Byakko was looking at Kaida for his next move. With how Kaida's eyes were behaving erratically, he was almost sure that the next attack would be related to the eyes for sure.
Though suddenly Kaida vanished from his place—not like how he did before with fast movement, or using the technique he previously used to almost flicker to a different place.
This time it was completely different. He didn't move from one position to another, but completely vanished from his position, like a ghost.
Byakko quickly scanned his surroundings for Kaida but couldn't find him anywhere, until he appeared around him—not in a single position, but multiple.
One moment, Kaida was nowhere to be found, and in the next second, he had surrounded Byakko from all directions. Before Byakko could even make sense of what was happening, all of the Kaidas jumped on him from every direction, leaving him with no choice but to defend himself.
The same predicament Kaida was in a few seconds ago, but none of the images actually hit Byakko—they all just went puff when they came in contact with him.
When Byakko thought all of this was a bluff and illusion, he was suddenly punched at his side with enough force to throw him off the ground.
Thud
He landed back on all fours, but with a clear indentation on his ribs, a clear indication that he had a few broken bones in his ribs.
"I hope I have stopped disappointing you now?" Kaida asked, now actually appearing in front of Byakko.
Drip
"Yeah, that's more like it, though can you tell me what actually happened just now? None of the humans in this side of the continent could fool my senses. They too have illusions, but yours was too real," Byakko said.
"Wouldn't that mean I am giving away one of my best moves in the fight?" Kaida asked, not averse to the idea, just curious about the reply Byakko would give.
"Hahaha, you can say that, but I already know this power of yours is related to your eyes, and since you have not activated it from the start, it must mean that it is chakra consuming or taxing to your body. With how long you have maintained eye contact with me, you must need that to activate this illusion of yours. Do I need to tell more?" Byakko asked, a smug smile plastered on his face.
"You found all that in just one look. Though not all is true, but yeah, you reached quite close to what I did," Kaida said.
"When you have gone through as many fights as me, you start to see and understand the meaning behind every movement of the enemy. Now, if you don't want to tell me what you did, how about we continue this 'spar'?" Byakko said.
"Genjutsu, a special type of jutsu we use on that side, and my clan is especially good at it. Just imagine if in place of the punch, I had used a poison-coated blade. That would have given me an unfair and one-sided advantage in this fight.
This ability of my clan actually makes us one of the most powerful clans on that side, and I have an even advanced version of that technique, making my genjutsu even more real.
Especially if I am trying to show you something you already know can happen," Kaida said. Since he had already shown genjutsu and what it is capable of to Byakko, there was no reason to hide it any longer. It would have given him more chances to land more attacks later in the fight.
But that would not show the true extent of his power. It would just mean he is great at genjutsu and needs illusions to win the fight, but Kaida wanted to show that it was not true and he doesn't need illusions to win.
Though if it was a real fight, the scenario would have been different, and he wouldn't even think twice before using genjutsu to win.
"The teleportation you discussed in the start and the copy you made just now—you have added the idea in my mind, and then used this genjutsu of yours to use that idea to make that spectacular show. Genius, simply genius. Are all of the people of your clan capable of this?" Byakko asked, a little too excited than he should be.
'Why do I keep meeting war-hungry beasts?' Kaida thought.
"Not exactly, though there are few who can, maybe 10 or so," Kaida said. The beast in front of him was easily kage level, and it would be difficult even for a three tomoe user to cast a genjutsu on him, making the count very concise about the people who can cast a genjutsu on Byakko.
"Still, this is quite an ability you got. I assume you have some more in your arsenal?" Byakko asked, but he already knew the answer to that.
"Don't worry. Though since I shared one of mine, can I ask about one of yours?" Kaida asked.
"I guess that is fair. Go ahead."
"So I know you used a kekkei genkai, a combination of two elemental chakra in that claw attack of yours, and I also know it has something to do with fire and wind chakra. But I have never heard of that kekkei genkai that has so much penetrating power ever. What is that attack you used?" Kaida asked. Even though he could have simply asked about the attack, he also wanted to show that he was not new to analyzing the details.
"So that's what you refer to this as, 'kekkei genkai,' huh? Well, it is quite simple actually when you have complete command over two chakra natures, like fire and wind." Byakko put his claw out, and suddenly a fireball emerged in his hands.
With certainly unique features, the fireball was made up of threads of both fire and wind, rotating and swirling.
'Rasengan?' Kaida thought, doubting what he was seeing in front of him. It was a level of control even he couldn't achieve even with the help of Mangekyo Sharingan.
By all rules, those threads should merge with each other, making the fire much hotter and bigger, like the various combination jutsu he had done in the past.
But in Byakko's hand, they were behaving like two obedient slaves following his will to the point.
"With enough mastery, you can begin to combine them, removing their limitations and merging their strengths to make something new." When Byakko said that, the ball in his paw started merging, but not in the same way Kaida was expecting. It was not the combining of fire and wind; it was the birth of something new with fire and wind as the base.
The ball suddenly turned a lighter shade of red before being shot from the paw. With how volatile the energy was, it was almost impossible to contain it like Byakko did with fire and wind.
But the destruction it caused was unlike anything Kaida had seen, passing through boulders like they weren't even there, then colliding with the ground, creating a massive punctured hole in the ground.
"The more energy you put into it, the more destructive it gets," Byakko said, completing his explanation. But there was one thing Kaida had noted clearly in all this explanation.
'This was not something Byakko was born with. It was the result of great mastery over fire and wind, something extremely difficult but achievable,' Kaida thought, now becoming more and more sure that Byakko was the fated summon the toad sage was talking about.
"Now with all this discussion over, how about we finish what we have started?" Byakko said, getting back into his fighting stance.