Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

"The battle is over."

Kitsuchi sensed the chakra signatures of the Explosion Corps members left behind as the rear guard disappearing one by one. 

This deepened his evaluation of the strength of the Konoha reinforcements that had arrived.

Even so, there was no doubt about the victor this time—it was Iwagakure. After all, the Konoha reinforcements were late. 

A late arrival meant their supply point had already fallen, and Iwagakure had achieved its objective.

Thus, Kitsuchi declared their victory and swiftly retreated from the battlefield. With the Explosion Corps members defeated, if he didn't leave now, he risked being forced to stay against his will.

As a high-ranking member of Iwagakure, on par with Konoha's Legendary Sannin, Kitsuchi being captured would be a far greater blow to Iwagakure than Konoha losing a few supply points.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Akimichi Chodai breathed deeply. He was well aware that the only way to recover their losses and boost morale was to capture Kitsuchi, this prominent Iwagakure commander.

Whether they could extract information from him or kill him on the battlefield, either option would suffice.

However, Kitsuchi had chosen the perfect moment to retreat. After regrouping with two surviving Explosion Corps members who had escaped Hyūga Ran, the three coordinated seamlessly and began their retreat.

Now having support, Kitsuchi channeled half of his remaining chakra into his shadow clone. Controlling the clay golem summoned by his Earth Release: Golem Technique, he kept Akimichi Kitsuchi firmly occupied.

"Retreat!"

Kitsuchi's real body appeared beside the two Explosion Corps members, and without stopping, he continued retreating at high speed.

But in the next instant, the two Iwagakure Jōnin suddenly turned their weapons on Kitsuchi. With kunai in hand, they struck at his vital areas from both sides.

At the same time, several explosive tags were silently attached to Kitsuchi's back.

Caught off guard by the sudden betrayal of his subordinates, Kitsuchi's eyes widened in shock. He didn't have time to wonder why they had turned against him at this critical moment. 

Instinctively, he twisted his body to avoid a fatal blow and immediately activated a defensive technique to protect himself.

Earth Release: Earth Spear!

His body became significantly heavier, but in exchange, the surface of his body was reinforced with chakra, creating a formidable layer of defense.

Two kunai pierced his body, drawing a trail of blood. However, they soon met resistance against his hardened skin.

The two Iwagakure jonin moved swiftly, their kicks synchronized as if they were one person. Their strikes landed on Kitsuchi's abdomen, sending him flying backward.

Boom! 

The explosion erupted, sending scorching heat and flames surging outward from where Kitsuchi had landed.

As the firelight and dust were swept away by a sudden gust of wind from the distance, the scene within became clear. 

Kitsuchi's body appeared to melt like wax, sliding downward until it turned into a puddle of yellow clay on the ground. The clay quickly dried up.

A mud clone!

"Did he run away?"

Hyūga Ran landed where Kitsuchi had been, his Byakugan scanning the surroundings. He could see a mass of chakra deep underground, rapidly retreating.

As if sensing Ran's gaze, the chakra mass dove deeper into the ground, moving even faster.

The clay giant also crumbled into pieces under Akimichi Chodai's punches after losing the chakra that had been controlling it.

With every step Chodai took toward Hyūga Ran and the two Iwagakure jonin, his massive body shrank slightly. By the time he reached the three, his body was still enormous, but it was much smaller than his previous giant form.

Using his large hands, he grabbed the two Iwagakure jonin, who offered no resistance, and lifted them off the ground. Hyūga Ran sealed their chakra points and tied them up with ropes.

"Phew! Great job, Yukari!"

After finishing this task, Hyūga Ran turned to Yamanaka Yukari, who had appeared behind him, and praised her loudly. It was because Ran's Byakugan had seen Yukari's move that he hadn't continued the chase.

Instead, he allowed the two controlled Iwagakure jonin to regroup with Kitsuchi.

Yamanaka Yukari deactivated her secret technique.

Mind Transfer Clone Jutsu

This technique allows the user to release their spiritual energy to control enemies. The energy can turn and maneuver during its trajectory.

The standard Mind Transfer Jutsu can only control one person. However, those with strong spiritual energy and natural talent can learn its advanced version—the Mind Transfer Clone Jutsu—which allows the user to split their spiritual energy and invade the minds of two enemies simultaneously.

The biggest weakness of these two techniques is that after being activated, the user loses control of their body due to their spiritual consciousness being released. 

If someone attacks the user's unconscious body, they would have no ability to resist.

As a result, these techniques are generally used in one-on-one scenarios. 

On the battlefield, if there are no reliable companions nearby or the user's body cannot be properly hidden, these techniques are strictly forbidden.

However, at this moment, Yamanaka Yukari maintained the technique without losing her consciousness or control over her body.

This was because the Hōgyoku compensated for the technique's flaw. Her spiritual consciousness became so strong that it suppressed her own body, creating a puppet-like split entity.

In the Hōgyoku mode, this puppet-like split entity was similar to a shadow clone. It had its own consciousness and could split off without affecting the main consciousness.

"Let's take them back and hand them over to Lord Orochimaru for interrogation," Yamanaka Yukari suggested as she looked at the two Iwagakure Jōnin, who had regained consciousness but were too weak to struggle, as well as Gari, who was being held firmly in Hyūga Lan's grasp.

Their mission was to support the supply point.

However, the supply point had already fallen, and most of the supplies had been destroyed. 

The ninja accompanying them had gone to meet up with those who had escaped the supply point and were helping them fend off Iwagakure pursuit squads that had been tracking them.

Although they lost this important supply point, they managed to kill three Jonin from Iwagakure's Explosion Corps and even captured three others, which somewhat made up for their losses.

More importantly, during this battle, they confirmed the new power they had obtained from Orochimaru—the power born from the desires of the heart!

According to Orochimaru, the Hōgyoku possesses the ability to break the boundaries between ninja and sages. In this process, it enhances your power based on the hidden desires buried deep within your heart.

For instance, Akimichi Chodai's stronger physique and improved Multi-Size Technique.

Hyūga Ran's higher-level Byakugan and more lethal secret techniques.

Yamanaka Yukari's amplified spiritual energy and the fulfillment of her desire to overcome the flaws in the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transfer Technique.

The only thing to be cautious about is that the greater the power you seek from the Hōgyoku, the higher the risks you must bear.

Those experimental failures—the captives who lost their minds or died—had succumbed to excessive greed and delusions.

But if successful, as Orochimaru-sama described, they are already on the path to becoming sages!

****

Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,

https://ko-fi.com/pirateking24/tiers