Chapter 181

Orochimaru was startled, immediately realizing he might have missed an opportunity. But he quickly calmed himself and decided to continue searching for Kuchiki Senya's trail.

Months passed, and Orochimaru's agents spread across the land, yet not a single trace of Kuchiki Senya was found. Just as Orochimaru was about to give up, a secret letter reached his hands.

Orochimaru opened the letter and found it was written by Kuchiki Senya. The content was simple, only a few short lines:

"Thank you for the opportunity and help you once gave me, but I have decided to leave the Ninja World and pursue my own dreams. I will not return to Konoha."

After reading the letter, Orochimaru let out a bitter laugh. He realized he had misunderstood Kuchiki Senya's intentions. Kuchiki Senya had long suspected his motives and sincerity.

"If I had another chance, I would still choose to support you," Orochimaru whispered. "You are a talented, promising young man—you simply need more opportunities and challenges to hone yourself."

…

On another side, Kuchiki Senya arrived at the mountainous region at the southern tip of Hokkaido. This area was three or four kilometers from Konoha. As it was a remote small country, the villages were backward. But the forests here were extraordinarily lush, teeming with wild animals.

Kuchiki Senya found a hidden cave, entered it, and infused the Nine-Tails' power into his dantian. Instantly, the dantian erupted in intense light, and a phantom tailed beast slowly coalesced.

"So this is the power of the Nine-Tails…"

Kuchiki Senya took a deep breath and unleashed his full strength. In an instant, the surrounding grass withered and shriveled, branches withered, the ground cracked, and rocks shattered.

The Nine-Tails' power activated, filling the cave with corrosive energy. Kuchiki Senya grunted, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face was pale, yet the fervor in his eyes remained intense.

After a long while, he finally returned to normal. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded with a smile: "So this is what they call the Nine-Tails' power. A bit troublesome, but not bad."

He closed his eyes and sensed his own power. "My strength has reached the peak of the Shadow Level beginner stage—just one step away from the intermediate stage. If I add my Mangekyō Sharingan, I can probably match a Chunin."

Although the Mangekyō Sharingan increases chakra storage, the effect is limited. Without extracting Nine-Tails chakra, its effectiveness drops significantly. And Kuchiki Senya himself is a medical ninja skilled in medical ninjutsu. He can deduce chakra volume increases by tracing chakra flow patterns. Thus, his current chakra reserves are at least doubled compared to ordinary Shadow Level experts.

"My most important task now is mastering Nine-Tails chakra. But I already have Sage Mode. Nine-Tails Mode isn't urgent."

Sage Mode is Kaguya's ultimate technique, a Six Paths-level jutsu, but unfortunately it was destroyed during Edo Tensei. Moreover, the cost of activating Sage Mode is immense, so Kuchiki Senya currently has no intention of learning it. Aside from that, he has no better ninjutsu.

He planned to go to the Hokage Rock and discuss the Nine-Tails' power with Tsunade.

…

Kuchiki Senya headed toward the Hokage Rock, but as soon as he neared it, he sensed something amiss.

"Trouble. Could it be Kirigakure sending assassins after me?" Kuchiki Senya frowned. "Unlikely. They should already know I'm a rogue ninja—they wouldn't risk sending someone after me."

Kuchiki Senya stopped, alertly scanning his surroundings, but felt nothing.

"Hmm… Could it be genjutsu?" Kuchiki Senya frowned. "But genjutsu won't work—I can sense enemies through chakra perception."

Suddenly, Kuchiki Senya heard a faint rustling, as if something was moving.

Kuchiki Senya held his breath, listening intently. Moments later, he suddenly opened his eyes, forming hand seals with both hands, and a bolt of lightning struck down.

Boom—the ground exploded, dirt spraying everywhere. A massive shadow appeared before him. It was a gigantic toad.

"A toad?" Kuchiki Senya froze. He remembered there were no toads near Konoha. And this toad was clearly much larger than any he'd ever seen.

151、That Legendary Monster

Moreover, its body was wrapped in a layer of membrane that seemed to block all external chakra attacks, allowing it to withstand Kuchiki Senya's Lightning Release chakra. Its size was at least half again larger than a toad of comparable build.

"This guy isn't ordinary!"

At that moment, a foul wind blew, and another enormous toad appeared before him.

"Such a powerful chakra fluctuation!" Kuchiki Senya's expression changed. This chakra fluctuation even stirred fear in him.

He stared at the bizarre toad, thoughts flashing through his mind: "Is it…? No, impossible…"

He muttered to himself.

He recalled the story his father told him before dying.

"That legendary monster… has truly appeared…"

…

Meanwhile, on a nearby hill, several figures hid in the shadows, gazing toward the ancient tree at the valley's center.

These figures were Hyuga Neji and others; before them stood a man in a black robe, his face covered by a mask, revealing only cold eyes. Behind his back, his arms were a scorpion covered in blades—this was Sasori.

"Sasori, are you certain this kid is Hashirama Senju's son?" the masked man asked.

He was tall and muscular, his body bristling with explosive power. Any ordinary person seeing him would be paralyzed with fear. He was the leader of Akatsuki—Uchiha Madara.

"Yes. The dojutsu he uses resembles the Senju clan's dojutsu. And his eyes are highly unusual," Sasori affirmed.

