Ten days later, the election for the Fourth Hokage of Konoha finally concluded. As expected, Minato Namikaze was chosen as the Fourth Hokage.
Though many villagers were puzzled as to why only one candidate remained in the end, it was hard not to feel goodwill toward the golden-haired youth who always wore a radiant smile.
Knocking on the door of the Hokage's office, Kai Mitarashi smiled when he saw Minato Namikaze, dressed in the Hokage's ceremonial robe and wearing the Hokage hat. "Minato, congratulations on finally becoming the Hokage," he said with a grin.
Minato scratched his head sheepishly and replied, "It's only because you and Jiraiya-sensei withdrew from the election for the Fourth Hokage. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stood a chance. So, Kai, what brings you here?"
Kai chuckled. "Indeed, I do have something to ask. I came to borrow the Scroll of Seals. Would that be alright?"
"Of course, no problem." Minato smiled warmly, taking the Scroll of Seals from the side and handing it to Kai. "As a Kage-level ninja, you have the authority to borrow the Scroll of Seals. Just make sure to return it within a month."
"Thanks." Taking the Scroll of Seals, Kai immediately activated God's Descent Technique and disappeared from the Hokage's office.
Minato then returned to his seat and resumed handling the village's affairs.
The Scroll of Seals contained all of Konoha's A-rank and above ninjutsu, as well as forbidden techniques. Although incredibly valuable, only a few techniques in it piqued Kai's interest.
Darkness Technique, Reaper Death Seal, Living Corpse Reincarnation, and Impure World Reincarnation—these four, and no more.
Opening the Scroll of Seals, Kai first sought out the Darkness Technique. He was particularly intrigued by this technique due to certain ideas and speculations he had in mind.
The Darkness Technique creates a dark environment, cutting off the opponent's vision and plunging them into a world devoid of light. Even the most powerful individuals are forced to reveal their positions in this pitch-black world, as if enveloped by endless black satin.
It was a powerful genjutsu, and its similarities to another technique made Kai's suspicions grow.
Kagura's Mind's Eye.
Both techniques were area-based, and both could detect the enemy's position. What piqued Kai's curiosity even more was the fact that the users of these techniques—the First Hokage and the Second Hokage—shared a connection.
Additionally, the developer of the Darkness Technique, the Second Hokage, was also known to use Kagura's Mind's Eye. It wasn't hard to deduce that the First Hokage, who shared the same surname and bloodline, likely possessed the ability to use Kagura's Mind's Eye as well, even if this detail wasn't explicitly mentioned in the original records.
This led Kai to suspect a connection between the Darkness Technique and Kagura's Mind's Eye.
As he read through the annotations on the Darkness Technique written personally by the Second Hokage, a glimmer of understanding appeared in Kai's eyes. His suspicions were confirmed.
Although the Scroll of Seals did not explicitly state that possessing Kagura's Mind's Eye was a prerequisite for learning the Darkness Technique, the conditions for mastering it were clear. One needed to sense chakra within a certain range and then use mental energy to disrupt the flow of chakra at a specific frequency, causing the target to fall into darkness.
These prerequisites strongly suggested that the Darkness Technique was specifically designed for users of Kagura's Mind's Eye. Otherwise, why would such a powerful genjutsu only ever be used by the First and Second Hokage in the original records?
With the prerequisite of Kagura's Mind's Eye already met, and with the Second Hokage's annotations as guidance, Kai quickly mastered the Darkness Technique.
Closing his eyes, Kai activated Kagura's Mind's Eye, enveloping the entire village of Konoha within its range. Countless traces of chakra appeared in his perception.
Darkness Technique!
On a whim, Kai unleashed the Darkness Technique at full power, using his mental energy to interfere with all chakra traces within his perception range.
In an instant, every ninja in Konoha who had refined chakra was plunged into darkness.
Hokage's Office
As he was processing documents, Minato Namikaze's vision suddenly went black, as if he had been cast into a dark void. His heart tightened for a moment, but then he recalled that Kai had just borrowed the Scroll of Seals. He relaxed slightly.
"Could this be the Second Hokage's Darkness Technique? I can't believe Kai mastered it so quickly. Amazing," Minato thought to himself as he formed the hand seal for Genjutsu Release, dispelling the Darkness Technique. After all, Kai had used the technique on a large scale without focusing his mental energy, so most jonin-level ninjas and above could break free from it.
Sarutobi Clan Residence
The Third Hokage's vision also went black. His years of combat experience kicked in, and he immediately formed the hand seal for Genjutsu Release, dispelling the Darkness Technique with ease. As a disciple of Tobirama Senju, the Third Hokage was intimately familiar with the Darkness Technique. He immediately thought of Kai, who possessed Kagura's Mind's Eye, and looked in the direction of the Mitarashi residence.
"Darkness Technique… Kai Mitarashi, huh?" The Third Hokage's expression was filled with complexity.
For those familiar with the Darkness Technique, the situation was manageable. However, Konoha had nearly ten thousand active-duty ninjas, and the proportion of jonin-level ninjas was relatively small. Most of the remaining ninjas couldn't dispel the Darkness Technique.
Kai, however, was merely curious and wanted to test the power of the Darkness Technique. He dispelled the technique after just a few seconds.
Still, the commotion caused by this brief experiment was enough to stir the entire village. After all, even during the prolonged Third Shinobi World War, Konoha had never experienced an attack on the village itself.
Unaware of the chaos he had caused, Kai continued studying the Darkness Technique.
The effects of the Darkness Technique didn't concern him. The genjutsu of the Tenseigan was far more powerful than the Darkness Technique. What interested Kai was the technique's method of using mental energy to disrupt the chakra detected by Kagura's Mind's Eye.
Limited by the perspective of this world, even a ninjutsu research fanatic like the Second Hokage had not broken free from certain constraints. He had only used mental energy to disrupt chakra and had never considered using mental energy to disrupt other mental energy. What kind of terrifying scenarios might arise from that?
Altering memories, controlling behavior, erasing emotions…
If Kai's hypothesis proved correct, then within the range of Kagura's Mind's Eye, Kai would become a god!
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