Kairen suddenly stabbed a blade toward his own abdomen. No blood sprayed out—instead, a puff of white smoke burst forth.
In truth, there was blood, but it was completely obscured by the smoke.
Kairen laughed. From now on, this could explain away a lot of things. After all, the ability to resurrect infinitely and never truly die was far too shocking.
Orochimaru would definitely be drooling with envy!
Next, Kairen used a Low-Level Genjutsu Development Card, creating a genjutsu that could block the Byakugan's perception when he used it.
"Genjutsu development successful!
Please name it!"
"Call it Iris Genjutsu!"
(T/N: The Iris Illusion is a perceptual distortion that causes people to misjudge the distance between irises, particularly on faces.)
"Naming successful. D-rank Genjutsu recorded!"
Just like the Smoke Transformation Genjutsu, the Iris Genjutsu also counted as a true genjutsu.
Kairen activated his Byakugan, exchanged a point of experience for Sakura's mirror, and looked at his own eyes.
At first, they were Byakugan. But once he activated the Iris Genjutsu, his eyes instantly changed to normal black pupils. At the same time, the genjutsu masked the bulging veins around his temples.
This way, from now on, even if he used the Byakugan in front of others, no one would be able to tell.
Kairen turned to look at the smoke-filled forest. Such commotion would surely attract the forces of both Sunagakure and Konoha on the frontlines. He had to find Konoha's defensive position quickly.
"Huh!"
On a hidden tree trunk, his Byakugan suddenly noticed a black marker pointing in a certain direction.
Without hesitation, Kairen formed seals and used Body Flicker to instantly head that way.
Before long, he arrived before a hidden mound. Moonlight slanted down, shining on a vine-covered cave entrance.
Inside, faint yellow candlelight flickered dimly, but the sound of breathing filled the air.
The leading jōnin pressed his ear carefully against the rock wall of the cave.
The elite chūnin beside him asked,
"What's going on? Did someone trigger the traps? But even if they did, it shouldn't cause such a huge disturbance."
The jōnin guessed, "Maybe it was just some frightened beasts in the forest running wild!"
Suddenly, the silhouette of a child squeezed through the vines at the entrance. He was bare-chested, holding a mission slip in his hand.
In an instant, more than thirty shinobi inside turned their gazes on Kairen, killing intent surging.
"A Konoha ninja!"
Kairen felt something was wrong. His Byakugan focused on the headbands of these shinobi—they bore the insignia of Sunagakure.
"Damn! Wrong place!"
Outside, he had only used his Byakugan to notice a cluster of chakra, not bothering to check their attire carefully before barging in.
This matched his usual battle style—reckless beyond reason.
"Sorry for disturbing you, I'll be leaving right away!"
With that, Kairen turned and bolted.
Dozens of shuriken sliced through the air. His head alone caught more than ten of them, while the rest riddled his body full of holes.
In a blink, Kairen was reduced to a shredded pile of flesh.
"Ding!
You were killed by several Sunagakure ninjas using shuriken. EXP +100!"
The cold stares of the Sunagakure ninjas turned into shock.
Not a single drop of blood flowed from Kairen's wounds. Instead, white smoke curled around them.
In the instant of their hesitation, Kairen resurrected, recalled all the embedded shuriken into his system space, and used Body Flicker to flee.
The leading jōnin grew intrigued, waving his hand.
"Chase him! That kid's secret art is strange!"
In a flash, several figures burst through the vines at the cave entrance.
"Eight Gates Release – Gate of Opening, Open!"
Kairen opened the first gate, forcing his body's energy to its limit. He channeled all his chakra into his feet, overloading them for speed, fleeing at top speed.
This was already his second time escaping—he had some experience now.
"Byakugan, open!"
Kairen glanced behind him with his Byakugan. Five hundred meters away, a pack of cold-blooded Sunagakure ninjas were chasing relentlessly, blades in hand, like wolves hunting down prey.
The jōnin's Body Flicker was ultimately stronger than that of chūnin. Even though Kairen overstrained himself with the technique, the gap between them still shrank.
Kairen turned and formed the seals for Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. In an instant, around eighty shadow clones sprang forth.
The leading jōnin's eyes widened in surprise.
"So many shadow clones? Does he really have that much chakra?"
"What do we do?"
The leader ordered,
"Split up! Some of you chase each group! I'll summon Black Scorpion, its sensory ability is powerful!"
The group of about twenty split into several teams, each pursuing clones in different directions.
After running about two hundred meters, Kairen's Byakugan suddenly noticed the earth bulging upward beneath him.
A massive scorpion, the size of a two-story building, crawled out, radiating an ominous, malicious chakra.
"Screee—!"
Kairen leapt high, sailing over the monstrous scorpion.
But its tail was unnaturally agile. With a swift flick, its venomous stinger pierced through Kairen's back, hoisting him in the moonlight.
"Ding!
You were killed by the advanced summoned beast Black Scorpion using its stinger. EXP +100!"
Thick white smoke billowed from his body. Kairen instantly resurrected, immediately exchanging for sixty Explosive Tags and covering himself with them.
"Black Scorpion, careful!" the Sunagakure leader shouted.
"Detonate!"
A violent explosion concentrated at a single point, blooming in the air like a massive fireball. In an instant, the Black Scorpion's tail was blown to pieces.
"Ding!
You killed yourself with your own Explosive Tags. EXP +2!"
White smoke swirled, reforming Kairen's body. He reopened the First Gate and his Byakugan, sprinting once again in the opposite direction of Sunagakure.
The leading jōnin quickly dismissed his summon, then burst forth with even greater speed, firmly keeping pace with Kairen.
It was as if the Sunagakure shinobi were riding the wind. They closed the distance rapidly.
Kairen spotted him with his Byakugan, spun around, and formed seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball roared forth, aimed directly at the pursuing jōnin.
The Sunagakure shinobi's lips curled coldly as his hands blurred through seals.
In Kairen's Byakugan vision, chakra surged violently within the man's body.
That made Kairen realize—it was a powerful Wind Style.
And indeed, he was right.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
A massive compressed blast of wind burst from the jōnin's mouth, exploding midair, blowing Kairen's fireball apart in an instant.
"Whoooosh!"
A raging gale swept out, uprooting trees for a hundred meters around. The violent wind shredded everything in its path.
There was no way Kairen could dodge such overwhelming force. He was torn into fragments by the compressed blades of the tornado.
"Ding!
You were killed by jōnin Meimuda using Wind Style. EXP +250!"
Kairen hadn't expected this Meimuda to be so powerful. His strength rivaled half of Rasa's Magnet Release techniques, comparable to an elite ANBU jōnin.
White smoke swirled once again. Kairen resurrected and dashed off.
Seeing him unharmed, Meimuda's breath caught. The other pursuing shinobi caught up with him.
"Captain, what's going on with that Konoha brat?"
Meimuda, experienced and knowledgeable, explained,
"It's similar to the Hydrification Technique. Normal physical attacks won't work on him."
"Then what should we do?" one of his subordinates asked.
Meimuda's voice remained cold.
"Keep chasing. He's just a kid. How much chakra could he possibly have? That secret art of his won't last long."
"Understood!"
Meimuda reminded, "Imai, you're a Earth user. Later, use your Earth Style to trap him."
"Yes, Captain."
Kairen fled for another ten minutes. Along the way, he was slowed down by the Sunagakure's summoned beasts, giving the pursuers chances to launch several Wind Style attacks at him.