Careless Mistake
Grasping the hilt of the sword behind his back, Yato wasted no time as he burst toward the Yamanaka clan's ninja. The reason for wanting to eliminate this particular ninja first wasn't to help Shisui, but because Yato labeled him as the most troublesome enemy. He had no way to counter the mind control jutsu that could render him helpless for a few precious seconds, potentially exposing Yato's identity or, even worse, leading to his death.
Yato disappeared as he rushed toward the opponent who still had his hands cupped together and aimed at Shisui.
"Don't let him get close," Danzo ordered, seeming to understand Yato's intention. He quickly commanded the others to block him. Even though Danzo didn't know the strength of the enemy, he didn't dare to take a risk. He couldn't allow anything wrong to happen to Yamanaka, who played an important role in obtaining Shisui's Sharingan.
Just as Yato was about to reach him, the ninja standing beside Yamanaka formed several seals in quick succession before slapping his hands on the ground.
"Earth Style: Great Wall Jutsu."
A massive wall of earth erupted from the ground, towering between Yato and his target.
"Yato, watch out!" Riku suddenly shouted when he saw Yato about to halt his advance.
Two ninjas suddenly appeared from both sides of the wall and threw a barrage of shuriken in his direction.
"It's too late to stop now," Riku said.
"I know," Yato replied.
He understood that if he stopped, the shuriken would hit him, and if he managed to block them all somehow, then the two ninjas might attack him with ninjutsu. It was a two-layer trap, and the shuriken were mere decoys before the real attack.
'As expected of the Root. Their teamwork is flawless,' Yato thought. He was truly impressed by this hidden dark unit. It's a shame that all of them are slaves that only listen to their master, or else they would be a famous group. 'If it was me before using the fivefold Potential Explosion Card, I would have already been dead with their cooperation.'
"But, you're too naive to think that this is enough to take me down."
With no time to lose, Yato clenched his fists and launched himself forward, channeling all his strength into a powerful punch aimed directly at the wall.
"Iron Fist: Breaking Impact!" he roared as his fist connected with the earth wall. The sheer force of his strike shattered the wall into chunks of rubble, sending debris flying in all directions.
From the start, he never intended to stop and take a detour, as his current strength was enough to even break through steel. Of course, he could have used the Gravity Devil Fruit to stop the incoming shuriken, but he wanted to preserve his chakra as much as possible for his fight against Danzo and Shisui.
The shockwave from his punch deflected the incoming shuriken, scattering them harmlessly to the ground. Yato wasted no time, rushing through the cloud of dust and debris towards his target. The Yamanaka ninja's eyes widened in shock as Yato appeared from the dust, a fierce determination blazing in his eyes.
"Don't let him get close!" Danzo barked orders after seeing Yato break through the Earth Wall using only one punch like it was nothing. Danzo had already raised Yato's danger level in his heart, but he couldn't go there to fight him himself as he was currently busy fighting Shisui with three other ninjas. So, he could only order the others to assist Yamanaka, or else his plan would fall apart if something happened to him.
More ninjas converged on Yato, attempting to intercept him. But Yato was much faster than them, his movements a blur as he weaved through the incoming attacks and sliced them using his sword.
"Agh!"
Blood splattered across his face as he injured and killed more ninjas, but he didn't even flinch or stop due to shock after taking a human life for the first time. His entire focus was on Yamanaka, who retreated after seeing Yato coming for him. Yamanaka was an excellent sensory ninja skilled in his clan's mind-possession jutsu, but he wasn't talented in close combat. Getting close to the enemy who was cutting through his fellow Root colleagues like they were mere genin brought great terror to his stone heart.
Just as Yato was about to reach Yamanaka, another ninja attempted to block his path, this one holding a sword. The ninja with a fox mask made hand signs using only one hand, which was impressive as not many were able to do such a thing. He made several seals before casting his jutsu.
"Silent Three Moon Dance!"
With a grin hidden behind his mask, the Root ninja dashed toward Yato brandishing his sword. Once he got close, his body suddenly split into three similar bodies, each at different angles, each strike aimed directly at a vital point.
This jutsu was personally bestowed upon him by Master Danzo, who told him it was a jutsu personally developed by the Second Hokage. The technique was difficult to master as it focused on combining genjutsu with taijutsu. In this technique, only one form is real, while the other two are illusionary clones that cannot inflict harm. The clones weren't real but mere illusions cast to act as decoys to fool the enemy as the main body delivered the deadly strike.
The true power of this technique lies in its incredible speed, capable of taking a life in an instant without allowing the victim a chance to decipher the illusion. Unless one possesses a bloodline ability like the Byakugan, distinguishing fact from illusion is almost impossible.
"Die!" the Root ninja exclaimed as he was about to hit Yato, who looked like he was struggling to determine the real body.
Seeing the enemy only one meter away, Yato remained unfazed despite the genjutsu actually affecting him, but he didn't panic. Instead, he stopped in his tracks, held the sword in a reverse grip, and suddenly stabbed behind him while keeping his eyes in front of him.
The three figures of the fox-masked ninja suddenly disappeared, followed by the dull sound of a blade piercing flesh. The real fox-masked ninja materialized behind Yato, eyes wide in shock, the sword protruding from his chest.
"How did you...?" The ninja gasped, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He couldn't understand how Yato managed to see through his illusion. This trick was personally developed by him by adding another clone and attacking the enemy from behind while being invisible. He had killed countless ninja using this jutsu and never failed in a target assassination, yet here it was, someone breaking through his prideful jutsu effortlessly.
Yato pulled his sword free, letting the ninja slump to the ground.
"Your jutsu is impressive," Yato said coldly, "but illusion has no effect on me."
In fact, Yato was merely bluffing. The genjutsu indeed affected him and he couldn't determine the real opponent. But luckily, he wasn't alone and had a little help from Riku. Riku was the system spirit, nothing in this world could affect him, and so he wasn't under the genjutsu and told Yato where the real enemy was hiding.
'If only I had enough points to buy something to protect myself from falling into a genjutsu...'
Just as he was about to take a step forward, the fallen ninja got up and lunged at him, but Yato didn't panic and stabbed his heart without hesitation. However, what baffled Yato was that even with his heart pierced, the fox-masked ninja didn't immediately die and instead hugged him in a tight embrace.
"What the…" Yato was stunned.
"Hehe, if I'm going down…" Blood leaked from the ninja's mouth as he spoke. "Then I'll take you to hell with me."
After saying this, the fox-masked ninja raised his hand, revealing a half-burned explosive tag.
"Shit!"
Yato's eyes widened as he realized the danger. Before he could react, the tag burned completely, followed by a blinding flash of light and a deafening roar, the shockwave rippling through the battlefield.
*****
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