Chapter 14: Uchiha Yasushi VS Ino-Shika-Cho
"Tch, village traitors really are troublesome! Not a single secret remains!"
Seeing Yasushi's clear objective as that absurd fireball bore down directly on him, even Nara Shikaku couldn't help but feel somewhat vexed.
His shadow techniques were perfectly countered by this fireball jutsu!
"Scatter!"
At his command, Shikaku and the shinobi behind him immediately leaped aside, allowing the massive fireball to slam into the ground.
BOOM!
The fireball struck the ground, exploding while flames immediately scattered outward. Using the impact point as center, fire spread in all directions, forcing the Konoha shinobi to retreat even farther.
With just one attack, Yasushi dispersed the shinobi squad, using roaring flames to partition the battlefield.
Unfortunately, he was alone without allies. Otherwise, he could have capitalized on this opportunity to overwhelm them and lay victory's foundation.
"In the end, insufficient chakra is the problem!" Yasushi sighed inwardly.
Though supported by "Inaba's White Rabbit," giving him chakra far exceeding ordinary people, he still wasn't truly a Tailed Beast with infinite reserves. Excessive use still placed tremendous strain on his eyes.
Otherwise, like Naruto or Madara, he could unleash dozens of clones—no number of jonin would suffice against him.
Rain and flames collided with hissing sounds, producing vast amounts of white steam that drastically reduced visibility. This combat environment barely affected Yasushi with his Mangekyo Sharingan, but for ordinary Konoha shinobi, it became far more dangerous.
Suddenly, the towering energy giant vanished. Uchiha Yasushi's figure also disappeared from its original position.
"Careful! He's charging through!"
Shikaku's heart jumped as he urgently shouted warning. But before his words fell, a figure flashed before him as a pair of blood-red eyes appeared directly ahead. The Sharingan pattern suddenly magnified in his vision like an abyss ready to absorb his consciousness.
Damn!
He's coming for me!
Shikaku didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately manipulating his shadow to snap his own pinky finger.
Accompanied by a crisp bone-cracking sound, severe pain shot through his entire body like electricity, instantly awakening him from the illusion.
Then he saw his body flipping backward, bending at an impossible angle, barely dodging a blade slicing toward his throat.
Meanwhile, the shadow on the ground had bundled into a shadow whip, coiling toward the incoming enemy.
Yamanaka Inoichi had used "Mind Disturbance Jutsu" to control his body, evading the enemy's killing strike!
"Mind Disturbance Jutsu" was the upgraded version of "Mind Body Switch Jutsu." The user wouldn't fall unconscious and could fight on two fronts. With this technique, Inoichi had saved him countless times.
This coordination had been forged through countless life-death battles, becoming almost instinctual. Even unconscious, his body wouldn't resist Inoichi's control whatsoever.
Of course, he also frequently used "Shadow Possession Jutsu" to control Inoichi.
That was close!
After regaining consciousness, Shikaku broke into cold sweat, raising his assessment of "Uchiha Itachi's" danger level another notch.
He'd only been guarding against Susanoo. Who'd imagine "Uchiha Itachi" would cancel Susanoo, taking advantage of reduced visibility to charge right up to him and use genjutsu!
Sharingan genjutsu was even more terrifying than rumored!
And this combat style switching was even more impossible to guard against!
Without the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's years of cooperation and perfect coordination, he'd have fallen victim.
He simply closed his eyes, relaxing his body and allowing Inoichi to control it.
Uchiha genjutsu was truly fearsome, but Inoichi didn't observe enemies with eyes—he used mental sensing for precise location, inherently negating the Uchiha clan's powerful genjutsu abilities.
Invisible chakra threads connected their spirits, perfectly synchronizing their movements as they performed identical actions, avoiding enemy attacks with exquisite precision.
Meanwhile, after being sent flying, Akimichi Choza realized Shikaku faced crisis. Disregarding his body's burden, he immediately played a trump card.
"Super Multi-Size Jutsu!"
As the secret technique activated, Choza's already massive body immediately expanded several more circles, becoming a super giant even taller than Susanoo.
The gigantic figure rose from the ground, its shadow covering half the battlefield. Rain striking his mountain-like body produced crackling percussion sounds.
Super Multi-Size Jutsu's burden was significant. He could clearly feel muscle fibers emitting tearing sounds from unbearable stress, but the determination in his eyes never diminished.
With just one step, Choza returned from the forest's far side back to the battlefield.
Because Yasushi had canceled Susanoo, with flames and steam permeating the battlefield everywhere, Choza momentarily couldn't locate the enemy's position.
But Choza's transformation into a super giant wasn't entirely for combat.
He raised both hands, striking heavily down at the ground beneath his feet.
"Super Open Hand Slap!"
Giant palms slapping the ground was like meteorites descending from the skies, immediately creating two enormous handprints.
With a tremendous "BOOM," impact waves from where his palms struck the ground radiated outward in all directions, even producing Mach rings.
Where shockwaves passed, violent winds erupted, ground churned, debris flew wildly, trees uprooted.
Raging flames burning everywhere across the battlefield flickered twice under this hurricane's blast before completely extinguishing.
Water vapor permeating the surroundings was also completely blown away in one strike.
The entire battlefield environment immediately cleared dramatically, exposing everyone's positions without exception.
"Heh, quick reaction!"
Yasushi's eyes turned cold. His feet shifted as he flashed behind Choza. His Mangekyo slowly rotated as Susanoo reappeared, raising its staff high. With air-rending shrieks, it heavily struck down at Choza's back of the head.
"HAH!"
Choza roared explosively, slightly turning his body. Muscles bulged on his arm, veins protruding as his elbow struck backward with devastating force to meet the staff.
"BOOM!"
Energy and flesh collided for the second time, again producing earth-shaking explosive sounds. Shockwaves scattered wildly everywhere, practically stronger than jonin wind techniques. Ordinary shinobi found even approaching the battlefield difficult.
"Shadow Strangle Technique: Shadow Whip!"
Shikaku's shadow surged frantically within the enormous shadow Choza cast, twisting and transforming like living creatures.
Leveraging Super Multi-Size Jutsu's created shadow area, the shadow whip's scale reached unprecedented proportions—absurdly thick, like a pitch-black venomous dragon rapidly swimming across the ground against shockwaves, coiling toward Susanoo's legs.