Chương 167: NANI?!

A/N: Vnator was the only one who caught all the parts. You didn't quite connect them, but you came the closest, so congratulations, buddy! You get to be featured in a Stormbreaker chapter for your awesome insight hahahaha Shisui POV The fight had already escalated when I began weaving the illusion. With a jonin of this level, a direct genjutsu might be noticed. He would disrupt his chakra flow and break it. I needed a layered approach, subtle and insidious.

I knew the wind user would not resist eavesdropping on a whisper to Noa. When I spoke, I threaded a thin strand of chakra into my voice and let his own technique carry it back to him. The wind masked the trace within his flow. That was the first hook. When our weapons met, I angled the clash so he caught the reflection of my Sharingan along his blade. That single glimpse anchored the second layer and reinforced the first.

Then I formed a brief sequence of hand seals and let my chakra flare just enough to sell the idea of a heavy ninjutsu. His eyes fixed on my hands, trying to read my next move. While his attention stayed there, I finished the genjutsu with minute finger movements and precise control, quiet enough to slip past his senses. The layered method settled with minimal disturbance to his chakra flow, leaving nothing for him to notice. From that moment, everything he perceived belonged to me. Noa did not need the details.

This technique rests on Uchiha secrets and experience. Some knowledge is safer kept sealed, especially if revealing it would sow mistrust on the other side. Noa POV Shisui glanced at me, clearly weirded out by my sudden deep-toned line, "WAKE UP TO REALITY," as the jonin was being drawn out of the genjutsu he had fallen into. Shisui asked, brow raised, "Why did you say that, and with that rough voice?" I gave a nervous chuckle.

"Ah, it's just something I always wanted to say to someone waking up from a genjutsu." I kept laughing awkwardly. Shisui stared at me for a moment, then said dryly, "Then learn genjutsu yourself and you can say it as many times as you wish." A small chuckle escaped him.

"Weird, but the words do fit." He started laughing, and I grinned before asking, "Would you teach me, sensei?" Shisui nodded.

"I would, but you have a lot of other things you will be working on soon. We will have to schedule that for later. However, I will train you to recognize and counter genjutsu in the short term. Learning to cast it will come later." I nodded in appreciation.

"Thank you, sensei." Just then the jonin's eyes fluttered open, his expression twisting with confusion as he realized what had happened.

"I… I killed you," he stammered, staring at Shisui in disbelief. Shisui shook his head.

"No. You were in a genjutsu. The battle ended the moment you were caught." The jonin's eyes widened further. He tried to disrupt his chakra but felt only a thin, sluggish flow instead of the usual surge. Panic spread as he realized something was wrong. Looking down, he saw the suppression tag affixed to his abdomen. He tried to force more chakra out to break it, but the tag held firm, allowing only the faintest trace to slip through no matter how hard he pushed. Shisui glanced at me, impressed.

"Looks like your suppression tags are advanced enough to work on a jonin. Well done, Noa." I crossed my arms, trying not to look too smug.

"I have been improving a lot, thanks to Master Shuzo's teachings." Shisui nodded and turned his attention back to the captured man.

"You cannot escape now. Tell me who you are, who sent you, and whether there are any other teams waiting for us ahead." The jonin said nothing. Fear crept over his face, his breathing slow and uneven as his eyes moved restlessly. The longer he stayed silent, the more unsettled he looked. His gaze drifted across the clearing until it fell on the bodies of his dead comrades lying where they had fallen. They were gone, yet not gone. No sealing technique had erased them.

The sight of their still forms made his expression twist in something closer to dread than grief. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Shisui noticed where the man was looking. His voice was calm, almost casual, but his words carried weight.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice the seals placed to cut loose ends? I am more familiar with that sort of thing than you would expect." His Mangekyo turned slowly as his eyes shifted to the jonin's neck. He held the man's gaze for a moment, then let out a quiet breath.

"Unlucky for you. I have a very talented sealing expert on my team." The jonin's eyes widened in surprise while looking at me.

"At such a young age? Seal specialists usually stay in the back lines. They are rarely fighters. What are you?" Shisui's grin widened, a trace of pride showing.

"He is my student. And if things keep going the way they are, he will probably be a nightmare for your village one day." That line stirred something in me. I crossed my arms, trying not to smile too openly. Shisui went on, his tone growing colder.

"Your failsafe seal would have worked. You and your men would have been destroyed long before I could bring you back to the village. But fate is not on your side today. Not with him here." I grinned and shot the jonin a pair of finger guns.

