"Genjutsu—Darkness Illusion Technique!"
In an instant, all light vanished, plunging the world into pitch black.
Most genjutsu target the five senses—sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
The Darkness Illusion Technique focuses purely on sight, stripping it away completely.
But Leo didn't need vision to sense the world. His Observation Haki could perceive everything around him.
"Genjutsu—Demonic Tree Binding Death!"
Yūhi Mengsha unleashed another illusion. Yet even within the darkness, Leo had already pinpointed his location.
He moved like lightning, closing the distance in an instant, his fist carrying the crackle of thunder as it came crashing down!
Yūhi Mengsha's eyes went wide in disbelief. How—how could Leo find his position without seeing him?
There was no time to dodge.
That pitch-black fist grew larger and larger in his vision, moments from smashing his skull to pieces—
—and then Leo froze.
Out of nowhere, countless black vines erupted, wrapping around him like serpents, binding him tight.
The vines were covered in sharp, thorn-like spikes that pierced his flesh, sending waves of numbness through his nerves.
The Demonic Tree Binding Death had activated just in time, locking Leo in place.
"That was close…" Yūhi Mengsha exhaled, relief flooding his face.
Watching Leo struggle against the bindings, he sneered. "You're talented, I'll give you that—but when it comes to genjutsu, there's no escape. Just give up and come quietly back to Lord Danzo."
But Leo's eEXPression didn't change. "You're celebrating too early."
He might not know genjutsu—but he did know mental domination.
"Conqueror's Haki!"
A crimson gleam flickered in his eyes, and then—boom!—a wave of raw willpower eEXPloded outward.
The heavens trembled. The air itself quivered.
The wind stopped. Rain froze mid-fall.
For a moment, the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
Scarlet Haki radiated from Leo in all directions, sweeping through the area for several miles.
Birds scattered into the sky, beasts fled into the woods—everything living bowed before that overwhelming presence.
The black vines binding Leo shattered like brittle twigs.
Freed, he stepped forward, his arm turning black with Armament Haki. A single punch cracked the air with thunder—
—and blew Yūhi Mengsha apart!
A dull thud followed.
Yūhi Mengsha collapsed lifeless to the ground, eyes bulging, organs pulverized, his body mangled and slick with blood.
Leo stood over him, unmoving. He'd won, but there was no sense of triumph.
First, the system didn't give him any kill notification.
Second, something felt… wrong. It was as if a part of his memory had been deliberately erased, something important forgotten.
Rain fell softly from the sky, cold and steady, soaking through his clothes.
Each droplet that hit his skin was icy and real.
He stared into the rain, lost in thought.
Outside the illusion—
"Did we get him, Bloodmist?" Yūhi Mengsha's voice came again.
He was alive. The entire fight had been a genjutsu within a genjutsu.
The real caster was the cloaked figure who had been silent all along—Kurama Bloodmist.
The genjutsu of the Kurama clan were far more insidious and mysterious than those of the Yūhi clan.
They could strike directly at all five senses—killing you in your dreams.
If you died in that dream world, you died in reality. Every sensation in the illusion was mirrored by your real body.
Bloodmist coughed violently, black blood spilling from his lips. His body trembled and bent with fatigue.
"His willpower… it's too strong. I can't hold him for long. We need to immobilize him now!"
"So powerful?" Yūhi Mengsha muttered, astonished.
The bloodmist gave a weak, bitter smile. "The Kurama clan's genjutsu are unmatched across the shinobi world—but our bodies are frail. Too much spiritual power burns us out. Most of us are sickly… and few live long."
Yūhi Mengsha grunted. "Then I'll just cripple him. Lord Danzo only asked for him alive—he never said he had to be in one piece."
He drew a kunai and approached Leo, who stood motionless—eyes blank, eEXPression empty, completely under illusion.
Yūhi Mengsha paused for a heartbeat, then smirked cruelly and drove the kunai forward.
Shk!
The world froze.
"What—?!" Yūhi Mengsha's eyes widened as a black, steel-like hand clamped around his wrist.
Leo's previously dull eyes came back to life, gleaming with sharp clarity. He stared coldly into Yūhi Mengsha's face.
"Looks like I'll have to kill you again."
With a savage pull, he tore Yūhi Mengsha's arm off. Then, gripping his throat, he twisted—
—and snapped his neck clean.
The corpse hit the ground like a rag doll.
By now, Leo's hands had taken dozens of lives. His heart was long since hardened; killing no longer brought hesitation.
He turned toward Kurama Bloodmist, summoning the Enma Blade into his grasp. Purple demonic energy surged along the edge.
Without a word, he swung.
Blood splashed in a crimson arc. Bloodmist's head flew several meters before hitting the ground, his body left kneeling where it fell.
Ding!
Two Chūnin were eliminated.
EEXPerience +1200.
Remaining EEXP: 7,800 / 50,000.
Only when the system prompt rang in his mind did Leo finally exhale.
It was over.
Even he hadn't eEXPected that a genjutsu could be layered within another, trapping him from the very start without his notice.
The Kurama clan's illusions were truly terrifying—constructing entire false worlds through the manipulation of the five senses, so real they were indistinguishable from life itself.
He had nearly drowned in that illusion.
If it hadn't been for the two distinct chakras within him—his senjutsu chakra surging uncontrollably—he might never have broken free.
"Looks like I'll need to stay more alert against genjutsu users," Leo muttered softly, sheathing his blade.
Then he turned and disappeared into the rain, leaving two corpses behind.
Much later, Danzo arrived at the scene with several Root operatives. His face darkened as he looked upon the carnage.
Seeing the broken bodies of Yūhi Mengsha and Kurama Bloodmist, he threw his head back and roared in rage.
"Damn him! To slaughter his own comrades so viciously—his heart is beyond redemption!"
One body had its neck snapped and arm torn off; the other lay headless, blood pooling beneath it.
The sight was gruesome, enough to make even Root veterans grimace.
Leo, of course, knew nothing of this.
And even if he did—so what?
If Danzo himself had come after him, he would've cut him down all the same.
Anyone who raised a hand against him… needed to be ready to die.
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