"This..."
"Is this Blut Vene?"
Sora's expression suddenly became strange.
Blut Vene is a special ability that involves directly injecting Reishi into the blood vessels, greatly enhancing the body's defensive capabilities.
Its counterpart is Blut Arterie, which also involves injecting Reishi into the blood vessels, but enhances the body's destructive power instead.
Simply put, Blut Vene focuses on defense, while Blut Arterie focuses on offense.
And both Blut Vene and Blut Arterie are innate abilities of pure-blooded Quincy, naturally mutually exclusive with Shinigami.
Therefore, Sora felt somewhat surprised.
He never expected that the Special Kido: Reishi Manipulation could so easily simulate the Quincy's special skills.
After a moment of silence, Sora's expression calmed down. With a thought, he changed the flow of Reishi in his blood vessels once again.
The next instant, the golden patterns abruptly shifted to silver.
Powerful force surged forth.
Sora raised his hand and casually swung towards the waterfall in front of him.
Boom!
With just a casual swing, Sora produced a terrifying shockwave that forcibly split the waterfall cascading from the mountain stream right down the middle.
As the water churned, the gray-brown mountain rock behind the waterfall was revealed.
Movement is wind, stillness is void.
In his unrestrained movements, Sora perfectly simulated the Quincy's fearsome skills, Blut Vene and Blut Arterie.
One for stillness, one for movement. This once again greatly enhanced Sora's combat power.
In the blink of an eye, the interrupted flow of the waterfall fell once more. Amidst the splashing water, Sora dissipated the Blut Arterie and stood in contemplation.
'I am human, not a Shinigami in the traditional sense. The so-called mutual exclusivity between Shinigami and Quincy doesn't affect me much.'
'And this Reishi Manipulation, extending to the ability to simulate Blut Vene and Blut Arterie, can practically enhance my defense and attack power, providing a quite noticeable boost to my combat strength.'
'Whether Shinigami or Quincy, their essence lies in studying and manipulating Reishi. It's just that one emphasizes training of the self more, while the other specializes more in the application of external Reishi.'
'The development of things always spirals upward. For me, there's no need to draw such a clear line between Shinigami and Quincy. Embracing both, taking the strengths of each, is the choice that better suits my actual needs.'
Sora concentrated his thoughts, feeling his train of thought broaden considerably.
There were always many specious relationships between Shinigami and Quincy. They were opposed, yet when tracing back to their origins, both were practitioners relying on the Reishi System, with no inherent superiority or inferiority in their essence.
Just like Aizen and Yhwach, both were extreme powerhouses standing at the peak of the Bleach World. The distinction in their strength had more to do with the timing of their encounters with Ichigo's plotline.
In terms of pure talent and capacity, there might not have been a huge gap.
Now, after initially mastering the abilities of Blut Vene and Blut Arterie, Sora inevitably wanted to test the limits of these two skills.
Screech!
Drawing his sword from its sheath, the next moment-
A Vacuum Ice Blade instantly formed and shot towards Sora's body.
Hum!
Reiatsu surged.
In an instant, golden patterns also rapidly spread across Sora's body.
Reishi Manipulation!
Blut Vene!
Thump!
Clang!
The Vacuum Ice Blade crashed against the defense of Blut Vene, then out of thin air burst into countless fragments, scattering down from mid-air.
Sora's expression remained unchanged, clearly showing that the Vacuum Ice Blade's attack hadn't caused him any harm.
'Low Kage-level?'
'Probably!'
Sora suddenly smiled: 'If he doesn't find a way to incorporate Nature Transformation, Minato's Rasengan probably can't break my defense anymore, right?'
'I seem to have no weaknesses left.'
The compatibility of Shinigami and Quincy merged into one within Sora, undergoing a subtle transformation.
From another perspective, this was equivalent to an Uchiha Clan's Ninja possessing the Indra Chakra Reincarnation also integrating the Asura's Chakra into themselves. When the two powers perfectly fuse together, a very marvelous change occurs.
Just like Sora now. After being able to freely control the Reishi within his body and his surroundings, he found himself entering a rather unbelievable state.
