Magatsumikoto.
That was the name of Eizumis mysterious Mangekyō Sharingan ability. Based on his numerous tests and the name itself, Hibari had more or less figured out the ability.
"From what I can tell, your 'Magatsumikoto' is an ability that can alter a jutsu's 'fate,' right? It can make my vibrant Wood Release wither and cause my Water Dragon Bullet to veer off on its own and hit the Earth Release wall, which is the natural counter to Water Release. It's a very fitting name... It's truly an impressive ability." Hibari said in a low voice.
The Uchiha clan's Sharingan abilities were often related to figures from Japanese mythology, such as Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, and Kagutsuchi. Most were named after deities, and the abilities themselves were often similar to the powers those deities possessed.
The name 'Magatsumikoto' already hinted at this. Magatsuhi-no-Kami was the god of misfortune and calamity in mythology, bringing bad luck and unreasonable fate to people.
From what Hibari had gathered, this ability could indeed rewrite a jutsu's fate. For example, it could wither his Wood Release and make his Water Release jutsu crash into a wall. As for whether it could also cause bad luck to the user, there was no evidence of that yet, so he assumed it couldn't.
Was this ability strong? In Hibari's opinion, it was incredibly powerful. It could often catch people off guard, leaving them unprepared and even doubting their own abilities.
It was only because Hibari had remained vigilant that Eizumi hadn't been able to seize an opportunity to counterattack. Hibari had also activated a very strong state to continuously suppress Eizumi.
If it were anyone else, when Eizumi used 'Magatsumikoto' to rewrite the fate of their jutsu, he would have had enough time to turn the tables and go on the offensive. If he was lucky, he might even be able to get a kill.
Also, if this ability was used skillfully, there was a lot of room for tactical play. From what he could see, it was a very technical jutsu, unlike the 'brute force' of Amaterasu or Tsukuyomi, where once you were hit, you were done for.
It had many advantages, but no ability was perfect. Hibari's Devil Fruit ability gave him many advantages, but it also made him afraid of water in the past.
Through a few simple tests, Hibari had already figured out the weaknesses of the 'Magatsumikoto' ability. His Wood Release withered twice; one time it was very effective, and the other time, it only withered halfway. His Water Dragon Bullet was rewritten twice; the first time, it crashed into a wall, and Eizumi didn't have to dodge. The second time, Eizumi had to dodge.
There was a lot to consider here. As for the Wood Release jutsu being rewritten twice, Hibari tentatively concluded that the 'Magatsumikoto' ability was not a one-time thing and could rewrite the fate of the same type of jutsu multiple times in a short period. However, the power seemed to decrease.
The first time, Hibari's Wood Release withered completely, but the second time, it only withered halfway. This was proof.
Second, the 'Magatsumikoto' definitely had a 'cooldown' period, but it probably wasn't very long, maybe three to five minutes at most. The first time Eizumi used 'Magatsumikoto' on Hibari, he rewrote his Wood Release, and then about a minute later, he rewrote his Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu.
However, just now, Eizumi rewrote the fate of the Wood Release again but failed to rewrite the fate of the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu.
Hibari noticed that when the water dragon was launched, Eizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan spun, but it didn't seem to have any effect, forcing Eizumi to dodge.
This proved that Eizumi had originally planned to use his ability to rewrite the fate of the water dragon, but he didn't time it right. The cooldown period was probably off by a few seconds or half a minute, which forced him to forcefully dodge.
Of course, there was a third deduction that Hibari had, but it had yet to be confirmed. Hibari used two different Wood Release jutsu. One was for a foothold, and the other was to bind him. The two Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu he used were the same jutsu.
This might also mean something else: that 'Magatsumikoto' couldn't rewrite the fate of the same jutsu in a short period of time, but it could forcefully rewrite the fate of a jutsu with the same element but a different technique, though with a reduced effect. It would take time for the cooldown to pass before the effect would return to normal.
