The rules of the Red Light Green Light game that was activated by his Shikai were mostly similar to what Shunsui already knew from the original version.
Players could not move when the light was red and they were only allowed to move when the light turned green. In his Shikai version, the red light lasted for five full seconds and the green light also lasted for five full seconds.
If someone broke the rules by moving during the red light they would be held tightly by the scarecrow's straw bindings for five seconds during the red light period and those same bindings would continue to hold them through the entire next green light as well.
They would only recover their freedom at the start of the following red light, and even then they would have to follow the rules perfectly if they wanted to move again when the green light returned.
So if a fighter moved even a little during the first five seconds of red light, that person would stay completely immobilized throughout the following five seconds of green light while everyone who had obeyed the rules was free to act.
The captured fighters would finally recover after those ten total seconds, but by then the damage was usually already done. It was not a sure shot kill like Shunsui had expected from the game.
He guessed that the creators of the Squid Games had simply made every contest deadly for the sake of the plot and the audience's entertainment. 'In the show people dropped dead the moment they moved at the wrong time. Here the scarecrow just ties you up for a few seconds and hopes your enemies are polite enough to wait.'
Five seconds were not a long time in normal life, yet those five seconds of complete immobilization were more than enough for trained shinobi to end the lives of enemies who could not move or defend themselves.
As the red light turned to green, Shunsui saw the opportunity and shouted orders across the linked Yamanaka network so that every Leaf fighter inside the game could hear him. "You have five seconds… no, four seconds… kill them while they are immobilized! Go! Go! Go! Your five seconds are precious!"
The Kumo shinobi who had been caught by the straw bindings stared with wide eyes as the Konoha forces rushed forward and cut them down without meeting any resistance. Blades rose and fell in smooth motions while the captured Kumo ninja could do nothing except watch their own deaths approach.
Shunsui looked at the nearest target to him. The man looked to be in his twenties and his eyes were locked on Shunsui with a mixture of fear and anger.
The thick straw ropes held every part of his body including his arms and legs so that he could not even twitch a finger. Shunsui spoke, "Don't look at me like that. You were the one who moved."
He then drove the blade forward and ended the man's life in one clean thrust. The body slumped against the straw restraints and hung there until the bindings finally released it at the start of the next cycle.
The green light turned back to red and because Shunsui had walked a few steps forward during the previous green period the radius of the game shifted with him. New shinobi from both the Kumo and Konoha sides who had been standing just outside the range suddenly became participants.
The four headed scarecrow turned its glowing red eyes toward the fresh group and the same rules settled over them.
Shunsui observed the new frozen figures and felt a spark of satisfaction. 'Red Light! Oh, this is beautiful. Trained shinobi reduced to statues in less than a second. And that's why you should never mess with children and their games.'
When the new Kumo shinobi still tried to move during the red light the scarecrow's straws shot out and locked them in place exactly as before.
Shunsui watched the fresh captures and spoke to the empty air with mock politeness. 'Oh dear. Scarecrow, I believe we have volunteers again. Someone moved. Honestly, these people are making this far too easy. At this rate I will not even need to break a sweat. Please try a little harder to stand still. It is only five seconds. Even a genin can manage five seconds of not moving if he really concentrates.'
One of the Kumo jonin finally stopped simply copying the movements of the Konoha side and realised the true nature of the technique.
During a green light period, he raised his voice and shouted a clear warning to every Cloud fighter who could hear him. "Don't move when there is red light! It is some kind of juinjutsu!"
The warning spread quickly. In the next red light cycle most of the remaining Kumo shinobi forced themselves to stay completely still.
They stood like statues and waited for the green glow to return. Shunsui felt a small flicker of respect mixed with amusement. 'I guess some of the shinobi do not become jonin without being a little smart. They figured out the basic rule after only a few rounds of dying. Oh well, I guess it is time to cheat. What is a children's game without someone trying to cheat in order to win?'
While keeping his lips closed he muttered a low "gruuuhhh" sound and infused chakra into his voice at the same time.
He activated Genjutsu: Thousand Voices on more than a few of the still Kumo shinobi at once. The single grunted noise split inside their minds into thousands of overlapping grunts that came from every direction and every possible pitch.
The sudden storm of sound slammed into their heads and created sharp overwhelming headaches. The affected Cloud fighters instinctively tried to raise their hands to clutch their skulls, but the scarecrow's straw bindings were faster and held their arms tightly against their sides.
Shunsui grinned as the light turned green once more. The Konoha shinobi who had obeyed every rule were free to move while the Kumo fighters who had broken the rules by reacting to the genjutsu remained locked in place.
He walked toward one of the immobilized targets and spoke in a light and almost friendly voice. "You know, for trained shinobi you people are remarkably bad at standing still."
The man could only stare back with pain filled eyes while Shunsui raised his sword for the finishing strike.
-------Author Notes--------
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