"Not good, the time limit's up!"
Upon seeing the cracks forming, Uchiha Fugaku's expression changed dramatically.
He knew the time limit of the True Illusion Technique had run out. The genjutsu was about to be released.
With his current ocular power, he couldn't maintain such a powerful genjutsu for long during an intense battle.
"Crack—"
With a final shattering sound, the scene before Uchiha Fugaku and Orochimaru abruptly changed.
The plateau that had been completely leveled during their battle reappeared, as if restored.
All traces of their previous battle vanished without a trace.
"What's going on?"
The sudden shift startled Orochimaru. He looked around in confusion, unsure of what had just occurred.
But it didn't take long for him to piece it together what had just happened, or rather, what had happened over half an hour ago.
"What a terrifying genjutsu!"
He looked toward Fugaku, who stood several dozen meters away, a look of wariness flashing in his eyes.
If his guess was correct, then he had been trapped in this rogue ninja's genjutsu since over thirty minutes ago.
And the illusion had been so real—even someone of Kage-level like himself hadn't noticed a thing.
Since the battle took place in an illusionary space, it made sense now how the opponent could repeatedly open the Eighth Gate of Death without dying.
"So the entire fight happened inside the genjutsu? It was all fake?"
As this thought crossed his mind, Orochimaru became aware of his own condition—and a look of horror appeared on his face.
That battle wasn't fake!
The proof was in the massive drain on his chakra—more than half of it had been consumed, leaving him with only a fraction remaining.
If it had been a mere illusion, his chakra wouldn't have been depleted like this.
Which meant… the battle hadn't been just a simple illusion.
"If I had been killed inside that genjutsu space… what would've happened?"
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
His instincts told him—if he had truly died in that genjutsu world, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
"He's not the strongest among Kage-level shinobi in terms of raw power, but in terms of survivability—he's absolutely at the top."
Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes at Orochimaru.
He had originally intended to kill Orochimaru during the battle, but Orochimaru's survivability was simply monstrous. Even after destroying his body multiple times, Fugaku had still been unable to finish him off.
"If I had Amaterasu… I could've killed him."
In his mind, facing a monster like Orochimaru—who could regenerate from a single piece of flesh—the only viable solution was a jutsu like Amaterasu, whose black flames could burn everything to ash.
"In a way, Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan really is a hard counter to Orochimaru. No wonder Orochimaru suffered so many defeats at his hands."
He recalled the battle between Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi.
Although Itachi hadn't managed to completely kill Orochimaru, he had forced him into hiding for a long time. If it weren't for Sasuke's help, Orochimaru might never have returned.
Fugaku had no doubt that his current strength was at least equal to, if not greater than, Itachi's at the time. Unlike Itachi, he could use the Mangekyō freely, without worrying about the consequences.
The reason he couldn't replicate Itachi's results wasn't due to a gap in power—but because Itachi's specific techniques were simply more effective against someone like Orochimaru.
"That genjutsu just now… that was no ordinary illusion. Are you a Kekkei Genkai user? When did such a terrifying bloodline appear in the shinobi world?"
Orochimaru stared intently at Fugaku, his tone heavy with suspicion.
The darkness of night reduced visibility.
He had been trapped in the illusion even before getting close enough to clearly see Fugaku's eyes—so he never realized that Fugaku was using the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Orochimaru, this is no longer the era you knew."
Fugaku chuckled softly, his voice turning cold.
The Sannin had once commanded great renown, but their era was fading. Their names no longer carried the same weight.
"Arrogant… but you've earned the right to say that."
Orochimaru's expression darkened.
If someone had dared speak to him like this earlier, he would have struck them down without hesitation.
But now… even though he didn't agree with the words, he had to admit—the man before him had the qualifications to say them.
"You may leave now. Or… do you still wish to fight me again?"
Fugaku's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light, the threat clear in his tone.
"The Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku… I'll leave it to you."
A flicker of anger crossed Orochimaru's face, but it quickly morphed into a cold smile as his body slowly sank into the ground.
His chakra reserves were nearly exhausted. He no longer had the energy to continue fighting—retreat was his only option.
After confirming through sensory techniques that Orochimaru had truly withdrawn and wasn't lurking nearby, Fugaku turned his attention back to the battle between the Kaguya clan and the elite Mist shinobi.
Because their fight had taken place entirely within the genjutsu, it hadn't disturbed the outside world. The clash between the Kaguya and Mist forces had gone on uninterrupted.
Corpses of the Kaguya littered the streets, one after another.
Yet those still standing showed no signs of grief or fear. Instead, they fought with the same savage glee as before.
As if sorrow and fear were emotions they never possessed.
Among them, the strongest was a middle-aged man—the same one who had delivered the pre-battle speech earlier.
His body was covered in bone spikes, and he wielded a bone sword. Any Mist ninja who got close was instantly slain.
The only one able to match him was a young woman with long, reddish-brown hair—she could spray acid and corrosive mist from her mouth.
She was none other than the future Fifth Mizukage—Terumī Mei.
After a prolonged clash, the middle-aged man fell—his body gravely wounded, his internal organs exposed. He died under the pressure of Terumī Mei's dual Kekkei Genkai.
By then, very few Kaguya clan members remained.
"It's time to move."
Fugaku sank into the ground, stealthily heading toward the Hidden Mist Village.
Shikotsumyaku, the Kaguya's Kekkei Genkai, could be traced back to Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Its potential was undeniable.
You only had to look at other bloodlines connected to Kaguya to understand:
The Uchiha's Sharingan, which could evolve into the Rinnegan.
The Hyūga's Byakugan, which had the potential to become the Tenseigan.
Fugaku was convinced that Shikotsumyaku also held tremendous hidden power.
As for the genetic disease that afflicted Kimimaro, he had already investigated—it was an anomaly, not a trait shared by all users of the bone pulse.
If it were a high-risk trait, the Kaguya clan wouldn't have lasted this long at all.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/XenTronix