Chapter 18: Absolute Defense
Two golden Rashōmon demons were carved onto the dual iron gates, with red chakra orbs embedded in their eyes. The moment the gates landed, the orbs lit up with an eerie red glow. Dense sealing formulas appeared on the surface of the gates, and the blackish-blue rust peeled away like a living thing, revealing the steel patterns hidden within.
He can do that?! Asuka was stunned, her Byakugan wide. That fat genin can actually use a sealing scroll to perform a defensive tactic similar to the Rashōmon summoning! How did he come up with that? But a scroll of this level must be incredibly expensive. Which clan does he belong to to afford such a thing?
Screeeech!
The high-pressure wind bullet arrived first. It ripped through the air, its sonic boom painful to the ears. As it tore across the battlefield, it ripped the charred birch trees from their roots, shredding them into tiny, sharp fragments. It peeled the surface layer of rock from the ground like tofu, pulling the debris into its vortex and growing even more powerful.
CRUNCH!
The wind bullet struck the first iron gate with precision. The sound of scraping metal was like countless steel blades grinding together, sharp enough to make one's teeth ache.
The high-pressure wind bullet was powerful, but the Iron Prison Gate's defense was extraordinary.
"What a powerful defense!" Asuka thought, amazed. The terrifying attack had only managed to gouge a hole less than half a meter deep into the first gate; it hadn't even broken through the first layer. Compared to the wind bullet's power, the kunai and shuriken were like tickles, and the two exploding tags had only managed to blast off a few iron filings.
"Don't get careless! Reinforce the defense!" Sasuke warned Tekudō. His sonar had told him the true threat was still coming. The physical attack power of the Earth-Mound Dango was far greater than the wind jutsu.
"My wife, the Iron Fan Gate, your defense is the strongest!" Tekudō roared, pouring his chakra into the gates to activate all their defensive seals.
At that moment—CRASH!—the house-sized boulder, imbued with the power of the earth's ley lines, fell from the sky like a meteor. The impact against the first iron gate created a massive shockwave that shattered the surrounding trees. The gate, forged from fine steel, twisted and buckled, and spiderweb cracks radiated from the point of impact. Its momentum barely slowed, the boulder continued on and slammed into the second, larger iron gate.
BOOM!
The dense talismans on the second gate glowed, deploying an astonishing defensive power that finally brought the giant rock to a halt.
"He actually blocked it!" Asuka exclaimed, dumbfounded. A single genin, using a sealing scroll tactic, had completely resisted a combined assault comparable to an A-rank ninjutsu. It was unbelievable.
"Whew..." Tekudō breathed a sigh of relief, overjoyed.
"It's over... we're completely finished," the Sand ninja despaired. Their critical attack had been completely blocked.
"Captain, what do we do?"
"We're not all going to die here, are we?"
"Masako is still waiting for me back in the village..."
Their Will of the Wind was gone, replaced by thoughts of retreat.
Huh? What's going on? Ye, outside the main battlefield, looked on as if he'd seen a ghost. He had noticed something strange about the "Uchiha jōnin" hiding behind the iron gates. The powerful vibration from the boulder's impact had been transmitted through the air, disrupting Sasuke's Transformation Technique. For just a split second, Ye had finally seen the truth.
His heart shuddered. How can anyone's Transformation Technique be so exquisite that even I couldn't distinguish it? He was from the Gekkō clan; his insight was among the best in Konoha. To confirm what he'd seen, he glanced at Asuka. She met his gaze and gave a slight nod. The Uchiha was a fake.
"How is that possible?!" Kagejirō, standing beside them, was aghast. "Impossible, it must be a genjutsu. The Uchiha's Sharingan can't be faked. The Transformation Technique..."
"Kagejirō!" Asuka cut him off, her voice sharp, reminding him not to leak information.
"Huh?" Kagejirō finally realized his reckless behavior, that he was shouting out the secrets of their own ninja. He became flustered. "I-I didn't mean it like that."
"Kagejirō!" Asuka snapped again, angrier this time. "Don't say another word!" Her body swayed as the poison took its final toll, and she collapsed to the ground.
Dammit, Sasuke thought, slapping himself on the forehead as he watched the scene unfold from behind the gate. This idiot is going to get us all killed. Defending his own actions, Kagejirō was practically screaming to the Sand ninja that they were being tricked.