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29
"Impressive reflexes and speed. However…"
Although the kunai in his hand was tightly gripped by the boy who had suddenly rushed in, Uchiha Itachi didn't show the slightest trace of panic in his eyes.
After all, whether it was Yuhi Kurenai, a genjutsu specialist, or this boy who hadn't even awakened his Sharingan—neither stood a chance against his Mangekyō Sharingan's unique genjutsu—
*Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi!*
"Close your eyes, Ying!"
Just as Itachi activated his eye technique, the newly-awakened Yuhi Kurenai shouted out a warning.
"Don't look into his Sharingan!"
"Too late. Without Sharingan like mine, there's no way to resist my Tsukuyomi— Huh!?"
Itachi, as if it were a matter of course, tried to pull his kunai free—but realized that the boy still held on tightly. Worse, in that brief moment of distraction, the boy had also grabbed his hand through the kunai handle.
"Impossible. You're not affected at all?!"
To his shock, Itachi couldn't locate the boy's presence anywhere within the realm of Tsukuyomi.
"Sorry, but your precious Sharingan… doesn't seem to work on me."
With one hand gripping Itachi's, Uchiha Ying had already gathered chakra in the other—
*Rasengan.*
"That technique again…"
And at such close range!
Itachi tried desperately to pull back, but it was already too late.
*Rasengan!*
Without hesitation, Uchiha Ying slammed the spinning chakra sphere directly into Itachi's chest.
But—there was no feeling of tearing through flesh.
The Rasengan struck… air.
*Caw! Caw!*
*Flap flap!*
Itachi's body burst into dozens of crows, scattering into the air.
"A crow substitution prepared ahead of time?"
Ying frowned.
In that split second, Itachi had not only used a crow clone, but also pulled back to a safe distance.
"To think someone could evade Itachi-san's genjutsu… This kid's no ordinary brat."
Though the exchange between Ying, Itachi, and Kurenai lasted mere moments, Kisame—watching from the side—felt as if an eternity had passed.
"Your hand..."
After Itachi retreated, Kurenai immediately noticed Ying's bleeding left hand.
"That was reckless… You could've lost your hand trying to save me."
The blood was on Ying's arm—but the one whose heart ached was Kurenai.
"Don't get the wrong idea, sensei. I wasn't saving you—I just wanted to catch him off guard and restrict his movements."
Though... it might have failed.
But Ying's sudden move had forced Itachi to back off—he wouldn't be so quick to use that kind of genjutsu again.
"You...!"
If it weren't for the looming threat, Kurenai would've kicked his bratty ass right there.
Does he think she's blind?
He *clearly* jumped in to save her—yet still refused to admit it. Where did she find such a tsundere student?
"But, sensei... these two aren't the kind of opponents you can handle with genjutsu. Don't try that trick again."
Ying had meant to warn her earlier, but she'd already cast the illusion before he could speak.
"Neither of them?"
Itachi, fine. But that shark-faced guy...
"His sword—Samehada—is alive. It can stimulate its wielder and snap him out of illusions instantly."
Seeing her confusion, Ying explained.
"No wonder he broke free from my genjutsu so quickly."
Kurenai nodded. She understood now.
"But if genjutsu's no use… I'm practically worthless in this fight. What's your plan for dealing with them?"
Two genjutsu-immune enemies—Kurenai felt a headache coming on.
Were they really going to die here?
Damn it… She had promised her father she'd raise a new generation before dying...
"That's easy—just use taijutsu."
*Byakugan, activate!*
He'd been practicing Gentle Fist lately. Maybe it was time to try it out on Kisame.
"Taijutsu? Wait... That stance—!?"
Seeing Ying suddenly take up the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist form, Kurenai could hardly believe her eyes.
---
"I don't know where you got all this intel, kid… but none of you are walking out of here alive."
*Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!*
No longer daring to underestimate them, Kisame decided to transform the terrain into his domain—water.
In water, he had the advantage—able to breathe freely and wield Samehada to drain chakra endlessly. He'd be unstoppable.
"Can't let him create that water!"
But Ying was already a step ahead.
*Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!*
Thankfully, Kisame was the kind of "honest ninja" who performed full hand signs—and this water jutsu required quite a few.
That gave Ying enough time to close the gap and interrupt the jutsu with a storm of palm strikes.
And because Kisame needed both hands to form signs, he had put Samehada down—now he had to take the brunt of Ying's blows directly.
"This is a Hyuga secret technique—how does *he* know it?!"
Not just Kurenai—even Itachi was stunned.
A *Uchiha* using *Hyuga* Gentle Fist? Completely unbelievable.
But...
They had originally planned to eliminate the Leaf ninjas entirely.
Now, seeing that this boy wasn't someone they could easily kill, Itachi started to hesitate.
If even Kisame was struggling, then he might have reason to retreat.
After all, sparing Leaf ninjas when possible was always his preference.
But still...
A non-Sharingan Uchiha immune to *Tsukuyomi*?
The thought of this unknown, powerful Uchiha lingering near Sasuke made Itachi extremely uneasy.
---
"Your opponent is *me*!"
Noticing Itachi eyeing Ying with a dark, unreadable look, Kurenai immediately charged at him with a kunai.
She assumed Itachi was planning to sneak attack Ying while he was busy with Kisame.
So even if she had no chance of winning, she'd buy him time.
On the other side, Itachi—still wavering—had no choice but to raise his own kunai to meet her head-on.
---
"Ying... Ying-kun actually knows Gentle Fist…"
*And better than me!*
Watching from nearby, Hinata stood frozen in disbelief as she watched Ying unleash the *Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms*.
But how…
how was this possible?
The way he moved, his forms, his habits... everything about Ying's Gentle Fist...
It was exactly the same as the 'Ying-kun' she dreamed about every night.
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