Susanoo at the Drop of a Hat

"How is this possible? Wasn't he supposed to be a useless Chunin? How could he awaken the legendary Mangekyo?" Aburame Torune's expression changed dramatically.

He and Yamanaka Fu were Danzo's trusted subordinates and Root's top combatants.

They naturally knew a thing or two about the Uchiha Clan's secrets.

There was only one explanation for the pair of Sharingan before them, eyes that defied all reason.

"Fu!" Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu exchanged a glance.

"Attack!"

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Yamanaka Fu struck first, thrusting both hands forward from a distance and using the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique.

At the same time, Aburame Torune puffed out his cheeks and spat a cloud of black mist.

"Secret Technique: Poison Dust Jutsu!"

The sudden attack sent a jolt through everyone.

Shizune's expression changed. She cried out urgently, "Qin Yu, watch out! Those black clouds are made up of nanoscopic poisonous insects. If you inhale them, you're as good as dead!"

"Don't worry!" Qin Yu abruptly raised his head, and his Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan spun wildly.

The chakra filling the area, thick with an aura of calamity, surged back toward Qin Yu like a raging tide.

"Boy, you're far too overconfident. Once the poison dust gets within three feet of you..." Aburame Torune's smile froze.

The poison dust swept toward Qin Yu, only to be stopped three feet away by an invisible crimson aura.

In the next moment, the swirling ocular power transformed into a terrifying skeleton.

It filled the narrow cavern completely.

Its eyes, alive with dancing crimson flames, radiated a chilling force that seized the soul.

Pfft!

The poisonous insects rushing toward them were instantly consumed by the flames.

They crumbled into ash and scattered across the ground.

Susanoo at the drop of a hat!

The sight of the horrifying skeleton, its ribs made of crimson energy and flames leaping in its sunken eye sockets, sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"This is impossible! Fu's secret technique should have you under control!" Aburame Torune's expression changed dramatically.

He wasn't just shocked by Qin Yu's Susanoo. He also couldn't understand how their combination attack, which had never failed before, had been broken.

"Heh. Have you forgotten? Besides fire-style jutsu, genjutsu is what our Uchiha Clan excels at." Qin Yu sneered.

"What!" Aburame Torune's expression changed dramatically. He tried to move in a panic, only to find his whole body pinned down as if by invisible shackles.

"M-my body won't move! When did you put me under a genjutsu?"

"What's wrong? Only just getting scared now?" Qin Yu sneered. "Too late!"

Roar!

Susanoo bellowed and swung its bony right hand toward the two of them with lightning speed.

"No!"

"If you're going to kill me, then you can die too!"

Aburame Torune's face twisted viciously. Unlike Yamanaka Fu, his body was immobilized, but he could still give commands to his Kikaichū.

"Secret Technique: Insect Bomb Jutsu!"

The poisonous insects covering Aburame Torune's body instantly went wild, raising bulges all over his skin.

Boom!

The insects exploded, and a powerful shock wave swept outward as dark green poison gas dispersed on the wind.

"Everyone, be careful! Don't breathe in that poison!" Shizune cried.

But soon the whole world began to spin. When they came to their senses, they found themselves still inside the cavern.

Only this time, there were no signs of battle or exploding insects.

They hurriedly looked toward Qin Yu, only to see Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu kneeling on the ground, grinning foolishly like idiots.

They were clearly still trapped in a genjutsu.

"W-what kind of genjutsu is this? It controlled all our minds in an instant. The battle just now was all an illusion."

"Two jonin were pulled into an illusion without anyone noticing, and they still can't break free. That's terrifying..."

Some sharp-eyed ninja immediately understood what had happened.

But seeing Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune kneeling there and grinning like idiots, they felt a lingering fear. Their spines were still prickling with cold.

They knew that if Qin Yu had been in a bad mood, he could have killed them all with ease.

It wouldn't have been difficult at all!

They had already prepared themselves for the possibility of dying on the battlefield.

But they could accept dying in a glorious battle—not dying without even knowing how it happened.

That was something they couldn't accept!

"All right. He who kills will be killed in turn. They tried to kill me, so isn't it only natural that I kill them?" Qin Yu spoke as if he had done something trivial, surveying everyone with a measured gaze.

Then he walked slowly toward Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune.

"That's right, Qin Yu's right. Root's people have no regard for their comrades. They even dared to attack one of their own. Even if this gets back to Konoha, they won't escape punishment."

"Better to deal with them now than leave them in the group like fish bones stuck in our throats!"

"Now that Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu have lost the team's trust, we're without a leader. Qin Yu, you're strong. Please lead us."

The ninja present all voiced their agreement.

Qin Yu couldn't help smiling.

There was no shortage of turncoats anywhere.

Still, the one thing he appreciated was that none of them had suggested abandoning their comrades or attacking him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have hesitated to take care of them too.

"Qin Yu, you can't kill them!" Shizune suddenly urged. "Danzo holds grudges. If Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu are killed, he'll definitely brand you a rogue ninja."

"I don't want you to get hurt..."

Her words made many people's expressions shift.

They had all heard something about Root's way of doing things.

But with Danzo's position, most people dared not speak out, even if they were angry.

And plenty of them had seen how Danzo treated the Uchiha Clan.

"You don't want me to get hurt?" Qin Feng said with a smile, looking at Shizune.

Shizune froze, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. In the end, she gritted her teeth and nodded. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"So that's what you meant. Looks like I got the wrong idea." Qin Feng gave an awkward laugh. "Since you asked, Shizune, I'll spare them for now. But they still need to be punished. Lock them up first."

"You all think highly of me, so I won't refuse. We'll rest here for three days, then take the initiative and meet the enemy." Qin Yu looked at Shizune. "In my eyes, we must never abandon our comrades."

"Not unless they step over my dead body!"

"Someone, take them away."

His calm words sent a sudden tremor through everyone present.

Until now, they had thought Qin Feng was shy and timid.

But everything they had just witnessed had completely overturned that impression.

Whether it was using genjutsu to defeat Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune in an instant, or now taking the initiative to attack, Qin Yu had stood up for his comrades.

That gave them an inexplicable sense of security.