Naruto: Mixed Heritage(Rewrite)

Chapter 377: 376-Blood



[A couple of Hours Earlier]

The night was quiet save for the distant rustling of trees, their branches swaying under the moonlight. In the clearing outside Konoha's walls, Renjiro stood with his eyes half-lidded, his breathing slow and deliberate.

He extended his chakra, reaching out to the marks he had already placed. Instantly, his senses flooded with impressions—faint echoes of presence, distant emotions, and an intricate awareness of the individuals connected to him. It was almost like hearing whispers carried by the wind, except they were not words but sensations—fear, calmness, exhaustion.

He clenched his fist.

'This is still too shallow.'

Renjiro needed more than just surface-level feedback. If this ability was to be useful, it had to be precise, reliable, and above all, controllable. He focused his chakra further, attempting to stretch the range. As he did, he felt the drain on his reserves—a slow but noticeable depletion. The farther he extended his senses, the heavier the strain.

The realization settled in quickly.

'So distance is directly tied to my chakra…'

Renjiro narrowed his eyes, considering the implications. If his chakra levels dictated the range, what would happen if he increased his reserves artificially?

He took a deep breath, shifted his stance, and activated the First Gate of the Hachimon. The familiar surge of power coursed through him, his muscles tightening, his blood pumping faster. With this influx of energy, he reached out once more—and immediately noticed the difference. The Mark's range expanded significantly, stretching far beyond what he had previously achieved.

'Interesting.'

His lips twitched in satisfaction.

So the gates could amplify the Mark's range… but that brought up another question. Would his control suffer as a result?

He closed his eyes, sorting through the connections. At the edges of his range, he could barely sense those he had marked. The feedback was weak, disjointed. He frowned. It seemed that while he could push the range further, maintaining clarity was another challenge entirely.

Renjiro sighed and let the First Gate close. The immediate drop in power left him slightly lightheaded, but he steadied himself.

'It's a tradeoff,' he concluded. 'More power means more reach, but I lose fine-tuned control. Something to keep in mind.'

For now, he needed to explore another aspect of the Mark—its reaction to emotional bonds.

Renjiro had his suspicions that the Mark reacted differently depending on how he felt about the person it was placed on. To test this, he had marked both Hiro and Miwa, two people he trusted.

Now, as he focused on their marks, he immediately felt a stronger connection—sharper, clearer. It was nothing like the diluted sensations he got from strangers. Their emotions resonated with him more vividly, and the awareness he had of them was almost instinctual.

'So it's true,' he mused. 'The stronger the bond, the clearer the link.'

But what if the bond was strained?

Renjiro turned his attention to another mark—one he had placed on someone he was indifferent toward, not even worthy to be named. The connection was dull, like looking through fogged glass. It was still there, but the information it provided was sluggish, weak.

That meant the Mark wasn't just a tool of sensory perception—it was deeply tied to how he felt about the marked individual.

'That could be useful... and dangerous,' he thought grimly.

If his emotions played a role in its effectiveness, it meant that he could potentially be blinded by bias. What if he lost clarity in battle because of personal feelings? What if the mark became unreliable due to fluctuating emotions?

He needed more time to test this.

Renjiro moved to his next experiment—how the Mark functioned in combat.

He had already noted that it acted as an extra layer of sensing, allowing him to track people better within his chakra field. But what about his teammates? If he marked them before battle, would it allow him to rely less on his chakra field?

To test this, he placed a mark on a training clone and moved it into the surrounding forest. He then closed his eyes and shut off his chakra field entirely.

The moment he did, everything went silent. He was truly blind.

'Now… let's see how well this works.'

Renjiro concentrated. Slowly, his awareness returned—not through his usual means, but through the Mark. He could sense the clone, though not in the way he normally sensed things. The connection was different. It was like a mental imprint, a feeling rather than a vision.

'Good!'

He then exhaled slowly, letting the tension in his shoulders fade as the night's chill settled around him. His experiments had given him plenty of insight into the Mark of Dominion, but for every answer he uncovered, more questions emerged—questions that clawed at the edges of his mind, demanding answers he wasn't yet prepared to give.

He narrowed his eyes, staring down at his palm as faint traces of his chakra flickered to life. 'The Mark allows me to track, to sense, to connect. But could it do more?'

A dangerous thought crept into his mind. 'What if I could use it to weaken an opponent?'

His current understanding of the Mark suggested it was a bridge—a connection between himself and the marked target. If he could sense them, track them, and even read traces of their emotions, then in theory… could he manipulate their chakra as well? Could he disrupt their flow from a distance, weakening them before they even realized what was happening?

He frowned, flexing his fingers experimentally. If that were possible, it would be a game-changer. He wouldn't need to rely on brute force—he could cripple an enemy before the fight even started. But how? Would it require intense concentration? Would proximity matter? And more importantly, could it even be done with just his Mangekyō alone, or would he need to push beyond his current limitations?

Tired from the experiments, Renjiro retired back to his house to rest.

===

The night was well underway by the time Renjiro arrived at Kushina's home. The red-haired kunoichi stood outside, arms crossed, her sharp violet eyes studying him as he approached.

"You're late," she remarked.

Renjiro shrugged. "I was busy."

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "Testing that weird ability of yours again?"

Renjiro didn't deny it. "Yeah."

Kushina scoffed. "Figures."

She turned, motioning for him to follow. He did, stepping beside her as they made their way toward the training ground she had chosen.

After a moment, Renjiro broke the silence. "Are you really sure about this?"

Kushina gave him a sidelong glance before sighing. "Didn't you already try it before?"

Renjiro frowned. "Yeah, but that was brute force. You're saying there's a more precise way?"

Kushina nodded. "Exactly. What you did before was reckless—you forced your way through without understanding what you were doing. What I'm going to show you is different."

Renjiro held her gaze for a long moment before nodding. "Alright. Let's do it."

Kushina smirked. "Good."

Without hesitation, she pulled out a kunai and turned her palm upward. Renjiro watched as she sliced a shallow cut across her skin, a thin line of red welling up immediately.

He followed suit, feeling the cold steel bite into his flesh. The scent of blood filled the air.

=====

Bless me with your powerful Power Stones.

Your Reviews and Comments about my work are welcomed

If you can, then please support me on Patreon. 

Link - www.patreon.com/SideCharacter

You Can read more chapters ahead on Patreon.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.