Ch 178: Is this an illusion

Before anyone realized it, the sun had long been hidden behind thick clouds, casting a dim shadow over the forest. The chirping of distant birds had grown faint and sporadic.

Tatsumi glanced at Minato and noticed his arm was already burned. Mikoto also looked fatigued, a sign that the previous battle hadn't been easy for her either.

"Are you okay, Minato?" Tatsumi asked.

"It's just a minor injury, but be careful of their Scorch Release—they're mostly signless ninjutsu," Minato replied, shaking his head.

Right now, he wasn't a match for Pakura. Her various signless Scorch Release techniques had him at a disadvantage in every way.

The Sand ninja captain, who had been blasted away by Tatsumi's Super Strength punch, was now clutching his bleeding right arm. Two girls stood next to him, both watching cautiously.

As for the puppeteer—his body lay lifeless on the ground, his puppets scattered, his corpse in complete disarray. It looked like he'd been brutally handled. Nawaki, who stood nearby, seemed a little too pleased. It was clearly his handiwork.

"Sharingan. Lightning Release. Chunin. Young." The Sand ninja captain muttered four words in quick succession.

"I'm honored to meet the infamous Konoha Lightning in person," he said, squinting at Tatsumi.

The two girls froze in surprise and immediately focused their full attention on him.

As the one who had defeated the One-Tail, most of the Sand Shinobi were familiar with that name.

Tatsumi, now recognized, remained expressionless. But in his heart, he cursed: Am I already that well-known? Has my intel leaked? Looks like I'll need to start using a wider variety of ninjutsu. With the Sharingan, it's not like I can't copy whatever I want anyway.

Kakashi must be miserable. The one original ninjutsu he ever created—Chidori—had already been copied by Tatsumi. And now, Tatsumi was eyeing his "Copy Ninja" title too.

Is there no justice in this world?

While Tatsumi was lost in thought, the Sand ninja captain continued, "Judging by your reaction, I guessed right, didn't I? A young Konoha ninja."

The captain had read everything from Tatsumi's slight hesitation. While not 100% certain, he was at least 80% sure.

"You didn't return to Konoha with the main troops… but appeared here instead. That says a lot," he added calmly.

He had originally believed the Konoha ninja showing up here was a coincidence. Now, he no longer thought so.

Everyone knew the Konoha Lightning was a disciple of Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Sannin. If he was here, Orochimaru had to know as well. That meant Konoha had likely discovered the secret deal between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.

Tatsumi didn't expect that his silence would allow the enemy to deduce so much. But that was the difference in experience—it had nothing to do with strength.

"I admit this mission has failed. You can return and report it. Let's end it here. We'll go our separate ways. What do you think, Konoha Lightning?" the Sand ninja captain said softly.

A moment ago, both sides had been fighting to the death. Now, they were calmly negotiating. The contrast was sharp—almost ironic.

But the Sand ninja captain had been a Jonin for years. He knew exactly what to do to minimize losses.

Now that Konoha had discovered them, killing this squad wouldn't help. And he didn't believe he could defeat them easily, either. In this situation, the best move was to retreat with his team.

That way, he could keep his subordinates safe and bring critical intel back to Sunagakure as soon as possible. The sooner the village learned, the quicker they could respond. If they stayed to fight, they'd likely be wiped out.

"We have no personal vendetta. There's no need for more casualties. If you push this fight, your team might die too. You don't want that, do you?" the captain said earnestly.

"But I need evidence," Tatsumi replied flatly. "Without it, the Fire Daimyo won't acknowledge anything."

"I understand," the captain said, then added, "But I should warn you—I have a time-based agreement with Ryuma, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. If I don't show up, they'll come looking. And if they find Konoha ninja here, they'll try to silence you. Dragging this out helps no one. Don't you agree?"

Tatsumi froze for a moment. He hadn't originally planned to let the Sand team go, but now that the Twelve Guardian Ninja were involved, the stakes had changed.

If they were coming, he needed to wrap this up quickly.

Without another word, just as the Sand ninja captain was about to continue speaking, Tatsumi suddenly raised his hand—and without warning, hurled not a shuriken, but a Chidori Sharp Spear, crackling with lightning, directly at them.

The Sand team, already on edge, reacted instantly.

Even before the spear reached them, the Sand ninjas scattered left and right with quick reflexes.

They had just witnessed the destructive power of Tatsumi's Lightning Release—dodging was the only sane move.

One of the girls threw a kunai at Tatsumi in retaliation.

He didn't flinch. He simply tilted his head slightly to dodge. A basic kunai like that wouldn't slow him down.

"Careful," Mikoto warned as she pulled out a kunai and stood behind Tatsumi.

It turned out the thrown kunai had doubled back—launched again from behind using chakra threads.

Remote chakra thread control? Puppet technique?

Several thoughts flashed through Tatsumi's mind.

But at that moment, the three Sand ninjas launched their coordinated assault.

The Sand captain arrived first. This time, he didn't make the mistake of trading fists. He and Tatsumi exchanged three rapid blows. Tatsumi finally spotted an opening and kicked him hard in the abdomen, forcing him to retreat.

As he pulled back, Pakura's Scorch Release followed—six fireballs, under her control, arced toward Tatsumi and his teammates.

The fireballs expanded as they neared. Tatsumi's Chidori sliced through them effortlessly, letting the remnants strike the trees behind with a hissing sizzle.

Then, the other Sand kunoichi arrived. She quickly formed hand seals, her fingers flipping with practiced precision.

Suddenly, Tatsumi's body froze.

A tree erupted from the soil, growing rapidly. Vines shot out and wrapped around him tightly, binding him like some kind of ritualistic restraint.

Wood Release? …No way.

Tatsumi's expression twisted into something between confusion and amusement.

"This is genjutsu? You're actually trying to use genjutsu… on me?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Girl, are you sure you're not here just to be funny?"

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