Chapter 54:
"It's not genjutsu, it's suggestion," Shuyu explained simply.
It could be considered a branch of genjutsu, but it wasn't as useful. It had no effect on opponents who were either stronger, evenly matched, or possessed strong mental fortitude. Moreover, suggestion only controlled the enemy's body—their consciousness remained intact, and they could still speak. So, using it to extract intel was essentially impossible.
"Sasuke said, 'Shuyu had already used suggestion on you while I was explaining the combat rules.'"
For the sake of his character setup, Mitsuki's strength should be on par with 13-year-old Shuyu. Since Sarada had the Sharingan, she could resist it, which made Boruto the easiest target for suggestion.
"Tch, that's so sneaky—making a move before the fight even started! Uncle Sasuke, why didn't you warn me earlier? This match doesn't count!"
Mitsuki looked at Boruto with a cheerful smile as he threw a tantrum.
"You didn't tell Shuyu that you had smoke bombs prepared before the match either," Sasuke responded flatly, unmoved by Boruto's whining.
Sasuke had long since grown used to this kind of thing. It reminded him of Naruto. Back when they used to spar, Naruto would always throw a fit and come up with all sorts of excuses whenever he lost.
"What a boring match that was," said a boy in white as he stepped out from the woods nearby. A short, stout man, also dressed completely in white, followed behind him.
"Those are... Mom's clan's Byakugan eyes... Are they from her clan?" Boruto muttered as he stared at their Byakugan.
"You're definitely not from the Hyūga Clan. Who are you?"
Sasuke eyed the two warily, subtly preparing to strike first if necessary.
He already had some guesses about their identities based on their Byakugan.
"I am Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki," said the white-robed youth.
"I am Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki," said the stout man behind him.
The moment they spoke, Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of them in a flash, swinging his longsword. But the attack was easily blocked by two battle axes formed from the red ring behind Kinshiki.
"Let's go, quickly!"
Though Sasuke didn't say it outright, Itachi immediately understood his intent—he was stalling for time.
"But… Dad..." Sarada looked worriedly at Sasuke.
"You staying here won't help Sasuke at all. Hurry and go get Naruto!" Itachi grabbed Sarada's hand and teleported away, while Mitsuki grabbed Boruto, who was itching to charge forward.
"Kinshiki, you handle this one. I'll go capture those four brats," said Momoshiki.
"Please be careful, Lord Momoshiki," Kinshiki replied while clashing with Sasuke. Using that brief moment of conversation, Sasuke's attacks suddenly became fiercer.
"Hmph, just four little brats," Momoshiki said as his body levitated into the sky.
Sasuke wanted to stop him, but Kinshiki kept tangling him up. Besides, they weren't far from the Hidden Leaf Village. Sasuke didn't dare unleash powerful jutsu, especially since he couldn't be sure whether Kinshiki also possessed techniques of equal power.
If two high-powered jutsu collided, it could easily wipe out half of the nearby village. That was why Sasuke had been relying on taijutsu and kenjutsu. What he didn't know was that Kinshiki specialized only in taijutsu and had no real aptitude for ninjutsu.
"That guy—Momoshiki—is catching up!" Sarada glanced back. With her single-tomoe Sharingan, she easily spotted the floating Momoshiki pursuing them through the sky.
"A jutsu that lets you float in the air..." In Uchiha Itachi's memory, there were only a handful of jutsu that allowed flight, and all of them were extremely rare. He searched his memory but couldn't find anything matching Momoshiki's ability. "You go find Naruto. I'll stop him."
"Hey, Shuyu…"
Boruto started to say something but was cut off by Mitsuki. "Boruto, trust Shuyu. He's the strongest among us. And once Lord Seventh arrives, Shuyu will be safe."
"Shuyu, be careful," Boruto said through gritted teeth, then picked up speed again.
"Hmm? You actually stayed behind alone to buy time for your friends?" Momoshiki said.
---
[Grandma Knock Chatroom]
Flaming Cloud Evil God: I've been attacked by two guys with Byakugan.
SpongeBob: Where are you? Patrick and I will head over right now.
Flaming Cloud Evil God: Near Training Ground No. 1 on the east side of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Gray Wolf: Wow, someone actually dared attack a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?
Patrick Star: Gray Wolf, who are you?
Gray Wolf: I'm a member of the Avengers Division.
Patrick Star: So you're just like Flaming Cloud Evil God. He's in the Avengers Division too.
Patrick Star: Gray Wolf, what's your real identity?
Gray Wolf: Identities like ours should be kept confidential, right?
...
Orochimaru, who had long been obsessed with researching the Hulk, rarely had time to use the Grandma Knock Technique. This was his first time appearing in the chatroom.
Cautious as ever, Orochimaru didn't reveal his true identity. Since everyone in the chatroom operated under code names, it was clear that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't want its members exposing their identities to each other.
Uchiha Itachi frowned at this new S.H.I.E.L.D. member who suddenly appeared in the chat.
Gray Wolf… Another member of the Avengers Division like himself?
Despite his confusion about Gray Wolf's identity, this wasn't the time to worry about such things.
"Hey, hey—you're in the middle of a fight and still have time to zone out?"
Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki suddenly appeared in front of Itachi, reaching out with his right hand.
"That's the Rinnegan!" Itachi was shocked to see a Rinnegan in Momoshiki's palm.
"You actually recognize the Rinnegan?" Momoshiki said as he formed a black rod using Yin-Yang Release from the Rinnegan and hurled it at Itachi.
Itachi turned into a flock of crows and scattered, regrouping at a distance.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Itachi created a shadow clone and sent it charging at Momoshiki. When it was still some distance away, it suddenly exploded.
"That was close," Momoshiki said, raising his right hand and standing unscathed before Itachi.
"So the Rinnegan in his right hand can absorb jutsu too?"
Momoshiki didn't bother hiding any information. On the contrary, he boasted openly, "It doesn't just absorb jutsu. I can also amplify the jutsu I absorb and fire them back—like this..."
Momoshiki raised his left hand. In his palm was yet another Rinnegan.
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