Breaking the Illusion Technique

At this moment, inside the Blood Pond Clan inn.

The woman named Mei Ya cocked her head at an eerie angle, staggered closer, and suddenly swung her arm.

Whoosh!

A rusty cleaver slashed horizontally through the air. Uchiha Chiri flipped backward, light and graceful as a Swallowtail Butterfly dancing in the wind, evading the attack before swiftly drawing her blade and cutting the woman's throat.

Yet her opponent showed no reaction. Blood gushed from the wound in her throat, but she remained unmoved, her red-glowing eyes filled with dullness.

Chiri kicked her away and sighed helplessly as she took advantage of the distance.

She turned back. "Still not awake?"

"No."

Uchiha Nen's voice came from behind her. He carried the unconscious Uchiha Kirito on his back, panting heavily. "He's still inside the illusion technique."

Earlier, the instant the three of them stepped into the room, they had fallen into the Shop Assistant's illusion technique.

Chiri noticed it immediately and activated her Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Then she abruptly discovered that her Mental World was being controlled by a pair of blood-red eyes.

Those eyes brimmed with a bloody scent. Their pupils ran horizontally against black sclera, hanging high above her Mental World like a sun, as though a god were looking down upon the earth.

Chiri's heart tightened. Relying on the formidable Eye Power of her Three-Tomoe Sharingan, she immediately broke free and regained control over the flow of Chakra within her body.

The instant her consciousness returned, several zombie-like people surrounded her. She immediately wanted to retreat, only to find the entire room enclosed by a blood-red Barrier, turning it into a trapped beast's cage.

These people had been completely controlled by the illusion technique and turned into puppets. Their previous actions had merely been mechanical execution of the caster's commands.

They feared neither death nor injury. Even when struck in vital spots, they felt no pain. Chiri also had to protect her younger brothers behind her, leaving her constrained at every turn.

Fortunately, Uchiha Nen had actually broken free of the illusion technique through sheer willpower, which greatly surprised her.

She wanted to ask him how he had done it. This was one of the most advanced restrictive illusion techniques, establishing rules to amplify its power. Breaking it through one's own strength rather than using Eye Power to force free was certainly difficult.

Nen pursed his lips. In truth, he had not broken the illusion technique entirely on his own. The reassuring voice in his mind was the real reason he had remained calm throughout.

"The so-called five rules are both killing moves and loopholes. This is an illusion technique that manipulates the mind to affect the real world. If you truly follow the rules completely, then in the real world, you will become a puppet at his mercy."

"The way to break it is to follow the rules, yet not follow the rules..."

Following that guidance, Nen immediately understood.

In the illusion world, he appeared to speak, yet had not said a word;

He appeared to eat according to the agreement, yet had spat it all out;

He appeared to stand, yet had actually fallen from his seat;

He appeared to follow the rules, yet had not done a single one...

Sure enough, the moment he rolled to the ground, he abruptly woke up and escaped the illusion world.

"This illusion technique was indeed exquisitely designed. Its only flaw was that its Eye Power was somewhat lacking." The voice continued, sounding as though it were savoring the experience.

Nen silently nodded. Before entering the valley, a Spirit Body had drifted in with the wind and effortlessly entered his mind, sitting cross-legged within his "state of mind."

Having cultivated the Spiritualization Technique, Nen naturally knew what it was and instantly guessed the visitor's identity.

In all the world, besides that Senior, who else cultivated this Secret Technique alongside him?

Therefore, even when trapped, he had not panicked in the slightest.

He knew Senior would not harm him. Although this person claimed to be here for sightseeing and was merely looking around, Nen knew that while Senior appeared carefree, he was actually protecting the three of them in secret.

"Senior, is there any way to break this situation?" Nen asked in his mind, his tone probing.

Within the Mental World, Shin'yu's Spirit Body spread his hands. "Simple. Find the caster and kill him."

"I mean, wake Tong Ren up too."

