Danzo coldly observed the scene. After removing the metal arm guard, he slowly unwound the bandages wrapped around his arm, revealing a pale, bloodless arm. Embedded in it were seven open three-tomoe Sharingan.
Once the bandages on his arm were removed, he extended his left hand and gently pulled aside the bandage covering his right eye, exposing yet another three-tomoe Sharingan.
Bearing such a grotesque arm was all in pursuit of power, it was a condition deemed essential for achieving certain goals.
Thus, if gaining power meant his entire body becoming this hideous, Danzo could accept it.
"Your eyes will be mine..." Danzo said, staring at Ye Zi, who was holding his ground despite being surrounded by a close-combat squad. He pressed his index and middle fingers against his right eyebrow. "I'll implant them here and make them part of me."
Even though the seals had been undone, Danzo didn't immediately join the battle. The synchronized attack techniques used by the team left no space for him; jumping in recklessly would only disrupt their coordination.
Within three waves of attacks by the close-combat team, Ye Zi had endured nearly seventy strikes in less than a minute without showing any signs of defeat. This left every member of the close-combat team astonished.
And this was after Ye Zi had just come out of a major battle.
Dismissing such idle thoughts, the close-combat team suppressed their surprise and focused entirely on fighting Ye Zi.
Meanwhile, the genjutsu team had gradually identified the right moment and completed their positioning. Now all that remained was to synchronize their timing.
At the instant when Ye Zi's gaze shifted toward tracking the close-combat team's movements, they activated the genjutsu, channeling it directly into Ye Zi's eyes. With their relentless bombardment of genjutsu, they firmly believed that Ye Zi would inevitably fall under its influence.
All they needed was a single second of Ye Zi's movement freezing. That would determine the battle's outcome.
"The first one." The ninja responsible for the initial genjutsu formed a hand seal. At the perfect moment, the chakra-driven genjutsu attack caught Ye Zi's eye, entirely by chance.
"Hmm?" Ye Zi felt a faint reaction in his right eye, akin to absorbing some form of chakra-based energy. It was subtle but noticeable.
"Is this...genjutsu?"
The reaction in his right eye made Ye Zi suspect genjutsu.
Though he was holding his own against the close-combat team, he wasn't yet in a position to break through their attacks. He needed to endure two to three more rounds of assaults before he could memorize their attack patterns and sequences.
Once the opportunity arose, he could strike down all of them in less than twenty seconds, with twenty-three slashes, one for each opponent.
But before those conditions could materialize, a new round of attacks began, this time coupled with genjutsu.
Previously, Ye Zi had paid little attention to genjutsu because it had never been particularly effective against him, leading him to dismiss it as weak.
The ineffectiveness of genjutsu stemmed partly from his natural resistance to it and partly from his ability to avoid falling into it easily.
Having completed numerous missions and faced many genjutsu users, most of their techniques couldn't affect him. Even against skilled genjutsu practitioners employing subtle methods, he could typically break free almost immediately.
Thus, Ye Zi had ample experience in countering genjutsu techniques.
However, this time, he fell into genjutsu without any prior defense. Without the ability of "Divine Protection" Tenjin, being immobilized even for a moment in the midst of such intense attacks would have resulted in him being hacked to pieces.
"So, they strike while I'm tracking the trajectory of incoming blades?"
Ye Zi thought to himself without revealing any signs of being affected by genjutsu or even noticing the attack.
Now that he knew they were using genjutsu, he could leverage the power of Tenjin to turn the situation to his advantage.
The first genjutsu appeared to have failed...
The second genjutsu user in line then launched their attack, directing the illusion into Ye Zi's eyes.
Suddenly, Ye Zi sensed another faint reaction from his right eye. It felt similar to the time when Shisui had used genjutsu on him. The eye reacted, but this time the sensation was different.
The mental energy generated by the genjutsu wasn't merely resisted by his right eye, instead it seemed to be absorbed.
Having only recently awakened Tenjin Ye Zi's understanding of its effects was still limited to the belief that it could block genjutsu.
He had always underestimated genjutsu. However, witnessing Shisui's techniques, especially Kotoamatsukami which had made him take genjutsu seriously. If one Shisui could wield such formidable genjutsu, what about Madara Uchiha? How much further could he take it?
