Illusion! Illusion? Solved!

"Heading back just like that? Aren't you going to bring back some gifts for your boy, Yūya?"

"What a drag~ I don't really care about that sort of thing~ My kid probably wouldn't appreciate it much anyway... What about you, Futa? Your girl must be a real handful, right?"

"That's true, I suppose. My boy is easy enough; as long as he has meat to eat, he's satisfied."

"Ara ara~ Shinpu, Yūya, how should I put this? These are what you call the troubles of happiness. My precious daughter is not a handful at all~ It's a pity you two didn't have daughters; they're so soft, sweet, and smell nice, and they call you 'Papa' in such a cute, mushy way~ It's just adorable~"

"Yes, yes—we know~"

"Anyway, before I return to the village, I'm going to stop and pick up a gift for my daughter~"

"No problem."

They walked along the road back to the village without any particular rush, chatting and laughing as they went. Half a day passed, and the journey remained peaceful.

At a ninja's pace—especially for jōnin—the distance from the border of the Land of Fire to Konoha would take about a day and a half at full speed. However, they maintained a pace only slightly faster than a chūnin, stopping briefly at a town along the way. By the afternoon, they arrived outside a mountain valley. At the foot of the rolling green mountains lay an endless, massive lake; the golden midday sun cast a shimmering, rippling glow across the water.

On the path outside the valley, one side was flanked by mountains and the other by the lake. Giant trees lined the road, stretching out toward the horizon.

Suddenly, in the midst of their laughter and stride, the yellow-haired Yamanaka Futa abruptly stopped, his eyes filled with astonishment.

A breeze swept across the lake, rustling the trees by the roadside and sending autumn-yellow leaves spiraling into the air.

At this distance, they were neither too close to the village nor too far.

"What is it, Futa~"

Nara Yūya and Akimichi Shinpu stopped in their tracks, asking with suspicious expressions.

Hearing this, the yellow-haired man's pupils constricted. He stared fixedly at a large tree fifty meters ahead, where a young girl sat on a branch extending over the road.

She wore a simple, elegant pure-white kimono. With short black hair, a face as delicate as a doll's, and scarlet eyes, she looked to be about twelve or thirteen. As the sunlight filtered through the canopy, it cast dappled shadows across her face and body.

This girl... she was the target!

The moment their eyes met, he instinctively looked away, unsettled by her cold, indifferent gaze.

Having followed the Senju clan through the Warring States period and fought the Uchiha, they had developed a trauma; seeing red eyes triggered a primal urge to avert their gaze.

Futa spoke with confusion, gesturing forward without looking back, and asked, "Can you not see her?"

A chill ran through their hearts. Genjutsu!? When?

The two were startled, simultaneously raising their hands to weave hand signs and shouting.

"Release!"

Their chakra surged in disorder, breaking the illusion. As they looked up with grave expressions, the three of them immediately shifted into the classic Ino-Shika-Cho formation.

Akimichi Shinpu stepped forward, his massive frame subtly shielding the other two without obstructing their ability to cast ninjutsu.

Only then did they clearly see the hostile intruder blocking their path, though they dared not meet her gaze directly.

On the tree branch, Yura dangled her bare feet, watching the trio's performance in silence. She tilted her head slightly, a flash of confusion and realization crossing her eyes.

They thought they were caught in a genjutsu? If so, their response was reasonable enough. She chuckled softly. The timing was perfect; just as the two men broke the illusion and their attention was drawn upward, she dropped her concealment.

Her gaze fell upon the yellow-haired man as she murmured to herself.

"So, I really can be sensed by ninjas... The Yamanaka clan's sensory techniques..."

In the center of the formation, the crouching Nara prepared to weave signs, his eyes lowered to avoid her gaze as he said in a deep voice, "Those eyes—are they the Ketsuryūgan of the Yūhi or the Blood Prison clan? What is the meaning of following us with genjutsu?"

All three were on high alert, each prepared for an immediate assault.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? What is the meaning of you three hunting me?" Conversely, Yura remained relaxed, sitting on the branch and asking with interest, savoring the tension and unease in the trio.

Hearing this, the gravity of their expressions deepened.

"You misunderstand, Your Excellency..." The mission was over, and there was no need to invite unnecessary trouble. As the leader, the Pineapple Head stepped forward to negotiate. "As Konoha ninjas, we were merely fulfilling a request from the town mayor to ask you to leave. That is why we visited yesterday."

"So, it's my fault then?" Yura laughed. "It's not like I didn't pay for my meal."

"Explosive Tags are not currency," the fat man muttered.

"Your Excellency! Your actions have caused great distress to the townspeople and the mayor, but our mission is concluded. If we have caused any offense, please forgive us," Yūya said, immediately cutting off the fat man.

