Drip!
Drip!
The scent of rust carried on the wind.
Crimson blood dripped from the sky, splattering onto wilted, yellowed leaves, leaving jagged brown stains.
"Her chakra fluctuations are weakening—she's injured!"
The genjutsu-specialized Anbu clapped their hands together, gazing up at the figure perched on the treetop. Their voice couldn't hide a trace of joy, a release of pent-up tension.
Their relied-upon genjutsu had been shattered in a mere second, and the backlash of mental energy left them with a splitting headache. On top of that, as a sensory ninja highly attuned to chakra, they could tell that while the opponent's chakra reserves weren't vast, the strange, glowing purple chakra radiating from them exerted immense mental pressure.
Now, that pressure had finally eased.
The enemy had been wounded under their coordinated assault. The injury wasn't severe, but it proved one thing: the opponent wasn't as invincible as they'd feared. The notion of an enemy without weaknesses was merely an illusion born from their ferocious taijutsu.
"Just a paper tiger," the Earth-style Anbu's low voice echoed through the air.
The remaining eight Anbu didn't speak, but the heavy breathing in the tense atmosphere noticeably softened. Clearly, the fact that this enemy had taken down three Special Jonin in a single clash had shaken them to their core. They weren't afraid of death, but they feared dying without meaning. The Root was the unseen hero, sacrificing everything for Konoha in the shadows. They couldn't allow themselves to be crushed like insignificant bugs, their lives rendered meaningless.
On the other side, standing atop the treetop, Hikari gazed down at the ant-like Anbu below, lost in quiet thought.
As a Kage Bunshin, her combat strength wasn't much weaker than her mainល
System: main body. Especially since she couldn't use the "bone" aspect of her Kekkei Genkai, the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku, for the time being, her only shortcomings compared to her real body were stamina and defense.
She was an elite Jonin, while the three Anbu she'd taken down were merely Special Jonin—two full ranks below her, a gap wide enough to temporarily ignore their numerical advantage. Back in Kirigakure, shinobi like Mist Crow and Blood Dog had pushed her to the brink, but now she could dispatch them with ease.
Of course, ninja ranks weren't absolute. Factors like environment, specialization, and compatibility could lead to upsets. But for Hikari, such concerns barely applied. As one of the rare all-around shinobi in the ninja world, she was the one who overpowered others across ranks. Defeating her was a near-impossible task.
Her toes tapped lightly against the sturdy tree trunk. Sticky blood dripped slowly from the soles of her black shoes—the remnants of the Anbu she'd just killed with a single kick.
If she were her main body, she'd have used a Water-style jutsu to clean her shoes by now. But after spending much of her chakra training in medical ninjutsu on that carp earlier in the day, followed by this lightning-fast ambush, her chakra reserves were down to less than a third. She couldn't afford to be so cavalier anymore.
If a Kage Bunshin's chakra ran too low, it would dispel on its own. Before that happened, she needed to probe as much as possible about the enemy's intentions for her main body.
"Doctor Chihaya, care to explain why these Anbu are attacking me?" Hikari called out, looking down at Chihaya Tou.
These Anbu, who treated their comrades' lives like grass, were clearly from the Root. Chihaya Tou was likely one of them. Hikari was certain she'd never crossed Shimura Danzo. The plan to infiltrate the Root and steal Hashirama's cells was still just a thought in her mind. There was no reason for the Root to target her.
Chihaya Tou's lips curled into a slight smile as they carefully put on a pair of glasses from their pocket.
"A certain someone admires your skills and wants you to join our organization."
"The Anbu?" Hikari asked.
"No, you may not have heard of us. We're a branch of the Anbu called the Root!" Chihaya said, their voice tinged with pride. Several Root members instinctively puffed out their chests, their faces glowing with a sickly sense of honor.
Hikari nodded slowly. That half-crazed demeanor wasn't something other organizations could easily mimic. As she'd suspected, these were indeed Root members, acting under Danzo's orders to recruit her.
But Danzo's logic baffled her. The Root didn't recruit talent by attacking them with lethal force. Shouldn't they have tried persuasion first, then coercion, before resorting to violence? Why had they skipped straight to the final step with her?
"Your invitation methods are… unique," Hikari remarked dryly.
Chihaya pushed their glasses up with their middle finger. "The Root's standards are strict, so we conduct a little pop quiz."
"I never agreed to join your shady organization," Hikari shot back.
"Whether you join or not isn't my concern. We're just following orders."
Hikari frowned, silently sizing up their intentions. Her chakra was poised, ready for action, as she waited for their next move. Defense was easier than offense—it would stretch out the fight and conserve her chakra. Every piece of intel she could gather about their secret techniques would make her future mission to steal Hashirama's cells from the Root that much safer.
Her eyes narrowed, her Byakugan shifting to the rear. In the distance, a massive chakra signature flared like a blazing torch, yet it carried an eerie, sinister aura. The figure approached swiftly, reaching the battlefield in mere moments.
Thud.
Thud… thud. The sound of a cane striking the ground echoed with authority, crushing fallen leaves without resistance. The slow, heavy, cold sound was entirely different from the crisp, rhythmic tapping of Hikari's blind cane.
Whoosh!
At the sound of that distinctive cane, the lifeless Root members' eyes suddenly burned with fervor. Ignoring the enemy above, they dropped to one knee, facing the approaching figure. Even the ever-mysterious Chihaya Tou lowered their head slightly in respect.
Hikari turned to face the newcomer.
An old man in a gray-black kimono approached, leaning on his cane. Though not tall, his physique beneath the kimono was robust. His short brown hair and the forked scar on his chin stood out, and his narrow eyes locked onto Hikari atop the treetop. His left eye was dark and deep. His right eye glowed crimson, with a four-bladed pinwheel spinning rapidly within.
