Second-Stage Barrier, Attack! (8/10)

Chapter 42 Second-Stage Barrier, Attack! (810)

Retsuo did not hurry to act. Instead, he sat cross-legged in the center of the quiet room. Before taking action, there was one fundamental question: should he keep this black slime or get rid of it?

The Yin Release Barrier was Retsuo's territory. It was not quite as easy to control as his own arm, but controlling the barrier was no problem. He certainly had a way to eliminate the black slime.

He was not worried about that. Shinnō had chosen him as a surrogate tool because he had made the wrong choice.

He would settle this debt with Shinnō sooner or later!

Keeping the slime might leave behind a hidden danger. Unless he could get all of Shinnō's information on the Zero-Tails and study it thoroughly, he could not even say what that danger might be.

But the slime had just clearly absorbed Yemaki's Spiritual Energy. Nightmares were also Spiritual Energy, and negative energy was certainly the energy Dark Chakra needed to grow stronger. It worked on the same principle as the Hell Viewing Technique.

That made things interesting. It was not a Tailed Beast, but it possessed part of a Tailed Beast's function—the function of a Chakra battery. Tailed Beasts could maintain an endless supply of power precisely because they could gather Chakra according to the rules established by the Sage of Six Paths.

Could this energy be used by me? Like how a Jinchuriki extracts Tailed Beast Chakra through a tug-of-war?

Even taking the worst-case scenario, even if that was impossible, the slime could at least shield itself from many Genjutsu. It was basically immune to Genjutsu based on negative emotions, such as Hell Viewing. Sweeping the Yin Release Barrier over it was equivalent to feeding the slime.

Not only was it immune, but it could also nourish the slime and help it grow stronger. As it happened, this type of Genjutsu was the mainstream, while the Moon Pulling Technique in Water, Pure Land Garden Technique, and Tsukuyomi's Life were the minority.

More importantly, Retsuo knew the slime could not affect him. In the Original Timeline, Yuliu had remained kind-hearted throughout all the years until she grew up. Besides, he could keep watch over the slime at all times.

If he really wanted to eliminate the hidden danger, the solution was actually simple: just make sure Shinnō never had a chance to trigger it!

With that thought, this was a huge profit!

His gaze shifted to the sleeping Yemaki.

Retsuo did not know whether Yemaki had truly been tainted by something unclean or simply loved having nightmares.

But one thing was certain: the slime could absorb her—or, more accurately, her nightmares.

At this moment, in this situation, absorbing Yemaki was good for her, good for him, good for Grandma Cat, and even better for the Uchiha Clan.

An infant under one year old certainly would not be able to use Genjutsu. All he needed to do for the experiment was open the Yin Release Barrier. Amid a burst of wild laughter, the Yin Release Barrier charged up to its normal size and completely enveloped Yemaki.

Retsuo could even clearly see a black line inside the Yin Release Barrier, connecting Yemaki to the black slime.

The absorption rate was even stronger than before. Sure enough, after the barrier charged up, the slime had grown stronger as well.

Then he was struck by astonishment. Is this absorption never going to end? My rent is cheap, and so are the prices here? I never knew the Yin Release Barrier was this livable!

No, wait. Is it that Yemaki is providing too much negative energy? She isn't even a year old. Where did she get so many nightmares?

The slime absorbed it like someone drinking water, while Yemaki was like the water source.

Retsuo had already gone through two battles today—the first, matching wits with Shinnō, and the second, matching strength with Kosuke—but his spirit was still exceptionally vigorous.

He suddenly thought of the Yin Release Barrier, which had expanded to an even larger scale at Shinnō's place. If he could expand the barrier to that size again now, would the slime become even more powerful? Would it be able to swallow the water source?

The question was, how had he expanded it back then? It had been stimulated by Shinji's faint Yin Release Chakra.

A flash of inspiration struck him. He still remembered how his laughter had changed at the time, and how the barrier had affected his laughter.

Recalling that sensation, Retsuo began laughing loudly again. "Ha—hahaha—ha—"

In an instant, the sensation of his body being hollowed out returned. Then the Yin Release Barrier seemed to let out a thunderous boom and expanded once more!

At that moment, the slime rose to prominence. The black line connecting it to Yemaki grew thicker and larger!

Retsuo squeezed out his potential, doing his best to maintain the rapid consumption of Chakra. Then he seemed to hear a snap, and the black line suddenly broke and vanished.

Suddenly, a consciousness invaded the barrier. No one made a sound, but Retsuo heard someone say furiously, "How dare you ruin Lord Yomi's plans! Just you wait—huh? You're not human? What is this thing?"

The consciousness came and went even faster. Retsuo froze for a moment and was just about to cut off the flow of Chakra when he suddenly felt a force flowing back from within the barrier.

It was Chakra!

The slime was sending Chakra to him.

Should I accept it or not? Retsuo hesitated briefly, preparing to cut it off at any moment. Accept it!

I haven't tasted Dark Chakra yet. Today, I'll finally—

Wait!

This Chakra was warm, gentle, and extremely comfortable. Retsuo focused his attention and looked closer. There was actually a white line connecting him to the slime?

A layer of white light continuously radiated outward from the slime's body. The flow of light was actually rather dim, but within the Yin Release Barrier, it appeared extraordinarily dazzling.

What is this? Light Chakra? Why does it have Light Chakra? Did Shinnō mess something up, or was this how it was supposed to be from the start?

Come to think of it, when the Dark Slime absorbed energy, did it expel the Light Energy it could not absorb—

Hey, TUI! Filter. Filter!

Retsuo suddenly stopped and no longer supplied Chakra to the Yin Release Barrier. Without his support, the Yin Release Barrier rapidly contracted. Once the barrier returned to its normal size, the Dark Slime also stopped sending Light Chakra back.

It seemed that in its normal state, it would not send Chakra back to its host. The barrier had to be forced into its second-stage state.

The Light Energy left Retsuo savoring the memory. He wondered what connection it had to Yang Release.

Strictly speaking, whether dark or light, whether negative or positive energy, they were two sides of the same whole: Spiritual Energy. All of it should count as Yin Release. But this warm, gentle Chakra was truly impossible to associate with the word "Yin." Instead, it resembled Yang Release, which represented physical energy.

Reluctantly, Retsuo picked up Yemaki and opened the door. Outside, Ukyo stood there with a bewildered look, while Grandma Cat stared at the doorway with an equally bewildered expression.

"I say, boy, what were you laughing about in there?" Grandma Cat asked as she stepped forward and took her granddaughter. "How is Yemaki...?"

"She really was tainted by something unclean. Grandma, have you ever provoked someone named Yomi?"

"Yomi—"

Grandma Cat's expression changed in horror!

"It's fine now, Grandma. I successfully drove the spirit out. But the other side may have used some kind of clone or spirit-transformation technique. They warned me not to ruin Lord Yomi's plans or something like that."

"What kind of person would dare bully Grandma Cat!" Seeing the old woman's expression, Ukyo could not possibly fail to understand what had happened. He immediately flew into a rage and stamped his feet. "Who is this Yomi? Leave him to the Uchiha Clan!"

Retsuo thought to himself, You'd better not take this matter on...

"You'd better not take this matter on." Grandma Cat was silent for a long while before gently patting Yemaki's swaddling clothes. "It's enough that she's all right now."