Chapter 127: The Ninja War Begins! Genjutsu: Sharingan!
Before leaving, Jiraiya had said something to Choza Akimichi.
In the short time following Jiraiya and Tsukasa's conversation, the atmosphere of the entire camp suddenly transformed.
The ninja who had been playing cards in small groups vanished, leaving only scattered cards behind.
Konoha shinobi emerged from various tents—some fully armed, some bandaged, some carrying enormous shuriken and tools. Even the dog that had been lounging at a tent entrance was dragged away by its owner.
A long line formed in front of the supply depot, with various ninja tools being emptied from sacks amid clanging sounds, along with voices calling out numbers and reconciling accounts.
In the open space at the center of camp, genin who looked like little kids carried wood to build a platform.
Even though it was still daytime, oil already burned in the fire pits surrounding the open space.
The dense footsteps, the whispers of conversation, the rustling of belongings being checked, the crackling of charcoal in campfires, the hissing of kunai slicing through the air between fingers—
All these sounds and images intertwined, creating a solemn and heavy atmosphere!
This made Tsukasa realize with absolute clarity that war was imminent.
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump!
His heart began to pound in the tense atmosphere. His blood began to boil.
Even the small creature in his sealed stomach suddenly stirred, sensing the overwhelming fear and darkness around him. It immediately rattled against its containment, as if urging its foolish host to feed it.
But this fierce wind of war still needed time to brew—still needed fuel poured upon it like boiling oil.
The Root ninja hadn't arrived yet, and Ryoma Aburame, who was supposed to fight alongside him, hadn't summoned him.
Before that, Tsukasa still had a training session to complete.
Even with his talent, he probably wouldn't be able to learn anything new in such a short time.
But if he were going to fight to the death with everything he had, he couldn't afford to miss any opportunity to become stronger.
With this thought in mind, Tsukasa's eyes hardened.
He went against the flow of people, brushing past the group of Konoha ninja, and strode out of the camp.
Behind the Konoha camp lay a tranquil forest.
Silence reigned.
Crows fluttered their wings, perched on branches, silently watching Tsukasa's approach.
Unlike the forests of the Land of Rain, which reeked with foul stenches and miasma, this place held a different kind of darkness—oppressive and gloomy.
Massive trees reached for the sky, their branches intertwined in complex patterns that refused to let in a single ray of sunlight.
Even at midday, the forest remained cool and shadowed.
Further in, a pool about a hundred meters across came into view.
On a large boulder in the center of the pool, a figure sat cross-legged with eyes closed, a shaft of sunlight streaming down to frame him in a golden edge.
The man wore an Uchiha clan shirt and a jonin vest. He was tall with a cold, stern expression.
It was none other than Shin'ya Uchiha, who had been waiting for some time.
As soon as Tsukasa approached, he could practically feel the man's irritation.
The Uchiha jonin sitting cross-legged on the rock suddenly opened his eyes, filled with impatience.
Three black tomoe swirled in his Sharingan, rotating slightly before he spoke coldly:
"Counting the three hours this morning, you're a full four hours late."
"To be honest, Tsukasa, you're making me very unhappy."
Hearing this, Tsukasa frowned slightly, completely bewildered.
This was the powerful and gentle person Shisui had described?
If he hadn't sensed the obvious hostility, he might have been fooled.
Seeing that the other man was about to launch into a lecture, Tsukasa raised an eyebrow.
Too lazy to waste words, he immediately activated his Sharingan and calmly looked at Shin'ya while deliberately avoiding direct eye contact—keeping his gaze focused on the man's chin and below.
"What exactly do you want?"
"If you want to fight, no problem. I'm ready to go all the way!"
Tsukasa flicked his hand across the hilt of his sword, releasing a section of the Kusanagi blade, already prepared for battle.
However, seeing Tsukasa's stance, Shin'ya shook his head and sneered.
"I must say, you're very lucky."
"This unexpected turn of events prevented you from reaching Hell Valley."