That's… Shisui's Beppu Tensen!
Hikari's eyes widened, her Byakugan hidden beneath the black cloth flashing crimson in shock.
"You're under Danzo's Beppu Tensen?" she demanded.
At the Hatake clan's training ground, the setting sun cast long shadows across the barren field, painting two faint silhouettes.
Hikari stared in shock at her Yang-style Kage Bunshin, whose ashen gray eyes—identical to her own—had transformed into a four-bladed pinwheel, glowing blood-red.
Activating her Byakugan, she saw a mass of abnormal Yin-style chakra occupying the clone's brain like a spider, its transparent spikes piercing the clone's mind without causing damage. The spikes seemed illusory, a hallmark of the legendary Beppu Tensen—the strongest genjutsu, capable of altering one's will.
"Danzo heard that Root ninja say I was injured, assumed I was the real body, and used Beppu Tensen without a word," the clone explained, her fingers brushing her eye sockets. The kaleidoscope pattern in her eyes gleamed, her lips curling slightly in amusement.
Hikari shook her head, chuckling in disbelief. A mere Kage Bunshin had tricked the most powerful genjutsu in existence.
"Why are your eyes stuck in Beppu Tensen's state?" Hikari asked.
"I'm not sure," the Yang-style Hikari admitted, shaking her head. "Maybe because I'm just a mass of chakra, not an organic being. Beppu Tensen keeps trying to probe my will but has nowhere to latch onto. It can't alter my will, and without resistance, it doesn't dissipate. It's stuck in an 'active' state."
"Basically, you glitched it," Hikari summed up.
"Danzo didn't hesitate to use it. What's its effect?"
The clone's expression turned serious. "Danzo's Beppu Tensen is different from Itachi's. For one, its range is insane—at least fifty meters, farther than most elemental jutsu. You'd have to be extremely careful in close combat. And it's fast—no attack trajectory."
"No trajectory?" Hikari asked.
"None," the clone confirmed, her crimson kaleidoscope eyes gazing skyward as she recalled the moment. "With my Lightning-style chakra mode reaction speed and Byakugan's insight, I'd have seen any projectile. The moment his kaleidoscope locked onto me, a mass of Yin-style chakra appeared in my brain. No chance to resist."
"Like the Shadow Imitation Technique—a mechanism-based jutsu," Hikari mused, her expression grim. A range of over fifty meters and a simple targeting mechanism meant she'd need to move faster than a kaleidoscope could track to evade it. "It doesn't require eye contact, does it?"
"I was wearing my blindfold. I could see him, but he couldn't see my eyes. So, no, it's not eye contact-based."
"Tch, a semi-lock-on technique, then," Hikari muttered, racking her brain for a counter. The only option seemed to be using a Kage Bunshin to bait it out.
"It's not as strong as Itachi's Beppu Tensen, though," the clone said with a smile.
"You can sense its effect without it fully activating?"
The clone blinked, the pinwheel in her red eyes spinning slowly. "It's lodged in my brain. I can't use it, but I can glean some key details. If it was useless, why would I bother keeping it? I'd have dispelled myself to show you my memories if I wasn't worried about losing this precious power."
"Fine, you've earned your stripes. Keep going," Hikari said, waving her hand.
The clone grinned, then continued. "Danzo's Beppu Tensen isn't permanent. The Yin-style chakra in your brain adjusts your will based on the caster's commands. It's not a forced mental imprint but a subtle influence, mimicking your own thoughts. The more you resist, the weaker it is. It fades when the chakra runs out or if you realize you're under a genjutsu. But traces of its power linger. If not cleared, it can be reactivated with eye power, subtly influencing you again."
"That makes sense," Hikari said, piecing it together. She'd wondered why Danzo didn't use Beppu Tensen to control Sarutobi Hiruzen. A short-term hypnosis wouldn't work on the Hokage and would expose Danzo's theft of Shisui's kaleidoscope. The Hyuga clan's resistance to genjutsu also made it less invincible than she'd thought. Otherwise, Danzo would already be the Fifth Hokage.
"So, Danzo just let you go?" Hikari asked.
"That's the other thing," the clone said, sticking out her tongue to reveal black patterns resembling I Ching trigrams.
"The Tongue Calamity Eradication Technique?" Hikari gasped. "You joined the Root?"
The clone's mind was identical to hers, yet Hikari was stunned by her own audacity.
"My essence is chakra mimicry. My brain and body are half-real, half-illusion. Genjutsu that alters the mind or seals that bind the body don't work on me. Danzo's efforts were futile. As for joining the Root…"
The Yang-style Hikari gazed at the sunset, her pale skin tinged orange by the light, her expression distant as she recalled the scene.
In a secluded, ravaged forest, yellowed leaves swirled to the ground, covering blood-soaked red leaves. A pit of bloody mud held shattered bones and kunai. Nine shadowy figures knelt on one knee, gazing reverently at the old man with the cane.
A shadow dropped from the sky.
Boom!
The ground caved into two deep pits, the shockwave scattering buried leaves outward. Danzo leaned on his cane, coldly staring at the figure in the dust.
A Wind-style Anbu transformed into a gust, appearing before Danzo in a flash, spitting a Wind-style jutsu to blow back the scattered leaves and dust.
Buzz!
The figure in the pit stood tall. Winds clashed and tore, splitting the dust and leaves evenly before shredding them into fragments that fell in an arc around the figure.
Hikari stood at the center, her hidden kaleidoscope eyes locked with Danzo's narrow gaze, their three four-bladed pinwheels spinning in sync.
As the dust settled, Chihaya Tou stepped forward, standing half a step behind Danzo's left side, the picture of loyalty.
"Lord Danzo, Hikari has been brought to you."
"Well done, Chihaya."