Illusion Ninja

Ryosuke dashed into the forest, guided by the experience gained from his clone, and arrived at the location of the two Cloud Ninja.

One of them was severely wounded and had essentially lost all combat capability.

The other, however, possessed formidable strength; he had already dispatched one of Ryosuke's clones, though that encounter had allowed Ryosuke to record one of his ninjutsu.

"To think you're an illusion-type ninja; that's quite rare."

Ryosuke leaped onto a tree opposite his opponent and spoke from his vantage point.

His clone's defeat had been primarily due to the limitations of its chakra, which prevented it from unleashing many techniques.

"Kid, you dare come back? You really don't fear death."

"Huh? Sharingan. So that's how it is."

The Cloud Ninja placed his companion under the tree, then stood up to face Ryosuke.

Ryosuke didn't speak; instead, he quickly formed hand seals and threw a shuriken.

In mid-air, the shuriken instantly split into three, then nine, quickly forming an impenetrable barrage of attacks.

It was the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique, a specialty of Konoha.

The man let out a cold snort, grabbed his companion, and vanished into the forest with a few leaps.

Though his movements were swift, the attacks behind him continued relentlessly.

"Damn Sharingan. It seems if I don't take care of that brat, I'll just be dragged to my death. Sanshi, rest here; I'll be back soon."

The illusionist hid his companion high up in a large tree and leaped down from a different direction.

"Uchiha brat, let me show you what I'm capable of."

As he spoke, several shadows suddenly split from his body and flew in all directions, centered around him.

They looked very much like clones, yet the shuriken passed right through them.

Ryosuke, having tracked him at a leisurely pace, arrived just in time to witness this scene.

Ding, B-rank ninjutsu Ninja Art: Thousand-Fold Illusion detected and recorded.

"So it really is an illusion. My Sharingan didn't even see through it; it seems I need to find an opportunity to upgrade."

Ryosuke hadn't expected to encounter a high-level illusionist on his very first mission.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the surrounding environment shifted.

The forest vanished, replaced by earthen walls rising from the ground.

Ryosuke landed on the ground as the transition occurred.

He walked up to a wall and touched it. "So realistic. It even has texture."

Even though he knew it was an illusion, Ryosuke was still slightly taken aback.

He continued walking forward, soon realizing it was a maze.

However, Ryosuke did not wander aimlessly.

He knew that since this was the opponent's illusion, the maze had no real exit.

The opponent must have other tricks up his sleeve.

Sure enough.

Shadows of the illusionist suddenly appeared on the surrounding walls.

They lunged at Ryosuke, kunai in hand.

Ryosuke sidestepped the first two and dispatched them with his own kunai.

The two shadows collapsed to the ground and merged into it.

At the same time, two more shadows appeared on the walls.

"Is this going to be endless?"

"Uchiha brat, I want to see how long you can hold out."

The Cloud Ninja's voice echoed throughout the maze.

"What a nuisance. I only wanted to see what kind of tricks you had, but it seems you're nothing special."

Ryosuke spoke in a mocking tone while dealing with the surrounding shadows.

"What did you say? Still running your mouth when death is at your doorstep? Is this what Konoha ninjas are like?"

The Cloud Ninja was clearly enraged.

This time, Ryosuke didn't respond; he directly activated the Pesquisa skill.

While his Sharingan couldn't see through the opponent's illusion, his template skills could.

Sure enough, the surrounding illusory scene instantly dissolved into a thin mist.

The illusionist was at the very edge of this mist, crouching on the ground with one hand pressed against his forehead.

"I hope I can hit the jackpot again this time. Lightning Release: Rampage."

Arcs of electricity crackled and crawled across Ryosuke's body in an instant.

"Sonido!"

With a flash of electricity, Ryosuke vanished from his spot.

"What?"

The Cloud Ninja suddenly lost track of Ryosuke and was startled.

Then, he felt a chill at his neck; a kunai was already pressed against his throat.

"Who exactly are you?"

Sweat beaded on the Cloud Ninja's face.

It wasn't as if he hadn't fought members of the Uchiha clan before; he knew well how high-level Sharingan could suppress his genjutsu.

Yet, this child before him clearly only possessed a two-tomoe Sharingan, and his ninjutsu was somehow unable to take effect.

He truly couldn't comprehend it.

This was meant to be a rhetorical exclamation, but to his surprise, Ryosuke said, "If you use that genjutsu of yours again, I might just tell you."

The system hadn't recorded this person's genjutsu, which left Ryosuke somewhat disappointed.

"What?"

The Cloud Ninja thought he had misheard.

Ryosuke patiently repeated himself.

The man suddenly laughed. "Little Uchiha brat, don't think I don't know your goal. It's no secret that the Sharingan can copy other people's ninjutsu. You want to obtain my technique, don't you?"

Ryosuke didn't speak; he simply pressed the kunai tighter, even drawing a thin line of blood.

The Cloud Ninja frowned, pondered for a moment, and finally compromised. "My genjutsu is something you cannot copy, but since you want to see it, I can show you."

With that, he quickly formed hand seals, and soon a black cube appeared in his hand.

Ryosuke was stunned; the system truly hadn't provided any notification.

What was going on?

Could it be that he was still caught in the opponent's genjutsu?

How was that possible?

He slapped his own face, but he truly felt no pain.

Damn it, he'd been tricked.

The opponent's genjutsu was unexpectedly powerful.

Ryosuke's brain began to race at high speed.

When exactly had he been caught? Why had his 'Pesquisa' skill been ineffective?

The last time he heard a system notification was when it recorded the opponent's ninjutsu.

In other words, had he been caught in the trap after that?

"It seems you've realized it, but it's already too late. You can't do anything now. Your Sharingan is mine; although it's only two-tomoe, it's enough."

The Cloud Ninja's head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, looking at Ryosuke in a bizarre posture.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Ryosuke immediately unleashed his ninjutsu.

However, the flames passed right through the Cloud Ninja's body, leaving the opponent completely unharmed.

Yet, in Ryosuke's eyes, the Cloud Ninja was a physical entity, not an illusion.

What on earth was happening? This genjutsu!

Just as Ryosuke sank into unease, a crow's caw suddenly rang out above his head.

He looked up, but instead of seeing a crow, he saw a crimson moon.

As that moonlight shone onto Ryosuke's Sharingan, it underwent a strange transformation.