As the Genjutsu took hold, Kazuyama saw A's body tremble slightly before a flicker of lightning coursed through him.
Good grief, activating the Lightning Release Armor in his sleep? This guy is definitely a psychopath.
A faint snarl formed on A's face as his tightly shut eyes twitched, as if he had seen something that filled him with rage.
"Big sister Tagitsuhime, what kind of Genjutsu did you put him under? Why is he reacting like this?"
"He's not going to sleepwalk and rampage, is he?"
Kazuyama was beginning to think he had underestimated Tagitsuhime's Senjutsu and Genjutsu—this level of power was on another scale.
"No, right now, he's playing with a bunch of snakes. It'll take a while before he starts rampaging. Let's go."
"Aren't you going to trap more of them in the Genjutsu?"
Tagitsuhime was quite pleased with her work. As the caster, she could clearly see her target's condition, and the results were excellent.
With Kazuyama leading the way, the two moved around the Kumo base, ensnaring every ninja they encountered. One after another, they were drawn into the same illusion as A.
This was one of the abilities of Ryūchi Cave's Sage Genjutsu—it could envelop an entire environment, pulling multiple people into the same illusion. Those caught in it would have their chakra gradually drained by Tagitsuhime as she used Senjutsu to wear them down.
"Hey, Tagitsuhime, why don't you bite me too?"
"I'm a little curious about what they're actually seeing…"
She gave him a helpless look before waving her right hand. Instantly, a blue snake appeared before him, slithering into his brow.
The next second, the scene before Kazuyama completely shifted.
"Wow, is this the illusion of Ryūchi Cave—"
"Holy shit."
His words caught in his throat as he took in the bizarre spectacle before him.
What… what was he looking at?
A massive canyon stretched before him, flanked by two towering statues of giant boa constrictors. A and the other Kumo ninja ensnared by the illusion were all trapped within.
But that wasn't the strangest part.
In the middle of the canyon, countless snakes slithered—flower-patterned, green, red, yellow, every color imaginable. However, the real horror lay in what they were doing.
A's eyes glowed crimson with rage as he struggled, his body tightly coiled by numerous long serpents that bound his limbs. He thrashed violently, furiously roaring,
"Bastard! Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Meanwhile, the other Kumo ninja, completely under the Genjutsu's control, moved toward A one by one. Their hands instinctively formed the Tiger Seal…
And then—
One Thousand Years of Death…?
No.
This was something far worse.
The Kumo ninja version? No—this was the Kumogakure Hundred-Man Edition.
No wonder A's eyes were blood-red. He was pissed.
One Thousand Years of Death wasn't a technique just anyone could use. Konoha's White Fang could do it because he was ruthless.
Kazuyama could use it because he had a System.
But these Kumo ninja? They were under Genjutsu, acting purely on instinct—attacking their commander in the most humiliating way possible.
Little actual damage.
Infinite disgrace.
"Bastards! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"
"Aaahhh!"
A was already in a full rage, but no matter how much he struggled, the snakes binding him refused to budge.
This was the terrifying nature of Genjutsu—if you couldn't break free, you were completely at the mercy of the caster.
Tagitsuhime's illusion continued, and more and more Kumo ninja were drawn into the canyon. Within moments, the number had swelled to hundreds.
Kazuyama watched with great interest—until something suddenly felt off.
An unusual chakra fluctuation pricked at his senses, sending a chill down his spine. Alarmed, he immediately called for Tagitsuhime to pull him out of the illusion.
And that's when he witnessed the second thing to completely stun him that night.
"Stop! No!"
Kazuyama's voice, usually confined to internal communication with Tagitsuhime, burst out in a panicked shout.
Because at that very moment, Tagitsuhime's Sage Art—Red Fang Fearsome Phantom Technique—was being unleashed on none other than the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer Bee.
But it was already too late.
The red snake representing the Sage Art had already bitten into Killer Bee's neck.
The instant the Genjutsu took hold, crimson red chakra flared up around him.
"This is a Jinchūriki!"
The moment Tagitsuhime saw that ominous chakra, she understood why Kazuyama had suddenly panicked.
"Damn it! My senses are awful in this state!"
"What do we do?"
Kazuyama saw her expression shift drastically and didn't hesitate.
"What do we do? Run!"
Without wasting another second, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished from the Kumo hideout.
With his departure, Tagitsuhime was forced to break the Genjutsu, and all those trapped in the illusion snapped back to reality.
A gasped for breath, his crimson eyes still burning with fury. He could feel that a significant portion of his chakra had been drained—there was no doubt he had been under a Genjutsu.
"Bastard! Who the hell put me under a Genjutsu?!"
Being caught in Genjutsu wasn't the scary part—what was scary was that this illusion had targeted his greatest humiliation.
The Tiger Seals still burned in his mind, replaying endlessly, refusing to disappear.
But his anger didn't last long before turning into fear.
A furious roar echoed nearby.
"Roar!"
Hearing the sound, A's expression shifted instantly. Ignoring his own condition, he bolted out of the tent.
What he saw made his blood run cold—Eight-Tails, its eyes glowing as red as his own, already standing in the center of the camp.
"Damn it! Take it down!"
"Everyone, retreat immediately!"
At that moment, A's voice boomed louder than anyone else's.
Between the Eight-Tails' deafening roar and A's thunderous command, the entire Kumo camp snapped awake. Though, in truth, it was mostly the roar—they all knew that sound too well.
"All Jōnin, with me! We're stopping Eight-Tails!"
"The rest of you, fall back!"
Lightning crackled around A as he activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and charged straight at the rampaging beast. The Jōnin followed without hesitation, keeping pace with their leader.
Under the night sky, chaos consumed the Kumo base.
Hidden in the shadows, Kazuyama watched the Eight-Tails' rampage in shock.
"My goodness… Tagitsuhime, you always said you disliked using Genjutsu on others, but you had to use it on the Jinchūriki," he muttered.
"That guy is new to this—he doesn't have proper control over the Tailed Beast. Now look what's happened."
Floating beside him, Tagitsuhime's expression mirrored his shock.
As the Snake Princess, she had trained for years, and few things in the world could truly surprise her. But today… today was different.
This was a Tailed Beast.
"In that case, Kumo is about to take heavy losses…"
"It's already begun—the battle to suppress the Eight-Tails."
Kazuyama's gaze shifted to the flashes of blue lightning illuminating the night sky.
A had entered the fight.
But after enduring Genjutsu for so long, could he still suppress the Eight-Tails?
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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