Gentle Fist Surprise

"Impressive reaction and speed, but…" Although the kunai in his hand was firmly gripped by the suddenly intervening boy, Uchiha Itachi's eyes held no trace of panic. Neither Kurenai Yūhi, the genjutsu expert, nor this boy, who hadn't even activated his Sharingan, could possibly escape his Mangekyō Sharingan's unique genjutsu—Tsukuyomi!

"Close your eyes, Ying!" The moment she sensed Itachi's intent to use a dōjutsu, the recently revived Kurenai shouted a warning. "Don't look into his Sharingan!"

"Too late. Without a Sharingan like mine, you can't possibly break my Tsukuyomi… What?!" Itachi confidently tried to yank his kunai free, but found his hand still firmly held. The boy had even taken advantage of his momentary lapse to grab his wrist along with the kunai.

"Impossible! You're completely unaffected?" Itachi was astonished. He couldn't find the boy anywhere within Tsukuyomi's dimension.

"Sorry, your prized Sharingan seems completely useless against me." With one hand gripping Itachi's wrist, Uchiha Ying's other hand was already charged with the chakra of the Rasengan.

"That jutsu again…" And at such close range! Itachi desperately tried to wrench his hand and kunai free, but it was too late.

Rasengan! Ying mercilessly slammed the Rasengan into Itachi's chest. But the expected sensation of piercing flesh didn't come. The Rasengan hit only air.

*Caw caw!* *Flutter flutter.* Itachi's body suddenly transformed into dozens of crows, then vanished.

"A pre-prepared crow substitute?" Ying frowned. In the instant of the attack, Itachi had not only used the Crow Substitution Jutsu but also put distance between them.

"To evade Itachi-san's genjutsu… you're no ordinary kid." The clash between Ying, Itachi, and Kurenai had been but a blink, yet to Kisame Hoshigaki, watching from the side, it felt like an eternity.

"Your hand…" Seeing Itachi forced back, Kurenai immediately turned her attention to Ying's bleeding left hand. "Such a reckless way to save me… You were too impulsive."

The blood flowed on Ying's body, but the pain was Kurenai's.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Sensei. I wasn't trying to save you. I just wanted to catch him off guard and restrain him." Though it seemed he'd failed. But he had succeeded in making Itachi wary of using that genjutsu so carelessly.

"You!" If they weren't facing a powerful enemy, Kurenai would have kicked her student's backside. Was she blind? He'd clearly saved her, yet refused to admit it. What an arrogant student!

"But, Sensei, neither of them is the type you can handle with genjutsu. Don't use those techniques again." Ying had wanted to warn her earlier, but before he could speak, Kurenai had already cast her genjutsu.

"Neither of them?" It was true that her genjutsu had no effect on Itachi, but that shark-faced man…

"That guy's sword, Samehada, is a living being. It can instantly jolt its wielder awake from genjutsu." Seeing Kurenai's questioning look, Ying explained.

"So that's why he broke free from my genjutsu so quickly." Kurenai nodded in understanding.

"But that means my role is minimal now. How do you plan to deal with these two?" Facing two ninja immune to genjutsu, Kurenai felt a headache coming on. Were they really going to die here? Damn it, she'd promised her father she'd raise the next generation before she died…

"Simple. Taijutsu." Byakugan! He'd practiced the Gentle Fist quite a bit recently. Maybe he could try it against Kisame.

"Taijutsu? Wait, that stance is!?" Seeing Ying adopt the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist stance, Kurenai couldn't believe her eyes.

---

"I don't know where you got all your intel, kid, but you're not leaving this place alive."

Water Style: Great Exploding Water Wave Technique

No longer careless, Kisame decided to transform the area into his favored water-based terrain. As long as he was in water, with his ability to breathe underwater and Samehada's chakra-absorbing properties, he would be invincible.

"I can't let him use that jutsu!" But Ying anticipated his move.

Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms! Fortunately, Kisame was a by-the-book ninja who meticulously formed hand seals, and the Great Exploding Water Wave Technique required several.

Ying's Gentle Fist successfully interrupted Kisame's jutsu. And, because his hands were occupied with seals and Samehada was lowered, Kisame could only use his body to withstand the storm of Ying's Eight Trigrams Palms.

"That's the Hyūga clan's secret technique! How can he use it?" Not only Kurenai, but even Itachi was stunned. For an Uchiha to learn the Hyūga's Gentle Fist was unbelievable. However…

He'd initially intended to eliminate all the Konoha ninja present, but now, realizing he couldn't easily kill them, Itachi hesitated. If even Kisame was struggling, he'd have a reason to retreat. After all, it was best to avoid killing Konoha ninja if possible. But…

A normal Uchiha without a Sharingan could resist his Tsukuyomi? The thought of this mysterious and powerful Uchiha Ying made Itachi determined to press on. Leaving such a dangerous person near Sasuke was unsettling.

"Your opponent is me!" Seeing Itachi staring at Ying with a conflicted expression, Kurenai immediately attacked with her kunai. She assumed Itachi's behavior meant he planned to ambush Ying while he was fighting Kisame. So even knowing she was outmatched, she decided to buy Ying some time.

Meanwhile, Itachi, still hesitant, had to draw his own kunai to deal with the attacking kunoichi.

---

"Ying… Ying is actually using the Gentle Fist…" And better than she could! Hinata, watching from a distance, was thunderstruck. But… how… how was this possible? The way Ying moved, his techniques, his habits… How could they be so similar to the "Ying" she saw every night in her dreams?