Looking at a portrait was one thing, but facing her in person, their battle-hardened instincts were screaming warnings.

Dangerous! Extremely dangerous!

It wasn't just her appearance, age, or demeanor that signaled danger; in the Warring States period, any ninja who dared to wear casual, impractical clothing onto the battlefield was someone with absolute, arrogant confidence in their own strength.

"We, Konoha..." While showing weakness and seeking compromise, Yūya was also applying pressure, leaning on the reputation of their village.

Yura raised her left hand, cutting off the rest of his words.

"Konoha this, Konoha that... Is your Konoha really that impressive..."

The three men's expressions hardened. Exchanging a subtle glance, they silently prepared for battle. The situation was on the verge of exploding.

"Come to think of it, about half a month ago, I happened to cross paths with your First Hokage..." With a faint smile, Yura moved. Without any violent motion, she dropped from the branch. She drifted like a feather, hovering in mid-air and descending slowly until she stopped two meters above the ground. Her scarlet eyes fixed on the three of them as she said, "That bastard Senju Hashirama's Wood Style really gave me a hard time..."

As the meaning of her words sank in, the trio's pupils shook violently, shock and horror roiling in their eyes.

As ninjas who had followed the God of Shinobi through the Warring States period, they understood all too well what that title meant, what Senju Hashirama represented, and what Wood Style truly was!

In the minds of the three, once Hashirama made a move, no one could survive under his hand—not even Uchiha Madara!

The blond and the fat man swallowed nervous gulps in unison, and Futa said with a tremor, "That... that's impossible..."

"No... that timing..." Pineapple Head spoke in a low, heavy voice, "It coincides exactly with the time the Hokage returned to the village after attending the Five Kage Summit... What she said is likely true..." His voice sounded strained.

Yura's lips curled into a wicked, shallow smile.

So this is the joy Kakuzu feels...

Delightful, truly delightful.

Yura flicked her small hand, summoning a kunai that danced between her fingers as nimbly as a butterfly, her eyes brimming with malice as she sized up the trio.

Black Secret Technique: Outer Style - Sixteen Swallow Return

In a world invisible to the three, invisible strands of hair danced. Eight of them transformed into scythes, hovering at Yura's sides, while the other eight morphed into eight legs, standing silently on the ground to support her as she hovered in mid-air, looking like a form of flight magic. Where the tips of the eight legs touched the ground, the hair surged deep into the earth, silent and unseen. Fine strands erupted from the ground around the trio fifty meters away, weaving into a crisscrossing cage of wire.

Black Secret Technique: Birdcage

The air suddenly turned murderous...

"It's coming! Watch out for genjutsu!"

With years of tacit cooperation, there was no need for reminders. The instant they were about to launch their attacks...

The killing intent arrived, and a fierce, air-splitting wind struck without warning.

Eh?

Yuya's eyes widened in a daze. An invisible blade passed through his body, and a chill instantly permeated his entire being. His brain was still running at high speed, but his body was as sluggish as rotting wood, unable to react.

What was that? A kunai?

His gaze fell upon the girl fifty meters away. His blurring vision clearly captured the kunai she was still playing with in her hand.

When did she launch it?

She didn't throw the kunai, so what was it that slashed him?

An invisible blade?

His gaze shifted downward, and time seemed to freeze. A massive, hideous gash suddenly bloomed across his chest, from his right shoulder to his left hip. His torso was sliced diagonally, and the upper and lower halves of his body slowly shifted, separated, and fell due to the loss of balance.

Am I dying? Is this a genjutsu? How is this possible?

What... is this...?

Endless confusion filled his heart.

As his vision went black, one thought flickered through his mind.

As expected of an opponent who could trade blows with the God of Shinobi, this is definitely not a level I can handle...

Watching their captain being sliced in two, Futa and Shinpu stood frozen in place, their hands still mid-seal for the jutsu they were about to release. They were only one seal away, but it was too fast—everything happened too quickly.

It was as if the opponent hadn't even moved, yet the attack had already occurred.

The invisible pressure reached its peak in an instant. Their brains couldn't process it, so they reacted instinctively based on experience.

"YUYA—!!!" Amidst a shrill, horrified scream, Yuya's final gaze fell upon Futa at his side...

Futa instinctively wanted to save his childhood friend, but he could only reach out toward Yuya in helplessness, his pupils trembling in terror...

In that split second, Futa's outstretched arm seemed to collide with something invisible, instantly disintegrating into falling chunks of flesh. Faintly, one could see blood in the void around his arm gathering into lines along something unseen, dripping slowly...

The strands, sharper than any blade, had already sealed the space around them. A simple reaching motion was enough to dismember the arm that struck the hair.

This was the Black Secret Technique: Birdcage.

