Chapter 193: Brothers in Misfortune

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Brothers in Misfortune

Kawa suddenly breaking free of the genjutsu and taking Homura away left even the usually stern-faced Fugaku staring with his mouth agape, an unmistakable look of shock on his face.

If Homura, who also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, was able to break free of Fugaku’s Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu, that was still something Fugaku could understand.

But for Kawa to break free of his Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu as well was completely beyond his expectations.

Seeing this, the Uchiha elites at his side immediately grew anxious and prepared to give chase.

Fugaku raised a hand and stopped his clansmen.

"Don’t chase them!"

"Clan Head, why aren’t we going after them?"

"Are we really just going to stand here and watch them escape?"

The Uchiha elites looked at Fugaku in confusion.

Breathing lightly from exhaustion, Fugaku said grimly, "That Homura... is a member of our Uchiha clan. And he possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan as well!"

At Fugaku’s words, all the Uchiha clansmen froze.

After a moment, one of them cautiously asked, "Clan Head... could he be Shinichi?"

As far as these Uchiha elites knew, there were only three members of the Uchiha clan who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan: Uchiha Shinichi, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Fugaku, who had only recently revealed to them that he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan as well.

Everyone in the clan knew Shisui’s straightforward personality, so they immediately ruled him out.

Thus, the only person these Uchiha elites could think of was Uchiha Shinichi, who had defected from the village not long ago.

Fugaku shook his head and said through gritted teeth, "He’s not Shinichi, and he’s not Shisui. If my guess is correct, he may very well be the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Incident—the one who caused our entire clan to be isolated by the village!"

"What!?"

"So it was that bastard!"

"Clan Head, then that’s even more reason we shouldn’t let him get away!"

The Uchiha elites immediately erupted in fury.

Having recovered somewhat, Fugaku let out a soft sigh. "He was able to break free of my Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu. His ocular power is no weaker than mine. In a one-on-one fight, even I can’t say with absolute confidence that I could defeat him! As for that Kawa... he was actually able to break free of my Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu as well. For the moment, even I can’t figure out the depths of his abilities."

In Fugaku’s eyes, the threat posed by Kawa had suddenly risen by an enormous degree.

It wasn’t because Kawa possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

It was because Kawa had been able to break free of his Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu.

As far as Fugaku was concerned, no Kekkei Genkai could compare to the Uchiha clan’s Sharingan—not even the Byakugan, the dojutsu Kekkei Genkai possessed by another clan of Konoha!

"Clan Head, then what should we do?"

After pondering for a moment, Fugaku said, "Summon Shisui. We’re hunting Kamigami!"

......

As they sped through the forest, Hyuga Kagami and Shisui repeatedly glanced back. When they realized that Fugaku had not led the Uchiha elites after them, they both breathed a sigh of relief, though they also found it somewhat strange.

Shisui asked, "Senpai, why didn’t the Clan Head and the others chase us?"

After thinking for a moment, Kagami smiled. "Maybe we scared him off!"

The genjutsu Fugaku had used against Kagami and Shisui was clearly one of his Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu. Since both Kagami and Shisui had managed to break free of it, it was only natural for Fugaku to become wary of them.

Putting himself in Fugaku’s shoes, if Kagami encountered two enemies who were seemingly unaffected by his trump card, he wouldn’t dare recklessly pursue them either.

What Fugaku clearly hadn’t realized, however, was just how great a price Shisui had paid to break free of his Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu.

To escape, Shisui had consumed at least seventy to eighty percent of his ocular power.

After all, Fugaku had seized the initiative and cast his Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu first. Shisui, on the other hand, had only forcibly mobilized his ocular power to break free after he had already fallen under the genjutsu.

Thus, in this clash of ocular power, Shisui had clearly been at a disadvantage.

As for Kagami, who was controlling his Water Release clone, he actually had no way to resist Fugaku’s Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu either. He could only rely on the Dragon Vein’s chakra to passively dispel the genjutsu.

And it took a certain amount of time for the Dragon Vein to free Kagami from a genjutsu.

In a battle between experts, that brief amount of time was already enough to determine victory or defeat.

Therefore, if Fugaku had actually led the Uchiha elites in pursuit right now, it was hard to say how things would have turned out.

Shisui asked curiously, "Senpai, were you not caught in the genjutsu just now?"

Kagami shook his head. "Your Clan Head’s genjutsu is extremely powerful. I was caught off guard and fell into it as well. Fortunately, you were there to stall for time, giving me enough time to calmly break free."

Shisui smiled bitterly and sighed wearily. "So it really was just as you said, Senpai. The Clan Head has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan too."

At this point, Shisui no longer harbored even the slightest hope that he might have been mistaken.

Fugaku had deliberately concealed the fact that he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan. In Shisui’s eyes, this could either be seen as Fugaku’s distrust toward the village’s upper echelons, or as evidence that Fugaku was preparing for a coup.

Kagami said, "Don’t worry. Your Clan Head isn’t a decisive man. We still have time!"

Shisui hurriedly asked, "Then what should we do next?"

Kagami smiled and was just about to say something when two extremely powerful chakra signatures suddenly appeared within the range of his Byakugan.

However, because they were still too far away, he couldn’t clearly make out their appearances.

Even the Byakugan’s vision had a maximum range. Beyond that limit, it could only barely perceive vague chakra signatures and was unable to discern any specific details.

Kagami immediately said to Shisui beside him, "Stop. There are people ahead!"

Shisui halted. "Who are they?"

Kagami focused his vision and observed them for a while.

Gradually, the corners of his mouth curled into a grin.

Seeing Kagami suddenly start smiling as he stared into the distance, Shisui was utterly confused.

"Senpai, what did you see?"

Kagami casually replied, "It’s those two guys from the Akatsuki. Come on, let’s go over there!"

Before long, the two groups encountered each other in the forest.

Kagami looked Sasori and Kakuzu up and down, and the grin on his face grew even wider.

Kakuzu was dressed in rags. The Akatsuki’s eye-catching black cloak with red clouds had been more than half destroyed, leaving little more than the collar and half a sleeve. He looked utterly miserable.

Compared to Kakuzu, however, Sasori was in an even sorrier state.

His entire left arm was missing, seemingly torn off by brute force, and his face was deathly pale, making him look as though he had suffered severe blood loss.

At the same time, Sasori and Kakuzu were also sizing up Kagami and Shisui.

The black cloak Kagami wore was similarly torn and tattered, and the wounds left behind from his battle with the Uchiha elites were clearly visible.

Beside Kagami, Shisui was breathing lightly, looking as though his chakra had been almost completely exhausted...