Chapter 220: Kakuzu Realizes Something is Wrong
The dust storm stirred up by the Eight-Tails' collapse obscured the scene on the other side.
Uchiha Ci retracted his gaze, his eyes still tinged with surprise.
There was no doubt about it—only the Sharingan could force a tailed beast into such an embarrassing state.
However, he still couldn't figure out how Uchiha Setsuna managed to accomplish this.
How did he, with just a single Three-Tomoe Sharingan, forcibly control the Eight-Tails?
From the cases in the original story, even those with Mangekyō Sharingan abilities that weren't specialized in genjutsu—like Sasuke, Obito, and Madara—could easily control the Nine-Tails.
But at the very least, they had the Mangekyō.
While it's true that tailed beasts don't have great resistance to genjutsu, their massive chakra reserves compensate for it.
Controlling a creature like this, according to Uchiha Ci's deductions, required meeting at least two conditions:
1. The huge boost in ocular power granted by the Mangekyō Sharingan.
2. A large amount of chakra to sustain control over the tailed beast.
These conclusions were drawn from the varying difficulty levels shown in the original series when different individuals controlled tailed beasts, especially the second condition.
For example, during the Nine-Tails' attack on the village, Minato realized that "The masked man's control over the tailed beast is risky, so he must be aiming to end the battle quickly."
Thus, someone like Itachi, who had low chakra reserves, would probably exhaust himself within minutes trying to control the Nine-Tails. Obito could maintain control for a duration longer than the Nine-Tails' attack, but even he had limits.
Meanwhile, someone like Madara, whose chakra reserves were so vast that he could arm-wrestle Hashirama, could control the Nine-Tails while simultaneously using his Susanoo, shouting "Hashirama!" in high spirits, and fighting for three days and nights.
The only example of a Three-Tomoe Sharingan dominating a tailed beast was when Sasuke, empowered by the Curse Mark, easily dispelled the Nine-Tails' chakra in Naruto with a single glare. At that time, Sasuke's chakra reserves were vast thanks to the curse mark, and Naruto had just fought Orochimaru, leaving him in a weakened state.
In short, Uchiha Ci vaguely felt that something unusual might have happened to Uchiha Setsuna.
At that moment, a series of shocked cries jolted Uchiha Ci back to his senses.
"Damn it!"
"Quick, stop him!"
"His target is Uchiha Ci!"
Uchiha Ci suddenly looked up and saw a figure he was all too familiar with charging straight toward him from the battlefield!
While he had been fighting Killer Bee, Konoha's side—led by Aburame Shihei, Sarutobi Shininosuke, and Hyūga Hizashi—had encountered three elite squads of Cloud Village shinobi led by Ramui.
The two sides were already locked in battle.
Among the enemy forces was Kakuzu, whom Konoha had assigned Aburame Ryoma and Sarutobi Shininosuke to barely contain. However, due to the disparity in strength, the two were now in bad shape, panting heavily and bearing wounds.
At this moment, Kakuzu hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise!
Hired through the bounty exchange by Chiyo of the Sand Village, his mission was to cooperate with the Cloud Village shinobi to kill Uchiha Ci.
But this meant the bounty would have to be split.
Initially, Kakuzu had planned to exploit the chaos of the battle between Konoha and Cloud Village to claim Sarutobi Shininosuke's head as compensation for the shared bounty. However, even though he had the upper hand against the duo, killing them would still take some time.
Now, the mission's primary target had been blasted right in front of him by a tailed beast bomb and was so gravely injured he could barely walk.
To Kakuzu, this was a windfall!
Forget Sarutobi Shininosuke—this kid's head was worth far more!
With this thought, Kakuzu broke away from his entanglement with the two Konoha shinobi and charged directly toward Uchiha Ci, who had been hurled over by the tailed beast bomb!
In an instant, Kakuzu closed the distance to Uchiha Ci.
Looking at this helpless lamb about to be slaughtered, Kakuzu's lips curled into a grin as he exclaimed excitedly:
"You little brat!"
"Your head is mine!"
As he reached out, his palm spread wide like a metal blade, slashing toward Uchiha Ci's throat.
This attack, infused with Earth Release: Earth Spear, was as sharp as a blade. If it hit, Uchiha Ci's head would be severed instantly!
Facing Kakuzu's sudden attack, Uchiha Ci's brow twitched sharply.
He instinctively activated his Sharingan, spinning its two tomoe in an attempt to use genjutsu to buy a moment's time.
However, the attack came too fast!
Moreover, Uchiha Ci's body was already at its limit, and he didn't have enough chakra to fully activate the genjutsu.
The cold, blade-like palm tore through the air, closing in with deadly precision.
"——!!"
Uchiha Ci's eyes widened in shock.
Yet, just as he thought his head would be severed and his body left to rot in the woods, Kakuzu's hand suddenly stopped.
It froze less than a millimeter from his neck, unable to move further.
Uchiha Ci gulped audibly, his Adam's apple trembling as it grazed against the lifeless-looking hand, making him shudder involuntarily.
"Did the genjutsu work?"
He exhaled deeply in relief and quickly stepped back, trying to create distance.
But then, a stern voice behind him answered his murmured question:
"No!"
"Genjutsu has little effect on this one."
As the voice fell, twenty pairs of crimson Sharingan suddenly lit up in the deep night!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Hearing the familiar voice and the rustling of robes, Uchiha Ci instinctively turned to look.
From the darkness, twenty figures leapt out.
Each pair of Sharingan was strikingly vivid, their owners clad in dark high-collared robes adorned with the Uchiha clan emblem, their waists bound with gray belts.
"Seijiro?!" Uchiha Ci's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the newcomer, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Leading the Uchiha elites was none other than Uchiha Seijiro, someone he hadn't seen in a long time!
"Ci, we can catch up later."
"This must be the bounty hunter who attacked you in the Land of Hot Water, correct?"
Uchiha Seijiro's eyes turned cold as he looked at Kakuzu, who had just escaped the genjutsu but was now surrounded by the Uchiha elites.
"To lay such a heavy hand on a twelve-year-old child—"
"You dare to think the Uchiha clan is defenseless?"
As his icy words fell, twenty pairs of Sharingan focused intensely on Kakuzu, freezing the very air around them.
Kakuzu, who had just used a replacement heart to break free from the genjutsu and hadn't yet had time to breathe, felt the smile on his face stiffen.
Looking at the Uchiha shinobi who had completely sealed off his escape routes, his heart sank sharply.
Suddenly, he realized that the situation was far worse than he had anticipated.
(Support me and read additional chapters on my Patreon: [email protected]/craxxtranslation. Thanks!)