He could control the speed of blood flow, the frequency of his heartbeat, change the positions of flesh and bone, and even influence, to a certain extent, the timing of cell creation and death.
Simply put, Sora had already acquired the ability of regenerating severed limbs.
Even if an arm was cut off or his brain died, he could still control his own cells to undergo targeted fission and growth, regenerating those lost organs.
"One step further, wouldn't that be reborn from a drop of blood, eternal and indestructible?"
Sora laughed softly. In that case, he should have initially grasped the power of immortality and glimpsed a glimpse of the path to eternal life.
…
Of course,
Just like Orochimaru's lifelong pursuit, the Ninja World also secretly contained some miraculous powers infinitely close to immortality.
Land of Fire.
Kirigakure Front Line, Second Defense Position.
Ninja Hospital.
"Jiraiya-sama, Minato-sama, Choza-sama, Shikaku-sama... All of you blocking the entrance will only hinder the progress inside the operating room. Please go back and rest first. When the surgery has a result, I will send someone to notify you all immediately."
Outside the critical care operating room of the hospital, a Medical-Nin, her white surgical suit stained with blood, was annoyedly waving her hands to shoo away the important figures present.
Clearly, the crowd of Ninjas piled at the door was already affecting the work inside the operating room.
"Alright!"
"We'll come back when there's news!"
"Don't be nervous, Minato, Kushina will definitely be fine!"
Elite Jonin from great clans like Choza, Shikaku, Inoichi, and the others comforted the distraught Namikaze Minato a few more times before finally leaving the operating room, looking back every few steps.
Only three people remained at the door.
Minato, his face pale, Jiraiya leaning against the wall with a gloomy expression, and Kakashi, who had always been expressionless, his face covered by a black mask.
Knowing that the three who remained all had close relationships with Kushina, the Medical-Nin stopped trying to chase them away.
She turned, pushed open the operating room door, and hurried back inside anxiously.
After that, no one spoke.
The corridor fell into a shocking dead silence.
Only the expressionless Kakashi's piercingly cold gaze occasionally swept over his teacher.
'Saved again?'
'Why...'
'Is it just right again this time?'
'Because she is Uzumaki Kushina?'
Recalling the tragic states of Obito and Rin's deaths, an inexplicable unreasoning anger rose in Kakashi's heart. Remembering the gruesome scene of his father committing suicide before him years ago, he even felt a desire to destroy, to pull the entire world down to accompany his loved ones in death.
But Kakashi was still Kakashi.
Not only was his Ninja Talent exceptional, his mental fortitude was also beyond ordinary people. So even though stormy waves raged in his heart, he merely cast a few unobtrusive glances at Minato, then fell silent again.
'I am still no match for Sensei. The time for avenging Rin and Obito was still far off.'
Kakashi was silent.
But he didn't realize how terrifying this irritable thought of his was, as if the piercing hatred for his sensei was something that should naturally exist.
Kakashi also didn't realize that on his own heart, a mysterious seal was flickering with light.
…
"Nine-Tails, I'm certain we are both the most unfortunate existences in this world. You suppress this world, and I suppress you. And because of this chain of hatred, we are both deeply detested by this world."
"Detested by the world? Uzumaki Kushina, are you sure you know the truth of this world?"
"The truth?"
"Is the reason why you and I are detested by this world, becoming the most unfortunate existences."
"What is it?"
"It is powerful strength, strength that surpasses everything. Because of this strength, we are detested by others. Humans innately dislike existences stronger than themselves, and will even go to any lengths to destroy them, giving everything, destroying everything that makes them feel fear, all for the sake of their own extremely fragile sense of security."
"Nine-Tails, why are you saying so much? Is it because you feel fear too? I sense the unease in your Chakra, your trembling, even your... fear."
"Hah, probably. Although I don't want to admit it, when I encountered that man named Yuki Sora, I felt a huge sense of rejection. Just like this world deeply detests you and me, I also detest that man. I have a premonition that if we don't kill him soon, I, Kurama, will eventually die at the hands of that Yuki Sora one day..."
"Kurama? Is that your name, Nine-Tails? For some reason, this name feels more intimate than 'Nine-Tails'!"
