Useless Encirclement

As Lie Yang leaped onto the high branches, a furious shout suddenly rang out from afar.

"Multi-Size Technique!"

Boom!

A swath of trees was forcibly shoved aside.

A massive palm swept out from the forest. Wherever its five fingers passed, tree trunks snapped one after another, while the heavy wind pressure sent branches and leaves spiraling into the sky.

Lie Yang tapped the branch with his toes and shifted several meters sideways.

The giant palm brushed past the corner of his clothes and slammed heavily into the mountain wall ahead.

Boom!

Rubble exploded, leaving a palm print several meters deep in the mountain wall.

Three figures rushed into the battlefield right behind it.

Nara Shikayū landed at the very front, his gaze swiftly sweeping over the battlefield.

Hinata Yota's corpse had been severed from its head.

Kakashi was kneeling on the ground, blood continuously flowing from his left eye. His consciousness had already sunk completely into the genjutsu.

Kurenai Yuhi was doing everything she could to maintain her chakra and protect Kakashi's mind.

Might Guy was surrounded by green vapor, his right arm soaked in blood and his breathing heavy.

With only a few glances, Shikayū judged the situation.

They were too late.

The planned encirclement formation had already been completely shattered by Lie Yang.

"Torifu, suppress him head-on!"

"Understood!"

Torifu Akimichi rapidly formed hand seals with both hands, and his already large body expanded once again.

"Super Multi-Size Technique!"

Boom!

His enormous body rose from the ground, surpassing the surrounding treetops in the blink of an eye.

Then, the chakra accumulated within Torifu began burning madly, and two crimson chakra wings unfurled behind his back.

Butterfly Secret Technique!

The massive butterfly wings flapped, and the violent airflow instantly crushed the surrounding trees.

Seeing that reinforcements had arrived, Kurenai Yuhi immediately shouted, "Don't look into his eyes!"

"He's already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!"

Shikayū's expression changed drastically.

"Not three tomoe?"

"The intelligence was wrong!"

One hand pressed against Kakashi while the other rapidly formed seals.

"His genjutsu can directly invade the mind. Ordinary methods of dispelling genjutsu are useless!"

Shikayū had no time to ask further.

Lie Yang had already descended from the treetops.

The moment he landed, two kunai appeared between his fingers.

Blue-white lightning flowed from his fingers into the metal, quickly covering the surfaces of the kunai.

To his left, Kurenai Yuhi was about to complete her genjutsu.

Straight ahead, Torifu Akimichi had already spread his butterfly wings and was diving down from the sky with his enormous body.

"Kurenai, do it!"

Shikayū let out a low shout.

Kurenai Yuhi clenched her five fingers.

"Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death!"

The surrounding trees twisted instantly.

Countless vines burrowed out of the ground, winding toward Lie Yang's limbs. At the same time, Torifu Akimichi brought his hands together, transforming into a crimson streak of light.

"Butterfly Bullet Bombing!"

A massive crimson butterfly phantom swooped down.

Before it even truly hit the ground, the terrifying wind pressure had already crushed countless cracks into the earth.

Might Guy forced himself to stand.

"Kakashi, hang in there!"

"This time, we'll definitely pin him down!"

Kurenai Yuhi did not respond.

All her focus was on the genjutsu.

Lie Yang possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan. Engaging in a direct mental confrontation with him was no different from courting death. She did not dare invade Lie Yang's consciousness directly and could only use environmental illusions to disrupt his judgment, buying an instant for Butterfly Bullet Bombing.

An instant was enough.

The Akimichi Clan converted all their accumulated chakra into butterfly wings, then concentrated it into a single attack.

If it landed head-on, even a Kage-level expert could not emerge unscathed!

Shikayū's shadow was also rapidly stretching across the ground.

"Shadow Imitation Technique!"

The black shadow followed the cracks around the trees, closing in on Lie Yang from behind.

Three layers of restraint.

Genjutsu disrupted his senses.

The shadow sealed his movements.

Butterfly Bullet Bombing would blast him head-on.

Shikayū stared fixedly at Lie Yang's feet.

