However, the reason Ruri did this wasn't to launch a sneak attack, but because she intended to press forward head‑on.
Any sneak attack has its effectiveness greatly reduced in front of the Byakugan.
Let alone when facing a powerhouse Ninja like Ayane—the effect of a sneak attack is practically zero.
Ruri's grasp of the situation was outstanding. If Ayane relied on the Byakugan's observation to instantly make the correct response to the flow of battle, then Ruri relied on her natural battle intuition to choose an attack route that fit her own style and force her enemies to submit.
Ayane retreated half a step, powerful Chakra rapidly condensing in her Byakugan.
A deterrent force that acted on the spiritual level was generated, directly stirring up a violently raging storm in a realm invisible to the naked eye, tearing and shredding everything within Ruri's consciousness space.
An ordinary Ninja, faced with this kind of brutal Spiritual Attack, would have absolutely no way to respond.
Compared to the Sharingan's Illusion Techniques, this kind of Spiritual Attack was even more domineering and straightforward; a Ninja with weak resistance could easily fall into prolonged confusion and quickly suffer mental collapse.
However, at the very instant this spiritual tempest arose, the black dot at the center of the three-tomoe Sharingan in Ruri's eyes disappeared.
The three black Magatama that originally revolved around that black dot underwent an irregular, yet somehow patterned, morphological transformation.
Although the transformed Sharingan could still be seen as an eye evolved from the Three Tomoe Form, the center of the Sharingan had become a field of vivid scarlet.
At the moment these eyes appeared, the pupil power in her right eye burst forth, and the terrifying spiritual storm raging in her mind instantly subsided.
Ayane's follow-up attack arrived in the next breath, and Ruri used the Mangekyo Sharingan's ultra‑high Dynamic Vision to catch that moment.
The mini‑Susanoo shrouding her body raised a dark‑red blade in front of her, blocking Ayane's incomparably heavy Gentle Fist strike.
Ruri's body was blown backward, and the dark‑red blade in Susanoo's hand let out a mournful cry as a clearly visible crack appeared upon it.
Under Ayane's heavy Gentle Fist, it could no longer hold out and was on the verge of snapping.
"Hey, that Pupil Technique of yours is way too broken. You can actually ignore any kind of spiritual‑level attack."
Ayane puffed out her cheeks, glaring somewhat unhappily at Ruri's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Originally, the Byakugan's spiritual pressure was her fastest move, one that needed no wind‑up and could be unleashed instantly—a powerful killing technique. As long as she used enough Chakra, she could even briefly affect Ninja on the level of the Five Kage and seize a favorable opening for herself.
But Ruri directly used her own Pupil Technique to cancel that portion of the effect, causing the spiritual pressure from her Byakugan to immediately fizzle out.
The way that Pupil Technique manifested, it was practically born to counter her Byakugan.
Of course, it wasn't just the Byakugan's spiritual pressure—Illusion Techniques also counted as a type of Spiritual Attack.
In other words, once Ruri activated that Pupil Technique, whether it was spiritual pressure or any other Jutsu that acted on the spiritual level—such as Illusion Techniques—would all be ignored by Ruri.
For a Ninja of the Uchiha Clan to awaken this kind of Pupil Technique was truly bizarre.
If it were a Pupil Technique that amplified Illusion Techniques, Ayane could understand it; but Ruri's Mangekyo Sharingan right eye Pupil Technique could actually defend against Illusion Technique attacks, which made it feel very unconventional.
Could it be that, because she wasn't good at Illusion Techniques, this Pupil Technique appeared to compensate for that weakness?
Or was it that, in the instant she resisted the Wraith's darkness, the powerful and resolute will she produced gave birth to the prototype of this Pupil Technique—one that would not be harmed by any Will Jutsu?
No matter how this Pupil Technique came into being, this was precisely the ability Ayane liked the least.
Uchiha Ninja should be awakening Pupil Techniques that amplify Illusion Techniques; what's with this thing that restrains the Byakugan's spiritual pressure?
As expected, there was no way she could bring herself to like this kettle‑lid woman.
"Although the Sharingan is the Eye of Mind Reflection, mine didn't awaken through normal means, so it was inevitably influenced by the Wraith's darkness. Besides, aren't you the same? You've also gained resistance to Spiritual Attacks. It's just that, unlike my Pupil Technique, yours isn't specialized for it."
Ayane had nothing to say.
Indeed, the Illusion Techniques Ruri cast now found it very hard to affect her; even if they did, she would break free in short order.
"Are we still going to keep fighting?"
"Let's call it a day. I'm a bit tired, and I've more or less figured out the Byakugan's power. You're about the same, right?"
Ruri nodded slightly, offering no objection.
"Come to think of it, what is your other Pupil Technique? I don't think I've seen you use it these past days."
Ayane asked curiously.
The Mangekyo Sharingan's Pupil Techniques came in pairs.
Each eye housed one Pupil Technique.
Ruri's right eye Pupil Technique could nullify any Jutsu that acted on the spiritual level.
But the Pupil Technique in her left eye was still shrouded in mist; no one knew what kind of Pupil Technique it was or what ability it held.
"I'm still in the middle of developing it, because this Pupil Technique is related to Lightning Style."
Ruri frowned slightly, looking somewhat conflicted.
"Lightning Style?"
Ayane blinked, realizing why Ruri felt conflicted.
Because the Uchiha Clan favored Fire Style, even though they could learn many Escape Techniques through the Sharingan, Fire Style was the Uchiha Clan's signature.
Ruri was no exception. Even though she had copied quite a few Lightning Style Jutsu in the past, her understanding of Lightning Style Jutsu was only at the introductory level—she had just reached the stage of altering Lighting Attribute Chakra, far from true mastery.
"So what's that Pupil Technique called?"
Ruri exhaled lightly, and a flash of dazzling lightning flickered in her left Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Eight Thunder Gods."