"That's why you have this misconception—making you think you're capable of challenging a three-tomoe Sharingan user."
He paused, then snorted coldly, suddenly widening his Sharingan eyes and speaking disdainfully:
"Before teaching you ninjutsu, I want to teach you how to speak to your senior!"
"I'll give you a chance."
"Tsukasa."
"Go all out! If you can make me move even once, I'll admit defeat!"
Hearing this, Tsukasa frowned slightly, gripping the hilt of his sword.
He subconsciously sensed something was off, but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
From the moment he'd arrived, he had deliberately avoided eye contact with those three-tomoe Sharingan eyes. Logically, he shouldn't have fallen for a genjutsu.
But the opponent was so confident—could he be some unparalleled master of the Uchiha clan?
The thought puzzled Tsukasa, but since his opponent had practically begged for a fight, he had no choice but to give it his all.
Without another word, Tsukasa raised his hands—one clutching his chest, the other his abdomen, his fingers twisting against his skin.
A blazing white flame appeared beneath the fingers of one hand.
Beneath the fingers of the other, a dark serpentine pattern spun counter-clockwise from his fingertips!
In an instant, Fire Release: Chakra Mode, Forbidden Technique: Body Modification, Zero-Tails: Dark Awakening, and his regenerative abilities all activated!
A raging storm of flames suddenly erupted in the silent forest!
A great sun seemed to rise from the ground.
Within it, a jet-black cocoon of energy trembled silently, resembling a giant Sharingan without its tomoe.
From within this blazing eye, a young man quietly tore open the dark cocoon, wielding a longsword wreathed in flowing flames, and stepped out with calm indifference.
He appeared tall and striking, with waist-length black hair that danced wildly in the heat. He exuded a unique aura—calm yet fiery, controlled yet tyrannical, his presence captivating and overwhelming.
The next moment, the young man raised his sword, aiming it at Shin'ya, who sat in the center of the pool.
He calmly uttered a single word:
"Extend!"
BOOM!
The longsword swelled in the wind, instantly reconstructing its shape and unleashing a massive, ever-growing blade of flowing flames!
A single strike spanning half the pool from its edge hurtled toward Shin'ya in the center.
A forty-meter-long sword of flowing flames appeared!
The resulting shockwave instantly felled a ring of trees around them.
However, after unleashing this strike, Tsukasa frowned slightly.
"Shadow clone? No—there wasn't even any smoke."
The feel of the strike was wrong. The blade had passed right through Shin'ya, hitting nothing.
Tsukasa carefully assessed his body's condition, his expression twisting slightly. He let out a muffled sigh, muttering in frustration:
"Damn it... I'm under a genjutsu."
The raging flames generated by Fire Release: Chakra Mode should have brought him a real burning sensation—like being grilled alive.
In Zero-Tails' Dark Chakra Mode, his mindset shouldn't be as peaceful as it currently was.
So he'd fallen for a genjutsu.
Tsukasa frowned deeply, unable to understand what went wrong.
And when exactly had he fallen for it?
Meanwhile, in the real world, Shin'ya sat in the center of the pool, his hands forming seals to maintain the genjutsu. He swallowed hard.
His eyes pierced through reality, looking at the scene within the genjutsu world, his expression slightly distorted.
Sweat instantly streamed down his forehead and back.
He stared incredulously at the ordinary-looking boy standing by the pool's edge, feeling only an indescribable sense of absurdity and chilling dread.
This kid clearly hadn't realized he'd been under a genjutsu from the moment he saw the pool.
That meant those terrifying, overwhelming attacks this kid had just unleashed might actually be... real?!
Shin'ya gasped for breath, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
He had been prepared to give Tsukasa a thorough lesson in shurikenjutsu, fire release, and the proper use of the Sharingan within the genjutsu world.
Then, to the brat's astonished expression, he would arrogantly reveal that it had all been just an illusion.
But why did the script suddenly seem to have mutated and started rewriting itself?
"You've got to be kidding me!" he thought in horror.
"How could he possibly be this strong?!"
End of Chapter 127
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