"How's my combat awareness?"
Neiki's calm taunt echoed through the rain.
Nara Suzaku nearly ground his teeth to dust.
Calling it "good" was an understatement.Neiki's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique was already approaching the level of the Fourth Hokage.
He had been cutting his way through the Kirigakure formation like a phantom. Though most couldn't see it clearly, Suzaku understood what had happened.
During the melee, Neiki had secretly marked a Kirigakure ninja with a Flying Thunder God seal. He then deliberately severed that man's arm and sent it flying toward the Konoha lines.
No one had reacted in time.
Suzaku noticed only because he caught sight of the faint space-time mark on the arm. Hayate Shirakumo, from a swordsman's intuition alone, realized something was wrong—an arm wouldn't fly that far naturally unless it was intentional.
Even so, it was too late.
Neiki's black sword pierced Akimichi Sidō's chest.
Konoha was about to lose another jōnin—after Inuzuka Dō.
The island's weather shifted violently.
Moments ago the sky had only been heavy with clouds. Now rain poured down in torrents, bean-sized drops pounding against leaves like war drums, filling the battlefield with a strange, feverish rhythm.
Suzaku opened his mouth to speak—then hesitated.
"…Yes," he finally said through clenched teeth."It's very good."
Neiki smiled faintly—
Then suddenly felt his feet leave the ground.
A massive body wrapped around him from behind.
Despite being nearly disemboweled, Akimichi Sidō's enormous belly and torn flesh held together through sheer willpower. His internal organs were spilling out, yet his arms locked around Neiki like iron clamps.
He was already doomed.
But not yet dead.
"Aaahhh—ATTACK!!"
Sidō roared through blood and tears, his face twisted in unbearable agony. Even with Neiki's sword still impaling him, he dug his feet into the mud and tightened his grip.
"Hurry—attack!!"
Suzaku inhaled sharply.
This was an opening bought with a comrade's life.
It could not be wasted.
"Shadow Imitation Technique!"
At such close range, Suzaku's shadow surged instantly, enveloping both Sidō and Neiki.
This was Neiki's blind spot—
And their only chance.
"Masao!" Suzaku shouted.
"Mind Transfer Technique!"
Yamanaka Masao formed the heart-shaped seal. His body slumped forward as his consciousness invaded Neiki's mind.
The Ino–Shika–Chō formation was complete.
Sidō could no longer perform clan techniques.
The final strike fell to Hayate Shirakumo.
Suzaku glanced at him.
Without hesitation, Shirakumo drew his blade, crouched low, and exhaled.
"Konohagakure Sword Technique: Air Slash!"
Slash!
Neiki's calm expression twisted into shock.
His hand flew to his neck as he stared at Shirakumo in disbelief.
"Shirakumo… senpai…"
"I'm sorry," Shirakumo murmured, sheathing his sword.
Neiki had caused too much suffering in Konoha.
Without a sealing team, someone who had mastered the Flying Thunder God could never be allowed to escape.
The sound of a head striking the ground echoed through the rain.
The man who had ignited the Fourth Great Ninja War was gone.
Yet the chaos he unleashed would continue to haunt the world.
Shirakumo didn't look back.
With Neiki dead, he turned toward the remaining Kirigakure forces. Unlike Neiki's ruthless exploitation of battlefield psychology, Shirakumo favored direct confrontation.
"We can continue," he said calmly, facing Samehada.
But Samehada—and the Kirigakure ninja nearby—looked uneasy.
Samehada opened its mouth, speaking urgently. Shirakumo frowned; the rain drowned out the sound.
Noticing his confusion, Samehada pointed behind him.
Then mouthed silently:
Turn around.
Shirakumo's brow furrowed.
Turn around?
What could possibly—
Realization struck too late.
He spun around.
And his pupils shrank violently.
Yamanaka Masao lay unconscious on the ground.
Raido Namiashi's head was pinned to a tree stump by a kunai.
Nara Suzaku and several Konoha ninja were desperately struggling—under Neiki's blade.
Akimichi Sidō, disemboweled, clung with his final strength to the enemy—
But not to Neiki.
Shirakumo finally saw the face clearly.
It was Shiranui Genma.
He had killed Genma.
Not just him—
Suzaku and the others had also mistaken Genma for Neiki.
"…Shirakumo… senpai."
The voice echoed again.
Now he understood why it had sounded so familiar.
"Genjutsu…"
His blood ran cold.
"The same genjutsu the Hokage warned us about… the one that distorted reality and led to the Hyuga Clan's destruction."
Shirakumo looked around in horror.
Suzaku was fighting the real Neiki.
Hundreds of Konoha ninja stood dazed, staring blankly at Kirigakure forces—still trapped in the illusion.
"We're all under it…"
"Genjutsu: Release!"
Shirakumo dispelled the illusion on the nearest ninja.
Before they could react, he shouted urgently:
"Quick—release the others! It's genjutsu!"
Without waiting, he rushed straight toward Neiki.
If they delayed any longer—
Suzaku would die.
Neiki was about to finish a wounded chūnin when he paused and stepped back.
A sharp white blade of air cut past him.
Facing Shirakumo, who had rejoined the fight, Neiki smiled faintly.
"How does it feel," he asked softly,"to kill your own comrades?"
"Shirakumo-senpai—!"
"It wasn't your fault," Suzaku shouted urgently."We were all under genjutsu! Masao realized something was wrong while inside Genma's body—he took the hit for me!"
Neiki's provocation failed to take hold.
Shirakumo took a deep breath.
Genma's death.Masao's collapse.
They burned into his mind.
"…I know," he said quietly, gripping his sword.
"Which is why—"
"I'll correct my mistake."
"And kill you again."
He lunged forward.
"You're welcome to try," Neiki replied, smiling like a cultured scholar.
From the side, watching Konoha struggle to break the illusion, Samehada whispered uneasily to Ao:
"…Do you think we might be under the same strange genjutsu?"
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