Chapter 211: 212. Chapter 208: Takamagahara

212. Chapter 208: Takamagahara

His slightly hoarse voice was extremely oppressive, and his almost incomprehensible power made Hui feel a hint of despair.

At that moment, he glanced at the other two, then drew a kunai with his other hand and flung it at Daizu; Daizu naturally would not be harmed, the kunai passed through his mask and flew toward a distant tree.

Hui hadn't even expected success; seizing the chance while Daizu was phasing, he immediately withdrew and then reattached his other arm.

Then he channeled chakra, tried to form a seal and perform a clan forbidden technique; he knew he wasn't a match, but at least he had to let the other two escape.

However, for some reason, the chakra and pupil power inside his body seemed suppressed, and his ninjutsu execution was much slower than usual.

Daizu seemed to see Hui's intent; his reaction was swifter, a punch landed on Hui's abdomen, halting his movement, then he slowly bent down, digging toward Hui's eyes.

"Your Copy Wheel Eye, I shall take it!"

"Hui!"

Yizheng shouted angrily, disregarding his broken arm, and charged forward, only to be kicked into the air by Daizu.

"Father!"

Seeing Yizheng fly away, Hui was stunned, not understanding why the opponent didn't use the ability to pull people into that space.

But Yizheng's wailing spurred him, leaving no time for thought; his eyes blood‑red, the corners of his eyes about to burst, he drew a kunai again and lunged at Daizu.

"You really aren't honest; night is deep, go to sleep quietly!"

Yet Hui's raging fury was meaningless; Daizu stood calmly, allowing Hui's rain‑like attacks to pass through his body, then he seized Hui with a reverse hand, removing his limbs and completely stripping his ability to resist.

"Uncle Yizheng, take Hui and run quickly!"

Yangzhe shouted at the fallen Yizheng, then wielded his long sword in a continuous assault, keeping Daizu in a constant phasing state.

Yizheng struggled to rise, hoisted Hui with one hand, and ran toward the distance.

After only five steps, they saw Yangzhe, who had blocked Daizu, blown to fragments by a fireball, leaving no blood behind.

"Yangzhe!"

Hui's expression froze, then anger, grief, and remorse surged together in his heart.

"Leave the eyes behind."

However, without time to think further, Daizu formed another seal, and a fireball as dazzling as the scorching sun rushed straight at the two.

"Hui, I'm sorry, father didn't protect you well"

Hui was being carried, unable to see Yizheng's expression, but the sorrow and guilt in his words still pierced Hui's soul.

Before Hui could speak, Yizheng violently flung him out.

"This is the last thing father can do for you, forgive me."

Those were Yizheng's final words; the flames devoured his body, along with the helpless yet loving smile on his face.

"No! Stop! 'Father.'"

Boom— a wave of heat slammed the face; Yizheng instantly turned into scattered debris, sizzling and emitting smoke.

Hui lay on the ground, staring blankly upward at the scene, his anger, frustration, grief, and guilt tearing at his soul, leaving his mind a void.

Stop!

If it's not because of me— Ah!

Hui let out a howl, burying his head deeply.

"What a waste of a pair of Copy Wheel Eyes."

Daizu stepped slowly over the debris, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery.

"You!"

His extreme rage almost burned through his reason; now he only wanted to kill the person before him, to tear him apart, shred him into pieces, grind his bones to dust!

"Daizu!"

Hui howled Daizu's name, lifted his head, blood tears streaming from his eyes, the three tomoe slowly rotating and merging, as if three phantom palms appeared in his pupils.

"This is!"

The exposed single eye trembled slightly; Daizu looked at the prone Hui, his expression inscrutable.

A powerful eye power surged, and Daizu instantly found himself unable to move, as if an invisible hand tightly grasped him, the surrounding space locked.

"What eye technique is this?"

Daizu's tone changed for the first time, but soon he realized he was overthinking; although Hui had activated the Mangekyou, his limbs had been removed, and even if he could control him, he lacked the strength to attack.

"Nice eye technique, congratulations, that will be the end," Daizu smiled, saying something puzzling.

But Hui clearly lacked the strength to think; his eyes held only murderous intent, golden chakra surged, enveloping him, turning him into a skeleton.

Then a chakra bone claw lunged at him; Daizu's gaze remained calm, carefully sensing the external change, until the moment before his five fingers closed, he realized he could act.

A normal person wouldn't have time to react, but he instantly became intangible, leaving Hui's grasp empty.

"Alright, Brother Hui, it can end now."

A gentle voice, so familiar, recalled Hui's reason; he froze, staring blankly at the masked man before him.

He removed his mask, revealing an incredibly familiar face; it was not Daizu, but Shisui!