"Hashirama Senju's child. Hmph. This is getting more interesting…" Uchiha Madara's lips curled slightly. "I never expected such a bizarre occurrence in this world."

"Lord Uchiha Madara, what do you intend to do?" asked the masked man. He was the only Jonin in Akatsuki, named Uchiha Itachi. He was Madara's brother and the one who founded Akatsuki. Itachi firmly believed the Uchiha clan alone should rule the Shinobi World, and all other clans deserved only slavery.

But now, the seal imprisoning the Uchiha clan had been broken, and new bloodline descendants had emerged. As Itachi's older brother, Uchiha Madara would not sit idly by.

"Observe for now. We'll decide how to deal with the brat later," Uchiha Madara said coolly. "He can't escape anyway."

"Lord Uchiha Madara, Konoha has already failed. We must secure the Nine-Tails quickly. If the Senju clan gains its power, there will be nothing left for us," Uchiha Itachi urged.

"Don't worry—I won't hand him over to the Senju clan. Those people love eating children," Uchiha Madara shook his head, icy gleam in his eyes. "This task is yours."

…

Kuchiki Senya stared at the colossal beast before him.

He could clearly sense the surging chakra within the beast.

Without hesitation, he unleashed all his chakra. Lei Guang transformed into a blade of Lei Ting, slashing down fiercely.

"Lightning Release: Kenjutsu Form."

Crack!

A sound of crackling electricity rippled outward. As dust rose, a figure appeared in place.

It was a jet-black spider with eight wings.

The giant spider stared at Kuchiki Senya, slowly raised its chelicerae, and opened its maw, spewing hundreds of streams of venom. The venom engulfed Kuchiki Senya from all directions.

"Venom?" Kuchiki Senya's eyelid twitched. "This poison can dissolve steel—this is bad."

His expression shifted constantly—he dared not withstand such toxicity and chose to retreat.

Kuchiki Senya activated the Rasengan, pushing back the venom, then charged deeper into the forest. The giant toad pursued relentlessly, ignoring its size and speed.

"Damn." Kuchiki Senya cursed, "I didn't expect this beast to be so fast."

Kuchiki Senya sprinted nonstop and finally shook off the giant toad's pursuit.

"Phew~ Finally lost that monstrous thing." Kuchiki Senya exhaled the stifling air from his chest.

Suddenly, a wisp of white smoke rose, and then a massive snake-like head emerged—it was the giant toad.

The giant toad moved with incredible speed, closing the distance to Kuchiki Senya in just a few seconds.

Kuchiki Senya's heart tightened; he hadn't expected this giant toad to catch up so quickly.

"No good—I must leave here immediately." Kuchiki Senya gritted his teeth and pulled a scroll from his chest.

The scroll bore a giant human face, lifelike and vivid, its eyes glimmering with eerie, unfathomable light, as if alive.

"Senjutsu: Wood Release * Wood Man Technique!" Kuchiki Senya clasped his hands together and roared.

Instantly, the entire forest trembled.

Green vines burst from the ground, rapidly growing and twisting into a colossal tree hundreds of meters tall.

"Is that… Wood Release: Wood Man Technique?!" The giant toad stared in shock at the towering tree before it.

Though massive, the Wood Man was not clumsy; it leapt lightly, dancing through the air, then launched an assault on the giant toad—thick hands slammed against its belly.

The giant toad roared in fury, opened its mouth, and spat venom at the Wood Man.

The Wood Man did not dodge or retreat—it walked straight through the venom.

"Boom~" The venom struck the Wood Man and exploded violently.

A mushroom cloud rose slowly; the Wood Man dissolved within the venom. But the giant toad was badly wounded—a thin trail of crimson blood appeared at its mouth.

"No choice—the power gap is too great." Kuchiki Senya smiled bitterly. "If I don't use the Mangekyō Sharingan, I won't last three moves."

"Huh? Did that brat escape again?" The giant toad's furious gaze swept the surroundings but found no trace of Kuchiki Senya.

"Then I'll have to catch that brat first." The giant toad's deep voice echoed through the swamp.

Deep within the swamp's dense forest, a figure shot past—a young boy with short silver-gray hair, thin eyebrows, and a gentle smile on his face.

It was Kuchiki Senya. He raced on until he reached an open meadow.

"I'll rest here for the night." Kuchiki Senya sat cross-legged on the ground, calmly restoring his energy after the battle.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and gazed into the distance—a monstrous toad rose from the swamp and flew toward his location.

"Already chasing me again?" Kuchiki Senya sighed. "Such a nuisance."

Don't blame me for being ruthless.

He stood up and activated Flying Thunder God, vanishing instantly from his spot.

"Damn little insect." The giant toad glared at the place where Kuchiki Senya had been, roaring in fury. Its eyes glowed with cruelty. "If that's how it is, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The swamp's mud boiled, vast stretches of the marsh writhing. Then, massive serpents erupted from the mud, following the giant toad as they slithered toward the direction Kuchiki Senya had fled.

Kuchiki Senya darted ceaselessly through the forest, trying to buy time until rescue arrived. He knew he stood no chance against the giant toad—he could only hope someone would come to help him, perhaps giving him a chance to survive.