"Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Shisui. I've heard your great names, but you're not up to much. Or perhaps..." Mukai took out a cigarette, lit it, took a satisfying drag, then exhaled. "...the overall level of the Shinobi World has fallen to this extent?"
Mukai's mocking attitude made Kakashi and Shisui frown. Obito's fists clenched until they crackled.
"Stop wasting time. Let's take him down!"
Obito said through gritted teeth.
Kakashi and Shisui exchanged a glance, nodded. Kakashi said, "Use long-range Ninjutsu. Fight from a distance."
"Mhm!"
Obito roared, circling around from the left.
Shisui instantly understood Obito's intent, circling from the right. Though a step slower, his faster speed achieved synchrony.
"Do you think I'll obediently wait for your three-sided pincer?"
Mukai said contemptuously, veins bulging around his left eye. A white pupil replaced the original black one. His figure moved rapidly first towards Kakashi.
[Lightning Release: Lightning Beast]!
Kakashi didn't panic at all. Forming hand seals, purple lightning erupted from his hands, transforming into a panther that galloped and tore towards Mukai.
"Purple lightning!?"
Mukai showed surprise but didn't slow his movements in the slightest. The two met in an instant.
But the anticipated collision or lightning baptism didn't happen. Mukai's right hand turned into a palm-blade, thrusting forward. That purple lightning beast was split in two from the middle, passing by Mukai on either side.
Kakashi seemed not to have expected this, stunned and frozen on the spot. Mukai, his momentum unabated, arrived close, his palm-blade forcefully piercing through Kakashi's chest.
Poof!
Kakashi turned into smoke and vanished from the spot.
Shisui and Obito, having circled to left and right, launched their attacks.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]!
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]!
Already having formed hand seals, a massive fireball large enough to engulf Mukai appeared at each of their mouths, attacking Mukai with rolling waves of heat.
Mukai quickly turned, both hands swinging with his body's turn, tracing bright white arcs on either side.
The fireballs directly hit.
No.
The fireballs were split in two before Mukai.
But the three didn't see Mukai use any technique, nor did it seem like some special energy around him. To them, it was as if the fireballs split on their own before reaching Mukai.
"Being able to use the Gentle Fist, which severs an enemy's Chakra, indicates he is very familiar with Chakra Flow. Ninjutsu is dense Chakra. If one can see Chakra Flow clearly, then cutting it isn't difficult."
Mukai enjoyably explained to the three while charging towards Shisui.
Shisui's face darkened.
Although he had Taijutsu above average, the other was a Gentle Fist user. Their speed wasn't something comparable to the opponent's. No wonder his expression was unpleasant.
"I'll help!"
Obito yelled, joining the fray as well.
Although they initially planned a long-range attack strategy, Mukai was already engaged with Shisui. Continuing the previous tactic would only include both in the attack range.
Moreover, the other's Taijutsu level had reached the level of cutting Ninjutsu. With the Byakugan's 360-degree vision, using Ninjutsu further would be difficult to be effective.
Kakashi stood atop a tower behind, overlooking everything.
Earlier, when Mukai charged out of the Great Fireball and attacked Obito and Chukichi, Kakashi had used a Shadow Clone.
His initial thought was to bypass Mukai and directly seize the Mechanical City's control.
But he searched around and still couldn't find a way into this tower.
He also tried using Ninjutsu to blast a large hole, but even his currently most powerful Purple Lightning Secret Technique couldn't leave the slightest mark. So he abandoned the idea of bypassing Mukai.
He quietly observed the fight below... Although it was two against one, and both possessed Mangekyo Sharingan, they were still at a disadvantage in close combat.
"The enemy is a Gentle Fist expert. Gaining the upper hand in close combat is difficult. Victory must come from a long-range, single decisive strike... Sharingan's Genjutsu!" Kakashi lowered his head, thinking about strategies.
The Sharingan is a Dojutsu.
Injecting Chakra into one's own pupils, using technique to deceive the opponent. In other words, wherever the gaze reaches is the Sharingan's attack range.
Eye contact isn't just caused subconsciously. Making the enemy think it's just ordinary scenery, then intersecting with the enemy's line of sight. Making Obito or Shisui's visual axis perfectly synchronize with the enemy's can create an opportunity for eye contact without the opponent noticing.
Shisui and Obito had been waiting for this opportunity.
They engaged the enemy in close combat, striving to make Mukai's posture and their own visual axes coincide.
Once the Sharingan is activated, as long as there's a tiny crack in Mukai's psychological layer, they can gradually erode his mind from there.
But the initial strike is the problem.
Mukai, possessing the Kekkei Genkai, Byakugan, that can see Chakra Flow, would certainly be highly wary of the Sharingan.
As soon as Chakra Flows into the eyes, it would warn him like a bright lamp in the dark, making him subconsciously avoid eye contact.
From observation, Mukai had been on guard against Sharingan's Genjutsu, seeming very familiar with the Sharingan. This made Kakashi dismiss relying on Sharingan's Genjutsu for victory.
'Even if I join the battle, victory isn't assured. So only that method remains!' Kakashi pondered briefly, a plan formed in his mind.
He still didn't move, hiding atop the tower, waiting for an opportunity.
As teammates, Shisui and Obito, seeing Kakashi hiding for so long without emerging, understood his general intent. They began jointly guiding the battle towards Kakashi's hiding spot.
'Closer, closer, closer...'
Watching the fighting trio get closer to his hiding spot, Kakashi continuously calculated the distance.
Finally, the three fighting horizontally on the tower wall... especially Mukai, were with their backs to Kakashi's hiding spot less than five meters away.
'This position, it's possible!'
Kakashi took a deep breath, both hands quickly forming seals, Lightning-Nature Chakra coiling around his hands.
[Chidori]!
Kakashi suddenly burst forth with extreme speed, vanishing like lightning.
Chidori… an A-Rank Ninjutsu he developed at thirteen, possessing extremely strong penetrating power.
Moreover, being Lightning-Nature Chakra, it has the function of activating cells, greatly increasing the user's speed during the technique.
But precisely because the speed is too fast and the lightning too dazzling, making it hard to see ahead, it became a technique unsuitable for actual combat.
However,
If the target is just less than five meters away, back turned, that's another matter.
This distance, he could cover it instantly.
And with the enemy back to him, there would be no precautions, no worry about being injured due to not seeing the enemy's attack.
Lightning flashed. The moment Kakashi vanished, he simultaneously appeared behind Mukai. Then he was grabbed by the neck and lifted.
"I wondered what strategy you had hiding there. Turns out it's just a sneak attack?" Mukai mocked, grabbing Kakashi's neck and throwing him towards the two attackers.
The Byakugan possesses 360-degree, blind-spot-free vision and see-through vision up to a kilometer. So Kakashi blocking the angle, using a Shadow Clone for replacement, even his main body hiding behind the tower… none escaped his eyes.
Mukai didn't expose it, also thinking to see if he could turn the scheme against them, capture everyone in one move.
And indeed, he lucked out.
The moment Kakashi used the technique to charge, