The moment the black, scorching flames of Amaterasu silently engulfed Yuahara, a layer of bright blue chakra simultaneously covered his body.
He wasn't sure if the Chakra Shield: Focus Guard could block Amaterasu. Before, he would never have risked testing it.
But now that he had Voidstep, that terrifying space-shifting ability, he had the capital to run a few dangerous experiments.
The best way to counter Amaterasu is to stop it before it even touches your actual body—with a layer of something external the flames can burn through instead.
The Focus Guard could theoretically do this. Yuahara's only fear had been whether Amaterasu would pierce through it instantly.
System-produced jutsu had always proven reliable, and for standard ninjutsu, the Focus Guard had already passed with flying colors.
But this wasn't ordinary ninjutsu—it was Mangekyō Sharingan-level.
Even if in the original story Amaterasu never straight-up killed anyone, Yuahara wasn't taking chances. After all, he'd killed plenty of people with "non-lethal" fire jutsu.
Vmmm—!
The black flames flared across Yuahara's form, but were immediately stopped by the brilliant blue chakra shell around him.
The sound of chakra sizzling echoed out as the barrier burned, yet Yuahara himself remained completely untouched.
Focus Guard had held. Even though it was burning out fast, it had proven it could briefly withstand Amaterasu.
"Doesn't last long… but it's enough. As long as it hits the chakra, I can just abandon that part."
He mentally cut the burning chakra from his body. The Amaterasu flames dropped to the ground and began devouring the surroundings like a wildfire.
Yuahara nodded. The shield was chakra—disposable.
He also noticed something else: Amaterasu's power wasn't drastically stronger than his own Blackflame. Even if it was technically stronger, it wasn't by much.
"Looks like I've already picked up some of endgame Sasuke's traits... Just, y'know, minus the final boss cheat codes."
He grumbled internally—he knew damn well how far he still was from endgame Sasuke.
Still, he didn't have time for side thoughts. His attention zeroed in on Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi's face had gone stiff. Up until now, no matter how conflicted or suffocated he'd felt, he'd kept a flawless calm.
But this—this had rattled him.
He'd gotten stomped in taijutsu. Sure, it was only kenjutsu, but the difference was brutal.
He hadn't used ninjutsu yet because he'd heard Yuahara was a monster when it came to that.
Instead, his best chance had always been a sneak attack with a Mangekyō ability.
He had gone with his most destructive: Amaterasu.
And it hadn't even touched Yuahara.
Stopped by blue chakra.
"Was that… Susanoo?"
Itachi muttered internally. But he didn't have time to think. Yuahara was already closing in again.
He raised his sword to block, but a split-second later, pain shot through his stomach—Yuahara had landed a brutal kick, launching him backward.
"This isn't working. He's good at ninjutsu, but I didn't expect his taijutsu and dojutsu to be that damn strong, too… then—"
Itachi made a decision.
He had to gamble on genjutsu.
He didn't believe for a second that Yuahara could be good at everything. No one was.
Sure, he had taijutsu, ninjutsu, sword skills, and probably more. But genjutsu? Mangekyō-level genjutsu?
That was his domain.
Even if Mangekyō Sharingan could resist illusions, this wasn't just some basic technique.
"Hmm?"
Yuahara, pressing hard, suddenly frowned. He saw Itachi's Mangekyō rapidly build up chakra.
Was he planning to use Amaterasu again?
Still blocking Itachi's blade, Yuahara drove a left hook toward Itachi's face.
He was only fifteen or sixteen—his enemies had always been older. He was usually at a physical disadvantage.
But not this time.
Itachi was younger. His body wasn't as developed. For once, Yuahara had the edge.
And hell, he was enjoying it.
But then—a strange force surged out. Yuahara's awareness faltered.
In that moment, he knew—he'd been caught in a genjutsu.
His vision shifted.
He found himself nailed to a cross, suspended in a world of gray and white—with one blood-red moon staring down from the sky.
It was obvious.
He'd been pulled into the Tsukuyomi.
"What the hell is with this family and illusion magic? First the dad, now the son—both yanking people into blood-red dreamlands. Guess they are related, huh."
Yuahara muttered internally, but at the same time, he let out a small sigh of relief.
Tsukuyomi was a nightmare-tier illusion. Kakashi himself couldn't resist it.
Though to be fair, Kakashi hadn't unlocked Mangekyō then, and wasn't using his eye properly.
Still, even among Mangekyō techniques, Tsukuyomi was up there.
But even so, Yuahara wasn't that worried.
Because in some twisted, cursed way, thanks to his cucklord lineage…
He was a natural-born genjutsu slayer.
(End of Chapter)