"Intimate? Let's say so. In any case, let's not waste any more time. If you die this time, I feel that by the time I revive again, this world might already have been destroyed by that man named Yuki Sora. So... here, take my power!!!!"
…
After who knows how long, the red light outside the operating room turned off. The still-unconscious Kushina, lying on the hospital bed, was pushed out by several Medical-Nins.
"Shizune, how is Kushina?"
The anxious and frightened Minato rushed up first. Seeing the pale-faced Kushina on the bed, his breath caught, and he almost fainted.
"Hmm... she should be fine for now. But the situation is a bit bizarre. In any case, let's let Kushina rest in her room first. After observing for a while, it should be fine."
Shizune rubbed her tired eyes with the back of her hand, had her colleagues take Kushina away first, then shook her head, her expression very peculiar as she said: "This time, Kushina-san's heart was pierced. The wound also carried some dangerous cold energy that could easily tear Chakra apart, so the initial surgical treatment was very difficult."
"But in the latter half of the surgery, something very marvelous happened to Kushina-san's body. It seemed a powerful, vitality-filled Chakra appeared, erasing that dangerous cold energy. And Kushina-san's wound also healed rapidly under the influence of this Chakra. Although I can't quite figure out what happened, well..."
"Kushina-san's recovery speed far exceeded expectations. She's still unconscious now only because of severe mental and physical exhaustion. But judging from all the vital signs data, Kushina-san should be fine now. Her fatal injury has perfectly recovered."
After Shizune finished speaking, even she found it unbelievable.
Let alone her, even if Tsunade were here, she probably couldn't save someone with a pierced heart through just one surgery.
"Really?"
Minato was overjoyed, the worry on his face swept away.
"Kushina, she's really alright?"
Jiraiya beside him was also dumbfounded. He had already mentally prepared for the worst, never expecting things would take a new turn.
'Didn't...'
'Die?'
A flash of regret passed through Kakashi's eyes. Not being able to let his teacher feel the pain in his heart was truly a very unsatisfying thing...
…
Soon.
The news of Kushina's recovery from her severe injuries spread through Konoha's upper echelons.
This finally gave the Konoha's powerhouses, who had been gloomy due to the crushing defeat at the Tenfu Gorge campaign, a reason to boost morale.
Our Konoha hasn't lost yet!
Konoha's main commanders like Minato and Jiraiya also attended several pep rallies, using the opportunity to boost the morale of the mid and lower-level Ninjas.
Actually...
If you think about it carefully, there was something to be said.
Although the Konoha forces at the Tenfu Gorge battlefield were routed by Sora alone, over at Mount Fukyu, Jiraiya had also suppressed Kirigakure's Yagura, achieving a great victory.
Considering both campaigns together, the overall situation was more like Konoha and Kirigakure splitting results seventy-thirty, and the loss wasn't actually that devastating.
It was just that the deaths of over a hundred Jonin, plus the fact that Konoha's aces, the Yellow Flash and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, were both beaten by the same person, delivered too great a mental shock to the Konoha Ninjas.
It made many develop PTSD upon hearing the name 'Yuki Sora', completely losing the ability to analyze the situation calmly.
In short,
Because Kushina miraculously recovered, the originally shattered morale of the Konoha's Ninjas gradually recovered, and under the support of the three aces: Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina… quickly became vigorous again.
Many Konoha's Ninjas also thought simply: 'Your Kirigakure's Yuki Sora might be powerful, but you can't match our Konoha's numbers! Even if Minato-sama + Kushina-sama can't win, we still have the Legendary Sannin!'
Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru!
'After the Sannin, we still have Danzo-sama, Homura-sama, Koharu-sama, the Hyuga Clan, the Ino-Shika-Cho, the Uchiha, and other great clans. No matter how powerful that Yuki Sora is, can he kill all these experts alone?'
'Fine!'
'Even if you, Yuki Sora, are that powerful and actually manage that, our Konoha still has the 'Strongest Hokage'!!!'
'The Third Hokage-sama!'
'He is a Hokage even stronger than the God of Ninja, the First Hokage! At worst, the Third Hokage-sama can take action himself. Wouldn't it be easy as pie, effortlessly suppressing Kirigakure's Yuki Sora!??'