But clearly, Rikai did not possess the Yin Release cultivation needed to contend with Uchiha Mo, nor did he have a strong enough will.
Under the impact of the genjutsu, his mind collapsed, his consciousness scattered, and he even died outright...
"Damn it! You bastard!"
Toroi picked up the square shuriken in his hand, gritted his teeth, and glared furiously at the figure on the branch.
"Genjutsu can actually kill people directly?" Kakashi looked ahead at Mo in surprise, while Kurenai Yuhi also cast him an admiring gaze.
"If you don't kill on the battlefield, should I invite you home for dinner instead?"
Mo's expression remained indifferent. He glanced at the minuscule fluctuation in the panel's values and frowned slightly.
"Just as I thought. Useless trash."
The instant those words left his mouth, Toroi flew into a rage. He fiercely poured chakra into the thread in his right hand, then suddenly flung the string of square shuriken toward Mo and the others!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."
"Die!"
Empowered by Magnet Release chakra, the square shuriken were unbelievably fast. They streaked through the air in several flashes of light and arrived not far in front of Mo.
The shuriken enchanted by Toroi's Magnet Release chakra possessed a special ability: magnetization. Once a ninja touched an object he had magnetized, their body would be magnetized instantly. After that, all magnetized shuriken thrown by Toroi would gain a homing effect due to the magnetic pull between them. They were incredibly fast and would not stop until they struck their target.
This ability could be said to offer an immense intelligence advantage, but... once its details were exposed, it became meaningless...
Mo raised his right hand. At some point, countless crimson needles had appeared between his fingers. With a flick of his arm, the red needles shot precisely toward the shuriken Toroi had thrown!
"Scarlet Scorch: Scattered Fire Needles!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh... Boom—!"
The condensed flaming senbon exploded the instant they struck the square shuriken. The senbon vanished, while every square shuriken was blasted away.
"I'll play with you for a while."
Mo leaped down from the branch and landed on the open ground not far from the Hidden Cloud ninjas.
The team behind him followed him down onto the clearing. Kakashi drew the White Fang Short Sword from his back, his sharp gaze fixed on the Cloud Ninja ahead.
"Mo, focus on that guy. Leave the rest to us!"
With that, Kakashi called to the others and charged at the other Cloud Ninja from the side.
Toroi ignored them. He merely frowned slightly and stared intently at Uchiha Mo.
"Was that a coincidence? This brat seems to know my intelligence..."
He recalled Uchiha Mo's earlier actions, then looked at Futsunomitama hanging from Mo's waist.
"Whether he really knows or not, I have to prepare for the worst."
Toroi turned his wrist and took out four more square shuriken. Then, amid a burst of smoke, the shuriken expanded to enormous size.
"Magnet Release: Shengfeng Twin Blades!"
With an angry roar, the four massive magnetized square shuriken shot forward, aimed directly at Uchiha Mo in the distance!
"Die, you damned brat!"
Toroi was certain that Uchiha Mo could never deal with shuriken of this scale using the same method as before. Moreover, since this brat had jumped down himself, the distance between them had shortened considerably.
At this distance, his magnetized shuriken could reach Mo in an instant. There was absolutely no way to dodge them. The brat's only option would be to draw the ninja blade at his waist and get magnetized!
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, the four square shuriken closed in on his face, tightly sealing off all four possible escape routes. Yet Mo remained expressionless.
"Is this your performance? To be honest, I'm already quite bored."
As his words fell, Mo tapped off with the tip of his foot and leaped backward. His hands rapidly formed seals before his chest.
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!
"Clap!" His hands came together in a sword-finger seal as Mo suddenly puffed out his chest.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive Great Fireball, as large as a house, burst from Mo's mouth in midair!
"Fwoosh—!"
The gigantic square shuriken were vaporized in an instant, while the terrifying Great Fireball continued hurtling toward where Toroi stood.
"What kind of power is this?!"
Toroi cried out in shock and hurriedly dodged backward.
"Boom—!"
The ferocious fireball instantly blasted a huge crater into the ground. Violent shockwaves spread outward, and a thick column of smoke rose into the sky.
Toroi had barely steadied himself when a kunai suddenly tore through the smoke and shot toward his head!
"Whoosh!" He hurriedly turned his head to evade it, but his cheek was still cut open, leaving a bloody gash. The kunai had already embedded itself firmly in the ground behind him.
Immediately afterward, an extremely thin chakra thread suddenly pulled taut from the ring at the end of the kunai, and a figure instantly burst through the smoke along it!
"Shriek—!"
Uchiha Mo gripped Futsunomitama, crackling with lightning, in a reverse hold and fiercely slashed and thrust downward at Toroi!
In panic, Toroi summoned another giant square shuriken from a scroll and raised it before himself, pouring a large amount of Magnet Release chakra into it.
Perfect chance!
That brat's attack is fast, but this is also the perfect opportunity to magnetize him! As long as the magnetizing power attaches itself to his body...
"Clang!"
Before his thought could finish, sparks flew as Futsunomitama struck the shuriken. But before Toroi could feel any joy, the square shuriken was sliced apart like tofu, leaving behind a smooth cross-section.
"Swish—! Splat!"
A terrified head flew high into the air. Mo stood expressionlessly behind Toroi, sensing the magnetization within his body fading away. He flicked the blood from his blade, spun it once, and sheathed it.
"Thud!"
