Naruto evolution system

Chapter 169: The Aftermath

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"Release!"

With Baishi's command, bright red flower buds within the sea of trees quietly bloomed.

In an instant, countless golden pollen grains floated out, resembling fireflies, drifting toward the Iwagakure shinobi.

Noticing this, several wind-style specialists among the Iwagakure forces quickly unleashed wind-based jutsu, aiming to disperse the pollen.

Simultaneously, other ninjas hurriedly took out antidote pills and swallowed them.

Their response was effective to a degree.

Eventually, only about one-third of the Iwagakure ninjas succumbed to the pollen, while the rest remained unaffected.

"Quite well-prepared, aren't they?"

Seeing the outcome, Baishi murmured to himself, though his tone soon shifted.

"But… do you think that's all I've got?"

Fixing his gaze on several key individuals who appeared to be commanding the Iwagakure forces, Baishi swiftly formed hand seals, activating the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique: Mind Body Clone Technique.

Nearly half a year earlier, shortly after leaving the isolated island in the deep seas, Baishi had encountered one of Danzo's subordinates during his travels in the Land of Forests. One of these subordinates hailed from the Yamanaka Clan.

Through this encounter, Baishi obtained the knowledge of the technique and, seeking to address the limitations of his Phantom Ring, rigorously studied and refined it.

Now, when Baishi employed the Mind Body Clone Technique, he no longer entered a vulnerable, unconscious state like the Yamanaka Clan's members. Instead, he retained full mobility and could control multiple targets at once.

With a mere thought, Baishi seized control of five Iwagakure jonin. Though they instinctively resisted, their mental defenses were utterly insufficient against Baishi's overwhelming spiritual power.

Before the rest of the Iwagakure forces could notice anything amiss, Baishi activated the Phantom Ring, unleashing the stored A-rank genjutsu, Temple of Nirvana Technique.

Feathers descended from the sky like snowflakes, filling the air and appearing in the vision of the Iwagakure shinobi.

The illusion caused their eyelids to droop as sleep beckoned.

"Watch out! It's a genjutsu!"

"Everyone, stay alert! We're under a genjutsu attack!"

Soon, some of the shinobi realized the anomaly, shouting warnings to their comrades.

More and more ninjas began resisting the illusion, either snapping out of it voluntarily or receiving assistance from allies to dispel the technique.

Baishi remained unfazed by their reaction. He hadn't expected this technique to incapacitate such a large number of shinobi.

His objective was merely to create chaos and distract the enemy.

While the Iwagakure shinobi focused on countering the genjutsu, Baishi commanded the tree sea to grow further, spawning new, larger flower buds.

Unlike the first wave of attacks, this time the Iwagakure forces' response was disorganized. With their chain of command disrupted and their ranks in disarray from the earlier confusion, their wind-based counterattacks were uncoordinated and inefficient, inadvertently accelerating the spread of the pollen.

As for the antidote pills…

To be blunt, they were little more than placebo and couldn't effectively counter the toxicity of the pollen.

Within seconds, a majority of the Iwagakure shinobi were incapacitated, collapsing to the ground one after another.

Even those still standing were visibly rattled.

Adding to the chaos, Baishi manipulated the five controlled jonin to attack their comrades, further eroding trust and sowing paranoia among the Iwagakure forces.

Taking advantage of the turmoil, Baishi vanished in a flicker and reappeared in the midst of the crowd.

Without pausing, he unleashed a relentless combination of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.

In under a minute, the remaining Iwagakure forces were neutralized.

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Outside the Four Beast Spirit Sealing Formation

Miyamoto Shintai, a sensor ninja stationed outside the barrier, abruptly opened his eyes, his expression one of shock and disbelief.

Noticing this, Iwagakure elder Chiba Ishirin felt a pang of unease. He immediately asked, "Shintai, what's happening?"

Shintai seemed startled, his voice trembling as he replied, "Elder Ishirin, we must retreat immediately!"

"What?"

Confused, Chiba Ishirin pressed for clarification. Due to the barrier and the dense tree sea obscuring the battlefield, he had no way of seeing what was transpiring within.

"I mean it! The entire assault team inside has been wiped out!"

Shintai's voice quivered as he conveyed the grim reality.

"Wiped out? All three squads?" Ishirin asked incredulously, his voice rising.

"Not everyone is dead," Shintai corrected with a pained expression. "But nearly all of them are incapacitated. None of them are capable of continuing the fight."

Just as he finished speaking, his face suddenly changed as he sensed something terrifying approaching.

"Wh-What…"

Before Ishirin could finish his question, a deafening crash drew his attention.

A massive wooden figure rose from the ground within the barrier, its colossal fist smashing through the Four Beast Spirit Sealing Formation's barrier in a single blow.

The wooden giant then turned its gaze directly at them.

"Th-This…"

For a moment, Ishirin was struck dumb, his mind flashing back to his youth. Before the establishment of Iwagakure, when war between clans and nations was rife, he had once witnessed the legendary Senju Hashirama in battle.

And the scene before him now bore an uncanny resemblance to that memory.

Not just him—every other Iwagakure shinobi present was frozen in place, paralyzed by the sheer display of power.

Though seasoned warriors, trained to maintain composure, even they couldn't help but feel a primal fear in the face of such overwhelming might.

Standing atop the wooden giant's head, Baishi paid no heed to their reactions. With a single thought, he commanded the giant to move forward.

Each step sent tremors rippling through the earth as if an earthquake had struck.

As the wooden giant crossed the shattered remnants of the barrier, Ishirin finally snapped back to reality.

"Retreat!" he roared.

His shout broke the spellbinding fear, jolting the Iwagakure forces into action. Without a second thought, they turned and fled.

Seeing this, Baishi manipulated the wooden giant to lift its right foot and stomp down hard.

The ground cracked open, debris flew in all directions, and the tremors spread across kilometers, resembling the effects of a major earthquake.

Those closest to the impact were crushed instantly, while those farther away sustained varying degrees of injury.

And this was just the first wave.

As the wooden giant rampaged, it left destruction in its wake, toppling trees and tearing through the earth.

Within five minutes, the battlefield was littered with the fallen, and not a single Iwagakure shinobi remained standing.

Dismissing the wooden giant, Baishi walked to a secluded spot and activated an S-rank spiritual jutsu: Spiritualization Technique.

Transforming into a spiritual form, he entered the minds of the incapacitated shinobi one by one, planting spiritual seeds within their consciousness.

The process was meticulous. With hundreds of targets, even Baishi, despite his extraordinary spiritual strength and chakra reserves bolstered by two tailed beasts, spent several hours completing the task.

Although some individuals attempted to resist, their efforts were futile against the Spiritualization Technique.

For Baishi, their resistance was no more than a minor inconvenience.

Moreover, he chose not to kill them. Firstly, indiscriminate slaughter would likely haunt him with nightmares for years to come. Secondly, leaving them alive would serve as a long-term problem for Iwagakure to deal with.

That was his plan.

By leaving this mess behind, Baishi knew Iwagakure would face a dilemma: sparing these shinobi would pose a significant threat to their village, but executing them would risk alienating others.

As for undoing the spiritual seeds...

Even if they managed to decipher and remove his technique, Baishi would know instantly, allowing him to adapt and refine his methods.

In essence, Iwagakure was now a test bed for his evolving techniques.

And he couldn't wait to see how they handled it.

(Chapter End)

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