Hyūga Kazutaka's eyes were tightly shut, showing absolutely no reaction to the outside world. To Shinichi and the others, Kazutaka appeared to be completely manipulated by some force, lacking any independent will.
However, under the vision of the Byakugan, the chakra flow within Kazutaka's body was normal. This meant that the Kazutaka before them was not dead; he was not merely a simple controlled puppet.
While Hyūga Shinichi didn't understand why Kazutaka had become like this, this didn't stop him from wanting to save him. Although the opponent's physical strength had been enhanced to a degree, it wasn't insurmountable. With the combat strength currently present, subduing Kazutaka shouldn't be a problem.
Kakashi and Shisui Uchiha coordinated flawlessly, flanking Kazutaka from both sides. Hyūga Keisuke, who had quickly gotten back up, leaped forward, aiming for Kazutaka's waist from behind.
The three had almost simultaneously formed a pincer movement around Kazutaka.
However, the closed-eyed Kazutaka seemed to perceive all their movements. His right foot kicked the blade of the giant axe in his hand. Using the momentum from the kick, he swung the battle-axe in a wide circle, cleaving toward the attacking group.
Both Kakashi and Shisui, as well as Keisuke, possessed exceptional perception thanks to their unique Dōjutsu or skills, and they anticipated Kazutaka's counterattack. The charging Shisui lowered his body, using his short blade to strike the axe handle from below, not losing any momentum in his advance.
Kakashi, meanwhile, quickly formed hand seals while moving. Although the axe's trajectory had been slightly deflected by Shisui, Kakashi still used an Earth Style Ninjutsu.
An earth wall immediately rose from his side as he rushed forward. The swinging battle-axe slammed directly into the earth wall, embedding itself five inches deep and halting its momentum.
Keisuke, who had initially intended to dodge, paused his movement, but noticing Kakashi's earth wall had blocked the axe, he quickly closed the distance, reaching out to hug the opponent's lower back.
He expected to subdue him easily, but surprisingly, many sharp spikes suddenly grew out of the armor that covered Kazutaka's body.
Keisuke hadn't anticipated this situation at all. As he embraced him, the spikes pierced his skin, leaving a dense pattern of bloody puncture wounds. Fortunately, Keisuke immediately stopped his movement. Although he looked bloody and disheveled, the injuries were only superficial.
The slight delay allowed Kazutaka to successfully extract the battle-axe, leap up, and jump out of the encirclement, charging toward Hyūga Shinichi, who was behind Kakashi and Shisui.
Thick black mist emanated from Kazutaka's body, obscuring the vision of those behind him as he swung the axe down fiercely.
Seeing the opponent targeting him, Hyūga Shinichi casually threw a kunai toward the courtyard. The moment the kunai flew out, Shinichi's figure vanished from his original position.
"BOOM!!!!"
Kazutaka slammed down. The battle-axe struck the floor where Shinichi had been, blasting a large hole.
"He's closing his eyes, yet he clearly knows the location of his attackers and can lock onto my position."
"Why?"
"Is it a sensory Ninjutsu?" Shinichi's knowledge of puppet techniques was limited. He didn't know how the opponent was locating him, nor how they were manipulating Kazutaka.
What was happening to Kazutaka was too strange, making Shinichi momentarily think he wasn't fighting a ninja, but some other bizarre creature.
The mysteriously appearing armor and the ability to change form during combat... To Shinichi, this seemed almost fantastical, like magic—nothing like what a ninja should be.
Despite the internal confusion, Shinichi understood he had likely encountered a ninja with a highly unusual Bloodline Limit ability.
The variety of Bloodline Limit powers far exceeded Shinichi's imagination. In this world, no matter what kind of Bloodline Limit he encountered, Shinichi wouldn't be surprised. The transformation on Kazutaka resembled the Super Beast Scroll, but the essence was fundamentally different.
"Hooooowwwllll—"
However, just as everyone's attention was focused on Kazutaka, a low roar suddenly sounded behind Hyūga Shinichi. Looking back slightly, Shinichi discovered three ferocious black demon wolves had appeared behind him. As they roared, a strong, foul odor wafted toward him.
"Summoning Beasts?!"
"When?!"
These demon wolves were biological creatures; Shinichi's Byakugan couldn't be mistaken. But he hadn't seen anyone form hand signs to use the Summoning Jutsu.
How did these demon wolves appear behind him? Even the Byakugan hadn't detected the presence of a user.
Before Shinichi could think further, the demon wolves leaped to attack him. Shinichi's eyes narrowed. Against such creatures, he didn't need to hold back.
