Grrr…

Fujin and Raijin growl fiercely as they resist the genjutsu. ​​

Ah…

Their bodies quiver slightly and they slowly regain their motor control.

"What? How could it be?!"

Ayaka's eyes widen in horror.

"How can they break free from my genjutsu? It was one of my most powerful genjutsu which directly affects the brain."

She anxiously stares at the Stupid brothers.

"Do they not have a brain?" She asks herself.

HAAH…

Fujin breaks free from the genjutsu. He furiously takes a step forward.

Squish…

Fujin feels a soft feeling under his feet.

"Huh?!" He stares at his feet and notices a pair of giant rice balls squashed under his feet.

"OUR LUNCH!" He yells furiously in anger.

Fujin's expression turns dark, and he releases an intense red aura from his body.

"NANI?!" Raijin breaks free from his stupor and notices the squashed rice balls.

"MY FOOD!"

Veins pop out on his forehead and his muscles bulge out as he tightly clutches his fists.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR SQUASHING OUR FOOD!"

Rajin releases an intense blue aura from his body as he riles up his chakra.

"I AM PISSED! I WILL SMASH YOU TO A PULP!"

Both brothers angrily charge towards Ayaka.

Ayaka's expression turns grave. She slowly stands up and activates her Sharingan.

"Hanabi! I will stall them for a while. You should escape in the meantime. We will reunite later and plan a new strategy." Ayaka turns to Hanabi.

"But Ayaka! They are too powerful!" Hanabi protests.

"Hurry and leave! I still have some tricks up my sleeves."

Ayaka makes some hand signs.

Chirp… chii…

Lightning flickers through her left hand as she gathers a large amount of lightning chakra in her palm.

"Chidori: Raikiri Lightning Blade"

Ayaka dashes towards the Stupid Brothers.

"Kono!!"

Raijin waves his fist to smash Ayaka into pulp.

Whoosh…

Ayaka tilts her head and dodges his punch. She aims the lightning blade for his neck.

Haah…

Raijin crosses his arms to block her attack.

Stab… Chii…

Ayaka slashes the lightning blade at his arms.

Slash…

Blood leaks from his arms as Chidori pierces the outer layer of his skin.

"RAIJIN!"

Fujin glares at Ayaka. He lifts his wide arms to smash her head.

'I won't be able to dodge it!' Ayaka bites her lips as she continues her attack on Raijin.

BAM…

Fujin punches Ayaka, but an invisible wall blocks his attack.

"Ah!"

Ayaka blinks in confusion as she notices Fujin is held by something in mid-air.

"Hmph… in the end, you still need my help!"

Yakumo slowly walks out of the forest. She has a painting in her hand.

Swish…

She swipes the brush and a bolt of lightning falls from the sky.

Buzz…

The lightning hits Fujin and knocks him away.

Yakumo has a smug expression on her face, but her flushed face with beads of sweat rolling down her forehead gives her away.

Fwoosh…

Ayaka dissipates her Chidori and performs a somersault to maintain her distance.

"Damn you!"

Fujin angrily stands up from the ground. His hairs are charred a little and smoke rises from his body.

"Nii-san!" Raijin clenches his fists as his arms bulge with chakra. His wounds heal rapidly.

Both brothers lose their last shred of sanity and charge at the trio in a berserk state.

Huff… Huff…

Yakumo breathes heavily. She turns to Ayaka and asks her.

"Where is our target?"

She looks around in Mizuki's search.

"He isn't here. He went in that direction!"

Ayaka points deeper in the bamboo forest.

"We were on the cusp of catching up when these two meat monsters attacked us! They are blocking our only way to target!" Ayaka replies to her.

"I… I see!" Yakumo nods her head.

"It's evening already. We can't delay any further or else the enemy will get away and we will fail our mission!" Yakumo grits her teeth.

She turns to Ayaka and Hanabi.

"I will hold these guys back. You two move forward and catch up to the culprit!"

"Are you sure?" Ayaka raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, I am! My body is too weak to catch up with your pace. I will trap these fools in my genjutsu and buy time for you!" She squeezes these words out of her clenched teeth.

"Alright! Then good luck!"

Ayaka nods her head.

Both Ayaka and Hanabi pick up their pace and dash out of the bamboo forest.

In mid-air,

Hmm…

"So, these stubborn girls are willing to compromise if the situation demands it." He stares at Yakumo in amusement.

