Chapter 249: Closing In
With a shake of his head, Baishi cleared his thoughts and stopped wasting time. He immediately began researching the Kekkei Genkai of Illusory Sound.
The first step—examining the physical body.
After a thorough analysis, Baishi confirmed that Illusory Sound's Kekkei Genkai had no direct correlation with his flesh or body beyond inherited genetics.
Whether it was awakening the ability or enhancing it, neither required modifications to the body itself.
This was already evident from the nature of the ability.
A power that influences a person's mental state through sound was clearly linked to the spirit rather than the flesh.
With this confirmation, Baishi moved on to the next step—analyzing the spirit itself.
A few precise movements, and Illusory Sound's spiritual essence was laid bare before him, dissected like a lifeless specimen.
Within moments, Baishi had fragmented the soul into dozens of pieces, meticulously separating its components.
"X-Ray Vision."
"Energy Vision."
With a single thought, Baishi activated his Super Vision abilities, and a silver glow flashed through his eyes.
Suddenly—
The spiritual fragments lit up with strange, glowing energy patterns.
Through these radiant pathways, Baishi could directly observe how energy circulated within.
And by analyzing these flows of power, he could further distinguish the differences between various pieces of the spirit.
From here, he could compare these fragments to a normal person's spiritual structure, identifying the key anomalies.
And those anomalies—were the essence of Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques.
At this point, Baishi could begin deciphering the unique properties of this power, experimenting with its principles, and possibly creating his own version of a similar technique.
However, Baishi wasn't interested in simply recreating a sound-based mind-control jutsu.
Instead—
He sought to integrate the underlying principles into his own combat techniques.
Just as he had once absorbed the Black Shadow's mental infection techniques into his Senjutsu abilities, this time—
He intended to merge these new discoveries into Genjutsu.
For the longest time, Genjutsu had never been a primary focus of Baishi's training.
Most of the time, he simply relied on his Illusion Ring to cover that weakness.
But as his opponents became stronger, the limitations of the ring became apparent.
The Illusion Ring's effectiveness depended on the Mangekyō Sharingan embedded within it—
A Sharingan taken from Uchiha Obito, whose power primarily revolved around space-time manipulation rather than illusionary techniques.
Moreover, the sealing formations Baishi had crafted around the ring prevented it from fully utilizing the Mangekyō Sharingan's full power.
As a result—
At best, the Illusion Ring could only achieve about 80% of Obito's true Genjutsu ability.
When fighting weaker foes, this was enough.
But against opponents like Nagato, he hadn't even considered using it—because it was useless.
And against anyone weaker, he didn't need it at all.
Which meant—
At this point, the Illusion Ring had become an awkward tool:
Too weak for stronger enemies.
Too redundant for weaker ones.
A flaw in his combat framework.
And Baishi could not accept weaknesses.
He was determined to become a "Hexagonal Warrior", a fighter with no weaknesses in any field.
A clear flaw in his skillset? Unacceptable.
For that reason—
He had recently added Genjutsu training to his regimen.
Now, with Illusory Sound's Kekkei Genkai as a reference, he had the perfect opportunity.
As time ticked away, Baishi's gaze flickered between the spiritual fragments, analyzing every detail.
Then—
A sudden flash of insight.
His eyes narrowed, locking onto a specific fragment.
With a deliberate movement, he "picked it up", holding it in front of him.
"Finally… Found you."
Murmuring to himself, Baishi began his deep examination of the key fragment.
---
Meanwhile…
In the artificial forest Baishi had created—
Two figures emerged.
One tall and pale, his lips curled in a sinister smile, his presence exuding an eerie aura.
The other—
Shorter, his youthful features partially concealed behind black-rimmed glasses, giving him a scholarly appearance.
But anyone who underestimated him based on his looks would be gravely mistaken.
The subtle glint in his eyes revealed a calculating mind, sharp and ruthless.
This was someone not to be taken lightly.
Indeed—
As someone trained from childhood as a spy, someone who had infiltrated and survived multiple organizations, Kabuto had mastered the art of deception.
If necessary, he could hide his true self from anyone.
However, standing beside him was Orochimaru.
And around Orochimaru, there was no need for masks.
Yes—
The tall, pale figure was Orochimaru himself.
Their goal?
To investigate this potential lead on Baishi's whereabouts.
Why "potential"?
Because—
Baishi had erased all evidence of the mercenary group's existence.
Thus, very little information had actually leaked.
Had the news spread properly, the Five Great Shinobi Villages would have sent full investigative teams.
But as of now—
Only random factions and bounty hunters had shown up.
That wouldn't last, though.
As more and more people examined this location, Baishi's traces would inevitably become apparent.
Sooner or later—
The Five Kage would take notice.
But Orochimaru had arrived first, his instincts sharper than the rest.
"Orochimaru-sama, something is wrong with this forest."
Kabuto suddenly halted, his expression alert and cautious.
Orochimaru chuckled, his tone nonchalant.
"Oh? What have you noticed?"
Kabuto narrowed his eyes.
Clearly, Orochimaru had already sensed the anomaly.
'Is it the same as what I found?'
After a brief pause, Kabuto voiced his observations.
"There are too few animals here.
We've walked through this forest for a while, yet we haven't seen a single large animal. Even the number of insects is unnaturally low."
A forest lacking animals was one thing.
A forest without insects? That was impossible.
This confirmed that something wasn't right.
Orochimaru didn't comment, merely resting his hand on a nearby tree, muttering—
"If my senses are correct… This forest was created using Wood Release."
"Wood Release?"
Kabuto's expression stiffened.
Then—he understood.
"So… That intelligence report was real."
"Correct."
Orochimaru's smile widened, his tongue slipping out to lick his lips.
A chilling whisper left his mouth—
"Baishi… We'll be meeting again very soon."
He could feel it—he was getting closer to Baishi.
Although Baishi's movements seemed random, Orochimaru was certain there was a pattern.
If he could analyze the connections, he could pinpoint Baishi's location.
And once he did—
The initiative would be his to take.
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