Chapter 196: The Barrier of Space-Time Techniques
Chapter 196: The Barrier of Space-Time Techniques
As the intense battle raged on, Ōtsutsuki Shinichi stood on the sidelines, observing the situation while trying to determine if the Tenseigan's abilities were the same as he had learned from ancestral records.
If those eyes possessed the same powers as the Tenseigan wielded by his ancestors and could be used continuously, he would leave without hesitation. Facing a god-like figure akin to Ancestor Hamura was not something he had the confidence to do—retreat would be the only sensible choice.
Fortunately, after Hyuga Fuji used the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion and Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, Shinichi noticed that his opponent's ocular power had weakened.
This observation brought him some relief.
"So, he's not a true Ōtsutsuki. He can only temporarily awaken the Tenseigan's power? If that's the case, there might be an opportunity to capture this Hyuga ninja who awakened the Tenseigan…"
With his opponent's power waning, Shinichi began to consider a counterattack.
If he could seize this Hyuga ninja from Hyuga Fuji and unlock the secrets of the Tenseigan, he and his fellow Moon-dwellers might finally be able to awaken the Tenseigan without having to wait for a pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki descendant to be born.
Should he ally with these other shinobi or wait for them to weaken each other further?
As he deliberated, another unexpected event occurred.
The Uchiha shinobi used genjutsu—and it backfired!
---
Genjutsu is ineffective?
This was typically true for Hyuga Fuji.
Casting genjutsu on him required facing the collective mental realm of all those spiritually linked to him—a vast ocean of consciousness.
Using genjutsu against a few individuals might be manageable, but to simultaneously target thousands? Among them were Uchiha and Kage-level shinobi with unshakable wills.
Outside of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Hyuga Fuji doubted any genjutsu could achieve such a feat.
However, this situation was unique. Although Toneri was spiritually connected to Hyuga Fuji, allowing Yakumaru's genjutsu to create a link with Fuji's mental realm, Toneri's body was still his own, so there was some residual impact.
---
In the mental space…
Toneri's dazed expression cleared, his consciousness fully restored. His pupils contracted as he recognized the figure before him. "It's you?!"
Memories flooded back—the strange black substance had suddenly erupted within him, exerting mental pressure and dragging him into this ocean-like mental space.
The moment he entered, he fell into a genjutsu, reliving past memories until Yakumaru's genjutsu broke the cycle.
"You've been controlling my body?" Toneri's voice was icy. "That black creature—was that your doing?!"
Standing on the unbroken surface of the mental ocean, Hyuga Fuji smiled faintly. "You've got it backwards. You've always been my puppet. That shadow merely took over your body as it was meant to. Deep down, you know this is true."
"When Kurotsuchi was injured earlier, it wasn't serious. Yet, you seized the opportunity to avoid coming near me. Why was that?"
"I am not a puppet!"
Hyuga Fuji's words seemed to hit a nerve, darkening Toneri's expression. He instantly moved to Hyuga Fuji's side and threw a punch aimed at his stomach.
But a tail-like appendage lashed out from the side, swatting him away.
"This is your responsibility now, Chōmei."
Hyuga Fuji cast a glance at Toneri and addressed the seven-tailed beast beside him before vanishing from the mental space.
"Understood," Chōmei replied calmly.
As Hyuga Fuji disappeared, Chōmei turned its attention to Toneri, who was rising from the mental ocean's surface.
"Seven-Tails Chōmei… You think you can stop me?"
Toneri's eyes glimmered with a cold blue light.
This place was strange, different from typical mental spaces. He couldn't leave on his own. Judging by the setup, it seemed defeating Chōmei was the only way out.
"In here, you can't defeat me."
Chōmei's voice was steady, as if stating a simple truth.
Once inside the mental realm, leaving without Hyuga Fuji's permission was impossible.
Dream on!
---
In the real world…
Seeing Yakumaru suddenly collapse, Kakashi called out to Sasuke, who stood several dozen meters away: "No more holding back—tell me everything you know!"
He didn't bother asking Naruto, who was closer—Naruto's unreliability was written all over his face.
"Hyuga Fuji is immune to genjutsu… No, actually, all of his subordinates are immune to genjutsu!"
Sasuke created a shadow clone, sending the clone to explain while his main body continued attacking and supporting from range.
"The reason seems to be tied to some kind of technique Hyuga Fuji uses to link himself with his subordinates. One way to break genjutsu is through outside assistance. At times, they may appear to act as individuals, but they're not."
The clone frowned. "If you're hoping to exploit this connection to find a weakness, I'd advise against it. Hyuga Fuji has no weak points."
In other words, his mastery over ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu left no openings.
Kakashi's expression darkened.
Hyuga Fuji's taijutsu prowess was beyond question; even before he defected from Konoha, his skills had been renowned.
---
His ninjutsu—Flying Thunder God, summoning meteors, Shadow Instantaneous Body—were all incredibly powerful techniques.
And most notably, his mastery of space-time ninjutsu, including the Flying Thunder God, stood out.
The seamless use of three distinct space-time techniques made it nearly impossible to land a hit on him. Only Sasuke and Naruto could match his speed in close quarters, while Hyuga Fuji could freely launch his attacks.
At times, Kakashi felt as if they weren't surrounding Hyuga Fuji—Hyuga Fuji was surrounding them!
"Is there no way to block space-time ninjutsu?"
"It's not that simple," Sasuke's shadow clone replied with a bitter smile. "We haven't even fully explored alternate dimensions yet…"
Bang!
Yugito, in her Tailed Beast Cloak form, crashed into Sasuke's clone, dispelling it into a puff of smoke and interrupting his explanation.
Yugito, her immense regeneration already restoring her body, glanced at Kakashi's deadpan expression. Remembering what she had just done, she coughed awkwardly. "Be careful. All of us have Flying Thunder God marks on us!"
"I'm aware," Kakashi sighed.
Among those present, only he, Yakumaru, and the future versions of Naruto and Sasuke had experience fighting users of the Flying Thunder God.
Yakumaru, having trained in the Flying Thunder God technique himself, could somewhat keep up with its speed and served as a key attacker alongside Naruto and Sasuke.
Unfortunately, he had already been taken down.
Glancing at Yakumaru, who had been saved by Naruto, Kakashi sighed inwardly.
Sasuke, aware of the conversation through his clone's disappearance, addressed Kakashi's earlier question.
They did have technology to block Flying Thunder God marks, but it was difficult to deploy in combat. As for sealing space-time ninjutsu entirely, that remained a challenge even in the future.
They had merely identified a direction for research.
---
Hyuga Fuji, observing that Sasuke and Naruto had yet to reveal techniques capable of countering space-time ninjutsu, formed his own speculations about the future.
The development of any technique or technology required a reference point. Currently, the only known way to prevent Flying Thunder God teleportation was through the barriers of alternate dimensions.
Thus, researching the barriers of alternate dimensions and creating such spatial obstructions might offer a way to block space-time ninjutsu.
But that also meant… blocking space-time techniques would be equivalent to creating an alternate dimension.
(End of Chapter)
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