"Where can you run this time?"

Lie Yang did not dodge.

He gave his right hand a light flick.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two kunai flew out at the same time.

The first kunai shot straight toward Kurenai Yuhi's brow.

It was so fast that it left only a streak of blue lightning.

Kurenai Yuhi had just completed her genjutsu when her pupils were illuminated by the lightning.

Too fast!

She could only forcibly tilt her head aside.

The kunai grazed her cheek, slicing off several strands of red hair before embedding itself in the tree trunk behind her.

Lightning Release chakra erupted immediately afterward.

Crackle!

The tree trunk exploded on the spot.

Startled, Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu chakra instantly lost stability.

All the illusory vines winding toward Lie Yang shattered!

The second kunai struck toward Nara Shikayū.

Shikayū's expression shifted slightly. He immediately interrupted the Shadow Imitation Technique and rolled backward.

The lightning-charged kunai grazed his shoulder.

The violent current spread across his shinobi vest, instantly numbing half his body and sending him crashing heavily to the ground.

"Shikayū!"

Torifu Akimichi had already charged above Lie Yang's head.

At this distance, he could not stop.

Nor did he need to!

"Get down!"

The crimson butterfly wings suddenly folded inward.

His enormous body carried all its force as it came crashing down.

Might Guy raised an arm to block the gale blowing toward him, his feet planted firmly against the ground.

Kurenai Yuhi clutched Kakashi tightly and swiftly retreated.

Shikayū knelt on one knee in the distance, joy appearing on his face for the first time.

"It hit!"

Boom!

The earth shook violently.

The soil within dozens of meters exploded, and a visible shockwave spread outward.

Great trees fell in swaths.

Rubble and dust shot into the sky.

Torifu Akimichi's massive body pressed down upon the center of the battlefield, his crimson butterfly wings nearly blotting out the entire sky.

Might Guy stared intently at the center of the dust cloud.

"Did it work?"

Kurenai Yuhi did not answer.

The unease in her heart only grew stronger.

Lie Yang had clearly had a chance to use Lightning Body Flicker just now.

But he had not.

Even before Torifu Akimichi truly came crashing down, there had been no sign of panic on Lie Yang's face.

Enduring the numbness, Shikayū braced himself against the ground and stood.

"Yota is dead. We've lost the Byakugan."

"Everyone, stay alert!"

As his words fell, a sheet of white mist rapidly poured out from the dust cloud.

Shikayū's expression changed instantly.

"Hidden Mist Technique!"

Within just a few breaths, the white mist covered the entire battlefield.

Torifu Akimichi's enormous body vanished into the fog.

Even ten meters apart, they could no longer see one another clearly.

Every hair on the back of Might Guy's neck stood on end.

The sense of danger that had been weighing on his heart rose to its peak at that moment!

He roared toward where Kurenai Yuhi was, "Kurenai, protect Kakashi!"

"Lie Yang isn't hurt!"

Deep within the mist, a blue flash of lightning suddenly lit up.

Then a shrill scream tore through the white fog.

"Ah!"

A Root shinobi responsible for sealing off the perimeter was pierced through the chest by the lightning.

Before his body could hit the ground, the blue electric flash had vanished again.

Another Root shinobi heard the sound and immediately turned around.

"He's on the left!"

His kunai had just been raised when a hand reached out from the fog and seized his throat.

Crack!

His neck snapped.

The corpse collapsed limply.

In no more than two breaths, the chakra signatures of two Root shinobi vanished completely.

Sensing this, Shikayū's scalp went numb.

Again, just like this!

The records had documented Lie Yang's Lightning Body Flicker, his Hidden Mist Technique, and the fact that he prioritized killing sensory shinobi and casters.

They had devised a complete strategy against those abilities.

Yet when they truly faced Lie Yang, all their preparations still proved useless.

Knowing how he would kill did not mean they could stop him!

Torifu Akimichi shrank back down and landed beside Shikayū.

His face was pale, and the butterfly wings on his back had dimmed considerably.

"That didn't hit him."

"Before I came down, he dodged out from directly beneath me."