Above was an endless pitch-black void, and below, ankle-deep water pooled around her feet. Surrounding her was darkness as thick as ink, and in front of her, the sealed Two-Tails was the only source of light in this abyss. The azure blue flames entwined around the beast drove away the surrounding darkness, illuminating the small space in front of the cage.
The sealing techniques used to imprison Jinchuriki varied from village to village.
However, the manifestation of the world of mental willpower appeared quite similar across the board, with landscapes so alike that they could be called monotonous.
The Two-Tails, lying inside the cage, let out a low growl, clearly irritated. Its scarlet eyes, so close by, stirred up terrible memories from the past.
"You... Why are you here?"
The figure outside the cage wasn't just Shisui. This was mental realm of Yugito Nii, perfect Jinchuriki who shared a close bond with Two-Tails, granting her the ability to freely enter and exit this space. However, upon entering, Yugito noticed an unfamiliar Konoha ninja alongside Shisui.
Shisui had arrived after Yugito had fully transformed into Two-Tails. So it wasn't wrong to say this was their first meeting.
"Yugito, let's work together to get rid of him. We can deal with details later," the Two-Tails whispered loudly to Yugito. As it spoke, chakra began to seep through the gaps in the seal, and the azure flames outside the cage started forming a new body.
It roared and, despite a splitting headache, Yugito joined the Two-Tails in attacking Shisui.
Yugito was truly frustrated. Just a moment ago, she was fighting the enormous being called Susano'o, and now, out of nowhere, the battlefield had shifted to the sealed space deep within her mind. An enemy from the Uchiha clan had intruded into this place where no one else had ever set foot!
Her head pounded, but she vaguely understood why Senior Dodai had always exaggerated the power of Uchiha. No, it wasn't an exaggeration. This was the first enemy that had ever made Two-Tails take initiative. In the past, no matter how close their bond was, the Two-Tails had never volunteered to attack—only to lend chakra.
Also, how exactly do you fight in a world constructed from mental willpower? With genjutsu?
Yugito employed a rarely used illusion technique.
**Lightning Style: Lightning Flash**
This was a basic illusion technique widely used among the Cloud ninja and one of the few that Yugito, who wasn't skilled in genjutsu, had mastered. Lightning crackled around her body, releasing a blinding light, while the Two-Tails provided her with additional chakra at just the right moment.
This was Yugito's mental realm.
Unless it disregarded her life entirely, Two-Tails couldn't recklessly attack. It cared too much about her well-being, so it had to let Yugito take the lead while supporting with chakra.
The bright light became so dazzling it nearly blinded her. It was a basic illusion technique, but the power was forcibly amplified by Two-Tails' chakra. The flash was so intense that even Yugito couldn't help but shed tears, despite knowing this was all just a mental projection.
Wait... something's wrong!
Tears streaming down her face, Yugito felt something off.
The Lightning Flash illusion shouldn't have affected the caster, so why was she, the one who cast the technique, feeling its impact?
"Your battle instincts are sharp. You've already grasped how to fight here, but... such an illusion won't work on me. If you wish to challenge an Uchiha in genjutsu, you'll need to polish your skills first," came a clear voice, sending a shiver down Yugito's spine.
She rubbed her eyes vigorously, trying to restore her vision.
In this world of mental consciousness, unlike physical injury, attacks only damaged one's mind. It wouldn't cause actual blindness, and as long as her will held strong, even if her spirit was torn apart, she could recover. Of course, in the real world, most people whose minds were shredded in such a place would end up as vegetables if they didn't die outright.
As her vision returned, what Yugito saw horrified her—Shisui had grabbed Two-Tails and torn it apart. She screamed involuntarily in shock.
However, the next second, a familiar voice rang in her ears.
"Yugito, don't worry. That was just a bit of my chakra." Realizing her outburst was a mistake, Yugito bit her lip in frustration, embarrassed by her moment of panic. She had momentarily forgotten that tailed beasts couldn't truly die.
So strong! This Uchiha ninja is absurdly powerful.
She and the Two-Tails had fought together and still lost.
"Two-Tails, what just happened? Why was I affected by my own Lightning Flash?"
