Why Aren't You Forming Hand Seals?

Why Aren't You Forming Hand Seals?

For shinobi, crucial intelligence often became the deciding factor in a final battle.

Take Asuma's death, for example.

And the Pain invasion incident that many people had imagined—what would the outcome have been if Might Guy had also been in the village?

Yet even if Might Guy could open the Eight Gates, recklessly attacking without knowing that the Six Paths of Pain were all corpses would only result in a pointless sacrifice.

But Xu Fan now possessed all of Itachi Uchiha's intelligence.

Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Susanoo, Izanami...

As long as he did not look into Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan, he would not fall victim to genjutsu.

As for Amaterasu and Susanoo, Itachi Uchiha would never reveal them. Doing so would only make the village fear the Uchiha Clan's power even more.

It would also make the Uchiha Clan more determined to launch their coup.

As for Izanami, it was what Xu Fan worried about least.

As long as he acknowledged himself and saw himself clearly, Izanami would not drag him into its cycle.

Besides, he had not come here today to determine who was stronger than Itachi Uchiha.

His true purpose was to show him his strength and make him believe that he was capable of accomplishing the things he had spoken of.

"An undefeated position, huh."

Itachi Uchiha shook his head helplessly. He truly could not understand why this guy had such overwhelming confidence.

But if he did not make him recognize his own weakness, he would only stray down the wrong path.

"See yourself clearly, Xu Fan."

Itachi Uchiha's voice was low as his right hand smoothly drew a blade. At a speed impossible for ordinary people to follow, he appeared behind Xu Fan.

Gripping the sword with both hands, he thrust it straight forward.

Pfft!

Xu Fan neither dodged nor evaded. He stood rigidly in place and allowed Itachi Uchiha's weapon to pierce through him.

"Hm?"

Itachi Uchiha froze. When he had flashed behind Xu Fan, he had deliberately slowed his attack and released killing intent.

Yet unexpectedly, this guy still had not dodged.

Was he really this weak?

Itachi Uchiha's face darkened. When he had heard Xu Fan's claims, he had thought the guy possessed some skill.

But this was it?

Still, as fellow Konoha Shinobi, Itachi Uchiha had not struck a vital point.

"This is bad..."

Kakashi, hiding in the shadows, silently cried out. He was even more shocked.

He believed he understood Xu Fan's strength well. Xu Fan had handled the assassination squad assembled by Root with ease, so how could he fail to dodge even Itachi Uchiha's attack?

And Itachi Uchiha had clearly slowed his assault.

Was the gap really that absurd?

Was even Xu Fan no match for Itachi Uchiha?

"Itachi... Just how strong are you..."

Yet just as Kakashi was about to rush out and save Xu Fan, Xu Fan's next move caught both Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi by surprise.

Slap!

Slap!

Xu Fan grabbed the blade protruding from his chest with both hands, and his body began changing at a visible speed.

The color of flesh and blood rapidly faded, replaced by solid wood.

Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi both widened their eyes.

"The Substitution Technique? No..." Kakashi swallowed, then quickly shook his head in denial. The so-called Substitution Technique used a wooden log to replace oneself, creating an opportunity to counterattack the enemy.

But what Xu Fan had transformed into was a wooden figure carved in his own image!

"This is the same technique Tenzō uses!"

Kakashi immediately lifted his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan in the darkness as he searched for Xu Fan's real body.

After all, the mission he had received was to protect Xu Fan in secret and prevent another assassination by Root.

But from the Senju Clan's compound all the way here, he had never seen Xu Fan form a single hand seal, much less use ninjutsu.

"When did he..."

"A Wood Release Clone?" Itachi Uchiha muttered. "He actually possesses the same bloodline limit as Tenzō... No."

Itachi Uchiha shook his head, denying that assessment. It was not that Xu Fan possessed the same ability as Tenzō.

Rather, Tenzō possessed the same ability as him.

He was the true inheritor of Wood Release.

And at that moment, Itachi Uchiha finally understood why Xu Fan had claimed to stand undefeated.

Why he had even compared himself to Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi.

It was not because of ignorance, but because he had awakened an ability that no member of the Senju Clan had been able to inherit for centuries.

Boom!

Just as Itachi Uchiha prepared to use his Sharingan to locate Xu Fan, a hand suddenly reached out from beneath his feet and seized his ankle.

Meanwhile, his weapon was firmly trapped within Xu Fan's Wood Release Clone, impossible to pull free.

"From below?"

Itachi Uchiha raised a hand directly, skipping the hand seals as he unleashed the fire style the Uchiha Clan excelled at most.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

The flames instantly illuminated the entire forest, allowing Kakashi and the Root Shinobi hidden in the shadows to observe the battle more clearly.

Kakashi was the most astonished. With his Sharingan, his dynamic vision far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Yet even so, he had failed to catch Itachi Uchiha's hand seals.

What was going on with these two?

Why did their battle feel so beyond reason?

But what happened next shocked Kakashi even more.

Facing the flames Itachi Uchiha had spewed out, the one gripping his ankle did not choose to flee. Instead, it clawed its way out from deep beneath the earth with all its strength, lifting Itachi Uchiha high into the air.

"This is..."

Itachi Uchiha widened his Sharingan and finally saw the huge thing beneath him.

This was not Xu Fan at all, but a massive wooden humanoid formed from solid timber. It stood at least five meters tall, with a creature resembling both a dragon and a snake coiled around its body.

Most importantly, its eyes were merely decorations. He could not cast genjutsu on it.

"The Wood Human Technique..."

Kakashi rubbed his Sharingan in the distance, wondering if the pressure of the past few days had damaged his vision.

The Wood Release Clone alone had already been shocking enough. He had never expected Xu Fan to have mastered even such a ninjutsu.

Itachi Uchiha was equally stunned. Eight shuriken appeared in his hands out of thin air, and he aimed them at the wooden human's weak points, attacking in tandem with his Fire Release.

He wanted to destroy the enormous thing before him.

Boom!

Though the wooden figure was bulky, its defense was astonishing, and its speed was equally impressive. It tightly gripped Itachi Uchiha's lower leg and slammed him into the ground.

Boom!

Then the wooden figure lifted Itachi Uchiha again and violently smashed him down in the opposite direction.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

After repeating the motion over and over, the wooden figure seemed to grow tired of the toy in its hand. It held the battered Itachi Uchiha upside down for a glance, then threw him to the ground.

Only then did Xu Fan's real body emerge. Standing on the wooden human's shoulder, he looked down at Itachi Uchiha from above.

Thanks to Ice Who Loves Fish, Su Sanjun, Free and Easy, and Allmylife for their support!