"How could someone… just disappear like that?" "Could it be… some kind of space-time ninjutsu?" … Panicked voices escaped the mouths of the
"How could someone… just disappear like that?"
"Could it be… some kind of space-time ninjutsu?"
Panicked voices escaped the mouths of the Iwagakure shinobi.
The captives, whose chakra had been sealed, had vanished in an instant.
This bizarre scene left them confused—and terrified.
If their captives could be rescued without a sound… could their throats be slit just as easily?
Swish—
While the Iwagakure shinobi were panicking, Uchiha Fugaku moved.
He activated the Body Flicker Technique, instantly appearing beside one Iwagakure ninja and slitting his throat with a kunai.
Puff—
Blood sprayed. The Iwagakure shinobi's eyes filled with fear as he collapsed to the ground.
Uchiha Fugaku then used the Body Flicker Technique again, appearing beside another Iwagakure ninja and plunging the kunai into his heart.
"Stop!"
The Five-Tails' Jinchūriki roared furiously.
Puff, puff, puff!
Steam burst from the red armor he wore.
That armor had been custom-made, powered by steam, granting him incredible strength and speed.
Driven by the steam, he accelerated and lunged at Uchiha Fugaku, hoping to save the Iwagakure ninja.
However—
Though his speed under steam propulsion was formidable, it still couldn't match Uchiha Fugaku's instant body movement.
By the time he arrived, Uchiha Fugaku had already pierced the Iwagakure shinobi's chest and vanished again, flashing toward a new target.
He could only watch helplessly as another comrade fell to the ground, blood gushing from his chest.
"Uchiha Fugaku—!"
He roared and pursued, but once again, he was a step too slow.
"Get out of the way!"
The remaining Iwagakure shinobi were horrified. Their hair stood on end as they tried to dodge Uchiha Fugaku like he was a plague.
But all their efforts were in vain before Fugaku's speed.
Puff, puff, puff!
With each flicker, another shinobi fell.
They had no chance to resist. With such a gap in speed and strength, they couldn't even lift a hand before they died.
Only the elite jōnin had a chance to resist.
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
One elite jōnin performed a Doton technique, raising multiple earthen walls to form a barricade around himself.
"Hmph."
Uchiha Fugaku scoffed.
"Susanoo."
A giant skeletal black hand erupted from the Susanoo and slammed down on the earthen walls.
Under the might of the skeletal hand, the walls crumbled like dry clay.
"Ahhh—!"
The arm smashed through the defenses, crushing the elite jōnin.
His bones shattered, his body twisted and flung backwards like a ragdoll.
Even an elite jōnin couldn't withstand Uchiha Fugaku's might.
In mere moments—
Except for the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki, all thirteen Iwagakure shinobi, including three elite jōnin, had perished.
"All the trash is cleared out. Now it's your turn."
Uchiha Fugaku turned to the Jinchūriki, his gaze cold, a mocking smirk on his lips.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
Buzz—
A strange ripple pulsed. The entire surrounding illusion collapsed.
It wasn't that the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki had been killed by Uchiha Fugaku—it was that he had broken free of the True Illusion.
"I was caught in a genjutsu… and didn't even notice?"
Outside the illusion, the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki broke into a cold sweat. He was stunned.
To be trapped in a genjutsu without realizing it—it meant Uchiha Fugaku's illusion techniques were terrifyingly powerful.
Thankfully, he was a perfect Jinchūriki. Otherwise, he would have been doomed.
He looked around—and then his eyes shrank with horror.
All the comrades who'd been killed in the illusion… were actually dead in reality.
The wounds matched perfectly with what he had seen in the illusion.
Killed in the illusion—dead in real life.
"What a terrifying genjutsu…"
He took a deep breath.
This illusion wasn't just subtle—it could kill.
Even someone of Kage-level strength couldn't notice it, and it could eliminate enemies within the illusion.
"So, he's a perfect Jinchūriki."
Uchiha Fugaku looked at the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki with surprise.
The power of his Mangekyō Sharingan was such that no ordinary shinobi, or even most Kage-level shinobi, could resist his True Illusion—except under one condition.
A perfect Jinchūriki.
That is, a Jinchūriki who had come to fully understand and befriend their tailed beast.
With full synchronization, the tailed beast could help the host break the illusion from within.
It was the only reliable counter to ocular genjutsu like his.
"Good thing I eliminated the others first. Otherwise, this would've been a problem."
Though the time it took for the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki to break the illusion was brief in reality, in the illusion world, it had been stretched enough for Uchiha Fugaku to act.
Had he not taken advantage of that moment to eliminate the others, he would've had to face hostage threats again once the Jinchūriki escaped the illusion.
"Mangekyō Sharingan… what terrifying eyes…"
The Five-Tails' Jinchūriki looked around and finally located Uchiha Fugaku behind him.
His eyes trembled with fear.
"No, you haven't seen the true horror yet."
Uchiha Fugaku sneered.
Swish—
In a flash, he was beside the Jinchūriki.
With Susanoo, the massive black skeletal hand came crashing down.
He had to act fast. If the Jinchūriki got a hold of the hostages again, it would complicate everything.
"Boil Release: Unrivaled Might—!"
Steam erupted from the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Fueled by boiling chakra, the armor covering him glowed. His strength surged as he met Susanoo's attack head-on.
Boom—
One figure was blown away.
It was the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Despite the amplified power from his armor, it still paled in comparison to Susanoo.
Crack, crack, crack!
Several trees were split as he was hurled over a hundred meters away.
His right-hand armor shattered, and blood streaked down his arm.
If the armor hadn't absorbed over 90% of the impact, his arm would've been destroyed.
"Take them and retreat to a safe distance!"
Uchiha Fugaku commanded, then disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique to pursue the Jinchūriki.
After he left, a spore clone emerged from the ground—it was the same clone that had discovered the captured Uchiha team.
It disguised itself as a regular Konoha ninja, cut the captives' ropes with a kunai, released their chakra seals, and led them away.
Their safety was the priority.
A battle involving a Jinchūriki would be devastating. If they remained here, they could easily get caught in the crossfire.
(End of this chapter)