He raised a hand to signal Kakashi and Shisui to focus on their current enemy, while he himself quickly adopted a defensive stance.
Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven (Kaiten)!
High-density chakra formed a spinning wall, firmly protecting Hyūga Shinichi. The moment the demon wolves approached the Kaiten, the rotational force directly sent them flying into the air.
Having averted the crisis, Shinichi stopped his movement, raised his hand, and three miniature Tailed Beast Bombs shot out from his palm, instantly hitting the demon wolves that had been flung into the air.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Explosions sounded almost simultaneously. A flash of light erupted, and the demon wolves instantly turned to ash under the attack of the miniature Tailed Beast Bombs. A faint smell of blood permeated the air as the demon wolves were struck.
They were genuine... unknown biological entities.
Hyūga Shinichi had no idea how those demon wolves appeared. He scanned the surroundings with his Byakugan, but found no suspicious person within the compound.
No user?!
Or... was the user outside the compound?
While Shinichi was deep in thought, Shisui fired over a dozen shuriken at Hyūga Kazutaka. Each shuriken was connected to a nearly invisible steel wire. The seemingly random shuriken collided in mid-air, surrounding Kazutaka. The steel wires connected to the shuriken quickly tightened, firmly restraining Kazutaka.
"Success?"
"Did he bypass his perception?!"
Shisui's superb shuriken manipulation seemed to have successfully bypassed the opponent's detection, successfully binding Kazutaka. With his body tied, Kazutaka could no longer hold the battle-axe, which dropped to the floor, the sharp blade piercing straight through the planks.
The bound Kazutaka began to struggle violently. The armor scraped against the steel wires, emitting a grating "squeak." As he struggled fiercely, Shisui's wires were drawn tighter and tighter.
"Keisuke!" Shinichi shouted.
The latter quickly understood, delivering a Gentle Fist strike to the pressure point on Kazutaka's back neck. With the chakra flow blocked, Kazutaka's body went limp, and he fell heavily onto the floor.
Hyūga Shinichi didn't look at Kazutaka. Instead, he gradually increased the range of his Byakugan, trying to see if anyone was spying on them from outside the Hyūga compound.
No matter what kind of puppetry or manipulation technique it was, there was always a distance limit. A careful search was bound to reveal something. Unless the opponent's manipulation range exceeded the Byakugan's detection range, he would surely find clues.
On top of a water tower in the village, Kurama Unkai slowly opened his eyes, a look of regret in their depths.
Scattered around his feet were several paper cuttings. In front of him stood a meter-tall earthen platform. On the platform stood a doll with "Hyūga Kazutaka" written across its chest. The doll wore paper armor and held a paper battle-axe. Its joints were connected to threads, the other ends of which were connected to Kurama Unkai's fingers.
Nightmare Manipulation (Muen Sōen)!
A variant of the Kurama Clan's Bloodline Limit, it was the fundamental reason Danzō Shimura valued and relied on Kurama Unkai. The Kurama Clan had a long history, skilled in Genjutsu. However, their Bloodline Limit was unique: not all clan members could awaken the ability. Only a very few, every few generations, could awaken the Bloodline Limit under specific circumstances.
The Kurama Clan's Bloodline Limit could control a person's five senses, a terrifying Genjutsu that could turn others into string puppets. Its motto was: What you say is not your will, your body is not your own. All you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and know is what I will have you know.
Another terrifying ability of the Kurama clan was the capacity to materialize the Genjutsu world into reality. Anything Kurama Unkai drew in his sketchbook could be materialized into reality, provided he had sufficient chakra.
However, the more terrifying a Bloodline Limit was, the greater the risk. Materializing Genjutsu into reality required a massive amount of chakra. The more unusual and bizarre the objects or creatures, the more chakra was needed.
But the Kurama clan was never known for having large chakra reserves. Overusing the ability often came with the risk of exhaustion and death. Therefore, the inheritors of the Kurama clan's Bloodline Limit often had short lifespans. Unkai's reaching his current age was due to his extreme restraint in using his ability.
"I have to leave quickly!"
"That boy actually sensed it!"
Kurama Unkai quickly packed his things, muttering softly, as blood began to trickle from his nostrils. Feeling the warmth beneath his nose, Unkai lightly touched it, glanced at the blood on his finger, and quickened his movements.
Not long after Kurama Unkai's figure vanished from the top of the water tower, Hyūga Shinichi's Byakugan view swept rapidly past the exact location.
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