When Yugito Nii finally came back to her senses and her eyes reflected the real world again, she noticed that the green Susano had disappeared. All that remained was the devastated landscape and the distant figures of her fellow Cloud ninja.
It seemed like the battle was over, and the Leaf ninja had all retreated.
She released her Tailed Beast form.
Returning to her human form, she stood there and muttered to herself, "This... shouldn't be a genjutsu, right?"
Still a bit shaken by the genjutsu cast by Shisui, Yugito Nii was unsure. Even now, just thinking back to it gave her chills. Both she and Matatabi couldn't stand up to Shisui's genjutsu. If he hadn't left voluntarily... who knows how this fight would have ended.
"Matatabi, I guess we weren't that unlucky after all!"
She spoke to herself like a crazy person, standing alone amidst the ruined terrain.
Inside the sealed space, Matatabi, the Two-Tails, squinted. Yugito Nii was right—they weren't that unlucky. Although running into such a powerful Uchiha was unfortunate, their luck turned when he left on his own before they were defeated.
"Yugito, your comrades are approaching. Take it easy for the next couple of days and rest."
Matatabi's voice echoed in her mind.
She turned to look in the direction Matatabi indicated, and after a few seconds, Darui came into view, running towards her. Taking a deep breath, she walked toward him, asking immediately, "Darui, what's the situation? Has the battle ended? Did the Leaf ninja retreat?"
Her rapid questions made Darui's expression change slightly, his previous irritation fading. Sensing something was off in her tone and actions, he suppressed the anger he had been holding back.
Originally, he had come to question her. Because of Yugito Nii's strange behavior during the battle, the Leaf ninja had managed to escape, forcing Darui to give up his pursuit of Byakugan. He had been furious watching Guy take away Hizashi Hyuga.
"Yugito-senpai, after you transformed into Two-Tails, you suddenly stopped moving. That green giant took advantage and attacked, and the Leaf ninja seized the chance to retreat. We couldn't stop them. Only after they left did you revert back."
Darui summarized the situation, his tone restrained but still tinged with dissatisfaction. Losing Byakugan was one thing—it wasn't in the original plan—but his goal had been to deal as much damage to the Leaf forces as possible. Her error had cost him that.
"I see," Yugito nodded slightly, unfazed by Darui's implicit criticism.
This result was within her expectations. It wasn't great, but it wasn't a disaster either.
"That thing is called Susano."
Darui paused, repeating the strange name, "Susano'? What is that, a forbidden jutsu or something else?"
She didn't respond to his question.
"Darui, get ready. We're going back," Yugito said decisively.
"Going back?" Darui frowned. "Yugito-senpai, have you forgotten our mission? Taking the Kusatsu Mountains is just the start. We still need to defend against the Leaf's counterattack…" Get full chapters from Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
"I have more important matters to report to Raikage," Yugito interrupted.
"Darui, don't let our recent success blind you. Leaf Village isn't an easy opponent. We only caught them off guard because their main force wasn't present... Now that reinforcements have arrived, the hard part is just beginning."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Darui stood there, speechless, watching her retreating figure. This didn't seem like the Yugito Nii he knew—proud and battle-hungry. What had changed?
Darui furrowed his brows, confused. If not for the unmistakable presence of her Tailed Beast chakra, he would have suspected that someone had replaced her.
"What's going on? I've never underestimated the Leaf; that's why I wanted to build up as much of an advantage as possible," Darui muttered. But Yugito Nii was already too far away to hear.
Despite his frustration, Darui couldn't help but feel curious about what she had mentioned. What was that 'Susano',' anyway?
"Shisui, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just a little blood loss. I'll recover over time."
Everyone looked at Shisui, blood still dripping from his eyes, speechless.
Can someone really get used to this?
For a ninja, being injured is common, but the eyes are a fragile and vital organ. Damage to them often means the end of a ninja's career. Vision and hearing are essential, and without one, a ninja can't continue missions.
But Shisui didn't seem bothered at all.
His eyes were bleeding because of overuse visual powers. He could recover by borrowing chakra from Samehada later. It wasn't a big deal. However, since Mangekyo Sharingan was a clan secret, he couldn't explain this in detail.
Besides, the bleeding wasn't from using Susano.
*Sigh* Why is my eye technique Kotoamatsukami!?
Shisui sighed internally.
Using a power that manipulates others' wills always made him uneasy.
The guilt weighed more heavily than the pain in his eyes.
After a few moments of silence, Hiashi Hyuga changed the subject. "Looks like the Cloud ninjas aren't pursuing us."
He was sitting cross-legged on the grass, with a view of the distant Kusatsu Mountains to the north. After retreating to this spot, they hadn't moved further, staying to observe the enemy's movements.
It seemed the Cloud ninja weren't planning to follow up.
"Their goal must have been to capture the Kusatsu Mountains to deny us the high ground, forcing us to fight on the plains," said Nara Shio, speaking softly.
"Terrain advantages only go so far. The real issue is the difference in strength between the two sides. We had to rely on the terrain earlier because we were at a disadvantage. Now, with reinforcements, we stand a much better chance against the Cloud," Hiashi replied, glancing at Shisui.
At this point, Hiashi realized that the success of their defense hinged on whether Shisui could fend off the Tailed Beast users. "Shisui, can you still use Susano'o? If the Cloud's jinchuriki attack, can you hold them off?"
"As long as I'm not fighting both jinchuriki at the same time, I should be fine. If they team up, it'll be more challenging, but not impossible. Ideally, we'd avoid that scenario."
Shisui didn't want to make any promises, but his confidence reassured everyone. His mention of needing extra effort against both jinchuriki teaming up sounded more like he was discussing a minor inconvenience.
"The fact that we can hold off the Cloud ninja gives us an advantage," Hiashi nodded, feeling more hopeful.
As they rested and gathered their strength, the team set off for their new camp. The situation was still precarious, but with the tides turning in their favor, they were ready to face whatever came next.