Kushina didn't understand the true value of Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami, but she understood her boyfriend. If even Kei thought a technique was valuable, then it had to be incredibly powerful!
However, compared to Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami, she was clearly more interested in the genjutsu Kei had just performed.
An illusion that could make someone experience an extended period of time in just a short moment—just thinking about it was terrifying.
"What was the illusion you just used?"
"Swallow My Sweet Release?"
Kei casually made up a name.
This kind of illusion required constructing a complex scene with detailed character settings, making it unsuitable for fast-paced battles. Moreover, the characters created by the illusion could never be as intelligent as real people.
For an adult with a solid grasp of reality, an illusion would always remain an illusion. As for completely erasing the target's original memories and replacing them with ones created by the illusion…
The idea had just crossed his mind before he dismissed it outright.
Not to mention the immense time and effort required to fabricate over a decade's worth of memories, large-scale memory erasure would also cause irreversible damage to the target's brain and psyche.
At that point, wouldn't it just be easier to eliminate them directly?
But…
If the illusion progresses based on the target's own memories and desires… wouldn't that be similar to a modified Tsukuyomi without the personality reversal?
Kei's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Was there anyone more skilled than him at manipulating others' memories and inner desires?
A limited Tsukuyomi, huh?
He had to find someone to test it on as soon as possible!
"ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh~ next time you create a new technique, let me name it instead."
Kushina covered her face with one hand. This name… was exactly her boyfriend's style.
"Sure."
Kei ruffled Kushina's head, then got up and walked to his study, quickly recording his illusionary inspiration.
When he looked up, he saw her sitting cross-legged in the study, chakra surging around her—she had clearly started training as well.
Seeing this, he refocused on the scroll in front of him, continuously refining and improving his concepts for Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami.
Before long, Guy, Kurenai, and Genma arrived at his door, looking slightly embarrassed.
Even though Kei had taken on the position of Vice Director of the ANBU Training Division, perhaps due to political considerations, the Third Hokage had never reassigned them to a new jonin leader. They were still under his command.
Kei created a shadow clone to take them for training.
Before he could dive back into his illusion research, an ANBU member arrived to inform him that the Third Hokage wanted Tsunade to go to the Konoha Hospital.
Glancing at Tsunade, who was fully immersed in her illusion, Kei had no choice but to leave behind a shadow clone to continue his research before getting up to follow the ANBU towards the hospital.
"Damn it! I'm practically Konoha's model worker at this point!"
He grumbled in frustration before using the Body Flicker Technique, swiftly leaping across the rooftops of various buildings.
In his mind, he was already considering who he could rope into helping out at Root to ease his workload.
Danzō had spread Root's operations way too thin.
With the current tense situation in the ninja world, intelligence from various nations and villages was continuously pouring into the espionage division.
There were missions to assign every day.
The combat division was frequently capturing key individuals, while the interrogation division was submitting one report after another.
The research and training divisions weren't any easier to manage—besides mandatory progress updates, they constantly requested funds, experimental materials, equipment, and other supplies in every possible way.
Kei used to see Danzō making frequent trips to the Hokage's office and thought the job wasn't too difficult. But now that he had taken over, he realized just how much of a headache it all was!
If it weren't for the fact that he had thoroughly gone through Danzō's memories, allowing him to mimic many of his methods, he might not have been able to handle everything on his own.
"Who could I rope into this…? Promote some of Root's original members?"
Kei pondered for a while, running through names in his mind. He had already told the Ino-Shika-Chō trio that he had dealt with Danzō and was secretly managing Root himself.
Inoichi and Chōza were at least somewhat surprised by the news.
But Shikaku? That guy didn't even bother pretending to be shocked. He outright shrugged and said Kei could invite whoever he wanted. Clearly, after seeing Kei's strength, he had already expected this outcome.
However, the Nara clan's younger members lacked experience, and putting them into Root wouldn't be much help.
As for the older Naras—sure, they were all incredibly smart, but they were also incredibly lazy! If he tried to recruit them using conventional methods, there was no way they'd agree to join.
The Yamanaka clan didn't have as many geniuses as the Naras, but even those who could genuinely assist him probably wouldn't be willing to join Root.
And the Akimichi clan… Well, they were all adorable, but expecting them to handle strategy was just cruel.
That left only the original members of Root.
"Maybe I should sift through them, tweak a few memories, and give it a shot?"
With those thoughts running wild, he followed the ANBU to Konoha Hospital.
As soon as he stepped onto the second floor, he was met with the sight of a large group of Uchiha ninjas standing in the hallway with their arms crossed.
At the end of the corridor stood the Third Hokage, accompanied by two ANBU operatives.
"Where's Tsunade?"
Hiruzen looked puzzled upon seeing Kei arrive alone.
"Tsunade saw how effective Kakashi's psychological treatment was and decided to personally experience a session herself," Kei replied vaguely.
The fact that she suffered from hemophobia was a tightly kept secret among Konoha's upper echelon. Given the number of people around, openly stating the truth would mean that by the next day, the entire village would know.
Hearing this, a few Uchiha clan members stepped forward angrily, clearly about to demand why Kei hadn't woken Tsunade up. But before they could speak, an elderly Uchiha at the front waved a hand, stopping them in their tracks.
His sharp gaze swept across the younger clan members who had been ready to protest, forcing them to swallow their words.
Ordinary ninjas might not recognize Kei's true status.
But as an elder of the Uchiha clan, he kept a close eye on the shifting power dynamics in the village. How could he not recognize the newly appointed Vice Director of Root?
Questioning Root's second-in-command in front of the Hokage himself? Did they think their lives were too easy?
Hiruzen, having understood the implication behind Kei's words, realized that Tsunade was likely undergoing treatment for her hemophobia.
Taking the initiative, he turned to the Uchiha elder beside him and said, "Though Kei is young, he is more skilled than Tsunade in treating mental trauma. Mikoto's physical injuries aren't severe—he is actually more suitable for this than Tsunade."
"Then I must trouble you," the Uchiha elder replied, bowing respectfully. His demeanor was notably polite.
"You're too kind. I will do my best," Kei responded with a bow of his own.
The elder before him, Honjima, was one of the last surviving members from the Warring States period. He was known for being part of the faction that sought closer ties with the village.
He actively encouraged his clan members to participate in Konoha's daily operations and missions rather than remaining confined to the Police Force.
Among the Uchiha leadership, he was one of the few with true foresight.
Although Kei hadn't interacted with him often, Root's intelligence files had documented his entire history in great detail.
Click—
The hospital room door opened.
A medical-nin stepped out. Having already overheard the conversation outside, he turned to Kei and said,
"Come check on the patient's condition first. She… seems to still be trapped in a genjutsu?"
"Understood."
Kei nodded toward Hiruzen and the Uchiha elder before quickly stepping into the room.
Because of Kushina, he had known Mikoto since childhood.
Now that she was injured, there was no way he would stand by and do nothing when he had the ability to help.
Upon entering the room, Kei saw her lying on the hospital bed, her face pale.
Glancing at the IV drip beside her, he noted that it was merely a standard fluid to replenish bodily energy. Forming a hand seal, he focused intently, carefully sensing Mikoto's current mental state.
---
---
100 Advance chapters!
p@treon.com/Malphegor