Chapter 501: A Thoughtless Knife
Shisui poured chakra into his eyes. The blood red Three Tomoe Sharingan spun to life, sweeping across Yokogawa Tsutomu's entire body at blinding speed.
Yokogawa's current form was grotesque beyond reason. Shisui could not find anything that could be called an eye, yet Yokogawa clearly possessed normal sight, perhaps even sharper than before.
Shisui immediately concluded that Yokogawa did have eyes, but they were hidden in a way ordinary methods could not detect.
"Even the Sharingan can't locate them," Shisui realized. "Then normal visual genjutsu won't work."
He had pushed his ocular power to the limit and still found nothing. That meant his genjutsu would be useless against Yokogawa himself.
Shisui felt a trace of irritation. Without a way to lock onto Yokogawa's eyes, his specialty was effectively sealed.
"If Zorua weren't so weak, I could summon him and test it," Shisui thought.
But Zorua had been trained for too short a time. He could not be used in a high intensity battle like this.
Shisui steadied his breathing, then spoke quietly.
"Anyone who can't break genjutsu, close your eyes."
As he warned his comrades, his hands were already moving through seals.
Even if he could not trap Yokogawa, he could still handle the other Hidden Grass shinobi and remove the unstable factor around them. No one could guarantee the Hidden Grass ninjas would not attack under Yokogawa's threat.
"Temple of Nirvana Technique!"
As Shisui's chakra surged, phantom feathers seemed to fall from the sky. Hidden Grass ninjas who were about to obey Yokogawa, and those who looked like they might help Kakashi's group, all felt a crushing wave of drowsiness the moment they saw the feathers. One by one, they collapsed into sleep.
When the technique ended, only three Hidden Grass ninjas remained standing. Everyone else had dropped.
Shisui was not surprised. Even with the boost from the bent spoon, Temple of Nirvana was a wide range genjutsu. Its coverage was huge, but its individual impact was not strong enough to guarantee it would catch everyone.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique: Crimson!"
Obito gathered a massive amount of chakra in his throat and spat a sheet of flame, then snapped his wrist and hurled shuriken in rapid succession.
The shuriken cut through the fire curtain, igniting into small fireballs. They streaked toward Yokogawa like a net of burning stars.
Kakashi burst forward at the same time, holding two kunai in each hand, both blades wrapped in lightning.
"A bunch of good for nothings," Yokogawa snorted. "You will all become food for the box later. The new Hidden Grass Village doesn't need good for nothings."
His wings beat hard, and his body became a black blur as he dodged Obito's flames.
Even with his reinforced body, taking ninjutsu head on was still stupid. If he could dodge, he would dodge.
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
Shibi pushed his chakra to its limit while running. A massive tide of parasitic insects surged from his body like black mist, sweeping toward Yokogawa's flight path.
Yokogawa was too fast. To hit him, they needed overlapping pressure and perfect timing.
Yokogawa saw the intention immediately and rose higher, slipping above the insect swarm.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"
Suzaku activated his technique at once, shadow shooting across the ground toward Yokogawa's shadow.
Even if Yokogawa was flying, his shadow still existed.
But the next development made Suzaku's eyes tighten.
Yokogawa flapped his wings rapidly and retreated in an instant, pulling his shadow beyond the maximum distance Shadow Imitation could reach.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
At that moment, Kakashi, who had already circled behind Yokogawa, finally struck. Four lightning infused kunai tore through the air, aiming straight for Yokogawa's wings.
Shisui watched without blinking. A wing injury would affect Yokogawa's speed. Once that happened, dodging would no longer be effortless.
Yet Yokogawa moved as if he had eyes on every angle.
Even with Kakashi behind him, he twisted his massive body smoothly and dodged all four kunai with frightening precision.
"Does he have something like Transparent World?" Kakashi frowned slightly.
For a creature that large to evade that cleanly was too bizarre.
Kakashi understood how oppressive a foe like that could be, because he himself possessed Transparent World.
"Fire Release: Ghost Lantern!"
Drag, after finishing his chakra buildup, finally acted. He condensed more than thirty ghostly fireballs and hurled them at Yokogawa.
