It Was All Genjutsu

Whether it was because the Root ninja's short blade was too sharp, or because his strike had been too fast, although Yunyan's head had clearly been severed from his neck, it still remained perched atop it for the moment.

Yunyan, who seemed to have accepted his fate, had his cheeks twitching as he endured the most terrible agony and the disbelief that came before death.

With his last bit of strength, he cast a sidelong glance at the Root ninja. Then, forcing his mouth open, he used the final breath lingering in his throat to unwillingly spit out his last words:

"Leaf... Leaf Style Swordsmanship! An elite jonin!?"

Wasn't that right? The moment that Root ninja had slashed out with his blade, his strength had already reached the level of an elite jonin.

What did that mean?

It meant that during his fight with Yunyan, this Root ninja had been holding back all along, concealing his true strength.

Only when he delivered that final strike, when he used that killing move, did he reveal his true strength as an elite jonin!

That was fucking underhanded!

And the final sword strike he had used was clearly no ordinary blade technique. It was exquisite Leaf Style Swordsmanship, even carrying a hint of Hatake Sakumo's style!

No wonder. No wonder Yunyan had fallen here today.

At last, the final moment arrived. After unwillingly speaking his final words, Yunyan met his end. He closed his eyes and lost the last of his consciousness.

After losing consciousness, the head that had remained on his neck finally fell limply, toppling onto the ground.

Then, hot blood burst from the neck stump with an extremely smooth cross-section, and Yunyan's headless corpse collapsed weakly into the Yellow Springs Swamp.

The matter had been settled. The target had been killed. The mission had been completed.

Perhaps all Root ninja were this taciturn. After finishing everything, the two Root ninja did not exchange a single unnecessary word and began efficiently cleaning up the battlefield.

In truth, there was not much to clean up. Their main priority was recovering Yunyan's body.

After one of the Root ninja finished gathering things up, he quickly approached the Root elite jonin. It seemed this two-man Root squad was led by the Root elite jonin.

As for the Root elite jonin, he crouched down, grabbed Yunyan's head by the hair, and without hesitation yanked the entire head up.

Because Yunyan's head contained the spoils the two Root ninja needed.

After lifting the head, the Root elite jonin immediately extended two fingers, intending to gouge out one of Yunyan's eyes.

Why gouge out his eye?

The reason could not have been simpler. Yunyan was from the Uchiha Clan, and the most valuable things on an Uchiha Clan member's body were those eyes.

But just as the Root elite jonin was about to dig out Yunyan's eye, he looked at the unwilling expression on Yunyan's face and suddenly realized something!

The realization made his hand pause in midair.

After pondering for a moment, the Root elite jonin spoke for the first time since the beginning:

"Don't you think... something's wrong?"

There were only two people here. Naturally, the Root elite jonin was speaking to the other Root ninja behind him.

The Root ninja who had been questioned looked puzzled and instinctively asked back:

"What's wrong?"

The Root elite jonin lowered his hand, his expression growing serious.

"This kid is our target. Lord Danzo specifically named him as someone to eliminate. He's from the Uchiha Clan.

What is the Uchiha Clan... best at?"

After a brief pause, the Root ninja behind him quickly realized the answer.

"The Sharingan!"

The Root elite jonin nodded. His expression remained serious, though confusion filled it more than anything else.

"That's right.

But this kid never used the Sharingan from beginning to end. That's far too strange."

"Yeah, what the hell is going on!?"

The two Root ninja fell into thought, one holding Yunyan's head and the other staring at it.

So what exactly was going on?

Of course... because none of this was real!

Perhaps because the two Root ninja had finally noticed the flaw, Yunyan's severed head before them, its eyes still closed, suddenly gave them a faint, extraordinarily eerie smile!

Everyone, it was the middle of the night. The setting was a dark forest. Two Root ninja had just killed someone, even cutting off his head and holding it in their hands.

And under such circumstances, the head in their hands suddenly smiled at them!

Good grief! Even a horror movie would not dare pull something like this!

Even though they were Root ninja who had killed countless people, even though they had undergone extensive training and possessed hearts as cold as iron and ice, the sight of that smile and this bizarre turn of events still sent a chill through them!

Even the Root elite jonin holding Yunyan's head nearly threw it away when he saw Yunyan smile!

"What's going on!?"

"Why did he smile!? Is he not dead yet!?"

Amid the startled cries of the two Root ninja, Yunyan's head suddenly opened its eyes!

And the eyes that opened were the Sharingan the two Root ninja had not encountered before!

Within those scarlet Sharingan, three tomoe slowly spun, lending the eyes an unusual beauty and an atmosphere of danger!

Faced with this terrifying situation that he had never anticipated, the Root elite jonin could no longer endure it. In fear, he finally threw the head in his hand away!

After Yunyan's head was thrown out, it did not fall to the ground. Instead, it hovered at a suitable height, as though an invisible force were supporting it.

Yunyan's bodiless head floated eerily before the two Root ninja, smiling in a way that made their souls tremble while keeping those scarlet Sharingan open.

At last, he spoke in a ghostly voice:

"You two really are Root ninja. Your reactions are quite fast. You noticed that something was wrong so quickly."

The two Root ninja suppressed their intense fear as they cautiously retreated several steps.

After seeing the terrifying sight before them and hearing Yunyan's words, despite their panic and dread, the two Root ninja vaguely grasped something.

The elite jonin among them was the first to react. His expression changed drastically.

"Genjutsu!?"

Yunyan's floating head smiled even wider.

"Congratulations, you got it right!

That's right, it's genjutsu.

From beginning to end, you two have been trapped within my genjutsu. Your sudden ambush against me, your coordinated attack from front and back, and even killing me in the end.

None of that was real.

All of it was my genjutsu.

Now, I'll be merciful and let you see the real situation."

The moment he finished speaking, Yunyan formally dispelled the genjutsu trapping the two Root ninja.

Like ripples spreading across water, the two Root ninja suddenly discovered that the world before their eyes had completely changed.

First, Yunyan's floating head vanished.

Next, Yunyan's headless corpse lying in the Yellow Springs Swamp vanished as well.

The two Root ninja frantically looked around, trying to assess their current situation.

Then they discovered that their surroundings had changed too. The damage to the terrain caused by their battle, including the Yellow Springs Swamp and the destruction caused by the explosion of that Great Fireball Technique, had all completely disappeared.

In their place stood untouched ground and several trees that had neither been damaged nor burned.

In other words, nothing around them had changed.

Or rather, everything the two Root ninja had just experienced had truly been nothing more than an illusion, nothing more than a false sensation.

The moment the two Root ninja realized this, their hearts turned cold.

But what was even more chilling was not that.

The two Root ninja hurriedly drew their weapons and scanned their surroundings, trying to find the target responsible for all this—Uchiha Yunyan.

Unfortunately, no matter how they searched, they could not find even the slightest trace of Yunyan in the dark woods.

They could not even find the target. They could not even see the enemy. This was truly the worst possible situation!