Moments later, several figures arrived on the scene in a rapid blur of motion.
"Masahiko, what is the situation here?"
"Yakumo has lost control. My Shadow Clone has already gone inside, and another went to assess the perimeter. Hold on a moment."
Masahiko's voice was dark. A second later, he paused, a slight frown touching his features. "The clone was destroyed. It didn't catch sight of Yakumo."
"How could this happen? Hasn't her condition been steadily improving?" Kakashi asked, his visible eye clouded with confusion. Lately, he had been placed on mandatory leave with no external missions, so he had heard whispers of Yakumo's progress.
Masahiko shook his head. This was exactly what puzzled him. From a psychological standpoint, Yakumo's darker emotions had been visibly suppressed and safely vented after his recent guidance. For her to suddenly lose control at a critical juncture like this made no sense. Furthermore, what was the deal with this ominous, bizarre chakra?
Two or three seconds later, Masahiko's expression darkened considerably. "Not good! I just received word from Hinata. Naruto is in there, too!"
"What?!" Kakashi's expression shifted drastically.
Asuma, who had just arrived and overheard the news, felt his face turn grim as he hurriedly stepped forward. Guy hadn't quite grasped the severity of the situation yet, but Kakashi was already moving.
"Guy, organize an evacuation."
"Asuma, coordinate the ninja to patrol the perimeter and establish a quarantine zone. Ensure the safety of the bystanders and keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals."
Kakashi issued the twin commands in rapid succession. Knowing this was no time for bureaucratic procedures, Guy and Asuma nodded and immediately vanished to carry out their orders. Kakashi then turned his gaze back to Masahiko. "You..."
"I have to go in," Masahiko replied with absolute certainty. He met Kakashi's eye, his tone grave. "Yakumo trusts me. If I leave now, she's beyond saving—and you'll have a massive political mess on your hands."
Kakashi fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement. "In that case..."
"Wait!"
A voice from behind interrupted their plan. Kurenai Yuhi rushed over, sweat beading on her forehead. "I'm going in, too!"
"Kurenai..."
"Let's go. Enough talking." Masahiko plunged straight into the building, his charismatic voice trailing behind him. "There are at least two distinct threats in there. An extra pair of hands increases our odds."
"Alright. Be careful," Kakashi said deeply. With that, he too charged into the chaotic Academy building, now entirely engulfed by swirling illusions of roaring fire, biting frost, and crackling lightning.
In an instant, the world spun wildly around him, as if he had crossed into another dimension. Lightning, roaring flames, and a sea of blades... lethal traps converged on him from all sides. This was a world of Genjutsu!
Kakashi's heart sank. He rapidly analyzed his options to break the illusion while desperately evading the relentless barrage of attacks.
On the other side.
Masahiko's reality was equally saturated with chaotic energy, but bizarrely, a perfect, blank circle remained untouched around him. It was as if... someone was protecting him.
Masahiko furrowed his brows, looking up at the fabricated sky. "Yakumo. Is that you?"
"Sensei..."
A second later, Yakumo Kurama materialized. A pitch-black chakra coiled around her body, and her facial expressions violently shifted as she struggled against an unseen force.
"Sensei... I... it hurts so much..." she cried out in agony. "I can't control myself!"
"Where is Naruto?" Masahiko asked urgently.
Yakumo shook her head, panic bleeding into her voice. "I don't know! I can only communicate with you right now—ah? Kurenai-sensei came in too?"
"Don't panic!" Masahiko ordered, his voice low and commanding. "You and that entity are fundamentally one. The stronger you are, the weaker it becomes. So... believe in yourself. Do not lose your composure."
"Yes, Sensei!" With Masahiko and Kurenai's arrival, Yakumo's voice gained a fraction of its resolve.
Masahiko closed his eyes, intensely focusing his spiritual energy. This was a theoretical application he had devised, piecing together insights from Orochimaru's notes and techniques disclosed by Sasori. He was far from proficient with it, but given the circumstances, it was his only option.
Focus!
Meditate!
And then... erupt!
