Through the intelligence revealed by Uchiha Itachi, combined with the vague impressions Yagoromo already possessed, he now had a rough understanding of the abilities of every current Akatsuki member.
Among them, there was one person who had originally been outside his range of understanding, but had now successfully caught his attention. His name was Hidan.
Reportedly, this man was a devout cultist. He could use blood as a medium to curse and kill his enemies through some kind of special ritual, and he also seemed to possess an "immortal body."
Although Yagoromo's ability could completely counter the attribute of immortality, what had drawn his attention this time was not the "immortality," but rather that curse-killing ritual. Curse techniques always seemed strange, unpredictable, and worthy of caution. If he encountered Hidan, he would have to pay special attention.
As for the cult Hidan belonged to… Yagoromo had never even heard of it.
"Yagoromo, what's wrong?"
When Yagoromo's consciousness and mind returned from the Tsukuyomi space to his body, the first thing he heard was Mirai's rather worried voice.
No matter how long he had spent inside the Tsukuyomi space, only a single second had passed in reality. However, for Mirai, whose perception was extremely sharp, she could still tell that Yagoromo's chakra had undergone a serious disorder during that one second.
That meant Yagoromo had been caught in the opponent's genjutsu.
Because of certain factors, genjutsu was one of the few areas where Mirai was stronger than Yagoromo. After seeing him in this condition, she began forming hand seals, preparing to use some kind of ultimate measure.
Fortunately, by this point, Yagoromo was already completely fine. He waved his hand to stop Mirai's movements.
"I'm fine, Mirai. Don't act rashly."
This child was far too anxious. What was she thinking, revealing her trump card in a place like this?
Mirai obediently stopped what she was doing.
As for Uchiha Itachi, who stood opposite Yagoromo, he was now covering his left eye with one hand and panting heavily. From the look of it, it seemed as if Tsukuyomi really had been broken by Yagoromo.
But in truth, Itachi had released the technique himself after finishing the transmission of all the intelligence he needed to pass along… That god-tier acting truly was worthy of someone who dared work as an spy right under Nagato's nose.
In keeping with the principle of acting out the full set, Yagoromo's eyes had also entered an abnormal state at this moment… During contact between a Konoha missing-nin and active Konoha shinobi, Nagato or Obito would certainly have someone monitor the situation. Leaving everything boldly and confidently to Itachi? That would be far too careless. The two of them were not so open-minded as to go that far.
And Itachi's current "played to pieces" appearance would clearly look to others like backlash from Tsukuyomi being broken. At the same time, with his mind greatly exhausted and his ocular power weakened, it was reasonable enough that he would no longer use Amaterasu against Yagoromo and the others.
Furthermore, Itachi had now "forced" Yagoromo to expose his eyes once again. Akatsuki would naturally take the opportunity to collect intelligence on this special "dōjutsu" and actively search for its weaknesses.
Unfortunately, in this world, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception could be classified as a support-type ability. They could neither control unique ninjutsu like the Sharingan, nor bring an increase in reconnaissance ability like the Byakugan. Aside from the external change in his eyes, his other abilities were very difficult to uncover.
Unless someone could share Yagoromo's field of vision…
In fact, Akatsuki had still not connected Yagoromo's dōjutsu to the deaths of the tailed beasts.
"Due to all sorts of very troublesome reasons that I'm too lazy to explain… Actually, this doesn't need explaining. For a defeated shinobi, death is the inevitable outcome."
As Yagoromo spoke, he had already drawn the long blade from his back.
Was he still acting? Uchiha Itachi did not know. But Itachi did know that if he failed to dodge the slash coming at him, he really would end up faceplanting.
Itachi quickly flickered backward. At the same time, with hand speed too fast to see clearly, he completed the hand seals for a technique.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
Itachi's seals were fast, but Yagoromo's movements were not slow either. At extremely close range, Yagoromo dodged the dense volley of scattershot Fire Release with an easy, elegant flicker.
The scorching wave of heat brushed past him, but it did not cause the slightest injury.
However, Itachi seemed to have already anticipated this situation, because what he had actually used was not Phoenix Sage Fire, but its enhanced version—
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson.
The difference between this technique and Phoenix Sage Fire was that its Fire Release had greater power, while shuriken attacks were also hidden within the flames. Because of that, after the flames passed Yagoromo, they could still launch a second-stage attack! As for the target of this attack… naturally, it was Uzumaki Mirai, who was not far away.
It had to be said that Itachi's thinking in battle was extremely clear. The purpose of this technique was not necessarily to injure anyone, but to shake Yagoromo.
Aside from the time she had cut a certain Kirigakure shinobi in the Land of Water, used an electric net to scare a Kumogakure envoy when returning to Konoha, fooled around in the Ninja Academy, and had just used the Summoning Technique to crush a White Zetsu to death, Mirai's real combat experience was pitifully low. So when Yagoromo realized that a shinobi like Itachi had targeted her, his reaction was not as calm and still as he had imagined.
In truth, there were two other teammates present. They could not possibly allow Mirai to be injured. Even so, at that moment, Yagoromo still glanced back slightly.
This was what Itachi had told Kisame: the White Yaksha was at his most terrifying only when he was alone.
The three of them truly did coordinate well. Haku's Ice Rock Dome of Nothingness had already moved first to block in front of Mirai, and Itachi's attack failed to take effect.
In terms of defensive power, Haku's Ice Release secret technique was far stronger than Earth-Style Wall.
Yagoromo breathed a sigh of relief. But when he turned his gaze back again, he unintentionally met Uchiha Itachi's eyes once more… There was absolutely no tender affection in that exchange of gazes. The moment one saw the Sharingan, it also meant one had been caught in genjutsu.
And the genjutsu Uchiha Itachi was using now was called Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique. This was likewise a kekkei genkai genjutsu, and its most famous achievement should be instantly flooring Orochimaru, who was also a master of genjutsu.
In an instant, Yagoromo felt intense stabbing pain. Within the illusory world, four pitch-black iron wedges pierced into his torso.
It had to be said that the opponent had done this beautifully. This kind of powerful genjutsu, which began acting through vision, was in the same situation as Tsukuyomi. Yagoromo's electromagnetic barrier was broken through without playing any of its proper role at all… This forced him to truly use the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to resolve his current predicament.
His right hand, which gripped his long sword, lightly swept before his eyes, and Yagoromo immediately broke the barrier of this genjutsu.
However, in that very instant, Kimimaro had already rushed past Yagoromo and charged straight toward Uchiha Itachi… He had not forgotten his mission.
Still, looking at the Hiramekarei dragging beside Kimimaro, one could only sigh with emotion. A perfectly good, elegant taijutsu specialist had somehow grown into a berserker in a very jarring way…
But this was fine too. At the very least, because of Yagoromo's seal over the years, Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku had not displayed any particularly obvious negative effects.
Watching the three of them fight, Yagoromo also decided to change his own approach. Rather than charging ahead himself while still worrying about Mirai and the others behind him, it would be better to let the three of them go up together against Uchiha Itachi while he guarded them from the rear.
This could also count as Team Six forming a party to grind monsters and gain experience. After all, it was not as if Yagoromo could immediately go for the kill after the man had just given him important intelligence, right?
That would be burning the bridge after crossing it a little too blatantly.
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