Tree Bind Killing was an extremely powerful genjutsu. The caster transformed into a large tree behind the opponent, using its branches to bind their movements.
So, when the Sand Ninja girl saw that the Leaf's Lightning Flash didn't react at all, she thought her illusion had succeeded. A victorious smile was just about to appear on her face—when Tatsumi suddenly moved.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from within the vines. His afterimage gradually dissipated, while the real Tatsumi appeared midair, arms crossed, looking down at her. His Sharingan spun rapidly—an eerie sight that made her heart drop.
"You're the first person to try a genjutsu on me. Should I commend your boldness... or call you arrogant?" Tatsumi said with a calm smile.
"It's just a pity—your illusion isn't even half as good as mine."
"Damn it!"
The girl's face flushed red at his mocking words. Now she knew she'd been played. But this was the same genjutsu her teacher had praised—and yet, it had no effect on him.
Was this the power of the Sharingan?
She felt like grabbing a kunai, charging in, and fighting him for three hundred rounds. And when that failed, maybe stomp on his smug face with her pantyhose-clad legs. But it was all just a fantasy—because she was already bound tightly by the very vines she had conjured.
Obviously, her genjutsu had been reversed on her. Worse yet—she couldn't even dispel it.
An unbearable humiliation for a genjutsu user.
"Karura… are you okay, Karura?!"
Pakura's panicked voice rang out. But Karura's eyes were already dull and unfocused. Pakura knew what that meant—her teammate had fallen into an illusion.
Karura dropped the kunai in her hand with a clang, then fainted like someone struck down by a thunderclap.
"Huh?"
Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. He'd just heard Pakura call the girl "Karura"… Wait—that name sounded familiar.
He looked more closely—shoulder-length sandy blonde hair, black ninja outfit, pretty cute face. She would've looked nice, if not for the drool running down her chin like someone having a seizure.
Then it clicked.
She looked a lot like… Temari?
Oh no...
So Tatsumi just ravaged Gaara's mother in the illusion world?
Okay, maybe "ravaged" was a bit much. Let's say "beat up." That sounded less evil. Besides, no one saw what actually happened in the illusion.
But seriously—first he beat up Rasa, Gaara's dad, and even cut off the arm he probably used for all sorts of teenage venting…
Then he shredded Gaara's little pet, Shukaku, with Lightning Release.
This grudge was getting way out of hand. It was practically generational at this point.
The Sand Ninja captain, seeing another teammate collapse, rushed forward in fury.
He launched a spinning kick—using his right foot as the pivot, left foot swinging upward, his torso twisting with momentum. The blow whistled through the air, aimed right at Tatsumi's head.
Tatsumi crossed his arms in front of his chest, Lightning Release surging across them.
It wasn't the full Chidori Stream, just a localized charge that enhanced his defense and caused minor paralysis on contact.
The kick landed. Tatsumi felt the impact—but it wasn't as powerful as expected.
Still, something felt off.
The original force had come from right to left, but he sensed a shift—from bottom to top.
The captain had sacrificed some of the blow's strength… to change its direction.
Before Tatsumi could adjust—bang! He was launched into the air.
"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"
Pakura's furious voice rang out. She'd broken past the defense of Minato and Mikoto and now leaped high into the sky.
Tatsumi's instincts screamed—this was a trap.
Sure enough—
"Scorch Release: Phoenix Ascending!"
Pakura hovered midair, surrounded by dozens of massive Scorch Release fireballs. So that's why she hadn't attacked earlier—she'd been preparing this devastating move.
With a sharp wave of her arm, the fireballs shot toward Tatsumi like flaming meteors.
Even from afar, he could feel the searing heat.
The technique resembled Guy's Morning Peacock—but while that one generated fire through physical force, Pakura's Phoenix Ascending was purely ninjutsu—and arguably even more destructive.
The fireballs blazed across the sky, bright as dawn, trailing tails like a phoenix in flight.
"Nawaki!" Tatsumi shouted midair.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Nawaki inhaled sharply, then expelled a vast torrent of water in a circular barrier. The wall rose like a fortress—but it wasn't enough. The B-rank technique shattered almost instantly under the barrage of blazing orbs.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
Without hesitation, Nawaki kept forming seals. He poured all his chakra into the jutsu.
The water bullets launched like a missile barrage, tearing upward toward the sky.
In the space of just a few meters around Tatsumi, water and fire collided in a fierce explosion!
Steam exploded outward as boiling water met searing flames. The temperature spiked instantly. Clouds formed overhead as the moisture condensed.
Tatsumi could feel it—the heat, the wetness, then dryness again, over and over.
He took a breath—and immediately regretted it. The air was thick, almost suffocating. The collision had produced scalding steam, rapidly spreading and shrouding the battlefield in white mist.
"So hot..."
Tatsumi shook his arms and descended to the ground, retreating from the worst of the steam.
He landed cleanly, stabilizing himself. But his vision was nothing but blinding white now. He couldn't see anything—enemy or ally.
Fortunately, he had Dabai.
Through the little white beast's senses, Tatsumi pinpointed the enemy positions.
Without hesitation, he charged straight into the thick mist!
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