"At your service," I said with a wink. He narrowed his eyes, looking even more unsettled, then turned his face away as if to ignore me. Shisui said, "Noa, check the pockets and inspect the bodies of the dead chunin and genin for any clues while I interrogate this jonin." A shadow clone formed beside him and gestured for me to move. It followed me closely, ready in case one of the corpses had a seal or a trap that might trigger unexpectedly. I started with what was left of the genin.

The explosion from that combination jutsu had reduced them to little more than scattered remains. There was almost nothing to examine. I could not help but feel a flicker of pity. Suna was in bad shape. They had lost the last war, and their economy had been bleeding ever since, relying on missions that more and more clients now gave to Konoha. It was a recipe for resentment and, eventually, another war born of desperation.

Still, they had started the Second Shinobi War, and they had fought against Konoha again in the Third. So there was that. Next I moved to examine two of the chunin who had been on top of the ridge. Both had been cleanly severed at the waist, then further mangled by the same combination jutsu that had killed the genin. The scene was gruesome, but it did not shake me. I had seen worse in my previous life, and I had done worse. I was still amazed by Shisui's effectiveness. The entire battle had taken very little time.

The fact that he had killed four chunin and six genin, then captured a jonin alive in less than five minutes, was incredible. Damn you, Danzo, I thought bitterly. You had to eliminate one of the strongest shinobi Konoha ever had, just to rip out his eyes. All that strength, wasted because of your paranoia and schemes. I checked the two chunin carefully but found nothing of importance. Even their weapons were plain, the standard type often carried by bandits. They had been careful.

Then I moved to the two chunin by the cart. The one at the front of the cart had nothing on him either. I then moved to the one who had been behind the cart. At first I found nothing beyond the usual tools. I was about to move on when I sensed something. It was so faint that most shinobi would never have noticed it. Only someone who worked with seals every day would recognize such a weak and subtle trace. It was hidden well. I removed the chunin's sandal and carefully split the underside open.

There, pressed flat against the sole, was a tiny tag. I studied it closely. The chakra inside was so faint it was almost nonexistent. If I had not sensed the seal itself, I would have missed it completely. I examined it with care while Shisui approached, ready to intervene if anything happened. After several moments of inspection, I decided there was no immediate danger. I looked up at Shisui, who gave a small nod, and then I activated the seal. The tag shimmered as I fed a careful trickle of chakra into it.

A thin thread of light crawled along the lines, spreading across the paper like a network of glowing veins. The glow pooled at the center, then burst outward with a soft puff of smoke. As the smoke thinned, something small and solid settled into my palm. I leaned in and saw a delicate wooden figure resting there. It was a fox. Small enough to rest in my hand, yet carved with remarkable care.

The ears were sharp and upright, and the fur was only suggested by the tiniest etched lines, fine grooves cut into the wood that caught the light and gave the surface a sense of softness. The eyes were inlaid with amber-colored glass that glimmered faintly, as if there were a spark behind them. The limbs were jointed but so carefully fitted that the seams were barely visible, hidden beneath the smooth lacquer.

Even the tail was built of three thin sections, each layered so precisely that they shifted over one another like overlapping petals. I held the little fox, feeling an unexpected weight in my chest. Foxes had always been my sister's favorite animal. I turned the toy slowly, studying the fine details. I sensed nothing from it except the faint trace of chakra, most likely left by the chunin who had carried it.

Shisui glanced at it and said in a quiet, thoughtful voice, "Judging by his age, it was probably a good luck charm. Maybe something his child gave him." The words made me pause. It was an exquisite piece of craftsmanship, far more than just a toy. I looked at Shisui and asked softly, "Sensei, can I keep this?" He hesitated. I knew he remembered the mural I had painted back home, the one with the fox among the stars. He also knew I had a soft spot for anything with a touch of art.

He studied my face for a moment, then asked, "Did you sense any seals on it?" I shook my head. He extended his hand.

"Let me see it." I placed the fox in his palm. He focused for a moment and sent a light stream of chakra into it. Nothing happened. The toy remained still and silent. He looked back at me and caught my hopeful expression. I tried my best puppy-eye look. He held my gaze for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh.

"You can keep it for now. I will mention it in the mission report as a toy. If the mission desk asks for it, I will take it back." I nodded, relieved and happy with his decision, and stored the little fox carefully into my hand seal.