Boom!
Several fireballs hit. Explosions rolled across Yokogawa's body, leaving scorched marks.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
"This is…" He was confused.
Drag's timing had been good, but it should not have hit. If anything, Kakashi's timing had been even better.
"Drag, you're courting death!" Yokogawa roared.
His claws rose, and he exploded forward at full speed, diving straight toward Drag's position.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
With Transparent World active, Kakashi read the movement early and formed seals in advance. A massive dog headed earth wall erupted in front of Drag.
Rumble!
Yokogawa's giant claws slammed into it, instantly spreading spiderweb cracks across the surface.
Drag reacted fast. He did not have time to thank Kakashi. He vanished with Body Flicker and changed position.
The next moment, the earth wall shattered completely, and the spot where Drag had stood turned into a crater.
Whoosh!
Kosuke gathered chakra into his feet and unleashed his technique with a lightning fast drawing slash.
Yokogawa raised a claw to block Kosuke's long sword, then swung his other arm toward Kosuke in the same breath.
"Backpack Uncle, watch out!" Obito shouted, Sharingan catching the motion.
Kosuke did not panic. His face stayed blank as he reduced his own force, borrowing Yokogawa's strength to slide away and evade.
Kakashi and the others seized the opening and pressed again, but still could not land meaningful damage.
Even Rin, who had been guarding Hana until now, joined the fight, yet her attacks also failed to connect.
However, Yokogawa could not easily injure them either.
Every time he committed to an attack, Kakashi used ninjutsu to support the team in advance and disrupt the kill.
"I need to kill that white haired brat first," Yokogawa decided as he felt his body recovering. "He's too annoying."
Kakashi's mind kept running even as his body moved.
"Why did Drag's attack hit him once?" he thought. "What was the reason?"
Right now, the fight still looked even, but that balance rested on two conditions.
First, they were still in peak condition.
Second, Yokogawa was still injured from Mugetsu's punch.
Their side would not be able to sustain this level of output for long. The constant use of secret techniques would grind them down.
Yokogawa, on the other hand, had regenerative strength. He was gradually climbing back toward his peak.
One side weakening, the other strengthening. The balance would break soon, and then they would be in real danger.
"Summoning Technique!"
Seeing the fight intensify, Rin decided to let Katsuyu take care of the unconscious Hana so she could focus fully on battle.
Clang!
A summoning array flared. White mist rolled, and a Katsuyu slightly larger than an adult appeared in front of Rin.
"Katsuyu sama, please take care of this sister and keep her safe," Rin asked.
Unlike other sacred lands, Shikkotsu Forest essentially had only one Katsuyu. How strong a Katsuyu a contractor could summon depended on their chakra. The more chakra, the larger and stronger the split body Katsuyu would form.
That meant every Shikkotsu contractor was summoning a split of Katsuyu herself. Facing an ancient being who had lived since the era of the Sage of Six Paths, Rin treated her with the respect owed to an elder.
"Rin, no problem. Leave it to me," Katsuyu agreed.
Then she looked at the giant black monster and showed clear surprise.
"Rin, how did you run into Satori? With your current strength, even its puppet should be too much for you."
As an ancient existence who had lived through the Sage of Six Paths era, Katsuyu saw through Yokogawa's nature immediately.
"Katsuyu sama, do you know anything about this monster?" Rin's expression brightened.
Information could decide ninja battles. If they understood Yokogawa, they might uncover the secret behind his bizarre dodging.
Katsuyu nodded.
"Satori can see through the hearts of those who fear. Even the smallest thought like, 'This guy is scary,' will be sensed. Only by fighting without even a trace of fear can you avoid it."
Rin froze for a fraction of a second.
That requirement was brutal.
Humans could not always control their emotions. Facing a ferocious monster, facing claws that could tear through walls, fear was inevitable. For some, it would be so faint they would not even notice it, yet it would still exist.
"Thank you, Katsuyu sama," Rin said quickly, then relayed the information to her teammates.
"What the hell?" Obito retorted immediately. "There's no way I'm afraid of this ugly monster."
