Suddenly, eight more Tatsuya appeared around Mizuki in a flash.
[Clone Jutsu leveled up to Lv.45!]
[You can now summon one more clone!]
"The Clone Jutsu… without hand seals?" Mizuki gasped. He stepped back instinctively, scanning the duplicates.
Creating jutsu without hand seals was technically possible—but far less efficient, far more chakra-draining, and rarely this precise. Yet these clones… they looked perfect. Just like in the graduation exam.
Tatsuya, even through his blurring vision and the phantom image of Mizuki dressed as a circus clown balancing on a tightrope above, grinned.
That was the beauty of Gamer Skills. Jutsu cast through the system didn't need hand seals. In the academy, he'd always faked the seals for appearances. Nobody had noticed.
Now, there was no need to pretend.
All eight clones, alongside the original, launched forward like a crashing wave.
"Clones or not, this won't be enough!" Mizuki roared, forming a rapid sequence of hand seals.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm Barrage!"
He slammed his palm forward, unleashing a concussive wave of wind that rippled outward like a shockwave.
WHOOOOOM!
The gust slammed into all nine Tatsuyas, scattering them like leaves—and every single one vanished in a puff of smoke.
Poof. Poof. Poof!
Mizuki's eyes narrowed.
"…What?"
There were no signs of substitution—no logs, no rocks. And yet, they'd all vanished.
A shadow loomed behind him.
"What—?"
CRACK!
A solid kick slammed into the side of Mizuki's head, sending him stumbling sideways.
The real Tatsuya emerged from the tree's blind spot behind him, his body low and sharp like a striking panther.
[Substitution Jutsu leveled up to Lv.47!]
[Basic Taijutsu leveled up to Lv.65!]
[Controlled Breathing leveled up to Lv.30!]
[Leaf Concentration Practice leveled up to Lv.95!]
The level-up had given him another clone—and he'd instantly swapped places with it mid-assault using Substitution. It had taken precise timing and nerves of steel, but he pulled it off mid-battle.
Mizuki reeled from the hit—not heavily injured, but destabilized. His chakra flared in agitation.
"You little bastard!" Mizuki snarled.
But Tatsuya was already rushing him again—two kunai drawn, gleaming under the moonlight.
Mizuki's face twisted in fury as he gripped his kunai tighter.
"You're dead, brat!" he growled, surging toward Tatsuya.
[2 minutes passed!]
[Cognitive Drift triggered.]
[Chakra Desynchronization initiated.]
[Paranoia effect started.]
Tatsuya's body locked up. His vision blurred, the world around him pulsing with color and distortion. His head throbbed violently.
[Eye of the Sleepless leveled up to Lv.4!]
(Warning: Duration surpassed threshold. Side effects intensifying!)
He clenched his jaw, trying to move, to dodge—but his limbs felt like they were moving through water. Mizuki's kunai gleamed in the air, descending toward his chest.
"Die!"
Thwip!
A sharp whistle cut through the chaos.
Thunk!
"Gah!" Mizuki cried out as a shuriken buried itself deep into his arm. Blood spurted as he staggered backward, momentarily halted.
"Who?!" he roared, spinning around.
His eyes landed on the treeline—on a figure standing tall, breathing hard, a set of shuriken still in hand.
"Tsubaki?!"
Tsubaki stepped forward, face cold but eyes burning. "You bastard."
Mizuki's expression twisted. "You'd betray me for this kid?! I gave you everything! You were mine!"
Tsubaki's lip curled in disgust. "You lost your place the moment you tried to kill me. And now… watching him fight—to protect himself, to protect me—I finally see what a spineless coward you are."
Tsubaki raised her hands, fingers flying through a sequence of practiced seals.
Ram → Horse → Tiger → Snake → Boar → Horse.
"Fire Release—Ash Pile Burning!"
A massive burst of heated ash exploded from her mouth, rushing toward Mizuki like a blazing cloud. It hissed and crackled, glowing with embers.
Mizuki's eyes widened. "Tsubaki, wait—!"
Too late.
The ash surrounded him, and—
FOOOM!
It ignited.
A controlled explosion sent a shockwave through the clearing. Mizuki screamed as he was flung back, his body singed and rolling across the dirt.
Tatsuya collapsed to one knee, gripping his forehead. The hallucinations danced more wildly now—Mizuki's form flickered between real and monstrous, and the ground seemed to breathe.
But… he grinned through the pain.
He wasn't alone anymore.
"You bastards!" Mizuki roared, his voice cracking with rage as he clutched his kunai. Part of his face was scorched and blistering from the earlier explosion, the skin peeling and raw.
"You'll regret making me enraged!"
In a blur, he dashed forward like a beast unchained.
Tsubaki reacted instantly, flinging several shuriken at his advancing form. But Mizuki slammed his free hand to the ground mid-run.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
A thick slab of earth shot up between him and the incoming projectiles, deflecting all of them with a dull clattering sound.
Tsubaki narrowed her eyes and readied herself, expecting him to charge through—
But instead, Mizuki sidestepped the wall entirely, redirecting his charge—
Toward Tatsuya.
[3 minutes passed.]
[WARNING: Side Effects Intensifying!]
[Eye of the Sleepless leveled up to Lv.5!]
Tatsuya could barely think. His heart pounded in a disjointed rhythm, and black spots danced across his vision. Every pulse of chakra felt like lightning in his veins. He was breaking under the strain.
His knees trembled, eyes unfocused.
"I can't… move…"
"Kid!!" Tsubaki screamed, running toward him at full speed.
But Mizuki was already too close.
"I'm going to gut you like a pig!" Mizuki roared, kunai raised high, eyes filled with hatred.
And then—
Whoosh.
That sound—like a hurricane compressed into a heartbeat.
"Rasengan!"
The air exploded with chakra. A spiraling sphere of raw power slammed into Mizuki's back.
"Ggghh—?!"
CRACK.
The force of the Rasengan caved in Mizuki's chest. Bones shattered. Blood spurted from his mouth as his body was launched backward like a ragdoll.
He struck a tree—and didn't get back up.
Silence.
Tatsuya, eyes wide and vision still washed in greyscale from the overstimulation, slowly turned his head.
Standing there—bathed in moonlight, wearing the white and red cloak of the Hokage, his golden hair fluttering—
Was a man.
Blonde. Calm. Powerful.
Minato Namikaze. The Fourth Hokage.
And then everything went black.
To be continued...
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