"Glug, Glug, Glug…"
Link watched as a black bear struggled desperately in the Swamp of the Underworld, its body already more than halfway submerged.
The beast finally managed to escape, its face filled with terror as it tried to flee.
Before it could run—
Link slapped it unconscious and threw it back in.
Moments later… it was completely gone.
[The larger the creature, the faster it sinks… Hmm, this actually follows normal physics.]
[But the binding effect changes too—the bigger the creature, the stronger the swamp's restraint.]
[Or maybe… it's not size. Maybe it's the strength of the soul?]
Pondering the possibilities, Link turned his gaze toward Baki.
"No matter what, I am NOT going in."
The former hard-working, rough-skinned, and loyal Jonin…
Suddenly displayed a keen sense of self-preservation, rejecting Link outright.
"The aura inside that thing is ominous."
"I may be dead, but I'm no mindless corpse."
Link sighed.
[Fair enough. I can't force the dead.]
But that made testing the swamp a bit tricky.
[I can't just throw a person in while I'm in Konoha.]
Animals? He'd already tossed in a whole zoo.
If he caught any more, the village might start filing complaints.
[Also, this jutsu eats up an insane amount of chakra…]
Among all his jutsu, Swamp of the Underworld had the highest chakra consumption—no contest.
Even compared to A-rank medical ninjutsu like Chakra Scalpel or Mystical Palm, this jutsu was an absolute chakra devourer.
For reference:
He only dared to use Mystical Palm for a few seconds during combat.
Even during his fight with Sasori, he had to burst-activate it for just an instant to speed up his hand seals before using Money Bindings Jutsu.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been fast enough to catch Sasori.
[Swamp of the Underworld eats up a full third of my chakra.]
Considering Jiraiya could comfortably use this jutsu with his monstrous reserves…
For someone like Link, whose chakra was closer to Kakashi's, this was definitely overkill.
[So in a single fight, I can use it… twice. At most.]
[And that's assuming I use nothing else.]
Link shook his head.
[The one upside… It lasts a long time.]
Even after Baki had left, the swamp was still bubbling.
With nothing better to do, Link decided to throw everything he could find into it.
Animals? Already tested—rabbits, tigers, centipedes, bears…
Now he moved on to tree trunks, large boulders, wild fruit— anything he could grab.
30 minutes later…
The swamp finally dissipated.
And everything he had thrown in was simply… gone.
[It never reached a limit, either. No matter how much I dumped in, it kept swallowing.]
Interestingly:
Corpses and objects sank slowly.
Living creatures sank faster.
The larger and smarter the living being, the faster it sank and the stronger the binding effect. [Still needs confirmation.]
[Also… I lost a Shadow Clone.]
To test things further, Link sent a Shadow Clone into the swamp.
The moment it stepped in—it was instantly swallowed.
Not dissipated.
Not destroyed.
Simply gone—erased from existence.
Even after the swamp disappeared, the clone never returned.
[…It's just gone?]
To double-check, Link used Subterranean Voyage to tunnel under the swamp's location.
Nothing.
The swamp hadn't affected the underground at all.
Everything that fell in… had simply vanished.
"Even Baki thought it was unsettling…"
[I'm starting to think this swamp isn't connected to the Pure Land at all.]
Link gave his final evaluation:
This was a highly dangerous jutsu.
Time-space jutsu were always trouble.
At least Rashomon and Summoning Jutsu connected to a known place—the Pure Land.
But this?
[I have no idea where this swamp leads.]
The name alone—"Underworld"—was disturbing.
In Japanese mythology, the Underworld was a horrific, impure, and dark realm.
To recover his chakra, Link popped two Soldier Pills, then cast Swamp of the Underworld again.
Same result.
He had an unsettling feeling:
[If I threw a person in… I might finally understand what this jutsu really does.]
[Or even a soul.]
[But that's the problem.]
Testing jutsu on living people inside the village was… not a great idea.
[Best-case scenario: I just gained an alternate-dimension trash disposal.]
Surprisingly, Link wasn't disappointed.
After all, not every ninjutsu mutation resulted in something stronger.
But after casting it twice in a row, the chakra drain was brutal.
Even with Soldier Pills, he was still feeling sluggish.
So he stopped training, healed himself with Delicate Illness Extraction, and headed to the Jonin Standby Room to rest.
…
Konoha – Jonin Standby Room
Lately, Link had been getting along well with the other Jonin.
Word had spread about how he cured Nara Ensui, and even though Shikaku had covered for him, most Jonin weren't stupid.
They knew what the Nara Clan was capable of.
And they knew that Link's "shadow techniques" weren't something any normal Nara could pull off.
Even more impressive—he had completely healed Lee.
A case that even Konoha's top medical Jonin believed only Tsunade could handle…
Link fixed it with ease.
As a result, despite being the youngest Special Jonin, Link was now extremely well-received.
His calm demeanor and friendly personality only reinforced his growing popularity.
No matter their faction, no Jonin would reject an extraordinary medic-nin who was also easy to get along with.
After chatting and relaxing until evening, Link headed home.
His Shadow Clone had already started cooking.
On the way, he reflected on his next steps.
[Time to resume research on enhanced stimulants.]
And then… jutsu training.
Jutsu Training Goals
1. Earth Release – Done.
Mastered Swamp of the Underworld.
No more Earth Release training needed for now.
2. Wind Release – In Progress.
Nature transformation is slow.
May take a few more months.
No shortcuts—just have to keep grinding.
3. Sealing, Summoning, Medical Ninjutsu – Almost Maxed Out.
Everything Konoha could teach, he had already learned.
Forbidden Jutsu? Off-limits unless he earned massive achievements or became Hokage.
4. Secret Techniques – Hard to Obtain.
Clans won't share their techniques.
Flying Thunder God? Not forbidden, but extremely difficult.
Eight Gates? Open for learning, but mastering it is another story.
[Time to pick up Rasengan again… and apply to learn Flying Thunder God and Eight Gates.]
Even if he failed to learn them, he had to try.
~~~
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