Nara Shikakichi's eyes widened as he stared at Kagetsu, seated calmly across from him, with a look of disbelief etched on his face.
"What did you just say? Say it again!"
"I've awakened a Kekkei Genkai." Kagetsu repeated his words, unfazed.
"That's impossible!" Shikakichi muttered to himself, doubting his ears and his sanity.
The Nara Clan's physique wasn't exactly suited for awakening a Kekkei Genkai, especially one related to yin-based chakra. After all, the clan had spent centuries refining yin release techniques and knew all too well the risks associated with them. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel fire.net
"Come with me." Shikakichi stood up abruptly, signaling Kagetsu to follow.
The two of them made their way to the backyard. Once there, Shikakichi stood across from Kagetsu, gesturing for him to demonstrate his ability.
Under Shikakichi's keen gaze, the shadow at Kagetsu's feet stretched out smoothly and merged with his own shadow without hesitation.
"You can activate shadow techniques without hand signs?" Shikakichi's eyes gleamed with interest.
At the same time, he summoned his own chakra, resisting the influence creeping into his body through the shadow connection, even trying to take control of Kagetsu's shadow in return.
When two similar jutsu clashed, the outcome relied on chakra nature and the amount of chakra output.
As an experienced member of the Jonin class, Shikakichi was no stranger to the workings of shadow techniques. With his expertise, he quickly wrestled back partial control over his body.
"Is this all it can do?" Shikakichi asked, forming hand seals to maintain his own shadow technique as he continued to resist Kagetsu's.
Kagetsu remained silent.
The next moment, Shikakichi's eyes widened in shock as tiny black tendrils sprouted from within Kagetsu's shadow. These tendrils intertwined with both of their shadows and began creeping up from Shikakichi's feet.
Before he could react, he felt his control over his own shadow slip away. As the tendrils coiled and slithered upward, he lost command of his body once again.
"This is...!" Shikakichi gasped, his face a mask of astonishment. A chilling unease gripped his heart—he could feel something, or someone, peering into both his mind and body.
His hands began forming seals on their own. A black shadowy hand emerged from beneath his feet, slithering up and wrapping around his throat.
But just as suddenly as they had appeared, the shadow hand and the tendrils vanished, retreating without a trace.
Shikakichi gasped for breath as control over his body returned to him.
"So this is your Kekkei Genkai?" he asked, his voice heavy with both awe and caution as he recalled the strange sensation from moments ago.
There was no doubt: Kagetsu's shadow control far surpassed his own. The difference between their mastery was like night and day.
If he hadn't been a Jonin, with deeper reserves of chakra and more refined technique, he wouldn't have stood a chance in the brief exchange.
This revealed that Kagetsu's yin-based chakra was vastly superior in nature transformation compared to the Nara clan's traditional shadow jutsu.
"If I were to compare it," Shikakichi mused, "it would be like the varying number of tomoe in the Uchiha clan's Sharingan—a fundamental shift in quality."
"Besides making it easier to control shadows, does it have any other abilities?" Shikakichi asked curiously.
From their previous exchanges, it was clear that there was still something secretive and unknown hidden within Kagetsu's shadows. That unsettling, watchful sensation wasn't something typical of the Nara clan's shadow techniques.
"One of its abilities is forced control," Kagetsu said, pulling the shadow back under his feet.
"You could say it's an enhanced version of the Shadow Imitation Technique, with more stable control and lower chakra consumption."
"And what are its limits?" Nara Shikakichi asked.
"That depends on the opponent's chakra reserves, as well as their strength in mental fortitude and nature transformation," Kagetsu explained.
After all, it wasn't like the Left Hand of the Soul King, which could take control of attackers by overriding their brains and nervous systems to manipulate their bodies directly.
While Kagetsu had gained The Compulsory, it was nowhere near the level of power or priority that the Soul King's Left Hand possessed. His shadow control, unlike that hand's, had its boundaries.
He could control Shikakichi because they both used shadow techniques and belonged to the Yin Release category. Kagetsu's own chakra reserves, along with the nature transformation of his chakra into high-quality Yin chakra, bridged the gap between him and Shikakichi, giving him an edge.
"Is there anything else?" Shikakichi inquired.
"Something else... like bringing inanimate objects to life?" Kagetsu pondered, then demonstrated his ability again in front of Shikakichi.
The dark shadow exploded outward from Kagetsu's feet, spreading across the ground like a dense spiderweb. Wherever the shadow touched, the stone slabs of the ground began to shift under the influence of Yin Release.
The slabs reformed and shaped into two large hands, one on each side of Kagetsu. The palms opened downward, creating a sort of umbrella-like canopy over his head.
The black, web-like veins of the shadow spread through the stone hands, mimicking a complex nervous system.
Under Shikakichi's unblinking gaze, the stone hands moved as if alive, following Kagetsu's will with precision.
They were as nimble as real arms.
Watching Kagetsu manipulate the stone arms so smoothly, Shikakichi's shock never faded.
To him, Kagetsu's mastery had reached an incredibly advanced level of Yin Release—something no one in the Nara clan had achieved in hundreds of years.
Giving life to the lifeless.
Even though it still seemed like the technique relied on controlling shadows, it had reached a level far beyond the Nara clan's usual shadow-based secret arts.
"Come with me to meet the elders." After a moment of silence, Nara Shikakichi finally calmed his inner turmoil. Letting out a sigh without thinking, he spoke to Kagetsu.
He could already sense it—another wave of trouble was heading towards him and the Nara clan.
Kagetsu retracted his shadow technique, but the two stone slabs, which had been shaped like arms, did not crumble. Instead, they remained standing firmly in place.
"Remember to check your body later," Shikakichi said as they walked side by side.
The shadow-based secret arts, rooted in Yin Release, had always made the Nara clan physically weak, leaving them dependent on medicine.
Now that Kagetsu had awakened a Kekkei Genkai, the power of the technique increased, but so did the toll it took on the body.
Although Kagetsu was physically stronger than most Nara of his age, it was better to be cautious. If the body or mind couldn't keep up with the burden, there was a risk of developing the unique hereditary illness that came with having a Kekkei Genkai.
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