When inspiration strikes like lightning, it's brilliance… or madness.
Hoshishita Shu glanced at the countdown timer.
Just over two hours remained.
He couldn't help feeling reluctant.
The Three Minds, Two Intentions state was simply too useful.
Unfortunately… he couldn't keep it.
With a sigh, Shu created nine more clones in one breath and resumed training.
But this time, he didn't divide their efforts.
Every clone focused on a single goal.
Blade Storm.
Sometimes two hours felt unbearably long—like carrying a thousand-pound burden.
Sometimes two hours vanished in the blink of an eye.
When the Three Minds, Two Intentions state finally faded, Shu gradually came back to his senses.
One by one, the clones dispelled.
All their accumulated experience flowed back into him.
Shu lowered his gaze, silently digesting the flood of memories.
After a moment, he opened his eyes, unable to hide a trace of regret.
He had been close.
Just a little closer…
But the regret quickly faded.
Even without dual-soul consciousness, he still had One Mind, Two Uses.
The perfect version of Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was now within reach.
Shu was confident he could complete it step by step.
He shifted his attention.
His vision moved to his status panel.
Current Status: Mental Abnormality
Description: From this moment onward, your mind is abnormal. Constantly remind yourself to remain rational, and seize the flashes of inspiration brought by the abnormality.
Refresh Countdown: 167:57:58
Shu stared at the refreshed status.
His expression froze.
"…What the hell?"
Mental abnormality?
Did that mean he was turning into a lunatic?
"Inspiration brought by abnormality"…?
What exactly did that mean?
Shu rubbed his temples, completely baffled.
Well…
At least the description existed.
That was slightly better than nothing.
He withdrew his gaze.
Suddenly—
A thought popped into his head.
Could I go dig out Nagato's Rinnegan right now?
If he could kill Kakuzu…
Maybe he could take the Rinnegan too?
Even if he couldn't handle both eyes, one should still be incredible.
Wood Release plus a Rinnegan…
Who in the ninja world could rival that?
Shu's expression gradually became excited.
"Tomorrow morning… I'll head to the Land of Rain first."
After making the decision, Shu returned to the wooden house and went straight to sleep.
He quickly fell into a deep slumber.
The sun rose in the east.
When Shu woke up, it was already seven in the morning.
As he recalled the decision that had suddenly surfaced last night, cold sweat immediately broke out across his back.
"…Why would I even think about going to the Land of Rain to steal the Rinnegan?"
"That's completely insane."
Shu's face darkened.
So this was Mental Abnormality?
"At this point in time, Nagato's parents should still be alive…"
"And although Madara Uchiha is already hooked up to life support, if he throws on a White Zetsu shell…"
"…he could probably kill me effortlessly."
Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead and warned himself firmly.
Don't court death.
Just because you killed Kakuzu doesn't mean you've become invincible.
Still—
This Mental Abnormality status was truly dangerous.
After thinking for a moment, Shu decided he had only one option.
He would constantly maintain the One Mind, Two Uses state.
At the very least, one part of his mind might remain rational.
"If only I still had dual-soul consciousness…"
Shu sighed regretfully.
After all, One Mind, Two Uses was still just one consciousness split in two.
There was no guarantee it could preserve rationality during a mental abnormality.
"…I should keep a clone active at all times."
Shu pondered.
"Even though clones also inherit the Mental Abnormality state… the probability that both the original and the clone go crazy at the same time should be lower, right?"
That sounded like a math problem.
Shu shook his head.
Then he stepped outside and began his morning physical training.
At nine in the morning, Shu left the valley and entered a nearby town for a large meal.
After leaving the restaurant, he walked leisurely through the streets, watching the flow of people.
Suddenly—
A balloon slipped from a little girl's hand.
A boy beside her immediately jumped up to grab it.
But he accidentally loosened the balloon's opening.
Air burst out.
The balloon shrank rapidly as it darted wildly through the air.
Shu suddenly stopped walking.
He froze.
In his eyes—
That balloon wasn't just a balloon.
It was a ninja.
Airflow.
Jet propulsion.
Wind-powered Body Flicker Technique.
In that instant—
A flash of inspiration exploded in his mind.
Using bursts of air pressure to enhance explosive speed.
And if someone could release chakra from every point in their body—like the Hyuga clan controlling their tenketsu—
Then true flight might even be possible.
"Although I can't release chakra from every point…"
Shu smiled.
"My hands and feet alone should already allow many possibilities."
The moment he left the town, Shu couldn't resist creating clones.
They immediately began experimenting with developing a Wind Release Body Flicker Technique.
Meanwhile, Shu's original body ignored the experiments entirely.
He simply continued traveling.
Leaving the Land of Rivers behind, he headed straight for Konoha.
October 5th, Year 36 of Konoha.
Evening.
Hoshishita Shu finally returned to the village.
Root Headquarters.
Danzo stared silently at the corpse lying on the ground.
Kakuzu.
An S-rank criminal.
A man who had lived since the era of the First Hokage.
A man who once attempted to assassinate Hashirama Senju and survived.
And now—
He had died at the hands of Hoshishita Shu.
Danzo was surprised.
Deeply surprised.
He had always valued Shu's potential.
But defeating Kakuzu?
Even defeating a regular jonin should still have been beyond Shu's reach.
Danzo's gaze shifted to Shu.
"How did you kill him?"
Shu calmly described the battle.
Of course—
He omitted the part where his heart had been ripped out.
The story he presented was simple:
He had used Wood Clones as bait, seized an unexpected opening, and finished Kakuzu with Impaling Stakes Technique.
The wounds on Kakuzu's body supported that explanation.
Even so, something about it still felt… strange.
A veteran like Kakuzu falling so easily?
Or was Wood Release simply that overwhelming?
Danzo remained silent for a while before finally speaking.
"The village has been hunting this man for a long time. The bounty will be issued soon."
"This corpse has research value."
"Deliver it to the Intelligence Division. They'll conduct an autopsy together with the Medical Division."
Shu nodded respectfully.
"Understood."
After accepting the order, he added:
"Lord Danzo, I'd like to use Kakuzu's bounty to exchange for chakra metal from the village."
"I want to forge two ninja blades."
Danzo agreed without hesitation.
"Approved."
Chakra metal was extremely rare.
It couldn't simply be purchased anywhere.
But Shu had eliminated Kakuzu—and possessed Wood Release.
Rewarding him with some chakra metal was entirely reasonable.
"Go rest."
"Prepare yourself for the upcoming operation against the Sky Ninja."
Danzo said.
"Understood."
Shu vanished with Kakuzu's corpse.
Danzo remained where he stood, his gaze dark.
"Wood Release…"
He wanted that power too.
Unfortunately…
So many Konoha ninja had been sacrificed in experiments.
Yet only one person had succeeded.
Hoshishita Shu.
"Once Root grows stronger… the Hashirama Cell research must be restarted."
Danzo silently made his decision.
Then he turned and headed toward the Hokage Tower.
Shu's performance had exceeded expectations.
That gave him new confidence.
Perhaps—
The operation against the Sky Ninja could be expanded.
Root alone wasn't strong enough yet.
They might need to borrow some forces from the Hokage's ANBU.
Meanwhile—
After delivering the corpse, Shu returned to his usual training grounds.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken still needed improvement.
Blade Storm needed further development.
And the newly conceived Wind Release Body Flicker Technique required experimentation.
Beyond that—
Shu also had many Wood Release techniques left to master.
And after fighting Kakuzu, Shu had realized something important.
He also needed to learn a few Earth Release and Water Release techniques.
Only then—
Would his combat ability truly become complete.
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