Chapter 49: The Exhausted Itachi Uchiha
Rumble!
Two figures blurred toward each other at high speed, the collision of kunai and katana sending sparks flying. In the sky, a giant dragonfly descended, its six limbs lashing out at Kawasuke. Another giant eagle circled above, ready to strike at any moment.
This left Kawasuke in a state of extreme frustration. The summoning beasts called by the enemy seemed like battle-hardened elites with vast combat experience. Every time he attempted an attack, it was either anticipated or disrupted by the eagle diving from the sky to break his rhythm. It made his taijutsu struggle miserably.
Furthermore, the strength of the controller was not to be underestimated; he was a master of Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Wind Style. Kawasuke had suffered greatly since the battle began. Especially with the Genjutsu—after falling under its spell, he had tasted things more disgusting than filth. He didn't know what the flavor was; it had a hint of beans, but not quite.
If it weren't for the fact that Kumogakure ninjas were always at the forefront in terms of physical constitution and willpower, he would have been dealt with by the opponent's Genjutsu long ago.
Clang! Clang!
Thud!
Tonbo Tobitake retreated a step, his eyes glancing behind Kawasuke as his hands wove signs. Kawasuke, who had been closely watching Tonbo, immediately became vigilant, preparing to dispel any illusion at a moment's notice. He had already suffered too much from not being careful earlier.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
As Tonbo completed the signs, countless cherry blossoms suddenly drifted down from the sky. The pink blossoms appeared extraordinarily magnificent amidst the carnage. With a finger point from Tonbo, the infinite petals surged toward the enemy. Some leaves fell onto the path of the blossoms.
Slash!
Leaves, bark, wood... any object touched by the cherry blossoms was instantly shredded. Each petal was like a divine weapon. Kawasuke naturally noticed this; he used lightning to stimulate his cell activity and retreated rapidly. Keenly aware, he had already identified this as a Wind Style ninjutsu. If he used Lightning Style to block it, he would be falling right into the opponent's trap.
Moreover, there was Genjutsu attached to it; once caught, he would be beyond redemption. Years of battlefield experience led him to retreat quickly, intending to attack from another direction or use a more targeted technique.
Swoosh!
"Fast, but..." Tonbo smiled slightly.
Boom!
Just as Kawasuke reached a point over ten meters back, a pangolin suddenly erupted from the ground, biting down hard on his waist.
Tear!
From the moment Tonbo began the Genjutsu setup, to the Wind Style bait, to the pangolin's emergence... it all happened in the blink of an eye. Kawasuke was snapped in half at the waist.
"Damn it." Kawasuke was unwilling to accept his defeat. To be outmaneuvered like this... Even if I can't kill you, I'll take one of your summons with me!
Bzzzt!
His severed halves suddenly erupted with violent lightning, filling the area for several meters with electric light. The pangolin couldn't dodge in time and was charred black. Right before Kawasuke's final consciousness faded, he saw... the pangolin transform into a broken bamboo weaving.
"The ninja world is dangerous indeed; I must stay careful. Everyone has a ace up their sleeve!" Tonbo felt the enemy's chakra completely vanish and let out a sigh of relief. A Jonin was a Jonin; without prior intelligence, even he couldn't take one down in a short time. And that last move was likely a "mutual destruction" technique kept for the very end.
Fortunately, his sensory skills were strong and his methods were varied. "Kumo's will and techniques are quite resistant to my Genjutsu!"
Tonbo hadn't expected to use so many tricks. Genjutsu was surprisingly suppressed by the Kumogakure Jonin. Whether it was fear, nausea, or pain, the opponent could suppress and break the illusions with sheer willpower. It seemed his Genjutsu still had plenty of room for improvement. Even his technique that forced the subconscious to repeatedly cast Genjutsu on itself was broken through multiple times—born once, destroyed once. It could only briefly disrupt the opponent's rhythm and increase their consumption, lacking the power to decide the battle in one hit.
This made him realize the flaws in his Genjutsu; it was currently only fit for support. If every ninja with a will as strong as this Jonin could power through his illusions, it would be a waste of his advantages as a sensory ninja. Tonbo wasn't bad in other areas, but compared to his Genjutsu, the gap was significant.
"Genjutsu should develop toward being hidden, undetectable, and irreversible. Or toward external manifestation, like the Eye of the Creator ability."
These were his designs. Being "hidden and undetectable" meant controlling the five senses, morphology, shape, touch, and mass with subtle adjustments, causing the enemy to misjudge distance, timing, and other nuances. The "Visual Displacement" he used earlier was a step in this direction and had shown progress.
The "irreversible" aspect involved memory implantation—using Mind Reading in reverse. Ultimately, this would be a pinnacle technique like "inserting history," but he found it didn't work well during active combat. The enemy's resistance would drastically weaken the technique; it required a gradual invasion that couldn't be completed quickly. Current progress was slow.
As for the Eye of the Creator ability—turning the false into reality—he already had inspiration. Using Genjutsu to control the heavens and earth... the thought was exhilarating. Just like Yakumo Kurama in the original story, controlling the weather with Genjutsu—perfect. These thoughts flashed through Tonbo's mind.
Clang! Clang!
The battle continued in the distance. He wove a sign to sense. He found that the chakra of the Captain's enemy was gradually weakening; a win was certain. Then he looked toward Itachi and Anko.
"Looks like they're struggling! But it makes sense; there are over a dozen enemies. For those two to hold out until now is already impressive." Tonbo smiled as he sensed the situation.
Swoosh!
He then rushed off to provide support.
Huff! Huff!
Anko and Itachi stood back-to-back, their clothes tattered. Their hands and bodies were covered in blood, and they were breathing heavily. The small-statured Itachi still had a look of serious concentration, seemingly thinking of a way to deal with the enemy.
Anko looked at the surrounding enemies, gasping for air. "Damn it, why haven't the Captain and Tonbo finished yet?"
"There's nothing we can do about that. Jonin are probably harder to deal with than our situation!" Itachi said softly. His body had reached its limit. An eight-year-old body, frequent use of the Sharingan—his chakra was failing. Even Anko was exhausted.
Of course, the other side wasn't much better. After the traps those two had laid, only six out of the eleven enemies remained. However, they were in much better shape than the two Konoha ninjas.
"Are we going to die here?" Anko muttered. The Kumogakure ninjas, after observing for a moment, realized these two "little brats" were at the end of their rope. They exchanged looks and began to weave signs.
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