You Came at Just the Right Time

Genjutsu was a rather complex system. Its effects were not as direct as Ninjutsu, but it could influence and alter many things.

However, it also had its limits. If Genjutsu could truly turn mud into chocolate, then no ninja would ever bother learning Ninjutsu or taijutsu again.

But if it merely cut off the Ninjutsu controlled by the Third Hokage, then the elusive and unpredictable Genjutsu should still be capable of it. Especially now that Konoha's foremost Genjutsu ninja wore a Sharingan—if something miraculous happened, the Third Hokage would not be surprised.

What intrigued him even more were the blooming crystals. From what he knew, they were also a technique originating from the Uchiha Clan, small tools that had only begun to see use in recent years. He had not expected Yuuhi Kurenai to have learned them as well.

And immediately afterward, Yuuhi Kurenai tossed out several more crystals. Carved into the shapes of Kunai and shuriken, they were thrown using the Uchiha Clan's throwing techniques, arcing through the air toward the Third Hokage.

Also using shuriken, the Third Hokage's Ninjutsu carried overwhelming force. With a single thrown shuriken, enhanced by the Shadow Clone Technique, he could transform it into hundreds or thousands of shuriken.

They spun and whistled through the air. Some flew toward the crystal shuriken, but most shot straight at Yuuhi Kurenai.

Yet as those shuriken shattered the crystals and passed through the glittering powder, they changed as well, turning into lollipops without the slightest killing power, giving off a cloyingly sweet scent.

The Third Hokage narrowed his eyes. He had expected those shuriken created by Shadow Clones to explode or vanish outright, but he had not expected their forms to change as well.

Even so, he could accept that. But the original shuriken, the one with