Reclaiming Herself!

After learning that Gekko Hayate was in danger, Yakumo didn't hesitate or second-guess herself. She immediately turned around and headed back to the battlefield.

What drove her to return and face Hiruko wasn't just that she couldn't bear to see her comrade die a horrible death. It was also 'Ido' in her mental world.

In Yakumo's mental world, 'Ido' raged, "Yakumo, why are you running away? Fight him! Who does he think he is, provoking me like that? I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him!"

Yakumo replied in her heart, "Calm down. I'm no match for him right now!"

"We can't beat him with Taijutsu or ninjutsu, but we still have genjutsu!" 'Ido,' who had lost the 'Red Dragon Eye' and reverted to the appearance of a Hannya Oni, said viciously. "Let this bastard see the genjutsu of our Kurama Clan! Show him what we're capable of!"

"Genjutsu..."

Yakumo's heart jolted.

Ever since she had obtained the 'Red Dragon Eye' and mastered 'Wood Release,' she had grown accustomed to relying on those powers, gradually neglecting the genjutsu that the Kurama Clan was most proud of.

Only now, after 'Ido' reminded her, did she belatedly realize that beyond Taijutsu and ninjutsu, she still had her genjutsu—the power that had always supported her!

Before she had earned the leader's recognition or been taken on as Tsunade's student, she had been the clan's hope for rising again: a genjutsu prodigy the clan had waited decades to see.

Reclaiming herself, Yakumo resolutely met Hiruko's gaze. "Secret Technique: Sensory Deprivation!"

Hiruko's expression changed. "Fool!"

Ever since losing a genjutsu contest to Shinji last time, he had been especially wary of genjutsu. Now, seeing Yakumo brazenly use it against him, he flew into a rage, feeling deep down that she was looking down