It was used to seal the air, ground, and underground space, preventing any target caught in the cage from escaping.

A line of blood bloomed across Futa's face. Realizing that lethal wires surrounded him, he froze his body to stop the suicidal movement. But the next instant, a massive blade swept through with a fierce wind, slicing his head diagonally like a watermelon. Red and white matter spilled out, and the two corpses hit the ground almost simultaneously.

From Futa's ninja tool pouch, a gift for his daughter—a blood-stained, exquisite doll—rolled out...

At this moment, only three seconds had passed.

A thick scent of blood permeated the air. Only Shinpu remained on the field.

Looking at the girl in the distance, who was still playing with her kunai, he trembled violently, his lips quivering...

In just one encounter, two experienced Jonin companions had been slaughtered instantly—clean, efficient, and brutally cruel.

She is a demon! A demon through and through!

What is this invisible attack!?

Is it a genjutsu!!!

Impossible!

What on earth is this!!!

Can I win!?

"Damn it—!!!" With a hysterical roar, Shinpu completed his final seal.

Multi-Size Technique

His entire body suddenly expanded several times over, but at the same time, invisible threads completely sealed off every path of retreat around him. The moment the Multi-Size Technique completed, the strands sliced into his flesh, and countless dense lacerations bloomed across his massive frame in an instant. Cross-hatched cuts covered his entire body, leaving him drenched in blood.

If not for his thick layer of fat saving his life, he would have already met his end.

Yet, ignoring it all, he continued his assault, roaring wildly as he attempted a desperate, suicidal strike.

Human Bullet Tank.

Rolling on the spot, he transformed into a spinning ball of flesh, rotating at high speed. As the Human Bullet Tank ground against the earth, it sent soil flying backward.

One second passed...

Two seconds passed...

Three seconds passed...

The activated Human Bullet Tank remained stuck in place, unable to move forward. The surrounding threads were pulled taut, coiled around the sphere of flesh, pinning it firmly to the ground as it spun frantically. Deep beneath the surface, the other ends of the hair were anchored to the sprawling root systems of the trees; to pull them out, one would need the terrifying brute strength required to uproot an entire forest.

It was absolutely impossible for him to achieve.

Fifty meters away, Yura watched this scene with interest and remarked, "Not bad defense."

Without chakra infused into them, the sharpness of the hair was only on par with a sword; it was sufficient to deal with ordinary, fragile ninja, but when faced with defensive ninjutsu or similar methods, it struggled to break through.

The Multi-Size Technique possessed a certain level of defensive and striking capability.

Yura's body, suspended in mid-air, sank slightly as the eight legs beneath her disconnected from the Birdcage. Following this, the eight legs exerted sudden force, propelling Yura's body forward as if in flight, covering the fifty-meter distance in the blink of an eye.

With this burst of movement combining speed and technique, the eight sickle blades retracted to her side, rapidly deforming and combining to manifest as a massive, pitch-black fist.

The giant fist was as tall as the Human Bullet Tank opposite her. As her long hair danced, she infused chakra into the strands. The giant heavy fist materialized in mid-air, and as she closed the distance, she raised the black fist, slamming a heavy hook punch directly into the front of the Human Bullet Tank.

Black Secret Technique: Outer Style - Demon Kill One-Shot.

Under the violent impact, the entire Human Bullet Tank was knocked off the ground and suspended in the air. The shockwave of the heavy blow rippled outward, and a faint, crisp sound of bones breaking could be heard. It remained fixed in mid-air, held fast by the tension of the threads. Sensing the opponent's intense, fluctuating emotions of pain suddenly vanish as he fell unconscious, Yura held the position for less than a second before voluntarily dispersing the Birdcage. The moment the crisscrossing threads turned to ash and vanished, the Human Bullet Tank was sent flying backward like a cannonball fired at high speed from the force of the heavy punch.

After flying nearly a hundred meters, it crashed into the forest by the roadside with a thunderous boom.

"Ninjutsu is every ninja's unique method of attack and their bottom-line secret; once it is known by others, it signifies one's own death... what a pity..."

The giant black fist hovered beside Yura. As she slightly opened and then clenched her fingers, it transformed back into short hair, rapidly retracting. Losing the support of the eight walking legs, Yura landed lightly on the ground in mid-air. She tilted her head to look at the two corpses lying on the ground, her gaze shifting slightly to land on a blood-stained ragdoll.

"I know your ninjutsu inside and out..."

As she spun a kunai between her fingers with an unreadable look in her eyes, she fired off strands of hair a moment later, hooking the ninja tool pouches and scrolls to bring them into her hands. With a soft chuckle, she turned and walked away.

Behind her, two balls of ghostly blue fire drifted out, landing on the ground to ignite a blaze that burned everything to nothing.