"Shisui?! How can it be you?"

"Ahahaha, didn't expect it could really succeed, Hui, dad didn't misjudge you!"

Just as he was stunned, three figures emerged from the forest, each holding a battle banner; they looked at Hui, their expressions varied.

"Yizheng, Yangzhe, and... 'Anma Clan Leader? Why are you also here?'"

The newcomer was Anma Anzai, he wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, his complexion pale, as if heavily drained.

Regarding Hui's question, he smiled and replied, "At Shisui's invitation, I came to lend a hand."

Shisui seized the chance to step forward, helped Hui up, then reattached his limbs, while Yangzhe stared blankly at Hui's eyes.

"Did it really succeed?"

Hui seemed unable to accept it, his head lowered as he thought about who knows what, until Yizheng approached, patted his shoulder and sighed: "Your dad and Shisui came up with this method for your own good, don't—ow~"

Mid-persuasion, Hui suddenly punched Yizheng in the chin, the force so strong it sent him flying backward, spinning 270 degrees in the air before landing on the ground.

"You're still trying to trick me, it must be genjutsu!"

"You brat! You!" Yizheng flipped to his feet and charged straight over, while Hui seized the moment and said with a face of sudden realization: "Ah! So it's real!"

"Alright, alright, Uncle Yizheng, calm down. Big Brother Hui was just anxious and hasn't processed it yet."

Everyone could see Hui was doing this on purpose as retaliation, so Shisui had no choice but to pull the two apart and then apologetically explain everything that had happened to Hui.

To keep Hui from seeing through the deception, Sima Yi prepared a special Barrier to suppress Hui's power, and invited Kurama Anzai to help, manipulating Hui's five senses so he couldn't easily notice certain details.

Then the two used verbal provocation to make him feel guilty, preventing him from thinking calmly. Hui scratched his head; only now did he have the mood to look at the two who had been shattered earlier—both were Shisui's Wood Clones, no wonder they'd been smashed to pieces by a single Great Fireball.

He sighed, then said with a smile: "Well, though I am indeed a bit angry, I still want to thank you, Shisui. Thank you—all of it was fake, that's truly wonderful."

Seeing one's closest kin die before one's eyes while being able to do nothing but lie helplessly on the ground—how despair-inducing that is! Like sinking into the deep sea, unable to breathe, only able to watch the faint light at the surface blur bit by bit.

"Big Brother Hui, something like that won't happen. I will definitely end the war!"

Shisui always maintained his gentle smile, a smile that made Hui feel incomparably at ease.

"Hahaha, enough of that. Shisui, did you see the eye technique I just performed?"

Setting aside his troubles, Hui grew excited again, the Mangekyo spinning in his eyes. He was now an Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyo too.

Even Yizheng was a bit envious, but alas, his age was indeed a bit too advanced—he probably couldn't withstand that kind of pressure anymore.

Yangzhe said nothing, just kept staring at those eyes, the longing in his gaze almost materializing into something tangible.

"I saw it. A very impressive technique—to be able to immobilize me directly. Good thing my Body Flicker Technique is fairly polished, otherwise I'd have been caught by your Susanoo. That was truly a close call!" Shisui was not stingy with praise.

Hearing this, Hui beamed with joy, the earlier dejection swept away entirely. He tilted his head slightly and said: "Well, it's just so-so, still a bit lacking. Once I get proficient, I should be able to catch you."

"Tsk~ You think you can catch the Clan Head? Keep dreaming!"

Yangzhe couldn't listen anymore, the corner of his mouth twitching, his face full of disdain.

"Hahaha, alright, it's getting late. Let's head back to Konoha first."

The journey there had taken half a day, but returning took only an instant.

Back in Konoha, Shisui expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Kurama Anzai.

"Today's success is enough to show that the Kurama clan is truly the Uchiha's best ally. Thank you for your hard work, Senior Anzai. I'll have Hui prepare a gift of thanks, and I hope the friendship between the Uchiha and the Kurama will endure."

Kurama Anzai said with a chuckle: "Since we are allies, this is naturally what the Kurama clan ought to do. Being able to help the Uchiha clan is perhaps also an arrangement of fate."

"Hahaha, then let us be grateful for fate's gift. Of course, a gift of thanks is also indispensable—please, you must accept it."

"Since the Clan Head says so, I won't decline any further."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, then bade each other farewell.

Yizheng didn't go with Shisui and the others; he held his jaw and went back to apply medicine.

Yangzhe, meanwhile, blinked his big eyes, following behind the two without saying a word.

Seeing this, Hui turned back and teased: "The mission's already been canceled, why are you still following? Don't tell me you want to spar with me—I wouldn't say no to that~"

"I'm following the Clan Head, what's it to you!"

