Genjutsu Control

Uchiha Akira stared at Hiruko in front of him, his expression strange. Was there something wrong with this guy's head?

Had rogue ninja become this arrogant? Could he really not tell how outmatched he was?

"With your Sharingan, my Chimera Technique will finally be perfected. Then surpassing the Sannin and gaining true immortality will no longer be a pipe dream!" Hiruko gazed obsessively at Kakashi, the fervor in his eyes unmistakable.

Kakashi shuddered with revulsion, then gave Hiruko a strange look. Were rogue ninja's sources really that unreliable?

He wanted a Sharingan? The most legitimate member of the Uchiha Clan was standing right beside Kakashi. So why was he targeting him?

"Why are you after me? My Sharingan was transplanted." Kakashi looked at Hiruko as if he were an idiot.

"Precisely because your Sharingan was transplanted. That proves your compatibility is exceptional, making you the perfect subject for my Chimera Technique." Hiruko seemed quite patient.

Seeing this, Uchiha Akira realized that the rogue ninja really had no idea what kind of situation he was in.

The way Hiruko acted as though he already had them in the bag made Uchiha Akira want to laugh.

"The Chimera Technique?" Kakashi looked at Hiruko in confusion.

Hearing the doubt in Kakashi's voice, Hiruko laughed smugly. "The Chimera Technique is my masterpiece. I'm not going to tell you exactly what it does just yet."

As he spoke, he looked at Uchiha Akira beside Kakashi. "We're really in luck today. There's even someone from the Uchiha Clan here. What a coincidence."

"You don't know who he is?" Kakashi gave Hiruko a strange look, as though he were watching a clown.

"Does it matter who he is? What can he do against my Chimera Technique?" Hiruko replied dismissively. "He's just some Uchiha brat. It's not like he's Uchiha Fugaku. What could he possibly do?"

"I heard you were on good terms with the Sannin," Uchiha Akira said calmly. "I wonder how much of their strength you have."

Hearing Uchiha Akira's words, Hiruko's face darkened. That was a wound that had never healed.

During the Second Shinobi World War, the name of the Sannin had spread far and wide, while he, an unremarkable man, had been nothing more than a Jonin of Konoha.

From then on, he couldn't even hope to catch a glimpse of the Sannin's backs. Hiruko was consumed by jealousy.

Unable to accept mediocrity, he had begun researching forbidden techniques and developed the Chimera Technique, a secret art that could steal other people's Kekkei Genkai.

Hiruko's face darkened as he said coldly, "Uchiha brat, you'll see what I can do soon enough!"

"I'll leave him to you, Senior Akira." Kakashi looked at Uchiha Akira.

In the next instant, a bolt of blue lightning flashed through the dark forest.

With a dull thud, Hiruko was caught off guard. He could only raise an arm to defend himself before Uchiha Akira's blow sent him flying into the forest.

Crackle...

Uchiha Akira seemed to turn into a bolt of lightning, trailing dazzling blue light as he disappeared into the dark forest.

Kakashi glanced briefly in the direction Uchiha Akira had vanished, then looked away. He had complete confidence in him.

Hiruko had been a Jonin even during the Second Shinobi World War, but in the Shinobi World, living longer didn't necessarily mean becoming stronger.

Kakashi himself was the best example. He had become a Jonin at the age of twelve, and after learning to wield the Chidori he had created, he had become one of the stronger Jonin.

Uchiha Akira, meanwhile, had defeated a Tailed Beast head-on. Even the Sannin might have struggled against him.

So Kakashi wasn't worried in the slightest. Instead, he focused even more intently on keeping watch.

"Kakashi, what happened?"

Drawn by the sounds of battle, Hyuga Homura, Chiba Ryu, and the others woke from their rest and came over to Kakashi, fully armed.

"Hard to say whether we're lucky or unlucky. A rogue ninja showed up," Kakashi said calmly.

"A rogue ninja?" Hyuga Homura opened his Byakugan and immediately spotted Hiruko fighting Uchiha Akira in the forest.

"Hiruko, an old friend of the Sannin," Kakashi explained.

"An old friend of the Sannin? Is Uchiha Akira all right? We should go help him." Chiba Ryu looked at Hyuga Homura.

Hyuga Homura shook his head. "No need. That rogue ninja, Hiruko, won't last much longer. Under Uchiha Akira's assault, he'll be finished soon."

"A friend of the Sannin, and he's that weak?" Chiba Ryu muttered. "Looks like he hasn't improved at all since he defected."

"How did he even dare attack us?" Chiba Ryu shook his head in disbelief.

"Don't forget, this is a battlefield. Without access to the Underground Black Market, a rogue ninja's information doesn't circulate quickly. It's often delayed," Hyuga Homura said with a shrug and a laugh.

In his view, Hiruko had practically lit a lamp in the outhouse to go looking for death.

Chiba Ryu looked at Hyuga Homura and pressed him for an update. "How's it going? Has Hiruko been beaten yet?"

Hyuga Homura shook his head. "I underestimated him a little. I've never seen his ninjutsu before. He can even merge with a Summoning Beast."

Then Hyuga Homura cried out in surprise. "Hiruko, transformed into a Summoning Beast, is escaping! Uchiha Akira is after him, but I can't see them anymore..."

His face showed his disappointment.

"Shouldn't we go take a look anyway, just in case something happens?" Kakashi said.

"Nothing's going to happen." Hyuga Homura shrugged and said breezily, "Hiruko is already badly wounded. Uchiha Akira will finish him off in ten minutes at most."

Chiba Ryu said nothing. He knew that the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan had always competed with each other behind the scenes, so he could understand why Hyuga Homura didn't want to go.

"Suit yourselves." Seeing Hyuga Homura's attitude, Kakashi didn't feel like saying more.

He had faith in Uchiha Akira and didn't think Hiruko could possibly make him stumble.

Elsewhere, Hiruko was in a terrible state. Merged with his Summoning Beast, he had turned into a monstrous creature more than ten meters long, racing through the forest.

Uchiha Akira, meanwhile, had become a bolt of blue lightning, darting around the winged, ferocious beast.

Blue lightning kept bursting from his body and striking the beast, preventing it from taking flight.

Hiruko was furious. He had never imagined he'd run into such a formidable opponent right from the start.

He had come to the battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure to find suitable Kekkei Genkai for his Chimera Technique.

He had spent a long time roaming the battlefield without finding a Kekkei Genkai that satisfied him.

Then he had unexpectedly come across Kakashi, a stroke of good fortune. He had planned to place a Puppet Curse on him, making it easier to capture him later and complete the Chimera Technique.

The Sharingan had always been one of the Kekkei Genkai he had set his sights on.