Chapter 854 : A Hidden Danger!

In the ninja world, there were various techniques of absorbing foreign chakra. The Rinnegan could absorb any chakra, tools like Samehada could assist in absorbing it, the Dark Release Kekkei Genkai did something similar and there were even some weaker ninjas like Yoroi who had their own methods.

However, all these abilities only absorbed the chakra temporarily. Once they used that chakra, it'd be gone from their bodies forever. Even if they didn't use it, they couldn't hold the chakra for a long time. Their chakra reserves wouldn't increase due to it.

What Fujin was trying with the Myriad Tetragram Seal was quite unique. Even though he was inspired by Minato's seal, it wasn't the same. Minato's seal achieved what it did over several years at a slow but steady rate. In addition, it needed Kurama's cooperation, even though he cooperated due to being fooled by Minato.

Fujin's plan was to forcefully refine chakra and permanently make it a part of his body. It couldn't be done with any chakra. Heck, Fujin couldn't even use the chakra in his artificial chakra lake to achieve this. He could only use the chakra of a Tailed Beast or similar entities whose chakra perpetually regenerated due to nature.

Of course, such chakras couldn't be absorbed directly either. If he did, Fujin would be affected by the same drawbacks and backlashes like the Jinchurikis. And, those changes could be permanent too. Fujin didn't want to be wild and out of control like imperfect Jinchurikis. The role of the sphere within the Myriad Tetragram Seal was crucial here.

It first suppressed any chakra or beast sealed within it. The next step was to extract the chakra little by little and eliminate the influence of any being over it, making it unaffiliated with its original owner. The third step was to transform the extracted chakra and not only make it compatible with Fujin, but also make it easy for the chakra to assimilate into Fujin's body.

It was a rather complicated process consisting of several crucial steps. Since he couldn't actually test this particular feature on normal bandits or rogue ninjas, Fujin didn't entirely understand it either. However, Fujin didn't expect he would face a hurdle at the very first step.

Even so, Fujin wasn't panicking despite Shukaku's chakra gaining the upper hand. For starters, irrespective of whether the sphere could refine the chakra, Shukaku's chakra had no chance of breaking through the barrier. Even if Shukaku was present, it would have no chance of escaping. The barrier was just too sturdy.

Secondly, expecting a mere seal to completely absorb a Tailed Beast's chakra was simply foolish. As magical as Fuinjutsu was, even it had its limits. Otherwise, the Uzumaki clan wouldn't have been destroyed and Jashin could have taken over the world. Fujin could control the sphere and the refinement himself. That was the true essence of the Myriad Tetragram Seal.

A confrontation between Fujin and the Tailed Beast where Fujin would be aided by the seal and the artificial chakra reserves to forcefully refine a Tailed Beast's chakra. It wasn't a gentle or delicate process like Minato's modifications on the Eight Trigram Divination Seal he used to seal half of Nine Tails inside Naruto. There were no tricks, no baits but a direct confrontation.

If one had to derive a similarity, it would be somewhat similar to Naruto and Kushina confronting Kurama to steal a small part of his chakra. Of course, Fujin had no sealing chains that suppressed Tailed Beasts. Instead, he entirely depended on his will, strength, artificial chakra reserves and the sphere.

As such, Shukaku's chakra resisting the sphere didn't pose any threat to Fujin. It was just that Fujin didn't expect a non-sentient chakra to force him to take action. That said, the bigger worry was something else.

Fujin observed, ‘No matter how strong the chakra sealed in the sphere is, no light should be emitted. The sphere seals off everything. Only I should be able to see what's happening inside because this is in my inner world.

The light that the sphere emits isn't directly due to Shukaku's chakra. No, the light is a product of the struggle between the sphere and the chakra. If that was all, I wouldn't care. Unfortunately, the light seems to have a destructive impact on my inner world. It's almost as if it is trying to decay or erode my inner world.

Sigh, I didn't expect such a hidden danger. Luckily, this light isn't too destructive. The erosion is almost non-existent. If I wasn't connected to it, I wouldn't have even felt it. At its current rate, it might take a million years to merely show signs of erosion, let alone destroy my inner world.

However, I need to be careful while dealing with actual Tailed Beasts. I won't be as simple as I thought it would be… The light their struggle would produce will be much more intense. I can't say for sure how much of an impact it'll cause on my inner world.

Even though I have some failsafes, like simply throwing the Tailed Beast out of the seal and my body since I'm not exactly a Jinchuriki, it'll be such a waste if I have to resort to that.’

Fujin's Myriad Tetragram Seal was different from typical sealing techniques. In normal sealing techniques, the Tailed Beast would be directly sealed inside the Jinchuriki's inner world. Their chakras would be connected with each other and so would their lives.

However, the sphere inside Fujin's inner world was like an entirely different space in itself. If he sealed a Tailed Beast inside the sphere, he wouldn't be connected with the Tailed Beast, nor would the Tailed Beast be connected with it.

Fujin couldn't borrow the Tailed Beast's chakra like other Jinchurikis nor transform into the Tailed Beast unless he sealed the Tailed Beast outside the sphere. Similarly, if Fujin were to die, the Tailed Beast sealed inside the sphere wouldn't die. Instead, it'd be released.

As such, his life wasn't in danger. However, the hidden dangers alerted Fujin and made him far more cautious. He wasn't entirely sure what would happen if his inner world were to be destroyed. If it was merely losing the artificial chakra reserves, Fujin wouldn't mind risking it if the rewards were sufficiently high. However, if the damage extended beyond his inner world, Fujin cared deeply.

Fujin thought, ‘Now that I think about it, I never destroyed anyone's inner world… I should test it out to see what effects it has on the person. Perhaps I should create a weaker variant of the Myriad Tetragram Seal where the sphere is easier to destroy so that I can study its effects as well. That said…’

Fujin sighed. His army had done a number on the bandits and rogue ninjas in the Land of Fire. Finding new experimental subjects wouldn't be easy. Fujin decided, ‘Oh well, some other country can thank me. I'll take payments from their nobles later with a miniscule interest. For now, it's time to refine Shukaku's chakra!’

Fujin began floating in his inner world. The chakra in the artificial lake became chaotic for a moment before completely calming down and becoming still. Fujin sat in a meditative posture while floating a few feet above the center of the lake, his eyes completely fixed on the sphere floating right above him. Slowly, he closed his eyes as his consciousness as he took complete control over the sphere.

Shukaku's chakra, which had begun wreaking havoc inside the sphere, suddenly calmed down as the pressure on it increased ten-fold! The chakra was easily suppressed. However, its ferocity only increased as it fought back against Fujin's will!

——

The Sun had long set, yet sounds of shurikens hitting their targets and the rhythmic thuds of punches against wooden dummies were heard from a training ground not far from the new Uchiha clan compounds. Sasuke stood alone, his shirt drenched in chest and his breathing rough. His Sharingans glowed faintly as he continued practicing his forms, remembering his vow to kill Itachi.

Not too far away, four figures sat stealthily in nearby trees. Sasuke hadn't noticed their presence. Yet, they looked at him and nodded in admiration.
One of them, wearing a bird mask, muttered, “His resolve and determination is extraordinary. He's completely out of stamina and yet is training at this intensity.”
The Anbu ninja next to him nodded, “It's truly a sight to see. At least in terms of strength, the next clan leader of the Uchiha clan may not be much weaker than his predecessors. This is good for the vill…”

He suddenly croaked, though no voice escaped his lips. His partner immediately turned his head. To his shock, a kunai appeared from his throat. His eyes moved, noticing someone had pierced the back of his comrade's neck. Before his body could react, he was beheaded as well!