All of Vines' attacks struck empty air!
One vine after another passed through the Mysterious Masked Man's body as though passing through air, unable to harm him in the slightest!
Akihara Kagura's Wood Style Ninjutsu was utterly useless against the Mysterious Masked Man!
The Mysterious Masked Man's Mangekyō Sharingan possessed an intangibility ability that allowed him to evade any attack, giving him an almost innate invincibility in battle!
"Do you think you can hold out for reinforcements with tricks like this?"
Ignoring the vines passing through his body, the Mysterious Masked Man charged toward Akihara Kagura. "Brat, Konoha's people are always late. Before they arrive, I'll capture you first, so the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki doesn't end up in danger again!"
"You're the greatest danger here, aren't you?"
Akihara Kagura raised his fingers before his chest. A vine burst from beneath his feet, carrying him swiftly backward!
Even though Akihara Kagura knew the Mysterious Masked Man's weakness, breaking his ability would not be easy. The man would not simply stand still and let himself be attacked; he could use his intangibility to rush over and seize him!
The Mysterious Masked Man landed in an empty spot and grabbed the retreating vine with one hand. His right eye spun rapidly, and a space-time vortex appeared in an instant!
The vine was swiftly dragged into the space!
Akihara Kagura's body was also helplessly pulled toward the Mysterious Masked Man. Once caught, he would be at the mercy of others!
However...
This was also an opportunity!
Whenever the Mysterious Masked Man used his Space-Time Dojutsu to absorb something, his body had to cancel its intangibility and become solid!
Akihara Kagura swiftly formed a wooden spike and hurled it at the Mysterious Masked Man, but it only forced him to abandon absorbing the vine and return to his intangible state!
"What a hassle..."
Akihara Kagura's brows furrowed.
Without Space-Time Ninjutsu, dealing with the Mysterious Masked Man was truly troublesome. He could only try setting some traps. After all, the most important thing about the man's dojutsu was that space—so long as he hid a clone inside that space...
"Before the gap in strength, all you can do is experience the cruelty of reality."
The Mysterious Masked Man charged at Akihara Kagura once more and said coldly, "No matter how you resist, it will all be futile struggle..."
"Doesn't matter."
Akihara Kagura took a deep breath, as though his fighting spirit had returned, yet his words sounded rather dispirited. "As long as I can stall until the reinforcements arrive..."
Akihara Kagura seemed to be trying to bolster his spirits. "As long as Captain Kakashi gets here soon, everything will get better..."
"Hmph, Kakashi is nothing but trash!"
The Mysterious Masked Man was dismissive, as though the name had provoked his anger. "In this despairing reality, that trash Kakashi can't change anything!"
"..."
Akihara Kagura ignored him and merely raised his fingers to form hand seals.
Vines swiftly grew from the ground, spiraling around one another to form a massive sphere. Akihara Kagura hid himself within the heart of the vines!
"Wood Style: Wood Clone!"
Using the vines as cover, Akihara Kagura quickly created a Wood Clone. Compared to other Clone Techniques, a Wood Clone was nearly identical to the Shadow Clone Jutsu and could also be used to attack!
"Brat, do you think hiding in there will save you?"
The Mysterious Masked Man placed his palm against the enormous ball of vines. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly as his Space-Time Dojutsu activated at full speed!
Ordinary ninja might have had no way to deal with Akihara Kagura's defenses, but to the Mysterious Masked Man, this was no different from an ostrich burying its head in the sand. He was merely deceiving himself!
Searching through the vines would perhaps waste time, so the Mysterious Masked Man simply absorbed the entire vine sphere, Akihara Kagura included, into his space!
The enormous vine sphere was completely absorbed by the Mysterious Masked Man!
"Plan complete."
The Mysterious Masked Man carelessly swept his gaze across the battlefield. He looked at Naruto Uzumaki, still nailed to the ground, then glanced at Akihara Kagura standing beside Naruto Uzumaki.
Hm?
Akihara Kagura?
Hadn't this brat been taken into the space along with the vine sphere?
The Mysterious Masked Man's eyes widened abruptly. He began to wonder what he had just done—when had this brat escaped to Naruto Uzumaki's side?!
"I told you..."
Akihara Kagura chuckled softly and looked toward a figure leaping in the distance. "All I need is to buy time until the reinforcements arrive..."
A white-haired ninja wearing a mask was leaping toward them in the distance, while other ANBU ninja rapidly converged on the area. Reinforcements were about to arrive!
"Hmph, what can one piece of trash do?"
The Mysterious Masked Man spoke harshly, but the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eye socket spun rapidly as he attempted to draw himself into his space and flee!
Since Kakashi Hatake had arrived, Akihara Kagura probably would not dare harm the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He would spare this brat for now!
Just three seconds...
The Mysterious Masked Man could use his Space-Time Dojutsu to escape!
Bang!
A vine from the ground stopped him!
"When I first saw you, it took three seconds for you to materialize using your Space-Time Dojutsu, which was why I managed to pierce your body with the Wood Style: Cutting Technique. I guessed that if you wanted to absorb yourself and escape with your Space-Time Dojutsu, it would take at least three seconds too, right?"
Akihara Kagura held his fingers before his chest, a demonic smile in his eyes. "My Wood Style only needs one hand seal, and it takes no more than one second to activate..."
"..."
For the first time, the Mysterious Masked Man realized there was a problem.
This brat was not as bloodthirsty and reckless as he had imagined. He had actually noticed such a tiny detail and had even found one of his weaknesses!
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave..."
Akihara Kagura looked at the Mysterious Masked Man and smilingly advised, "Didn't you say Captain Kakashi was trash? Back when I served under Lord Danzō, I always wanted to kill him. Can you help me kill him?"
After saying that, Akihara Kagura did not wait for the Mysterious Masked Man's reply. He called loudly to Kakashi Hatake, who was rushing over, "Captain Kakashi, an intruder who infiltrated the village and tried to kill Naruto is here. Hurry and help!"
"This brat..."
The Mysterious Masked Man cursed under his breath.
Clearly, it was this brat who wanted to kill Naruto Uzumaki. He had only appeared to prevent the Nine-Tails from dying!
However...
Kakashi Hatake would not care about any of that!
The moment he heard that someone had tried to kill Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake grew tense. At a glance, he spotted the Mysterious Masked Man!
"Who are you?"
Kakashi Hatake rushed toward the Mysterious Masked Man and reached for the mask on his face, wanting to see who he really was!
The Mysterious Masked Man's body instantly became intangible!
Kakashi Hatake's hand grasped empty air!
Yet the strangest thing happened. Though the Mysterious Masked Man had avoided the attack, his eyes involuntarily widened, as though he had seen something terrifying!
Inside a bizarre space.
Whenever the Mysterious Masked Man made his body intangible, part or all of his solid body would appear in this space. Everything he absorbed with his dojutsu, including enemies, would also be placed here.
For example, a sphere entwined with vines.
For example, a Wood Clone hiding inside that sphere.
When the Mysterious Masked Man turned intangible in response to Kakashi's attack, his head appeared within the Kamui space!
Akihara Kagura's Wood Clone stood before the Mysterious Masked Man's head. Ignoring the terrified eyes above it, he grabbed the mask and violently tore it off!
The real world.
The Mysterious Masked Man's mask suddenly vanished!
As though someone had suddenly ripped it off with great force!
Kakashi Hatake had still been surprised that his hand had missed, only to see the other man's mask suddenly fall away. He had now seen the Mysterious Masked Man's true face!
"You are..."
Second update!
How far I've fallen!
My book actually still has people who haven't blown up the Kamui space!
Before you continue