Perhaps because the completion level of Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation was not high enough, the body of Hashirama Senju, which was blown to pieces by Shinichi Hyuga's Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, recovered very slowly.
This lengthy repair time allowed Shinichi to seal Hashirama Senju.
Although the Impure World Reincarnation body cannot be destroyed by Taijutsu or Ninjutsu, this does not mean that the jutsu is perfect and invincible.
While Shinichi truly couldn't destroy Hashirama Senju's body, for him, a student of Kushina, sealing Hashirama Senju was not a difficult task.
A faint sound echoed in the air. In the blink of an eye, Shinichi arrived in front of Hashirama Senju. Hashirama's head was already completely repaired at this point. Unlike what Shinichi had previously seen, Hashirama's eyes now held a bit more vitality.
However, Shinichi didn't pay it any mind. After arriving in front of Hashirama Senju, he began to form hand signs, preparing to use the powerful Four Symbols Sealing to seal Hashirama's body.
Although with Orochimaru's Ninjutsu mastery and research attitude, he would eventually be able to break Shinichi's Four Symbols Sealing, what Shinichi wanted was to reduce Orochimaru's battle strength at this moment, providing convenience for his capture plan.
Shinichi's ultimate goal in seeking out Orochimaru was to get him to infiltrate the Akatsuki organization and provide intelligence about it. However, to cooperate with someone like Orochimaru, simply talking clearly wouldn't work.
Displaying one's strength and capability, and then offering Orochimaru the appropriate "reward," was the foundation for cooperation.
As for what reward to give Orochimaru?!
Shinichi thought that someone like Orochimaru would be very interested in the Rinnegan, wouldn't he?
But that was a matter for later. Now, he must let Orochimaru know that his side possesses the strength to cooperate with him. Subduing Orochimaru would allow them to gain the initiative in negotiations.
The Four Symbols Sealing is a high-level sealing jutsu, and the hand signs are quite complex. Even Shinichi needed to concentrate fully.
However, just as Shinichi was about to use the Four Symbols Sealing on Hashirama Senju, darkness rapidly extended from Hashirama's feet, quickly enveloping the area where Shinichi stood.
By the time Shinichi noticed, he was already wrapped in this darkness. Coming back to his senses, he was in a state of chaotic darkness.
The sky, the ground, and everything around him were replaced by endless darkness. Even Shinichi's Byakugan could not pierce this darkness.
This was a situation Shinichi had never encountered before; it was the first time he had faced a jutsu that even the Byakugan couldn't penetrate.
And when he completed the hand signs for the Four Symbols Sealing, the figure of Hashirama Senju was no longer in front of him, replaced by chaos and darkness.
Others would likely find it hard to comprehend Shinichi's current feeling. Possessing a Dojutsu with powerful observation ability, he was suddenly rendered blind, and a strong sense of danger involuntarily arose in his heart.
Surveying his surroundings, with his vision obscured, Shinichi also tried to sense his Flying Thunder God markers, but strangely, under the enemy's unknown jutsu, Shinichi couldn't sense the existence of the Flying Thunder God markers at all.
"What is this..."
"I haven't heard of Orochimaru mastering a jutsu like this?"
"Could it be..."
Although Shinichi was young, he had read extensively over the years. More importantly, he had a very thorough understanding of the background of the enemies he was currently facing.
Whether it was Orochimaru, Kimimaro, Kabuto, or the brothers Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju summoned by the Impure World Reincarnation, Shinichi knew their technical and tactical characteristics very well.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Shinichi immediately guessed that this jutsu must be the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique of the Second Hokage.
This jutsu was developed by the Second Hokage specifically as a Genjutsu targeting the Uchiha clan's Sharingan.
It was evident from the various Ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage that he created many highly targeted jutsu to deal with the "evil Uchiha."
Because the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique is essentially a Genjutsu, neither the Sharingan nor the Byakugan can function effectively when the host is placed under the illusion.
Since Shinichi was in the world of the Genjutsu, his chakra flow was being disrupted by the Second Hokage, which is why he couldn't sense the location of his Flying Thunder God markers.
This Bringer-of-Darkness Technique not only restrained the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan but also restrained the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.
To dispel the surrounding darkness, he must break the Genjutsu!
