Multiple Illusions, Killing Spies

The moment the sound appeared, Inoue Shinta turned into a black shadow and lunged towards the wardrobe.

"Thwack~"

The short blade pierced straight through the wardrobe, but there was no muffled groan as expected.

What's going on?

A hint of confusion flashed in Inoue Shinta's eyes.

The opponent was clearly inside the cabinet. The absence of a groan could mean their willpower was strong enough to endure the pain.

But the feel of the short blade piercing through was clearly wrong.

The next moment, the entire room was suddenly illuminated, and a gentle voice sounded from behind Inoue Shinta.

"A guest has arrived. Would you like a cup of tea before you depart?"

Inoue Shinta spun around abruptly, only to see Uchiha Tunan, dressed in a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, sitting at the living room table and watching him.

On the table were two cups of tea, exuding a fragrant aroma.

Judging by the wisps of white smoke rising from the tea, they had clearly just been brewed.

Inoue Shinta's eyes flickered with surprise and uncertainty. Suddenly, he heard a dripping sound in his ears.

He glanced at the kitchen faucet out of the corner of his eye.

The faucet wasn't dripping.

Inoue Shinta raised an eyebrow, immediately formed a hand seal, and said fiercely:

"You brat, you dare use such a low-level genjutsu in front of me? Go practice more in hell."

The chakra in his body began to flow rapidly.

"Genjutsu, Release!"

The next moment, the genjutsu was dispelled, and the scenery before Inoue Shinta's eyes changed.

He found himself having opened the cabinet door, his short blade pressed against Uchiha Tunan's neck. Uchiha Tunan, clutching his bleeding Three Tomoe Sharingan, was trembling all over.

"Genjutsu backlash, you pathetic fellow."

Inoue Shinta smiled cruelly. His initial anger at being caught in the genjutsu turned into a sense of satisfaction upon seeing Uchiha Tunan's backlash.

What a genius, to actually trap me in a genjutsu.

It's just that this genjutsu is still too immature.

The next instant, the short blade thrust forward, piercing through Uchiha Tunan's neck, sending blood splattering.

Inoue Shinta withdrew the short blade, preparing to leave the area quickly.

The moment he turned, the lights flared, and the same scene began to play out.

"A guest has arrived. Would you like a cup of tea before you depart?"

"How is that possible? I clearly broke your genjutsu." Inoue Shinta instinctively took two steps back.

"Drip, drip..." Inoue Shinta glanced at the kitchen faucet again and saw that it wasn't dripping at all.

Damn brat.

To be able to endure the genjutsu backlash and cast it on me again.

It must have been cast the moment I was about to kill him.

His will to survive is quite strong.

But all of this is meaningless now.

Inoue Shinta understood everything in an instant. The look of panic on his face vanished, and he formed another hand seal, saying: "Genjutsu, Release."

The entire room plunged into darkness once more.

Before Inoue Shinta could breathe a sigh of relief, the lights came back on, but the person sitting in the living room was no longer Uchiha Tunan.

It was an Uchiha Jonin.

Inoue Shinta had seen this Uchiha Jonin before; he was a captain in the Konoha Military Police Force.

The Uchiha Jonin looked at Inoue Shinta with a half-smile, his Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning, exerting immense pressure on him.

"To be able to break my genjutsu, not bad.

As a Konoha genius, how could Uchiha Tunan be unprotected?

Speak, who exactly are you?"

The Uchiha Jonin stood up as he spoke, looking down at Inoue Shinta with an arrogant gaze.

It was as if he didn't even consider Inoue Shinta a threat.

A cold sweat broke out on Inoue Shinta's forehead, and his right leg trembled uncontrollably.

How is this possible?

No wonder, no wonder everything felt so strange.

Did I fall victim to a genjutsu the moment I entered the room?

It must be. After all, it was a genjutsu personally cast by a Jonin of the Uchiha Clan. It was pure luck that I managed to break free in the end.

No, what if… what if this is also genjutsu?

Inoue Shinta, clinging to a sliver of hope, quickly looked towards the kitchen faucet, only to see it dripping.

"Drip, drip..."

This wasn't genjutsu.

Inoue Shinta tightened his grip on the short blade in his hand, his eyes darting around, looking for an opportunity to escape.

The Uchiha Jonin gently raised his hand, then suddenly lowered it, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? It seems I don't need to act personally. Someone has come for you."

Inoue Shinta froze at the words, a possibility flashing through his mind.

It's over... could it be Anbu...?

Suddenly, several ninjas wearing cat-faced masks appeared beside Inoue Shinta, their voices chilling.

"Inoue Shinta, spy from Kirigakure. Your partner, who attempted to assassinate Kakashi, has already been killed by Anbu. Do you wish to be killed here by us, or cooperate and come with us to the Konoha Interrogation Department?"

"Failed, huh... just as I suspected..."

A hint of despair flashed in Inoue Shinta's eyes. These cat-faced masked ninjas had used the Body Flicker Technique, a skill only Jonin possessed, to appear.

He was merely a Chunin, surrounded by several Jonin...

Inoue Shinta could no longer bear the pressure. His hands fell limply to his sides, and the short blade clattered to the ground.

The next instant, his vision went black.

What's going on? Why turn off the lights?

"Pfft~"

A kunai pierced Inoue Shinta's chest, blood splattering.

Inoue Shinta collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with confusion.

As his life ebbed away, Inoue Shinta's vision gradually blurred. In the darkness, he vaguely saw a pair of sinister Three Tomoe Sharingan.

"Pfft~"

"Pfft~"

"Pfft~"

After several finishing blows, Uchiha Tunan confirmed the person was completely dead before turning the lights back on.

The reason Uchiha Tunan's genjutsu was so powerful was mainly due to inheriting the talents of his three deceased siblings, which caused his mental strength to surge, allowing him to construct the room environment in a short period.

It wasn't that Inoue Shinta couldn't break the genjutsu, but rather that every time Inoue Shinta accelerated his chakra flow, before he could dispel the genjutsu, Uchiha Tunan would give him the illusion of having dispelled it.

The dripping sound was merely a psychological suggestion; the faucet hadn't been dripping at all.

Furthermore, at the final moment of the genjutsu, he employed the Hell Viewing Technique, digging into what the target feared most at that moment.

The person's greatest fears were someone protecting Uchiha Tunan, his partner's failure, and Anbu coming to apprehend him.

When Inoue Shinta finally saw the faucet dripping, he completely believed he was back in reality.

Uchiha Tunan returned to the bedroom and retrieved the only Sealing Scroll in the house, storing the corpse within it.

Then, he went to the kitchen, turned on the faucet, wet a rag, and thoroughly cleaned the bloodstains on the floor.

He even used soap to wash his hands and the kunai, removing the smell of blood.

He put his clothes in the washing machine and changed into a clean, neat white shirt.

Destroying the evidence was one thing, but he was Hiruzen Sarutobi's man. As long as he didn't do anything too outrageous in Konoha, he had nothing to fear.

Moreover, this was a spy from an enemy village; killing him would earn him merit.

Using the Sharingan to cast genjutsu and take down a Chunin alone wasn't an exaggerated feat.

There was nothing to hide, and besides, he couldn't hide it anyway. This person had a partner, and once their memories were searched by the Interrogation Department, everything would be revealed.

With that thought, he picked up the scroll and headed towards the Hokage Building.