Chapter 152
2-in-1-chapter
-----------------
The appearance of Susanoo shocked many, including Nii Yugito herself. Wide-eyed, she stared at the towering green figure clad in tengu armor and wielding its spiral blade like a war god standing among the mountains and forests.
She had never once heard of such a thing, much less seen it. Fortunately, she was not fighting alone. She had the aid of the Two-Tails, a living encyclopedia that had survived for a thousand years.
"Yugito, be careful! This is Susanoo of the Uchiha clan, a power that only those who have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan can wield. It is a terrifying force capable of contending with, and even defeating, us tailed beasts. You must not underestimate it."
Matatabi's tone was more severe than Yugito had ever heard before.
"Is it really that strong?"
Yugito did not doubt the truth of what Matatabi told her. The beast would never lie to her. The words had slipped out only because of a lingering trace of human incredulity.
"It is true!" Matatabi answered without hesitation. "Yugito, the Uchiha clan's power surpasses your imagination. Do not look down on them. That clan was once… never mind. I will lend you my strength, but do not act recklessly. If the situation turns dire, retreat immediately. Otherwise, you will lose your life along with me."
The repeated warnings made Yugito feel the gravity of the opponent before her. It was the first time she had ever seen Matatabi so unsettled.
Thus she did not rush to attack but instead carefully observed the towering construct called Susanoo.
"And remember," Matatabi added, "avoid looking directly at the Uchiha's Sharingan."
…..........
....
.
"What is going on?"
Darui halted his assault on Might Guy and Hyūga Hiashi. He raised his head and stared in astonishment at the emerald-green Susanoo. He could not make sense of what it was. Though only sixteen, his personal strength already placed him among the elite of his village, yet he had devoted nearly all of his time to training rather than to broadening his knowledge.
For the younger generation of Kumogakure shinobi, Susanoo was unknown. It had not appeared for decades. In fact, not just the young— even the generation of the Fourth Raikage himself had never seen the Uchiha's Susanoo. It was only natural that Darui should be bewildered.
But ignorance of its name did not mean he failed to sense the sudden shift in the battlefield.
It seemed Konoha's reinforcements had come fully prepared. That taijutsu specialist with the thick eyebrows already gave Darui pressure, and he had thought to wait until Yugito finished with her opponent before she came to lend him aid. He had not expected Konoha to possess a method like this, something he had neither seen nor heard of, capable of opposing a Jinchūriki directly.
"Pass down the order. Have all units temporarily halt their attacks, especially those near Yugito-senpai. Authorize them to abandon their mission—no, I order them to abandon the planned operation altogether. Disperse immediately at full speed, and under no circumstances allow yourselves to be caught in Yugito-senpai's battle."
The chain of sudden developments did not shake Darui's composure. Though naturally laid-back, when he applied himself he was exceptionally reliable. Even as the situation grew more chaotic, he remained calm, issuing commands with steady precision.
At this moment, Yugito could not be expected to command the troops. The responsibility naturally fell to him.
"Send word to the Raikage. Report the situation here and tell him we require reinforcements to extract us—"
He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as he looked into the distance.
Two colossal beings had clashed.
The first to strike was the Two-Tails. Its body wreathed in azure flames, the great cat lunged forward and slashed at Susanoo. The sweep of its claw stirred winds fierce enough to topple seven or eight trees, a measure of the immense force it carried.
Boom!
In the face of that strike, Shisui's response was straightforward. He swung his spiral blade to meet it head-on. Claw and sword collided in midair, and the deafening report echoed across the forested mountains. The shockwave spread outward, scattering leaves like waves across the canopy in rippling rings.
The Two-Tails held its ground, while the emerald Susanoo staggered back a step. In raw strength, the beast had the slight advantage.
"So heavy," Shisui murmured as he struggled to control Susanoo.
"This is the power of a tailed beast? Incredible. Would a monster like this really be affected by genjutsu?" He recalled the instructions Rēn had given him before their departure: if he encountered a Jinchūriki or a tailed beast on the battlefield, no matter the village, he was to use genjutsu without hesitation.
Even so, Shisui remained doubtful. He had read in the clan's records of ancestors subjugating tailed beasts with the Sharingan, but as a pragmatist he placed no faith in what he had not tested himself. The truth could only be known through action.
Now was the chance.
The Two-Tails, emboldened by its initial advantage, pressed its attack relentlessly. The great cat swung both claws, driving Susanoo backward again and again. The spiral blade was too long to be recalled in time, and under Yugito's control, Matatabi unleashed a ferocious flurry of blows.
Susanoo was driven steadily back. The beast closed in.