This was a peculiar feeling that came with understanding the effects of Tenjin.
Before understanding Tenjin Ye Zi had thought genjutsu didn't serve much of a purpose. If he had learned that Tenjin merely resisted genjutsu, he might have dismissed it as a useless Mangekyō Sharingan ability.
However, his first realization of Tenjin's abilities came when he fell victim to Shisui's powerful "Kotoamatsukami." That encounter immediately changed his view of genjutsu and led him to believe that the ability of Tenjin wasn't bad after all.
Now, Tenjin had helped him once again. Moreover, it gave him a vague sense that its abilities weren't limited to merely resisting genjutsu. There was something more to it, and he resolved to explore it further when he had the time.
The third illusion in line, followed by the fourth… Each illusionist unleashed genjutsu at Ye Zi in turn, and every single one succeeded in trapping him.
The sensation of absorbing mental energy grew stronger, likely because he was becoming increasingly adept at using the ability. This confirmed to Ye Zi that his right eye was indeed absorbing the energy of genjutsu.
"It's about time..." Ye Zi thought to himself as he blocked a sword strike coming from his right side and then suddenly froze in place.
This sudden halt caught everyone's attention. Their eyes lit up, it worked!
But the genjutsu team didn't stop their barrage. They continued relentlessly bombarding Ye Zi with genjutsu.
The close-combat team's coordination instantly paused, leaving a single swordsman to strike at Ye Zi's vital points. At the same time, the medical team hurled poisoned kunai at him, while the ninjutsu team unleashed a flurry of small but swift Wind Release attacks.
Sixty or seventy wind blades and the poisoned kunai flew toward both Ye Zi and the Root member who appeared to be sacrificing his life to strike Ye Zi.
The seemingly immobile figure, previously locked down by the relentless assault, suddenly sprang into motion. A spectral entity darted into the swordsman's body.
The moment the spirit entered, the Root member's body froze, as if turned to stone, while the spirit frantically absorbed his chakra.
"Wasn't he under genjutsu? And the genjutsu team hasn't stopped their attacks," many of the Root members thought in shock.
The spirit absorbed the chakra for less than half a second before retreating, as the poisoned kunai and wind blades were already upon them.
With no close-combat team to hold him back, Ye Zi easily moved out of the way. He didn't retaliate against the genjutsu team but instead turned his attention back to the close-combat team.
The Root member, who had been prepared to sacrifice his life to ensure Ye Zi's defeat, was instead shredded into countless pieces by the wind blades and pierced by the hail of kunai. He didn't die at Ye Zi's hands but met a gruesome end at the hands of his own teammates.
Without the coordinated formation, the individual members of the close-combat team, though skilled in taijutsu and kenjutsu, were no match for Ye Zi. Each was cut down in a single strike as Ye Zi advanced toward his next target.
Facing Ye Zi's onslaught, the close-combat team suppressed their confusion and attempted to reform their coordinated assault. However, having been caught off guard once, Ye Zi wouldn't fall for the same tactic again. With his longsword, he shattered their resolve to pieces, leaving their strategy in ruins.
Although the encirclement formation had failed, the close-combat team still engaged Ye Zi in battle.
During this time, the genjutsu team continued their relentless assaults, yet Ye Zi appeared entirely unaffected by the illusions.
"This is impossible!"
The members of the genjutsu team were carefully selected experts, masters of illusion techniques, and they could not accept the reality unfolding before their eyes.
At the same time... it was undeniably incredible.
The numbers of the close-combat team dwindled rapidly. Danzo frowned slightly and directly ordered the ninjutsu team to unleash their most powerful and wide-range techniques against Ye Zi. He also commanded the medical-nin to continue hurling poisoned weapons.
"But... that will wipe out the entire close-combat team."
Caught in a melee with Ye Zi, the close-combat team was also included in the range of Danzo's attack orders.
However, the Root members, true to their training, could only tell themselves to follow orders without hesitation. And so, they immediately executed Danzo's command.
A new barrage of poisoned kunai and powerful ninjutsu surged toward Ye Zi...
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Currently on Chapter 490 - An Tragedy that Echoes Across the Lands