Kyouka Suigetsu. A powerful, invisible mental wave spread out in an instant, disrupting the Chakra of Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha. Their bodies froze mid-attack, eyes empty, as if time itself had been paused.
"Cough, cough..." The badly wounded Wujie Kohinata stared in shock at the two Uchiha geniuses standing like statues. He then turned abruptly toward Yunchuan Hyuga, who still wore that calm smile.
"What did you do to them?" he demanded hoarsely, disbelief filling his voice. "Nothing special," Yunchuan Hyuga said as he walked forward. "Just a simple Genjutsu."
"I would rather not have anyone hear what we are about to discuss." He glanced toward the distant trees, where only deep darkness remained, as if the earlier watching had been an illusion.
Ignoring figures like the ratlike Obito Uchiha and his companion, Yunchuan Hyuga turned his gaze back to Shisui Uchiha. His eyes settled on the finger that had just twitched, marked by Root.
[[Shisui Uchiha]] had already grown suspicious of [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] because of what happened not long ago. He stayed alert while watching [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] stand still, and almost the instant [[Yunchuan]] moved, he sharply sensed a fluctuation of [[Chakra]]. His vision warped for a brief moment, and he immediately realized he had been caught in [[Genjutsu]].
A low hum sounded as the three [[Tomoe]] in [[Shisui Uchiha]]'s eyes spun at high speed and slowly merged into a shape like a [[Shuriken]]. This was [[Mangekyo Sharingan]]. [[Shisui]]'s [[Dojutsu Power]] surged to a higher level, and the scene before him turned distorted, like an old television losing its signal, with heavy noise flooding his vision.
At last, he became aware again. The moment he did, he saw that [[Wujie Kohinata]], who had been forming seals, was also trapped in [[Genjutsu]]. Wujie only stiffened for an instant before he pulled out a [[Kunai]] and slashed hard across his own body.
The blade nearly split his chest and abdomen open, and his organs were clearly visible as blood sprayed onto [[Shisui Uchiha]]'s face. Yet [[Shisui Uchiha]] kept his blank expression, not blinking even as blood flowed into his eyes. He wanted to see what [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] was really trying to do.
He needed to understand why [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] had hidden his strength. What followed, however, went beyond what [[Shisui]] had expected. "What are you doing?" [[Yunchuan Hyuga]]'s smile vanished as he appeared in front of Wujie with [[Shunshin]], his voice low.
"Cough, cough. You brat can actually use [[Genjutsu]]? Even the [[Uchiha Clan]] fell for it?" [[Wujie Kohinata]] leaned back against the tree and coughed up blood, then looked up at [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] with a teasing tone. "As a member of the [[Hyuga]], you really are neglecting your proper path."
As he spoke, [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] took emergency bandages from his [[Ninja Tool Pouch]] and tried to wrap him, but Wujie weakly shook his head with a smile. "Enough. It is useless." He explained that as a spy, a technique had been placed on him so that when his mind was interfered with, he would actively end his own life, and wounds like this could not be saved.
"It is a pity. If you had not pinned me down with [[Genjutsu]], I wanted to burn brightly one last time before dying." He lowered his head to the torn clothes on his chest, revealing a large patch of shredded [[Explosive Tag]] beneath. The sight made the now-aware [[Shisui Uchiha]] break into a cold sweat.
At such close range, if Wujie had ignited those [[Explosive Tag]], both he and [[Itachi]] would have been killed or badly injured. So had [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] saved the two of them? No, that did not fit. If saving them was the goal, [[Root]] had no need to drag them into [[Genjutsu]] as well.
[[Yunchuan Hyuga]] must have had another purpose. As [[Shisui Uchiha]] was about to speak, [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] let out a soft sigh and calmly asked, "Do you have anything else you want to say?" Wujie did not answer, struggling to raise his trembling left hand to search his pocket.
[[Yunchuan Hyuga]] gently pushed his fingers aside and helped him take out what he wanted. It was a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. After a few tries, [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] lit a [[Root]] cigarette and placed it in his mouth.
Wujie drew in a long, slow breath and exhaled, smoke and blood spilling out together. With his eyes lowered and his awareness fading, he said in a faint voice that everything he had done was his own choice and had nothing to do with his wife and child. [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] smiled slightly and answered softly that he would look into it.
"Thank you." Wujie lifted his eyes a little, as if seeing the ugly [[Curse Seal]] through his [[Forehead Protector]], and smiled. He said he had once resented his thin bloodline, and wondered whether he was more fortunate or unfortunate compared to [[Yunchuan Hyuga]].
"You pulled them into [[Genjutsu]] because you wanted something," he continued weakly. "The only thing of value on me is this one [[Byakugan]]. If it is useful to you, take it. I only hope you can help look after them, my wife and son. I am sorry." His voice faded, the cigarette fell from his lips, and his breathing stopped.
[[Shisui Uchiha]] watched as [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] fell into a long silence. After a moment, [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] slowly reached out and thrust his hand into Wujie's left eye socket. Blood splashed as he withdrew his fingers, a warm white eyeball resting in his palm.
It was a [[Byakugan]]. A [[Byakugan]] without the [[Caged Bird Seal]]. For the [[Kohinata]]'s thin bloodline, awakening even one [[Byakugan]] was already astonishing, something even the [[Konoha Leadership]] had not expected.
If Wujie had not hidden it so well, he would have been taken back to the [[Hyuga Clan]] by force and branded with the [[Caged Bird Seal]] to become part of the [[Branch Family]]. [[Shisui Uchiha]] finally understood, watching [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] put the [[Byakugan]] away and stand up, then toss the still-burning lighter onto the corpse.
At the same time, in the real world. "What are you doing now?" The [[Wujie Kohinata]] who had died in [[Shisui Uchiha]]'s eyes was standing there alive, watching [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] point the hilt of his blade toward [[Shisui Uchiha]].
"Applying a double layer of [[Genjutsu]]," [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] said casually. "[[Shisui Uchiha]] is very skilled at [[Genjutsu]]. One layer would not fool him." In their eyes, Wujie was already dead.
Everything [[Shisui Uchiha]] had seen, including Wujie's death, was exactly what [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] wanted him to see. The fact that [[Shisui Uchiha]] could notice the abnormality of [[Kyouka Suigetsu]] had surprised [[Yunchuan Hyuga]] a little, but that was all.
If one illusion was not enough, then two would be used. If two were not enough, then three. Until [[Yunchuan Hyuga]]'s [[Chakra]] ran dry, as long as [[Shisui Uchiha]] did not force his way out with that technique, he could only sink into endless layers of illusion.
"Double layer… [[Genjutsu]]…" Wujie froze for a moment, then looked at the vacant [[Shisui]] and the other, his lips twitching into a grin. "Two geniuses of the [[Uchiha Clan]] losing to the [[Hyuga Clan]] in [[Genjutsu]]. This really is something, really is something. Hahaha."