fluctuations and would not arouse anyone's vigilance again as he had last time.

"A real-time communication link has been established with the Shadow Clones..."

Kato Xu could clearly sense ten pale-blue threads condensed from spiritual fluctuations extending from behind his spirit body.

He could check the thoughts, perceptions, and sight of all ten Shadow Clones at any moment.

"The spirit body seems to have become more solid as well..."

All the treasures left behind by the ancestors of the Kato Clan over hundreds of years had been completely absorbed by Kato Xu.

He did not know whether Uncle Kato Yuan had prepared this for him long ago, or whether it was simply a fortunate coincidence.

Like a balloon filled with too much soul energy, the spirit body had expanded into a giant a hundred meters tall.

Yet it was still nothing more than an empty shell with only its shape.

Kato Xu could feel the spirit body's weakness. Simply maintaining this form was already difficult; it needed more pure soul energy to make its body solid.

Slowly drawing the long blade made of pure soul energy from beside him, Kato Xu felt greed and longing emanating from it.

He had stripped the soul-devouring ability from the spirit body and formed it through Sealing Jutsu. The blade, densely covered in black seals, was named the Soul-Extinguishing Blade.

But his Sealing Jutsu was still too rudimentary. He could only barely maintain it within the spiritual world.

"There will be a chance... Soon..."

Feeling its longing, Kato Xu gently stroked the Soul-Extinguishing Blade. A smile appeared on his face, though it carried a trace of gloom.

Perhaps only in his own spiritual world could he truly let down his guard.

I only want to survive...

Whoever stands in my way dies!

Yesterday's danger was still vivid in his mind. If not for Nonō's warning, perhaps he would already have become a lump of rotten flesh in the sewers, devoured by rats as though he were a gift from heaven.

Kato Xu was afraid.

He had seen too many ninjas disposed of like trash. At some point, his heart had apparently gone numb. Having grown accustomed to life and death, he had begun to take them lightly.

But never before had there been a moment when he felt death was truly about to descend upon him—he really could die!

When he left the hidden chamber, his hands and feet had been trembling. It was regret over his own arrogance and conceit, things that had nearly cost him his life!

Perhaps humanity's greatest pain was the gap between understanding and practice.

He had clearly recognized the Sword of Damocles hanging above his head, yet time had made him harbor a false sense of security.

"Lord Danzo, perhaps I should thank you too..."

"Thank you for almost killing me... Really, it was that close!"

Kato Xu's voice grew lower and lower. His entire body seemed to tremble as a manic, somber aura ravaged every part of him.

Right now, he had the urge to destroy everything!

This world seemed to be turning Kato Xu more and more unlike his former self, making him increasingly gloomy and increasingly repressed...