"That..." Shin'yu thought for a moment. "Generally speaking, eye-technique illusion techniques can only be broken when someone else disrupts the flow of Chakra. But this Blood Dragon Eye illusion technique is not simple. You must make Eye Contact with the Sharingan and use Eye Power to forcibly break it. Someone with superior skill can even overwrite or reflect the illusion technique back..."

"Thank you, Senior!" Nen thanked him politely, then shouted at Chiri's back, "Sister Zhi Li, make Eye Contact with Tong Ren and activate your Eye Power. You can forcibly break the illusion technique!"

"Is that so... Huh? How did you know?"

"There's no time for that now! I'll hold these people off!"

Nen's hands flashed repeatedly as countless Shuriken tore through the air. With a series of pfft, pfft, pfft sounds, they struck the puppets' bodies. Amid showers of sparks, the Shuriken ricocheted and spun through mid-air, embedding themselves in the walls, floorboards, and ceiling beams as they scattered in all directions.

Chiri did not dare delay. She sidestepped and switched places with Nen, supporting her younger brother.

"Be careful. These people don't feel pain..."

She was about to warn him when she looked up and found it unnecessary. Crystal glints suddenly flashed through the air. As Nen pulled both hands apart, dense Threads Emerged, weaving into a net that wrapped around all five puppets and bound them tightly.

Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!

Nen formed Hand Seals with utmost seriousness, not daring make the slightest mistake. Ending with the Boar Seal, he gathered a dense mass of Fire Style Chakra in his throat as he drew in a breath, sending it spreading along the Threads.

Firelight flashed explosively. More than a dozen thick pillars of flame shot along the Threads, instantly engulfing every puppet in a sea of fire and charring their bodies inch by inch.

Seizing the opportunity, Chiri swiftly pried open her younger brother's eyelids, revealing those vacant and bewildered eyes. Her beautiful eyes narrowed as the Three-Tomoe Sharingan imprinted itself in Tong Ren's gaze.

As her Eye Power erupted, Tong Ren's body trembled, and light returned to his eyes.

"I... I'm still alive?"

Those who escaped an illusion technique felt as though they had just awakened from a dream. The intense disconnect between reality and the dream made them immediately realize they had been dreaming.

"You're fine now that you're awake." Chiri gave him an encouraging smile, but her gaze suddenly turned sharp as she prepared to fight alongside Nen.

Although the puppets had been dealt with, there were still two people upstairs, and one of them was the true caster!

However, at that moment, Nen suddenly widened his eyes. Reflected in his pupils were five charred, swollen balls of flesh. Crimson blood began to grow across their surfaces, wrapping around them layer by layer as terrifying energy brewed at their centers.

"Not good, get away..."

At the critical moment, Chiri yanked Nen into her arms, then spun around and shielded both younger brothers with her body.

"No!!" Tong Ren shouted, tears spilling from his eyes.

Nen's eyes were illuminated by the firelight. At That Moment, only one thought remained in his mind:

I have to protect both of them!

In his desperation, he spread his hands and released a strange, unfamiliar power all at once.

With a boom, the five Human Bombs detonated simultaneously. A powerful shockwave swept outward. Even the Barrier could not withstand such an explosion. The entire inn was instantly blown apart, wood chips and shattered roof tiles mixing with the gale as they scattered in every direction.

Footsteps sounded from the dissipating black smoke. It was the Shop Assistant. He patted his clothes, knocking away the scorched blood scabs bit by bit.

Before the explosion struck, he had refined the last puppet beside him into a Blood Shield, using its body to block the impact.

Suddenly, he froze, because he did not see the mangled corpses of the three Uchiha.

Before his eyes lay only countless shattered pieces of wood. Countless vines gathered and closed together, forming a massive wooden shield that had firmly blocked the explosion outside its barrier.

At this moment, the Trees gradually crumbled apart, revealing the three of them standing there completely unharmed.