Confrontation

Sensing something amiss, Itachi Uchiha slashed his blade forward without a moment's hesitation, only to be met by an incoming strike from an opposing ninja sword.

The two blades clashed, sending a shower of sparks flying into the air.

Both men recoiled simultaneously, locking eyes in a tense standoff.

Itachi Uchiha stood as still as a statue, the complex and eerie patterns of his Mangekyou Sharingan appearing as if they were alive.

Duyang was well aware of who he was facing: an opponent possessing strength that surpassed that of a Kage-level ninja, a genius among geniuses of the Uchiha Clan, and one of the most formidable powerhouses in the world of Naruto.

However, so what?

Itachi's figure vanished like a ghost, a display of extreme Body Flicker Technique.

In the next instant, he appeared behind and to the side of Duyang, his short blade arcing toward his neck.

The mere execution of that Body Flicker was so fast that the vast majority of ninjas would have been unable to keep up.

Coupled with the ocular power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, the strike became even harder to dodge and far more terrifying.

Yet, Duyang seemed to have foreseen it; he ducked abruptly, the blade grazing the tips of his hair.

Simultaneously, the ninja sword in his right hand thrust directly toward Itachi's ribs, moving with equally astonishing speed.

Failing to land the hit, Itachi leaped backward immediately.

His reaction speed was lightning-fast; he wove hand seals in a blur and shouted, "Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson."

Countless shuriken wrapped in flames shot toward Duyang like a torrential downpour, sealing off every possible angle of evasion.

He truly lives up to the reputation of a beyond-Kage-level ninja. If I hadn't shared my abilities, I likely would have died under these two moves alone.

Duyang realized then that Itachi Uchiha had indeed been holding back when he fought Kakashi.

His hands moved in a frenzy of seals, and the high-speed shuriken struck his body in succession.

However, each shuriken seemed to pass through a dense cloud of white mist, striking the ground behind him and exploding into small fireballs.

"What kind of ninjutsu is this?" Itachi asked, visibly startled.

Duyang smiled. In truth, what he had just performed was one of the three basic techniques—the Transformation Technique, something even a Genin could cast.

Unlike the Clone Technique, the Transformation Technique allows one to physically disguise themselves as another, altering height, weight, appearance, and voice; it is no longer merely the creation of a chakra illusion.

At its core, it is the temporary alteration of an object through chakra.

However, the most basic stage of the Transformation Technique is merely form without substance.

As a ninja's capabilities improve, the Transformation Technique can evolve into various advanced applications.

Because of his shared connection with Under One Person Duyang, his current Transformation Technique had become somewhat distorted.

Or rather, due to the rules of this world, Triple Inverse Life had become a peculiar form of ninjutsu, its manifestations far exceeding the scope of any standard Transformation Technique.

Executing the Transformation Technique itself acted as the switch to activate Triple Inverse Life.

What he transformed into was not a visual deception, but the genuine article.

Logically, he should be able to transform into anything real, but thus far, he could only manifest things he had obtained through sharing with his other self.

Perhaps this was the bug his cheat could exploit under the rules of the Naruto world.

It was a path that allowed him to acquire the abilities of people from other worlds without violating the laws of this reality.

In truth, Duyang was not surprised. The three basic techniques seem fundamental, but they are actually the prerequisites for release, transformation, and illusion-type ninjutsu.

The abilities Duyang had shared were nothing more than these three categories.

Itachi Uchiha, however, could not comprehend it at all, nor did he know what had transpired.

When his shuriken made contact with Duyang's body, they passed through as if moving through a highly compressed, controlled smoke screen, meeting no resistance.

Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan contracted sharply, his eyes once again revealing shock.

His ocular power could see through the vast majority of illusion-based ninjutsu.

But at that moment, he clearly saw that the structure of his opponent's body had indeed undergone a fundamental change in that instant, temporarily "gasifying" from flesh and blood.

This was no illusion; it was a form of ninjutsu he had never witnessed before.

The first stage of Triple Inverse Life allows one to fill the body with Primordial Qi and gasify the skin and flesh to gain the strength of a dragon and tiger.

The second stage allows for the gasification of tendons, bones, and internal organs to form an indestructible body, the level reached by most members of the Sanyi Sect.

The third stage requires the entire body to be gasified into Primordial Qi, which was the technique Duyang was currently employing.

The core philosophy of the Sanyi Sect is "following the path makes one mortal, reversing it makes one an immortal." It is a method that cultivates both spirit and body, differing from other orthodox Taoist practices by starting directly from the third stage of "refining spirit into emptiness," emphasizing the realization of "existence" from "void," and constructing a system from nothingness.

The gasification into Primordial Qi inherently involves change.

Duyang laughed, "Surprised, Itachi? The ocular power of the Mangekyou Sharingan is indeed peerless, but can you see through the changes of this 'Primordial Qi'?"

"Absurd."

Itachi's gaze turned cold, and his hands wove a new set of seals:

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique."

A massive fire dragon roared forth, its scorching heat sufficient to melt rock.

Du Yang formed seals once more, his body seemingly covered in a layer of flowing, pure white light.

He did not dodge or evade, instead charging straight into the fire dragon.

As the dragon collided with him, the immense fire-attribute chakra was rapidly decomposed and absorbed by the "white light" on his skin, transforming into even purer energy to replenish his own.

Primordial Qi could assimilate all things to nourish the self, possessing the trait of plundering the vitality of heaven and earth to sustain its user.

He burst through the flames, his speed surging as he closed the distance to Itachi in an instant.

He threw a punch, appearing plain and unadorned.

Itachi raised his blade to block.

"BOOM!"

The clash between fist and blade produced a dull, thunderous roar of energy.

The chakra coating the short blade was violently eroded, and Itachi felt a wave of numbness in his arm, forcing him to retreat.

The shock in his eyes grew more intense; what kind of ninjutsu was this, to be so miraculous?

Neither physical attacks nor ninjutsu attacks could do anything to him for the moment.

"Tsukuyomi."

Itachi hesitated no longer, activating the ocular technique housed within his Mangekyou Sharingan.

A blood-red space descended.

The world seemed to be dragged into a dimension woven of crimson and darkness, where time and perception were distorted.

For a moment, Du Yang felt as though he were about to be trapped within this cage.

But at that very moment.

"Crack..."

A sound like a shattering mirror echoed on the level of consciousness; the space of Tsukuyomi shook violently before collapsing with a boom.

However, Du Yang's mental will seemed to have become even purer and more condensed under his state of innate transformation, like immortal refined gold—or perhaps, shared among four people, his mental power had become extremely formidable.

Although he could not break it instantly, he did not collapse in an instant like others.

Even Tsukuyomi is helpless against him?

A stormy sea surged within Itachi's heart.

After the opponent unleashed this ninjutsu, his state became such that even the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan's ocular technique could not lock onto him.

He knew that every ninjutsu had its flaws and that a way to counter it must exist.

Yet, for the moment, even with his ocular power, he could not find a single opening.