There are two main approaches to breaking a Genjutsu: one is to manage one's own chakra flow to escape the illusion successfully; the other is to kill the caster, as most Genjutsu require the caster to be alive to maintain their effect.
Regardless of the chosen method, breaking a Genjutsu is ultimately a challenging task. It is due to the powerful crowd-control ability of Genjutsu that everyone in the ninja world feared the overall strength of the Uchiha clan.
Almost every Uchiha clan member who awakened the Sharingan possessed proficient Genjutsu skills, which led to the saying constantly circulating in the ninja world: "If a ninja meets a Uchiha one-on-one, you must run!"
Because the Uchiha were virtually invincible in a one-on-one environment.
Tobirama Senju, with his extremely high mastery of Genjutsu, also possessed a certain degree of "invincible" attribute.
The reason the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique could restrain the Uchiha was actually due to an information gap. If it weren't for Shinichi Hyuga, who would have known that the darkness extending from the Second Hokage's body was actually a Genjutsu?!
If the Second Hokage's enemies were the proud Uchiha, they probably wouldn't have thought that someone would dare to use a Genjutsu right in front of the Uchiha clan, would they?!
Let alone the proud Uchiha, even someone like Danzō, who stole the power of the Sharingan, would blindly trust the power of the Sharingan, leading him to be deceived by a minor Genjutsu during his fight with Sasuke Uchiha, making a fatal mistake in the battle.
However... although the Second Hokage's jutsu was powerful, the enemy he encountered was Shinichi Hyuga!
Shinichi, who saw through the nature of the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, clapped his hands together. Two chakras with completely different attributes—Yin and Yang—ran through his body's meridians, surging out from the pores and acupuncture points around him.
Managing one's own chakra flow is simply too easy for a Hyuga ninja.
It could be said that every Hyuga clan member proficient in the Gentle Fist is an expert at breaking Genjutsu!
Someone like Shinichi Hyuga, whose Byakugan underwent a mutation and atavism, resulting in a change in his own chakra, was even less likely to be controlled by Genjutsu.
Powerful chakra flowed out from Shinichi's body, encircling him to form a thin protective shield.
And just as Shinichi exerted his full strength to break through Tobirama's Genjutsu, a strong sense of crisis suddenly came from the southeast corner of the chaotic space.
Shinichi didn't hesitate, relying solely on his sixth sense to swiftly dodge sideways.
In the real world.
Kabuto, who had been observing the battle from the sidelines, seemed to have found an opportunity to enter the fray. Seeing Shinichi standing still, Kabuto immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Shinichi. He drew a chakra blade and slashed directly toward Shinichi's neck.
The thin chakra shield surrounding Shinichi slightly delayed Kabuto's attack. While dodging, Shinichi also realized that someone was attacking him under the cover of darkness.
Although he couldn't see what was happening, the moment Kabuto's attack broke through Shinichi's defensive chakra, his position was exposed. Even without seeing, Shinichi roughly knew the enemy's location.
Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
The enemy was close, and Shinichi didn't want to waste chakra using any large-scale attack jutsu. He immediately used the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms towards that area of space.
Shinichi Hyuga's first strike landed directly on Kabuto's abdomen. Caught off guard, Kabuto let out an involuntary groan, and the heavily struck enemy made a noise.
Relying on the feel of the attack and the sound Kabuto made, an outline of a person was completed in Shinichi's mind. What Kabuto faced next was Shinichi's barrage of attacks like a storm.
"Da da da—"
As Shinichi's finger struck, slamming onto Kabuto's body, muffled thuds echoed in the air. Even without the help of the Byakugan, while the Sixty-Four Palms couldn't entirely block and penetrate Kabuto's inner tenketsu points, relying on Shinichi's proficiency in the Sixty-Four Palms, the chakra in Kabuto's upper torso was almost entirely sealed.
After the Sixty-Four Palms were finished, Kabuto was sent flying by Shinichi, heavily slamming into the ground, finding it extremely difficult to get up. As the muffled sound echoed in the distance, the darkness in front of Shinichi was also completely dispelled.
"Ah!!!!"
Shinichi didn't even have time to check on the condition of Kabuto Yakushi, whom he had just sent flying, as a cry of pain instantly drew his attention.
Looking sideways, a figure was rapidly flying towards him.