Masahiko's hands blurred through a rapid sequence of hand signs. Using the illusionary landscape as a bridge, he violently reversed the flow of his spiritual energy, pushing it back against the source. In the next second, the sequence was complete.
Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu!
Inside the classroom.
Yakumo Kurama was fiercely painting on her canvas when an endless, suffocating darkness suddenly surged from all directions.
"A Genjutsu?"
"Hmph. Using a Genjutsu on me? Ridiculous!"
The eerie chakra poured out from her body, gradually coalescing into a shadowy phantom behind her back. It was as grotesque as a demon, wreathed in a highly specialized chakra that seamlessly merged with its form to manifest a strange, unique symbol.
Upon separating from her, the entity substituted its own eyes for Yakumo's, instantly restoring its vision. And then... it resumed painting on the canvas.
"Yakumo, you cannot get rid of me. You need me..." it muttered to itself.
But in that brief moment of distraction—
"You bastard! Get the hell off Yakumo!"
Bang!
Bursting from the shadows, Naruto delivered a flying kick straight at the phantom behind Yakumo. But in the blink of an eye, a tendril of chakra detached from the entity, transforming into a thick tentacle that violently seized Naruto in mid-air.
"It seems you harbor a dark power within you as well!"
"What a pity..."
"Your heart is unworthy of wielding such strength," it hissed with a chilling coldness.
At that exact moment, Yakumo forced the words out with immense difficulty: "Don't you dare... hurt my friend!"
"Go to sleep, Yakumo. Stop struggling. By the time you wake up, I will have carried you to the throne!" the 'Ido' whispered slowly.
Its voice was laced with a potent, hypnotic Genjutsu designed to tempt and subjugate the mind. Amplified by that peculiar chakra, the effect was devastatingly pronounced. Yakumo, already heavily suppressed, was visibly losing the battle to resist.
Naruto struggled in agony, choking as the tentacle tightened its grip on his throat.
Right then—
Swish!
A piercing screech ripped through the air. A kunai impaled the wooden easel, its crackling lightning instantly shredding the canvas to pieces. A fraction of a second later, a brilliant flash of a blade swept through the room.
The phantom sprouted several new tentacles, instantly abandoning Naruto as it scurried desperately into the distance.
Masahiko caught Naruto as he fell. Only after confirming the boy was unharmed did he let out a quiet sigh of relief. He then turned his gaze toward the 'Yakumo' entity, his expression murderous.
"You are the monster born from Yakumo's Kekkei Genkai, aren't you?"
"A monster?" the entity sneered darkly. "I am her proxy..."
Its fingers tightened around the brush, rapidly sketching over a new canvas. But a second later, its hand was seized in an iron grip.
A terrifying surge of chakra erupted from Masahiko's palm, invading the entity and flowing rapidly through her blood and bodily fluids. In an instant, Yakumo's physical body grew visibly frail and weakened.
Masahiko had combined the paralyzing sting of a Water Jellyfish with a Sealing Jutsu to forcefully suppress the rampant chakra within Yakumo. Then...
Crash!
Another Masahiko shattered the window, leaping into the room from the outside.
This was the real body. However, there was no need for him to intervene further. Kakashi and Kurenai arrived in rapid succession, swiftly securing and placing a proper seal on Yakumo.
Yet, everyone present was acutely aware that the thing inside her had not truly been dealt with.
Masahiko watched the scene unfold, sinking into deep thought. He was absolutely certain that the creature was indeed Ido. However, when his Shadow Clone first breached the room, it had faintly glimpsed a symbol on Ido's forehead—one completely different from what he remembered in the anime from his past life.
What was going on here?
[Naruto: The Prequel — Episode 17 Filming Complete!]
[Editing in progress...]
[Render Successful!]
[Total Screen Time: 11 Minutes 22 Seconds.]
[Camera Time Percentage: 54.1%.]
[As a villain character, your screen time has exceeded 50%. Your Salary allowance has been massively increased.]
[System Prompt: ...]
Perhaps—
The answers he sought would be found right here.