"**Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change**. It's an Uchiha genjutsu, only possible with the power of Sharingan," Shisui revealed the truth before Two-Tails could respond. It didn't matter if the secret was exposed—no regular genjutsu could overcome the technique. Almost any illusion could be reflected back by this power.
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this applied to Shisui's use of the technique. A weaker Uchiha might not be able to reflect a strong enough mental force.
Yugito gritted her teeth. This strange battlefield, this unfamiliar way of fighting... Even though technically, she had the home-field advantage, everything felt foreign, creating immense pressure.
"Damn it! What do I do?"
Yugito watched Shisui step closer, her mind racing. Should she try genjutsu again? But the earlier failure had shown that illusions were useless against the Uchiha. If she couldn't use genjutsu, could she still fight with ninjutsu or taijutsu in this place?
Gritting her teeth, she decided to give it a shot.
Sitting still and doing nothing wasn't her style. Fighting till the end, even in a desperate situation, was.
Yugito looked at the claws extending from her fingers and felt a slight sense of relief. It seemed ninjutsu and taijutsu would work here. As Shisui came closer, acting as if nothing could touch him, Yugito slashed at him with her claws, leaving ten deep, bone-revealing gashes across his chest.
Blood gushed like a fountain.
It splattered across Yugito's face, her expression one of shock rather than satisfaction. There was no way such a terrifying enemy could be defeated so easily. Was this another illusion? Was he mocking her with such a crude genjutsu?
When did I fall under another illusion?
"Damn it! What is going on here?" she shouted in frustration. Falling for an illusion in mental space meant to seal Two-Tails—was this some kind of joke?
Yugito poured all her chakra into trying to break free from the illusion.
Gradually, she realized that mental space, once submerged in endless darkness, had taken on a blood-red hue. Bodies floated on the water, blood still spilling from them, as if a hidden sea of blood had suddenly been unleashed.
Yugito gritted her teeth, the grinding sound unnerving.
For the first time in her life, she felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. The inability to fight back gnawed at her. Truth be told, she would rather face two of those giant things called Susano'o than deal with this frustrating and confusing battle.
a small spark of azure blue flame broke through the sea of blood, appearing before her.
It was as if a large mirror had been shattered by a thrown stone. Her vision filled with countless cracks, and chunks of red began to peel away. The black void returned, and she found herself standing in front of the cage again, without having moved an inch. Her hands were normal—no claws, no blood. The Uchiha ninja stood in the distance, not having approached her at all.
"Yugito, are you okay?"
The Two-Tails asked from within its cage, concern in its voice.
"Two-Tails... Am I still in an illusion?" After a few seconds of silence, Yugito asked the question the Two-Tails least wanted to answer.
Uchiha genjutsu was terrifying!
It wasn't just hard to break free from; even after escaping, it left lingering doubts. Victims questioned the reality of their surroundings, fearing they were still trapped in a false world...
The worst part was, Two-Tails couldn't confidently say this was real.
It feared that if it said so, Yugito would immediately be pulled back into another illusion, making things even worse.
"Whether this is reality or an illusion, only you can determine that." Two-Tails knew it could pull her out of the illusion but stopped short of saying that last part. It glared at the Uchiha's form, careful not to make eye contact, knowing from a thousand years of experience, to not to look directly at an Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan.
Unlike the Two-Tails and Yugito's frustration, Shisui was in a good mood.
Through real combat, he had verified the truth of what Sougen had said—Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular powers indeed seem to have a very strong suppressive effect on Tailed Beasts. Otherwise, with the immense mental energy of Two-Tails, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to intrude into this sealed space.
As for the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, Even without the power of Two-Tails, Yugito Nii's own mental strength was impressive, but it still wasn't enough to defend against Mangekyō Sharingan. However, when she combined her power with Two-Tails, they barely managed to break through his regular-level genjutsu.
His eyelids twitched slightly as the consciousness he left in the outside world signaled him.
He glanced up at the Two-Tails and its Jinchūriki, who were avoiding eye contact with him, and said, "What a shame! Looks is as far as we go for today. Next time, let's have a proper fight."
As soon as his words fell,
Shisui's figure had already disappeared.
Just like when he arrived, Yugito Nii hadn't noticed how Shisui vanished. Two-Tails did sense the flow of Mangekyō Sharingan's power, but, fearing being manipulated, it didn't dare to probe too deeply into the flow of this ocular power.