"Your eyes are sharp, but that expression doesn't suit you right now!" Isamu waved his right hand, and the wooden vines lashed forward, striking Uchiha Itachi directly.
With a single strike, Itachi's shirt was torn open, leaving deep crimson welts across his body.
Despite the intense pain, Itachi gritted his teeth and stubbornly refused to surrender.
"Persistence alone is meaningless!" Seeing that Itachi still refused to yield, Isamu controlled the vines to lash him again and again, looking every bit as though he intended to beat him into submission.
Soon, Itachi's upper garment had been completely shredded, and his upper body was covered in countless vine marks.
The spectators watched with uneasy expressions. Tsunade, in particular, clenched her fists tightly. Even she felt that Isamu was going a little too far.
"Huff… huff… Grandfather, this isn't enough. Hit harder!" Itachi declared. As he spoke, the Three Tomoe in his Sharingan trembled slightly.
At that moment, Isamu sensed something unusual. Narrowing his eyes at Itachi, he thought:
So you've cast a Genjutsu on me? Even now, you're still looking for a chance to counterattack. Itachi… returning to Konoha really means that much to you? Very well. I'll give you an opening.
With that thought, Isamu secretly left behind a Wood Clone while quietly slipping away from his original position.
"Still talking back?" the Isamu clone said coldly as it prepared to control the vines once more.
At that moment, however, Itachi suddenly noticed a flaw in his grandfather's defense.
Now!
"Grandfather, you were careless. This is my chance!"
A kunai slid into Itachi's hand from his sleeve. With a burst of strength, he severed the Wood Release restraining his limbs. The instant he landed, he lunged toward Isamu while rapidly forming hand seals.
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
A massive fire dragon dozens of meters long roared toward Isamu, while Itachi charged directly behind it.
"Hmph. Such a simple Ninjutsu."
The Isamu clone calmly shook its head. A black Six Paths receiver appeared in its hand and was hurled straight through the flames.
The black rod instantly dispersed the fire dragon before continuing forward, piercing straight through Itachi's chest.
Yet the moment it struck, Itachi's body exploded into dozens of crows and vanished.
"Oh? A Crow Clone… combining Genjutsu with shadow clones? Interesting."
Watching the flock scatter, Isamu looked genuinely intrigued.
The next instant, five more Itachis burst from the surrounding forest with kunai in hand.
Without hesitation, Isamu activated Chidori, extending it into a Chidori Sharp Spear.
The crackling blade swept through the five attackers with ease.
But as each one dissolved into a cloud of crows, five more appeared.
Again and again, the cycle repeated.
The clone destroyed them as quickly as they appeared, yet they continued coming endlessly.
The Isamu clone was beginning to grow irritated.
If the real me didn't want to give the boy an opportunity, I'd have shattered this annoying Genjutsu long ago. Fine… let's keep playing.
"Damn it. This is getting irritating!"
Finally losing patience, the clone slammed its hands together.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
Countless gigantic trees erupted from the earth, surging toward every newly appearing Itachi clone.
Each time another Itachi appeared, the trees immediately struck, only for another clone to emerge elsewhere.
Watching everything unfold from the shadows, the real Isamu smiled in satisfaction.
"Excellent… truly excellent. Applying Genjutsu to both yourself and your opponent simultaneously… continuously blurring the line between illusion and reality while wearing down the enemy's patience. No wonder my clone is getting irritated."
"Itachi… I've already given you your opportunity."
"Whether you can seize it depends entirely on you."
Hidden deep within the forest, Itachi maintained the Crow Genjutsu while carefully observing the battlefield through his Sharingan.
Seeing his grandfather becoming increasingly impatient, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Good.
Grandfather's composure is beginning to crack.
Soon… I'll have the chance I need.
Meanwhile, the spectators were utterly baffled.
"Father," Kong asked, "what's happening with the Former Clan Head? Why is he struggling so much against nothing but clones?"
Zhan frowned.
"Itachi's strategy is brilliant. His endless clones stall Lord Isamu while gradually wearing down his concentration and patience."
"But… with Lord Isamu's mental strength, he shouldn't be affected this easily."
"What exactly is happening?"
"Don't judge only by appearances," Garuda suddenly said.
"The truth isn't always what you see."
Everyone immediately turned toward her.
Through the Tenseigan, Garuda had already seen through everything.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
"It appears that Isamu is the one trapped… but the one fighting right now is merely a clone."
"In the end, Itachi is still no match for the experienced Isamu."
The group instantly understood.
So the one battling Itachi all this time had only been a clone.
They had thought Isamu had grown rusty with age.
Instead, he hadn't even personally entered the fight.
Tsunade clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"That guy is unbelievable!"
"He's only using a clone!"
"If Itachi finds out later, it'll crush him."
"He's absolutely shameless."
She wasn't worried about Isamu in the slightest.
Her concern was entirely for her eldest grandson.
On the battlefield, the clone's apparent impatience convinced Itachi that the decisive moment had finally arrived.
His chakra reserves were nearly exhausted.
This would be his final chance.
While the clone remained occupied controlling the Deep Forest Emergence, Itachi silently slipped behind him using the Body Flicker Technique.
Finally…
If you had waited any longer, I wouldn't have been able to keep pretending.
The Isamu clone smiled inwardly.
In the next instant, Itachi appeared directly behind him, pressing a kunai lightly against his back.
With a faint smile, he declared,
"Grandfather… you were careless."
"This assessment…"
"I've won."
The Isamu clone immediately dispelled the Deep Forest Emergence and replied calmly,
"Very good."
"Very good."
"Very good."
"To remain calm under pressure and seize the single opportunity to turn defeat into victory…"
"You've done exceptionally well, Uchiha Itachi."
----------------_-_-_------------------
Read 50 advanced chapter on
👉 patreon.com/Master_fic