Chapter 182

He knew he had been defeated, utterly powerless to fight back.

But he could not quite understand it.

"Did you not fall under the effects of Izanami?"

He did not ask how Ishihara knew Izanami was in his possession; he knew he would get no answer.

Ishihara stood beside him and said, as if lost in thought, "No, I indeed fell under your Izanami!"

"Then why did Izanami fail to take effect?"

Itachi grew even more puzzled.

Clearly, Ishihara should have been unable to resist Izanami and should have fallen under its influence; why was the result so different?

Upon hearing this, Ishihara immediately laughed.

Because the one standing here is not his true body!

It is his Wood Release clone!

The Wood Release clone is extremely special; even the Byakugan and the Mangekyō Sharingan cannot see through it.

Coupled with the overwhelming combat power Ishihara had displayed, no one had ever suspected this was not his true body.

Knowing that Konoha possessed Izanami and Might Guy, Ishihara naturally would not let his true body take any risks.

At this moment, his true body was cultivating in the Hidden Mist Village!

Itachi, quick-witted and sharp, ran through the possibilities of Izanami's failure in his mind and quickly found the answer, exclaiming in horror:

"This is not your true body?!"

After pondering it over and over, only this one possibility could explain the situation that had just unfolded.

Seeing Ishihara nod, Itachi's heart sank.

Thinking again of the combat power Ishihara had previously displayed, he was even more shocked.

Defeating Fugaku who had activated Susanoo, defeating Tetsuka who had activated the Mangekyō, shattering a mountain with a single punch!

Such terrifying combat power was still not Ishihara's true body.

How strong must his true body be?!

It was simply unimaginable!

Itachi's mind was completely thrown into chaos.

He knew he had been defeated, no longer harboring any hope of luck, yet he asked with some reluctance:

"But even with such a special identity, it should still be affected by genjutsu!"

Clones such as Shadow Clones are all composed of chakra.

And the ability of genjutsu is to disrupt the flow of chakra; while dojutsu differ somewhat, they also possess this function.

The interference with chakra caused by a genjutsu of Izanami's level would be enough to make a Shadow Clone disperse!

Yet Ishihara's clone not only did not disperse, it was not even affected by Izanami!

"Izanami is very special, but its downfall lies precisely in its special nature!"

Ishihara said with deep meaning.

Originally, he had planned to discard the Wood Release clone if it fell under Izanami and simply teleport another clone over.

But he had underestimated the effect of the Crystal Observation Method.

The instant he received the Izanami attack, the spiritual energy within his body, or rather his Soul Realm, automatically formed a crystal that protected him like a shield.

Izanami's ability to rewrite will was blocked so simply!

And the genjutsu ability of Izanami to disrupt chakra was, in the end, merely at the Mangekyō level.

It was easily blocked by Ishihara!

That is why he said Izanami was defeated by its own special nature.

Seeing Itachi still struggling in deep thought, Ishihara smiled and said:

"No need to think too much; this is my secret technique. Even if you think your head off, you will not understand it."

Upon hearing this, Itachi immediately let out a bitter laugh.

He had not expected Ishihara to be so terrifying that he could develop a secret technique capable of resisting Izanami.

Truly a monster!

"Since you could not escape, from this moment on, everything you have is mine!"

(Got it)

Ishihara said indifferently.

Itachi's face changed wildly.

But unable to move his body at all, he was completely unable to resist Ishihara's sealing jutsu.

"Sealing Jutsu 3.0!"

Ishihara muttered the words, instantly casting the new seal upon Itachi!

Itachi sighed, appearing to accept his fate.

But Ishihara understood that Itachi would not accept his fate and would surely be devising a countermeasure.

He smiled and said, "This seal incorporates some of the settings from the Hyūga Clan's Caged Bird Seal."

From its initial design, the Sealing Jutsu included elements of the Caged Bird Seal.

Back then, Orochimaru had researched the Caged Bird Seal, but unfortunately achieved no results and abandoned it.

However, this special seal and its research data were all studied by Ishihara.

When designing the Sealing Jutsu, he incorporated them.

In the current 3.0 version, he further strengthened this effect and added the function of controlling the body!

Itachi's face changed wildly, his body trembling slightly.

Ishihara smiled upon seeing this.

"That's right. Even if you die, you will still be under my control!"

Itachi went limp all over, losing all desire to resist.

Ishihara removed the jutsu on Itachi's body, restoring his freedom, then returned to his seat and sat down again.

Itachi knelt on one knee. "Itachi pays respects to Lord Ishihara!"

Ishihara immediately laughed.

"Rise!"

"Yes!"