And then—
Shisui's eyes widened as his gaze locked with the Two-Tails. His ocular power surged forth like a bursting flood, overwhelming all defenses and pouring straight into Yugito's consciousness. His spiritual form, shaped by the force of his Sharingan, appeared in the mental world outside the cage that sealed the Two-Tails.
"This is… even easier than I imagined."
Looking upon the imprisoned form of Matatabi, Shisui felt with absolute clarity the natural dominance that the Sharingan exerted over tailed beasts.
Above was endless blackness. Beneath his feet was ankle-deep water. Around him stretched a darkness as thick as ink. The only source of light in this void was the Two-Tails sealed within its cage, the azure flames coiling around its body dispersing the gloom and illuminating a small space before the bars.
The sealing techniques used to bind jinchūriki differed from village to village. Yet the inner world of consciousness where those seals manifested was much the same, its landscapes uniform and monotonous.
"I despise those eyes."
The Two-Tails lowered its head and growled irritably. The pair of scarlet eyes staring at it stirred memories of the worst kind.
"You… how are you here?"
The figure outside the bars was not Uchiha Shisui alone. This was Yugito Nii's inner world, and as a perfect jinchūriki with a close bond to Matatabi, she could naturally enter and exit freely. Yet when she arrived, she discovered an unfamiliar shinobi from Konoha already present.
Shisui had only entered after Yugito had completely transformed into her tailed beast form. Strictly speaking, this was their first meeting.
"Yugito, let's drive him out together. We can deal with everything else later," Matatabi said in a deep voice, conspiring with her as azure flames leaked through the gaps in the seal. Those flames took shape again outside the cage, forming a body.
It roared, attacking Shisui alongside the still-dazed Yugito.
Her head throbbed. A moment before, she had been fighting alongside Matatabi against the giant called Susanoo, but the battlefield had suddenly shifted into the depths of her consciousness, a place no outsider had ever reached. And now, an enemy of the Uchiha clan had directly invaded.
Her head felt heavy, but she dimly understood why Senior Dodai had spoken so gravely about the power of the Uchiha. No, it was not exaggeration. For an enemy to force Matatabi to act on its own—this was the first time. No matter how close their relationship had been, until now Matatabi had only ever lent her chakra. It had never taken the initiative to fight.
And besides, how was one supposed to battle in a world constructed purely of consciousness? Should she use genjutsu?
Yugito resorted to a rarely used technique.
Lightning Style: Lightning Pillar!
This was a basic genjutsu that had spread widely among the shinobi of Kumogakure, and though Yugito was not skilled in illusions, it was the one she had mastered most thoroughly. Lightning wrapped around her body, bursting into a dazzling light. At the same time, Matatabi channeled chakra to her through the seal.
This was Yugito's inner world. Unless Matatabi ignored her life entirely, it could not unleash its full might without restraint. And because it cared about her safety, it ceded the initiative to Yugito, supplying her with chakra while serving as her shield.
The brightness flared, so intense it seared the eyes.
A genjutsu of this level was originally nothing remarkable, yet infused with tailed beast chakra its power was forced higher. The blinding light was so strong Yugito herself could barely see. Though this was only the manifestation of consciousness, tears still welled at the corners of her eyes.
Something was wrong.
Yugito, her face wet with tears, realized the anomaly. The Lightning Pillar was not supposed to affect the user. Why, then, was she—the caster—suffering from its effects?
"You have good battle instincts. You have already grasped how to fight here. But… a genjutsu of that level is useless against me. If you wish to contest illusions with the Uchiha, you will need to polish your brilliance much further."
A clear voice rang in her ears, making her shudder violently.
She rubbed her eyes desperately until her sight returned.
This was, after all, her consciousness world and unlike physical injuries, wounds here struck at the spirit. She would not truly go blind. As long as her will endured, even being torn apart would eventually heal. Of course, for most people, being shattered in this world of the spirit would mean living out their days as an empty shell.
"Matatabi!!"
When her vision returned, what she saw was Shisui seizing the Two-Tails with one hand and tearing it apart. Shocked, she cried out before she could stop herself.
But in the next instant, a familiar voice whispered at her ear.
"Yugito, do not worry. That was only a fragment of my chakra."
Regaining her composure, Yugito bit her lip, ashamed of her lapse. She had let concern unbalance her and forgotten that a tailed beast could never truly die.
But the truth remained: he was strong. Too strong. This shinobi of the Uchiha clan was frighteningly beyond reason. Even together with Matatabi, she had been defeated.
"Matatabi, what just happened? Why was it me, the caster, who was harmed by the Lightning Pillar?"