Mo Yu helplessly shrugged. "I told you, I never saw them."
"You can tell that to my brother when you get to hell," said Arima Yuichi, his murderous intent flaring. He glared at Mo Yu and added, "Don't worry, if it's proven later that my brother wasn't killed by you, I will leave Konoha, kill a hundred enemy ninjas to clear your name, and then commit seppuku to apologize!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Yu felt a sense of admiration for this man. He was truly a straight-shooter.
"I remember now, it was him…" Mo Yu thought.
Arima Yuichi was somewhat famous within Konoha. His younger brother, Arima Seiji, often boasted at school about having a powerful older brother.
Yuichi had survived the First Great Ninja War, his hands stained with the blood of enemy ninjas. After the war, he developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and could not live a normal life. So, he volunteered to guard the border of the Land of Fire, where his daily life consisted of killing people.
Unfortunately, Arima Yuichi's talent wasn't exceptional, and he had remained a Chunin without progressing further. Mo Yu didn't know if his return to Konoha was a coincidence or if there was another reason, but he had come here quickly, clearly very concerned about his younger brother.
What a shame, though—his head was too naïve, and he had been used as a pawn by the Uchiha clan.
Well, it wasn't entirely as if he were just a pawn, since his brother was indeed killed by him.
Mo Yu shook his head regretfully as he looked at him. "Your life is valuable, but it's not as valuable as mine, so I can't let you kill me."
"Then I'll take it myself!" Arima Yuichi replied coldly.
Since this was for avenging his brother, today he was willing to break his usual rule of talking before taking action. Now, he intended to kill the boy in front of him as quickly as possible to avenge his brother…
"Look into my eyes!"
Suddenly, Mo Yu shouted, and instinctively, Arima Yuichi looked straight at him.
However, the moment he did, Yuichi couldn't look away.
Mo Yu's pupils had turned blood-red, with a small black tomoe at the edges.
"Sharingan? How do you have the Sharingan?!" Arima Yuichi was shocked and filled with disbelief.
In that instant of distraction, Mo Yu had already formed the necessary hand seals.
Genjutsu: Narakami's Gaze!
Normally, other ninjutsu takes time to form and hit the target. An experienced ninja like Arima Yuichi would have countless ways to dodge such attacks. But genjutsu is different. It can ignore spatial distance and directly affect the target.
The Narakami's Gaze genjutsu shows the target their deepest fear.
Normally, this low-level D-ranked genjutsu would not affect someone as mentally hardened as Arima Yuichi, who had been on the battlefield countless times. However, now, because of his shock, his mental defenses were lowered, and he was vulnerable.
Even the single tomoe Sharingan can amplify genjutsu, and now the power of Narakami's Gaze had reached the level of a C-ranked jutsu, strong enough to trap him.
Mo Yu's mental energy surged and pulled Arima Yuichi into the genjutsu.
Yuichi froze as if paralyzed, his previously rigid expression twisting into a grotesque form of terror. No one knew what he saw in the genjutsu.
Mo Yu sighed in relief, seeing the genjutsu take effect. However, this wasn't the time to celebrate. With Arima Yuichi's experience, he would likely break free of the genjutsu quickly. Mo Yu needed to end this fight fast. Once Yuichi regained his senses, Mo Yu's chances of winning would be much slimmer.
Should he use the Great Fireball Technique?
No, Mo Yu quickly dismissed the idea. With his hand seal speed, by the time he completed the technique, Arima Yuichi would already be free of the genjutsu.
At this moment, Mo Yu realized just how crucial hand-seal speed was—it could decide the outcome of a battle. After this, he would work on improving his hand-seal speed with the system.
Without wasting any more time, Mo Yu made a decision.
"Eight Gates: Gate of Opening, Open!"
Mo Yu yelled in his mind.
Boom!
A surge of air exploded outward, lifting his hair and clothes like a whirlwind that spread in all directions.
In an instant, Mo Yu's entire body was filled with explosive power. His muscles swelled, and veins popped from his forehead. His Sharingan turned a more sinister shade of crimson, almost bleeding from his eyes.
With a bang, Mo Yu pushed off the ground, cracking the earth beneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from his original position and appeared at Arima Yuichi's side.
Arima Yuichi had just broken free from the genjutsu, faster than Mo Yu had anticipated.
At that moment, Mo Yu's leg struck.
"Sekirenka!" (Lotus Blossom Strike)
Boom!
Arima Yuichi was blasted away, soaring like a cannonball and crashing into a wall tens of meters away, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Mo Yu landed on the ground, but his face paled immediately.
His body was still too weak and couldn't compare to the body technique-focused ninjas who trained their physical strength year-round.
In just the brief moment that it took to use the Gate of Opening, Mo Yu had exhausted most of his energy and chakra, and his entire body ached.
It was worth it if he could kill Arima Yuichi, though.
However, Mo Yu could sense that the moment his foot connected with Yuichi, the latter had let go of his defenses!
Mo Yu's expression darkened as he looked toward the dust cloud.
Cough, cough... Eight Gates... You... Cough, cough... Who exactly are you? How do you have both the Sharingan and the Eight Gates? Who are you?
Arima Yuichi's voice was filled with fury and confusion, as he looked like an animal about to rage.
Yuichi's right arm had twisted unnaturally, like a twisted piece of dough. It was completely useless.
This was the price for blocking Mo Yu's kick.
Without one arm, and not being able to form hand seals with a single hand or use ninjutsu without seals, this ninja was effectively crippled.
Unless, of course, he was a body technique specialist, in which case the damage would be less severe.
But clearly, Arima Yuichi wasn't.
However, as an experienced Chunin who survived the battlefield, even with one arm crippled and unable to use ninjutsu, he still had hundreds of ways to kill a Genin, as long as the Genin didn't use the same overwhelming techniques as before.
Arima Yuichi lifted his head, his crazed grin widening as he saw Mo Yu, who looked on the brink of collapse, barely standing.
"What other tricks do you have? If you can open another gate, then I'll kneel and let you kill me!"
Mo Yu raised his tired eyelids, glancing at Arima Yuichi, and nodded seriously.
"Fine!"
Eight Gates, Second Gate: Gate of Rest, Open!
Boom!
Mo Yu's body, once weak, suddenly filled with boundless energy. His face, which had been pale moments ago, began to flush red at an incredible rate. It was as if everything before was just an illusion.
"You... you..."
Arima Yuichi could hardly believe his eyes. Not only did this Genin know the Eight Gates, but he had mastered two of them!
Before Yuichi could say anything else, Mo Yu had already appeared in front of him and snapped his neck with a single motion.
Crack.
Arima Yuichi's body crumpled to the ground.
"Enemy killed. 50 Gold awarded."