The headless corpse fell to the ground with a dull sound. Mo turned his gaze toward the illusory panel.
Lightning Release Proficiency +5.36% Earth Release Proficiency +4.78% Yang Release Proficiency +2.13% New abilities unlocked: Innate Divine Strength, Impervious to Blades and Spears!
Mo frowned slightly, somewhat dissatisfied as he looked at the increased values, but then gently shook his head.
"Forget it. It's normal for it not to compare to the Sharingan."
After murmuring that, he fixed his eyes on Kakashi and the others, who were still locked in battle with the Cloud Ninja ahead.
At this moment, the Hidden Cloud ninjas also seemed to notice what had happened here.
"This brat... he actually killed Toroi?!"
"Bastard! How is that possible?"
"Damn Uchiha! I must be under genjutsu!"
Their eyes widened in shock. Toroi's death seemed to have dealt a tremendous blow to their morale. Several Cloud Ninja were already retreating while fighting, clearly intending to flee.
Mo took a small step forward, and the chakra within his body immediately stirred.
Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly sensed a gaze for no apparent reason!
Seeking Traces and Dancing
He could not sense the direction of that gaze, nor could he sense its source. Mo was not even sure whether such a gaze truly existed.
Yet in his mind, in his spirit, a feeling kept surfacing—something is watching me from the shadows.
Mo did not question it at all. After only a moment of surprise, he chose to believe it. He continued walking as his mind rapidly began to think.
Who is it? White Zetsu monitoring Obito? Then why would it turn its attention to me? Because of the battle just now? No, creatures like White Zetsu wouldn't be drawn to something like that while carrying out a mission...
"Crack!"
After snapping the neck of a Cloud Ninja trying to escape, Mo turned and headed toward another Cloud Ninja.
The worst-case scenario is undoubtedly that Madara Uchiha has already set his sights on me. But the direct forces Madara controls right now can't do anything to me...
Drawing Futsunomitama, still covered in blood, Mo tossed the corpse aside and locked onto the last remaining Cloud Ninja on the battlefield.
There's another question. Why couldn't I sense it before, but now I can notice it so sharply... Is it because of the sensory enhancement brought by Orange Child?
If that's the reason, then I should have been able to sense it long ago...
"Uaaahhh—!!"
"Don't come any closer!"
Watching his companions fall one after another, and seeing Uchiha Mo turn in his direction, the last Cloud Ninja directly released Uchiha Obito, whom he had been fighting. He backed away while brandishing a kunai, trembling as he pointed it at Uchiha Mo with forced bravado.
Mo advanced expressionlessly, paying him no attention whatsoever.
But if it isn't Orange Child's ability, could it be the ability of Big Brother or Third Brother?
"Splat!"
Mo approached him, casually dodged the Cloud Ninja's thrusting kunai, and smashed an elbow into his back. He then kicked him to the ground and cut off his head with a single slash.
Lightning Release Proficiency +0.18% Yang Release Proficiency +0.54%
"Yang Release..."
At that moment, Mo suddenly thought of the conditions for unlocking Fourth Child's third-stage ability.
Could it be that increasing the base values of Yin-Yang Release creates a chain reaction that enhances other abilities? Now that I think about it... my Invisibility ability has become smoother than before as well...
With that thought, Mo basically confirmed the answer. Yet that gaze still lingered on him.
"Let's go, Mo. Where are we heading next?"
Kakashi walked up beside Uchiha Mo and asked.
Mo turned to look at his companions. Kakashi's face was indifferent, but his eyes held a trace of excitement. Gekko Hayate, Asuma, and Kurenai Yuhi were calmer, while Obito and Rin Nohara also wore expressionless faces, though Mo could see their hands trembling slightly.
"Tch, what a hassle."
Mo frowned. If there had not been so many people around him, he would have used Clairvoyance right here to find whoever was secretly watching him. It would also be a perfect chance to test how much proficiency creatures like White Zetsu could provide.
As for Madara Uchiha? He was merely an old man with half his body already in the grave. If Mo feared Madara Uchiha at this stage and became constrained in everything he did because of it, then he would not be Uchiha Mo.
"Let's go!"
With that, Mo turned around and led everyone into another high-speed dash through the forest.
The scenery flew backward. Mo's eyes narrowed slightly, his ears twitched faintly, and while scanning the battlefield, he occasionally glanced underground from the corner of his eye.
The method White Zetsu used to hide and move at high speed was called the "Mayfly Technique."
This was a Wood Release ninjutsu exclusive to Zetsu. By merging the user's flesh with the earth, grass, and trees, it used organic networks such as underground plant roots and subterranean water currents to move at high speed. During the process, the user's presence became like that of ordinary vegetation in nature, completely cutting off outside perception.
Therefore, if the being secretly watching Mo really was White Zetsu, then it had to be hiding underground not far from him at this very moment!
However, in order not to alert the enemy, Mo could not make his purpose too obvious. Although most White Zetsu were idiots, some special individuals were rather perceptive. Therefore, he could only investigate through the corner of his eye.
Before long, another group of Cloud Ninja came looking for trouble.
This time, the Cloud Ninja team had more than a dozen people, but none of them were worth Mo's attention. Thus, a brutal slaughter began!
"Kakashi, watch over them. I'll deal with this group."
As Mo spoke, his eyes shifted into a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He took one step forward, and his entire body dropped from the high branch to the ground!
Before you continue