Oh ho~ Hui's expression changed, and he immediately recalled the scene of being suppressed before.

Before he awakened, he had to endure; now that he'd awakened, he still had to endure—then wasn't awakening the Mangekyo for nothing? Today he absolutely had to reestablish their respective positions within the clan! Hui lifted his head slightly; he was already half a head taller than Yangzhe, and this gesture immediately put his nostrils directly facing Yangzhe.

Yangzhe clenched her fists in anger, then directly drew her tachi.

Seeing the two at each other's throats, Shisui felt a headache coming on. When would these people ever let him have some peace!

"Senior Yangzhe, I know what you want to say, but you've seen the method of awakening—it requires some preparations in advance, and before that, I need to seal this memory of yours, lest you guard against it."

Shisui naturally wouldn't hold anything back, but his understanding of Yangzhe was far less than his understanding of Hui.

And the prerequisite for helping her awaken the Mangekyo was that he needed to know where she had received that 'love,' and then shatter it before her eyes.

Yangzhe didn't hesitate and nodded immediately, "I understand. I'll wait. Please help me, Clan Head."

Seeing she had no objections, Shisui nodded, then proceeded to seal the memories related to Hui's awakening.

Then he and Hui together fabricated some reasons to fill in the gap in Yangzhe's memory, and let the bewildered Yangzhe go back to rest.

"Hehehe~"

Seeing Yangzhe leave, Hui couldn't help wearing a wicked grin. Now that Yangzhe had lost this memory and forgotten about his Mangekyo awakening, he was going to seize the opportunity to get payback.

"Don't do anything rash. How about you go find Orochimaru tomorrow!" Shisui shook his head, couldn't even bear to look, and pulled him toward home.

Once they reached the study, Shisui finally asked: "What is the eye technique you awakened?"

"The eye technique is called Takamagahara."

"Takamagahara, so it's this technique!"

The clan's forbidden jutsu scroll had recorded this technique; it was said to possess absolute defensive power.

"My right eye can immobilize the space a target occupies, sealing all of the enemy's movements, while my left eye can immobilize the time and space of an area, but the consumption is enormous—once activated, it takes at least five years to recover, and it can only last for five minutes."

"Most importantly—"

"While immobilized, the target shouldn't be able to be attacked, right?" Shisui recalled the scene from earlier and guessed.

Hui was taken aback; he hadn't expected Shisui to see through this technique's weakness in such a short time.

"That's right. Whether the left eye or the right, the immobilized area or person is in a state of absolute defense—all incoming attacks are immobilized along with them. That's why I had to release the technique after wrapping you with Susanoo's power."

"Every technique has its weakness. That's nothing—as long as you use it properly."

Hui's technique was extremely powerful. Not everyone could stay calm in that situation and react the instant the technique was released to evade the incoming attack.

The left eye's ability in particular could also immobilize the time of an area. With proper control, one could make oneself, who was just far away a moment ago, appear right beside the enemy in the next instant with a blade at their neck.

With even slightly slow reactions, the result would be instant decapitation—it had the power to turn the tide of battle.

Used for defense, it could also block all attacks, perhaps holding out until reinforcements arrived—truably versatile in both offense and defense.

"Hahaha, it's actually just so-so~"

Hui couldn't help laughing, his head practically tilting up to the sky; Sima Yi and Shisui exchanged a glance and laughed as well.

Hui's success meant that from this moment on, the Uchiha would possess a safe method of awakening the Mangekyo, meant that the Uchiha would advance one step further.

"It's still all thanks to Orochimaru, but he seems to be in the Land of Rain right now?"

"No matter — the Akatsuki hasn't restricted his freedom. Yesterday he sent word saying he's currently in the Land of Wind; Hui, go directly to the Land of Wind to find him."

"That's good then. Brother Hui, rest for one night and set out tomorrow. Remember, your Mangekyo has only just awakened — don't overuse it. Wait until you've transplanted the First's cells from Orochimaru before anything else."

"Ah~ That urgent? How about the day after tomorrow instead? I still have some things to do." Hui looked listless; the moment he thought about leaving tomorrow, his whole body felt miserable.

This feeling was hard to describe — it seemed like the sensation of walking at night in fine clothes.

How could Shisui not know what he was thinking? He refused outright: "Keep your awakening secret for now — you're not to tell anyone. Leave the village quietly tomorrow morning. I'll have Ming take over the ANBU duties."

"Uncle Yi~"

Hui, unwilling to give up, looked to Sima Yi again. Sima Yi chuckled: "Go, and come back early. The Land of Rain still needs you to hold the fort."

"Alright." (End of this chapter)