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As Hotaru's body trembled with shyness, Gensou reached out to press her back.
The Anger of the Heavens technique had not yet been activated; the black orb remained silent, containing no energy within.
Gensou's fingers touched the black orb as he released chakra to sense its interior while his Mangekyō Sharingan spun with full force, carefully analyzing the structure of the black orb.
"It seems to be an ordinary bead, but the internal structure is quite complex. Such a design must be intended to better absorb energy?"
"Huh? What is this sealing technique? It's very different from the style of the Uzumaki clan. Worthy of reference."
"This combination enhances the storage effect? I hadn't considered this before."
"..."
Gensou became absorbed in his thoughts.
The black orb, which could carry the Anger of the Heavens technique and serve as an essential item for forbidden techniques, held immense value.
For Gensou, even though the Anger of the Heavens had yet to be fully demonstrated, studying the black orb alone was enough to justify his trip here.
Meanwhile, as Hotaru felt Gensou fondling the black orb on her back while muttering to himself, her face, already half-exposed, flushed red with embarrassment. However, she felt a slight sense of relief in her heart.
Judging by his behavior, just as he had promised earlier, he didn't seem like someone who was in a hurry to seize the forbidden technique.
This kind of research posture...
Perhaps, this is what her grandfather had mentioned before—a scientist.
Nine shadows were rapidly shuttling through the forest.
Under Team 8's pursuit, Kakashi's group was closing in on the direction Sasuke and his companion were heading.
Suddenly!
An eagle's cry resounded from above.
Neji activated his Byakugan, looked up, and quickly reported, "It's one of Konoha's messenger hawks."
"Another messenger hawk?"
Kakashi frowned.
The information carried by a messenger hawk was generally significant.
The Fire Temple had just been attacked, and now, shortly after, another hawk was heading towards Konoha. Could it be that Sasuke has done something again?
Kakashi made a quick decision, forming hand seals to release a chakra signal belonging to Konoha.
Soon, the messenger hawk noticed the signal and swiftly descended towards Kakashi's location.
"This is a distress hawk!"
Kurenai observed with a serious expression.
Typically, a messenger hawk carrying information wouldn't stop for Konoha ninja on the road but would head straight to the village.
The only reason a hawk would stop is if it received a distress signal.
In a critical situation, if it flew back to Konoha before calling for reinforcements, it might be too late.
In such cases, a messenger hawk would stop upon encountering Konoha ninja and relay the distress message.
Kurenai was familiar with this because she had encountered such situations during the Third Great Ninja War.
Kakashi, with his rich battlefield experience, had guessed this possibility, which is why he had just released the signal.
As expected, the hawk descended swiftly.
Kakashi extended his arm, and the hawk landed skillfully on it.
"This is... the emblem of the Tsuchigumo Clan."
Kakashi noticed the emblem on the scroll attached to the hawk's leg.
"What is the Tsuchigumo Clan?" Guy scratched his head, asking on behalf of the confused younger ninjas.
"They were a famous ninja clan during the Great Ninja Wars and had a protection pact with Konoha."
Kakashi answered simply and then opened the scroll to read its contents.
"As expected, the Tsuchigumo Clan has been attacked."
Kakashi quickly rolled up the scroll, reattaching it to the hawk's leg, and sent it on its way to Konoha.
Neji then remarked, "I just observed the direction the hawk flew from, and it aligns with the direction we're currently pursuing. It's highly likely that Sasuke and his companion are responsible for the attack on the Tsuchigumo Clan."
Kiba, puzzled, asked, "Why would Sasuke bother with the Fire Temple and then the Tsuchigumo Clan?"
Akamaru barked in agreement, also expressing confusion.
Shino intended to offer his analysis but saw that Kakashi was about to speak and wisely remained silent.
"Rather than Sasuke's intent, it's more likely the intent of the one accompanying him," Kakashi analyzed and then issued his orders: "Continue pursuing Sasuke and his companion. If the trail diverges from the direction of the Tsuchigumo Clan's Katsuragi Mountain, we'll have to split into two teams. After all, Konoha cannot break its contract to protect the Tsuchigumo Clan."
"Understood!"
The group nodded, their forms flashing as they sped up.
"Don't be afraid. Just stay still, and I'll handle the rest."
Atop Katsuragi Mountain, Gensou, who had finished researching the black orb, was ready to further study the forbidden technique, Anger of the Heavens.
Before proceeding, he comforted Hotaru, who was trembling with fear.
Having spent some time together, Hotaru, who had grown more trusting of Gensou, quickly nodded and said:
"Yes."
Seeing this, Gensou didn't delay. He recalled the information he had just gathered from the mind of a Tsuchigumo practitioner and swiftly formed hand seals:
"Tsuchigumo Forbidden Technique Release: Heaven and Earth Creation!"
A black sealing array instantly formed beneath Hotaru's feet, transforming into black tadpoles that surged into the black orb on her back.
As the orb absorbed the array, a blinding light suddenly erupted from within.
At that moment, Gensou could clearly sense that all the chakra and natural energy within a hundred-meter radius were madly rushing into the black orb on Hotaru's back.
"This is Anger of the Heavens? It's truly domineering."
Through his Mangekyō Sharingan, Gensou observed chakra and natural energy flooding into the black orb, and within less than half a minute, all the energy within a hundred meters was drained. He was amazed that the Tsuchigumo Clan's ancestors could develop such a secret technique.
He had never heard of a Tsuchigumo Clan during the Warring States Period.
Gensou shook his head, dismissing the thought, and focused his attention on the black orb, which had already absorbed a significant amount of chakra and natural energy.
At this moment, if the black orb were compared to a human body, the absorbed chakra would be like personal chakra cultivated through training, while the constant influx of natural energy corresponded to senjutsu training.
Unlike chakra, natural energy was an extremely difficult power to control.
The Anger of the Heavens forbidden technique not only absorbed natural energy but also mixed it with chakra without causing the irreversible damage that would occur from failing senjutsu training.
The principles behind this were worth Gensou's deep exploration.
Before long, Hotaru, feeling uncomfortable, spoke up:
"Sir, can we stop now? I can't hold on much longer."
Gensou didn't make things difficult for the girl:
"If you can't hold on, then release it all."
"Can I really?"
"Of course."
(End of Chapter)