Besides that, 'Magatsumikoto' had an even more fatal flaw: it didn't seem to work on taijutsu or nintaijutsu.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for Eizumi to imbue his sword with Wind Release chakra. Wouldn't it have been more surprising to seize the opportunity and rewrite the fate of Hibari's Lightning Release Armor Jutsu? If he could do that and suddenly make the armor on Hibari's body disappear, Hibari could have been seriously injured if he wasn't careful.
At the same time, when facing derived moves like Liger Bomb and Lateral Bolt of Pain: Chop, Eizumi showed no intention of rewriting their fate. He was continuously suppressed by Hibari and beaten down.
This was the advantage of Hibari's vast and mixed knowledge. As he had said before, except for genjutsu and medical ninjutsu, which he wasn't very good at, he had dabbled in everything else, including taijutsu, nintaijutsu, the five-element ninjutsu, fūinjutsu, summoning jutsu, and various forbidden jutsu and secret techniques, and he was quite good at them. This made him a versatile all-rounder.
If Hibari hadn't had a strong taijutsu or nintaijutsu and had to rely on ninjutsu to fight Eizumi head-on today, he would have been completely suppressed by 'Magatsumikoto.'
In the current situation, it was impossible for Hibari to suppress Eizumi, who had the Mangekyō Sharingan. Instead, he should have been suppressed by Eizumi, and he could have lost if he wasn't careful!
On a larger scale, shinobi who were 'not good at anything' and knew a little bit of everything like Hibari were ultimately a minority. Most shinobi specialized in ninjutsu, so they would be easily suppressed by 'Magatsumikoto.' Therefore, 'Magatsumikoto' was still a very strong ability; it just hadn't met the right opponent.
Hibari didn't hide anything and laid out all his deductions. This wasn't just idle talk; it was a psychological tactic to put immense pressure on Eizumi, showing him that his trump card had already been seen through and that he should surrender instead of struggling in vain.
As Hibari's deductions became clearer, Eizumi's expression indeed grew gloomier. He was under immense psychological pressure.
Before, Hibari, without knowing anything about his ability, was still able to gain the advantage and suppress him. Now that he knew some information, wouldn't he be even more unstoppable? Did he still have a chance to win?
Maybe not, but maybe he did. Eizumi was an old veteran, so how could he be so easily defeated by pressure? He wasn't going to surrender.
"I have to admit, you have a lot of talent when it comes to fighting. You inherited the Second Hokage's wise mind. To be able to deduce my 'Magatsumikoto' ability and its flaws in such a short amount of time with only a few exchanges is very impressive. I admire you..." Eizumi said in a low voice.
But after a brief pause, he continued.
"But many things, even if you know the secrets and principles behind them, are still impossible to overcome. This world is just that unreasonable. It's like how I knew it was normal for people to die in war, but I was still powerless when faced with my son's death. I couldn't even stop him from going to the front lines..." Eizumi said with a hint of sadness.
Without waiting for Hibari to say anything, his breathing seemed to calm down a bit, and he wasn't so out of breath anymore. Then, Eizumi spoke again. "One last thing: you're too arrogant, kid. You shouldn't have played these psychological games with me, and you definitely shouldn't have given me this time to catch my breath... 'Magatsumikoto' has fully recovered!"
But Hibari didn't feel any regret. Instead, a smile appeared on his face. "It's fine. Like you said, many things in this world are just that unreasonable. For example, even if I gave you a few more minutes to rest, you still wouldn't be able to beat me..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the lightning on Hibari's body erupted again. He charged toward Eizumi at an incredible speed, and at the same time, he began to make hand signs.
Since Eizumi said his 'Magatsumikoto' had fully recovered, Hibari decided to believe him for now. He didn't use Wood Release to grab him, but instead used a fūinjutsu...
All the previous tests proved that Eizumi's Magatsumikoto could rewrite ninjutsu, but it didn't seem to have any effect on taijutsu or nintaijutsu. This time, Hibari wanted to test him again to see if he could rewrite fūinjutsu!
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!" Hibari said in a low voice while rushing forward.
In the next second, a large amount of chakra energy instantly emerged from his body and condensed into chains, which grabbed toward Eizumi.