He only wanted to beat the opponent, surpass Kakashi in the mission, and earn praise from Mugetsu and Rin.
If his attacks were being dodged, it was because his role was to force movement, not because Yokogawa could read his thoughts.
"If even imperceptible fear affects it, then it's completely possible all of us are leaking thoughts," Kakashi said.
He did not feel ashamed. He simply found the ability difficult.
At that point, Kakashi finally understood why Drag's Fire Release had landed.
Drag could not possibly fear Yokogawa right now. What he felt was anger and regret.
Kakashi could even imagine it clearly. If Obito ever became a monster like this, no matter how strong Obito grew, Kakashi would not feel fear. He would only want to kill him, and regret it.
"Rin," Kakashi said, "if Katsuyu knows this much, she can heal too, right?"
Rin had only recently signed the contract, so Kakashi was not fully familiar with Katsuyu's capabilities.
"Yes." Rin nodded. "Katsuyu sama can heal on her own, and she can also transmit chakra through her body so I can heal at range."
Compared to the other two sacred lands, Katsuyu's support abilities were far more prominent.
According to Tsunade, once Rin reached her level, with Katsuyu's assistance, Rin could even heal an entire ninja army by herself. The scale was exaggerated.
"Put a Katsuyu on me," Kakashi said as he kept observing through Transparent World. "Be ready to heal at any moment."
This fight dragging out was only bad for them. Kakashi was preparing to gamble.
Mugetsu was inside the box, theoretically close, but Kakashi still wanted to try ending Yokogawa with their own strength.
Mugetsu was not idle. From everything they knew, whatever existed inside the box would be even more troublesome than Yokogawa.
Rin complied immediately, splitting a smaller Katsuyu and placing it on Kakashi's back.
Kakashi drew the White Fang short blade from behind him and let out a long breath.
This team was truly strong.
Even excluding Mugetsu, a name known across the ninja world, the lineup was still terrifying.
Shisui, Obito, and Kakashi himself had limited sustained combat, but in the short term, they were unquestionably elite jonin. Their burst output was even stronger than Kosuke and Shibi.
Rin and Suzaku were not heavy hitters, but in a chaotic battlefield, their value was far beyond ordinary jonin.
Normally, one elite jonin with two special jonin was enough to handle an S rank mission.
Their team had five shinobi who could be called elite jonin. The lineup was absurd.
How could they lose to a puppet of a monster?
Kakashi began deliberately controlling his inner state. His attacks grew sharper, more aggressive.
He had disrupted Yokogawa repeatedly. If Yokogawa was not stupid, he would prioritize killing Kakashi.
Kakashi wanted to give him an opening that would severely injure him, and at the same time create a moment for Kakashi to land the strike that would flip the entire battle.
Yokogawa, who had been feigning reckless aggression, sensed Kakashi's shift and decided the timing was perfect.
He pretended to attack Obito, who was not far from Kakashi. The instant Kakashi used Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall, Yokogawa turned his head and swung his claws toward Kakashi.
Kakashi could not read thoughts, but Transparent World let him anticipate movement in advance.
That was why he used Earth Flow Wall for himself.
A giant dog headed earth wall surged up.
"Die, you hateful white haired brat!" Yokogawa gathered chakra in his throat and spat a chakra ray.
The beam shattered the earth wall, and at the same moment, his claws slashed forward at high speed, aiming to finish Kakashi.
He had not used this ability until now because he wanted a surprise kill.
After all, if Kakashi could defend others in advance, there was no reason he could not defend himself.
Kakashi pushed Thunder Breathing to its limit.
Even so, he could not dodge perfectly.
A long, gushing wound opened across his abdomen.
Katsuyu immediately activated her healing, and Rin, through Katsuyu, cast medical ninjutsu remotely.
Kakashi ignored the wound.
He did not think about pain. He did not think about Rin's healing.
He pushed Transparent World to its limit and forced his mind into absolute blankness.
No fear.
No joy.
No anger.
Nothing.
This was Kakashi's plan.
He would use Yokogawa's pressure to forge that thoughtless, emotionless strike.
.....
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