Chapter 210
2-in-1-chapter
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"Uchiha Fugaku—yes, that's his name. The previous head of the Uchiha clan. He also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Although it doesn't look like it is as advanced as the other two."
"…"
Dodai opened his mouth but couldn't speak. Having seen Susanoo firsthand, he understood all too well just how powerful that technique was. The difference between two and three users was enormous. If there were only two Susanoo to deal with, the shinobi of Kumogakure, given proper preparation, still had a fighting chance in the battles to come.
But if there were three Susanoo—
Then the entire calculation had to be redone.
"What exactly is going on here, Lord Raikage? Please explain it clearly."
Dodai couldn't suppress the confusion pressing at his chest. He wanted answers. This wasn't a trivial matter—if it remained unresolved, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night. Though, truth be told, even if he did get clarity, it probably wouldn't help him rest any easier.
"I was the one entangled with Uchiha Fugaku. At the time, I was prepared to take him down, even at the cost of injury. But in the end, I still came up short. And you—Troy—what happened to you? How could you have been controlled so easily?"
Ai turned to look directly at Troy.
Genjutsu from the Uchiha was known for being powerful enough that even a Jōnin might struggle to break free in a short time. But that was one thing. Controlling a Jōnin's mind entirely was something else. Troy's mental fortitude wasn't supposed to be that fragile.
"I let my guard down," Troy said, his voice heavy. "But… when I locked eyes with Uchiha Fugaku, something strange happened. I suddenly didn't feel afraid. Not at all. Even though I knew in my head how dangerous the Sharingan's genjutsu is, I just… didn't care anymore.
Then everything blurred, and the next thing I knew, I mistook you, Lord Raikage, for Fugaku."
He had already heard the full explanation from Dodai during the medical assessment.
"You weren't afraid of the Sharingan's genjutsu?"
Ai's eyes widened.
That didn't make sense. He'd assumed Fugaku had used a standard genjutsu to manipulate Troy. But according to this account, something about it didn't sit right. It felt... off.
"Lord Raikage," Dodai interjected.
"What is it?"
"I think Troy may have been caught in two layers of genjutsu," Dodai said gravely. "Based on his description, he was first caught by Uchiha Fugaku's gaze and had his mind subtly altered. The first illusion removed his fear of the Sharingan, making him bold enough to maintain eye contact. Then, the second genjutsu distorted his perception—causing him to mistake you for Fugaku."
"However… genjutsu, by its nature, is deception. It's illusion. It traps the target in false perceptions. It doesn't directly alter a person's will. There's no such genjutsu in the world—not that I've ever heard of. At least, not within the scope of what I know."
Dodai gave a bitter smile.
His head was a mess, his thoughts jumbled. The tangled confusion and oppressive unease gave him a splitting headache.
"To alter someone's will… Yugito!"
Dodai suddenly cried out.
And then—
Ai's pupils contracted sharply.
C's mind clicked, and his expression changed dramatically.
Clearly, they had all realized the same thing. Whatever change had happened to Nii Yugito was absolutely tied to the Uchiha.
Even if there was no trace of genjutsu manipulation on her, the very absence of evidence made the realization more terrifying.
"So this is… a genjutsu of the Sharingan? Or is it one of the Mangekyō Sharingan's illusions?" Dodai's expression was extremely grim. "Back then, it was after Yugito fought that Uchiha Shisui that her personality changed."
"But Troy's fine now, isn't he?"
C looked over at Troy.
Troy nodded repeatedly, speaking quickly: "I'm fine now!"
"Maybe it's because it was a different person?" Dodai answered reflexively.
Then he shook his head and sighed. "When it comes to the Sharingan, we don't have nearly enough intel. We're just guessing in the dark. The real problem now is… what do we do next? Konoha has two—no, three Susanoo users, and we've lost Killer Bee. To be honest, the situation doesn't look good at all."
Dodai spoke through clenched teeth as if the pain reached his jaw.
Three active Susanoo users. Three pairs of those Mangekyō Sharingan. And possibly even genjutsu capable of altering a person's will or consciousness… Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
"Get in touch with Iwagakure. Have them put in more effort."
Ai growled the words through his teeth. "Konoha's throwing everything they have at us. If that's the case, let Iwagakure profit from it this time. As long as they make steady progress, I refuse to believe Konoha won't have to divide its forces to deal with them."
He had not yet received the intelligence that Jiraiya was leading troops into the Land of Grass to intercept the Iwa-nin.
Since the outbreak of hostilities between Konoha and Kumogakure, both sides had intensified their efforts to hunt down enemy spies. After Rēn and Jiraiya mobilized, Akimichi Torifu had issued a direct order placing Konoha under wartime restrictions. This had made it nearly impossible for Kumogakure's embedded agents to relay information from within the village.
"I'm not so sure Iwagakure will follow through the way we expect," Dodai said.
"It doesn't matter how they act. As long as Konoha has to split their forces, that's enough."
"Then… Lord Raikage, what outcome are you aiming for with this operation against Konoha?"
Dodai's question shouldn't have needed to be asked. From the beginning, the objective had always been to seize as much advantage as possible—whatever could be taken would be taken. There was never a clearly defined strategic goal. But now, after suffering such a heavy loss—losing the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—and with little chance of victory in the battles to come, things had changed.
At this point, they couldn't afford to keep fighting without direction.
"…No matter what, we need to capture a few valuable prisoners from Konoha and use them to exchange for Killer Bee." Ai spoke slowly, and then lowered his voice as he continued, "At the very least, we need to get the Eight-Tails back." Though Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails appeared as one, they were not inseparable.
Recovering Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, would be ideal.
But if that proved impossible, then they at least needed to retrieve the Eight-Tails itself.
To put it bluntly—Jinchūriki could die, but the tailed beasts could not be lost. That was the true stance every hidden village held regarding Jinchūriki and their tailed beasts, whether in Kumogakure or Konoha. There was no difference between them.
"Since that's the case, we'll send an envoy to contact the Iwagakure shinobi."
Dodai let out a quiet breath of relief.
Thankfully, the Raikage hadn't let hatred cloud his judgment—he still understood what was at stake.
He was well aware of how deep the bond was between Ai and Killer B, sworn brothers in all but blood, and so he had been genuinely concerned that Ai might act recklessly in a moment like this.
"What if Konoha attacks again?"
C couldn't help but ask.
"Then we'll fight back, of course. The reason we lost this time was because we didn't understand how powerful the Mangekyō Sharingan truly is. But now that we know the depth of the Uchiha's strength, we'll just have to find a way to counter it. Even if we can't easily defeat Konoha with our current forces, Konoha won't be able to keep taking advantage of us either." Ai's tone was firm and decisive.
In a battle between shinobi, what one fears most is a lack of intelligence.
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