Yakumo lifts her brush and leaves another stroke of her brush on the paper.

She draws a pit of fire on the painting. A similar fire pit appears on the ground and surrounds the Stupid brothers.

Hmm…

Izuna stares at the process with interest as he tries to comprehend the principle behind her Kekkei Genkai.

"This is not a simple genjutsu which only utilizes Yin release. Instead, this Kekkei Genkai utilizes Yin-Yang release. It affects the mental realm in such a way that the genjutsu manifests in the physical realm.

Only through the use of Yin-Yang release can one create form out of nothing. But…"

Izuna scans Yakumo's body.

There is no fluctuation of chakra in her body, but there is a strange chakra manifested in her brain.

"It seems like this Yin-Yang Release has something to do with that strange chakra. Unfortunately, I can't replicate it. Otherwise, it would be a very nice jutsu in my arsenal."

He helplessly shakes his head.

"For now, I will study her jutsu and decipher it completely. There is something strange with her chakra."

He diverts his attention to Ayaka and Hanabi, who are sprinting through the bamboo forest.

---------------

In the bamboo forest,

Sniff…

Ayaka's nose twitches slightly. She stares in a distance.

"I can smell the fresh scent of blood. There must have been a battle here recently."

She hastens her pace, with Hanabi closely following her behind.

The duo arrives at the end of the forest. They notice a trail of blood leading out of the forest.

Hmm…

Hanabi notices a small rug of cloth wedged at the end of a sharp bamboo shoot.

"This cloth…"

She presents it to Ayaka.

"Hmm… this seems to be a piece of chunnin flak jacket. I have seen Nii-san's flak jacket countless times and I am sure of it!"

She grabs the rug and follows the trail.

"This should be a piece of Iruka Sensei's clothing. The other person is a prisoner so he must be in prison clothes, not in a chunnin outfit." She speculates.

Whoosh…

They pursue the trail.

A giant cavern appears in front of them. There is a giant pool of blood in front of the cavern.

"We have to hurry up! Iruka Sensei seems to be in danger!"

Hanabi and Ayaka dashes towards the cavern.

They reach the entrance of the cavern and notice a badly wounded Iruka resting against a rock.

Cough… cough…

He coughs out some blood. There is a small hole near his chest. A giant Fuma shuriken is wedged in his back and there are multiple scars across his legs and arms.

"Iruka Sensei!"

Ayaka and Hanabi quickly dash towards him to support him.

Ah!

Iruka weakly opens his eyes. He notices Ayaka and Hanabi rushing towards him.

"You two stop!"

He weakly signals them to stop.

"There is a powerful criminal inside this lair. You two quickly run from here and inform the Konoha jounins!" He waves his hand to send them away.

"But Sensei… we are here to help you!"

Ayaka and Hanabi walk towards him.

Clang…

Hanabi slowly pulls out the Fuma shuriken without affecting his blood flow. Ayaka takes out a medicinal paste from her storage and applies it to his wounds.

She forks out a pill and passes it to Iruka.

"Sensei! This pill will help you recover slightly."

Gulp…

Iruka gulps down the pill. His condition improves slightly.

"You two! Quick, get out of here! The enemy inside is out of your league." He warns them.

"But Sensei!" Ayaka and Hanabi try to explain, but Iruka insists on leaving.

Haha…

A peal of maniac laughter rings in their ears as a white-haired man walks out of the cavern.

"No one will leave anywhere!"

The man has a beaker in his hand. There is a crimson red solution inside the solution.

He slowly swaggers out of the cavern and stands in front of the group.

He waves the beaker with the solution in front of Iruka.

"Isn't it beautiful Iruka? This thing…"

He waves the beaker in front of Iruka.

"It contains power. A power far beyond your reach. Now I will attain that power."

He brings the beaker near his mouth.

Gulp… Gulp…

Mizuki chugs down the liquid in a single sip.

Clang…

Mizuki clutches his throat as his body twitches wildly. The beaker falls on the ground and shatters into countless glass fragments.

AAAH… Argh…

Large amounts of chakra surge around his body. Various black marks appear on his body as they frantically absorb Nature energy from surroundings.

A vortex of Nature energy forms above Mizuki's head as the Nature energy is forcefully pumped in his body.

In a far corner on the other end of the forest,

"Hoh! It's more effective than I thought!"

A cloaked figure adjusts its spectacles as Mizuki's reflection appears in them.

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