Pursuit!
Shirō was highly regarded by many in Konoha. The giant bird puppet he had constructed was proof enough of his skill and ingenuity. Everyone could see that if the Eagle Project was ever completed, it would reshape not only shinobi tactics but also the balance of wealth and influence within the village.
Beyond his inventions, Shirō had already earned the recognition of powerful figures. He had successfully become a disciple of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, and maintained a close bond with Minato Namikaze, the brightest star among Konoha's younger generation and the likely successor to the Hokage's seat.
Even Uchiha Yuexuan, an elite jōnin and one of the Uchiha clan's geniuses, was relieved that Shirō and Uchiha Taiyi had a strong relationship. If the two ever became rivals in the race for the Hokage position, the political fallout within the village would have been disastrous.
What shocked Yuexuan the most, however, was that according to Taiyi's own words, Shirō's combat strength was comparable to his—and might even surpass it.
This was no small thing. Taiyi was an Uchiha prodigy whose mastery of genjutsu through his Three-Tomoe Sharingan could overwhelm most jōnin instantly, unless they possessed enormous chakra reserves or specialized countermeasures.
Yet somehow, Shirō could ignore his illusions altogether.
Yuexuan was mistaken on one point, though. Shirō's resistance to genjutsu did not come from his own skill in the art. Instead, it was the result of a Noble Phantasm.
After losing to Taiyi's Sharingan once, Shirō had carefully studied ways to resist genjutsu. He could have pursued illusion arts himself, but that would have stretched his abilities too thin. His foundation was Projection Magic, and everything else—Reinforcement, the Eight Extremities Fist, the Spiraling Qi Blade—existed to support it.
He reasoned that if magecraft and ninjutsu could interact, even imperfectly, then perhaps other Noble Phantasms designed to break magical bindings could also work on genjutsu. His hunch was proven correct. Ruler Breaker, though unreleased, interfered with chakra systems much like it did with sorcery.
Through repeated testing, Shirō confirmed that illusions cast by a Three-Tomoe Sharingan or below were completely ineffective against him. He had no chance to test the Mangekyō Sharingan yet, but he suspected its ocular techniques carried authority beyond what an unreleased C-rank Noble Phantasm could resist.
Even so, immunity to three-tomoe genjutsu alone made him virtually untouchable by most illusion specialists in the shinobi world.
Of course, Taiyi still posed a threat. With his Uchiha physique and mastery of Fire Release and kenjutsu, Taiyi could still fight Shirō evenly without relying on genjutsu.
At that moment, a coded message arrived from the forward ANBU: they were closing in on the border battlefield. Everyone immediately tensed and began double-checking their gear.
Shirō's role had been limited to transporting the unit from Konoha to the border on his giant bird puppet. With several sensory-nin already assigned to reconnaissance, he wasn't needed for intelligence gathering this time.
Meanwhile, on the run, Pingyi's squad had been trying to buy time with misinformation and illusions. Unfortunately, Kumogakure's forces had already narrowed down their trail. Pingyi's chakra reserves, drained by both genjutsu and Shadow Clones, were running thin. Illusionary tactics would no longer hold back the encirclement.
"Takeda! Did you get the signal?" Pingyi called.
"Not yet, Mito-sensei!"
"Tch. Damn it—we're almost at the border. Someone should be waiting for us there. Move faster!"
But fate wasn't on their side. At the outpost, the last Konoha defender had already fallen, his body collapsing lifelessly before them. Kumogakure had been faster and had closed the trap.
And then it happened.
With a thunderous boom, a towering figure landed behind them, his body crackling with blue lightning.
"Rats—I've caught you!"
The squad froze in disbelief.
"Impossible… how could he move this fast?!"
It was none other than A, heir to the Raikage and future Fourth Raikage. Normally, his raw speed wouldn't have closed the distance so quickly, but after being repeatedly harried and delayed by Pingyi's tactics, his fury had reached its limit. Abandoning caution, A had pushed his immature Lightning Release Armor to its limit, straining his body to the edge.
The other Kumogakure ninja, knowing his reckless temper, accelerated their pace to back him up before he burned himself out—or worse.
Pingyi exhaled slowly, steeling himself. His hand slid to the hilt of his katana. Wind Release chakra flowed along the blade, sharp and invisible, while faint arcs of lightning danced across his body.
"Leave A to me. All of you, handle the others."
"Understood, Pingyi-sensei!"
Takeda gently set down the captive they were protecting. He and Miyue immediately rushed the oncoming Kumogakure shinobi, while the injured Kogami planted himself defensively in front of the prisoner, katana trembling in his grip.
"Hmph. A handful of rats still clinging to life?" A sneered, lightning flickering around him.
Pingyi narrowed his eyes. "Whether it's futile or not—we'll see."
With a burst of speed, he flashed forward and swung his blade at A.
Clang!
A casually blocked with his left arm, then drove his right fist forward like a thunderbolt.
Pingyi retreated instantly. He knew what would happen if even one punch landed. From here on, it was speed versus speed—his only chance was to strike from angles A couldn't turn toward fast enough.
And so, the deadly dance began.
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