"Kakashi!" Shisui's low call came from a distance. The next second, Tobirama Senju quickly approached Shisui and kicked him away.
The Bringer-of-Darkness Technique was not just a one-on-one Genjutsu; on the contrary, it was actually an area-of-effect Genjutsu. The people affected by the jutsu were not just Shinichi alone; Kakashi and Shisui were also covered by the jutsu.
Their Taijutsu ability was already no match for the reanimated Second Hokage. Even if the Second Hokage only retained about sixty percent of his living strength, he was still an opponent that the current Kakashi and Shisui could not deal with.
After their vision was obscured, Kakashi and Shisui were both successively struck and sent flying by the Second Hokage.
The direction Kakashi flew happened to be towards Shinichi's location. Shinichi moved, catching the airborne Kakashi in his arms. The immense force dragged Shinichi back several meters before he finally stabilized his stance.
However, in the next instant, Tobirama Senju had already approached Shinichi with the Body Flicker Technique. The kunai in his hand, aimed at Shinichi's temple, swept across.
Shinichi's vision had returned after escaping the Second Hokage's Genjutsu. Although Tobirama Senju's movements were fast, they still could not escape his eyes.
Facing the attack, Shinichi immediately sent Kakashi in his arms away with the Flying Thunder God, then ducked low, charging right in front of Tobirama, and delivered a palm strike to the opponent's heart.
The powerful force compelled Tobirama to stagger back two steps, and he was then met with Shinichi's relentless, stormy attacks.
Shinichi's current Taijutsu had already merged the so-called Strong Fist and Gentle Fist. Every punch and palm was not only full of power, but after hitting the enemy's body, he would also use the characteristics of the Gentle Fist to seal the opponent's tenketsu.
However, against the reanimated body of the Second Hokage, the power of the Gentle Fist was ineffective, and the so-called "Strong Fist" had minimal effect.
If it were an ordinary human body, being continuously struck by Shinichi would have already resulted in broken bones and loss of mobility. However, the reanimated body of the Second Hokage was completely unaffected. Being struck by Shinichi several times did not impact his mobility in the slightest.
After ten or so exchanges, Shinichi had already probed Tobirama's strength. However, during this delay, Hashirama Senju, who had been previously blown to pieces by the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, had completed his body repair. Upon standing up, he quickly joined the battle, coordinating with Tobirama to attack Shinichi.
The two reanimated bodies did not use Ninjutsu, only Taijutsu, yet they managed to suppress Shinichi.
The Taijutsu styles of the two Hokage were different. Hashirama's Taijutsu was open and sweeping, with enormous strength infused into every move, posing a huge threat to Shinichi.
Tobirama followed a technical, agile route, but due to the low precision of Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation, Tobirama was actually the easier one to deal with. However, with Hashirama providing cover, Shinichi could not counter the two of them using Taijutsu alone.
The battlefield was segmented into three areas.
At this time, the battle between Jiraiya and Orochimaru had also entered a white-hot phase. After a brief Taijutsu competition, both simultaneously used the Summoning Jutsu. The appearance of Gamabunta and Manda made the battlefield even more chaotic.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya went from a confrontation between "masters" to a battle between Summoning Animals, allowing both of them time to coordinate the overall battle.
When Orochimaru noticed that Kabuto had been defeated, and that the two generations of Hokage he had reanimated were besieging Shinichi but couldn't subdue him, this battle situation greatly exceeded Orochimaru's expectations, causing his gaze to linger on Shinichi.
Shinichi Hyuga...
Orochimaru already knew Shinichi before he became a missing-nin. To say they "knew" each other might imply too much familiarity; still, at least Orochimaru knew Shinichi's name and also knew he was a Hyuga clan member labeled a "genius" by some in the village.
Although Orochimaru knew this genius was growing quickly, the fact that Shinichi could grow to this extent in just a few years still made Orochimaru regard him highly.
He was aware that the quality of his Impure World Reincarnation was not very high, but even so, the fact that Shinichi could calmly handle the combined siege of the two Hokage was a clear indication of his power.
The battle, which Orochimaru felt was a certain victory, now had a touch of suspense because of Shinichi Hyuga.
"The Hyuga clan has produced a talent like this?!"
Even Orochimaru, who was used to flattery and had seen countless prodigies, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when facing the powerful Shinichi Hyuga.
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