At the same time, Eizumi's speed was also very fast. It seemed that 'Magatsumikoto' truly couldn't rewrite the fate of fūinjutsu. With the help of his Mangekyō Sharingan, he very nimbly saw the trajectory of the Adamantine Sealing Chains and dodged Hibari's bindings.
"Wind Release: Immense Breakthrough!" Eizumi made a hand sign and exhaled a powerful Wind Release jutsu at Hibari's charging figure.
Hibari instinctively wanted to make the 'Tiger' hand sign and release a Fire Release jutsu to counter the Wind Release, which would also allow him to use the power of the Wind Release to counterattack Eizumi.
But as soon as the 'Tiger' hand sign was made, Hibari broke out in a cold sweat. He had almost fallen for that old bastard Eizumi's trick again!
Why did Eizumi release a Wind Release jutsu? Before, Hibari didn't even think about it. He just assumed that he wanted to use the power of the Wind Release to break through his Lightning Release Armor Jutsu.
But that was just an instinctive thought, which was why he was being led on by Eizumi. Following the logic of elemental weaknesses, he instinctively wanted to use a Fire Release jutsu to turn the tables.
But when he thought about it, this was a complete setup. Eizumi was using his combat experience to suppress Hibari's natural talent. If Hibari had fallen for it and used a Fire Release jutsu to counter Eizumi, he might have used 'Magatsumikoto' to rewrite the fate of that jutsu.
Who knows, Hibari might have ended up setting himself on fire with a powerful Wind Release-fueled Fire Release, and even his Lightning Release Armor Jutsu might not have been able to defend against it.
If he had exposed such a weakness, Eizumi might have been able to turn his dire situation around.
'Hmph, he's a sly old fox indeed!' Hibari thought to himself.
In an instant, all these thoughts went through Hibari's mind. It was just a fleeting thought. Faced with the oncoming Wind Release jutsu, Hibari remained rational and didn't use a ninjutsu to counter it.
Instead, he twisted his ankle and used a burst of strength to jump from the ground before the Wind Release could hit him. He spun in the air twice, perfectly avoiding the attack.
After he landed, he let out a low growl, and the lightning on his body erupted again, reactivating the 'Raging Thunder' that he had stopped before.
Under normal circumstances, with Hibari's Lightning Release Armor Jutsu activated, Eizumi could see Hibari's movements and react accordingly with the dojutsu of his Mangekyō Sharingan. But when Hibari used this burst of speed, he was a little bit slower.
As expected, in just a moment, Hibari's figure was right in front of Eizumi, and he raised his arm, aiming for Eizumi's neck.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!!" Hibari roared.
There was no time to dodge. Eizumi understood this the moment Hibari sped up. So, he didn't even try to dodge. His eyes moved, and he activated Susanoo!
The Lightning Release: Lariat directly crashed into Eizumi's Susanoo. The powerful impact sent him flying backward. Not only that, but a deep crack appeared in the Susanoo.
Eizumi's eyes spun again, as if he wanted to repair it. However, before he could do that, Hibari's figure was already right in front of him again. He condensed a powerful amount of Lightning Release chakra in his hand and let out a roar: "Hell Stab: Three-Fingered!"
Then, in Eizumi's surprised gaze, he used the technique to strike the crack in his Susanoo that was already a bit shattered. This attack seemed to have a powerful piercing force, and it actually pierced through Eizumi's Susanoo, forcing Eizumi to jump backward and dodge the fingers that almost pierced his throat.
The moment he landed, the Susanoo on his body shattered completely, from a small part to the whole thing. It was destroyed by Hibari.
However, as long as he still had dojutsu power, he could recover in a few seconds, so Eizumi wasn't too worried.
However, a smile appeared on Hibari's face. Why did he forcefully pierce and destroy Eizumi's Susanoo? Because he wanted to make it so that Eizumi couldn't use his Susanoo for a few seconds so that he could seal his victory!
Seeing the smile on Hibari's face, Eizumi felt a sense of dread. Before he could even make a guess, he heard Hibari quietly utter three words...
"Flying Raijin Technique!"
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are 50+ advance chapters available for you to read!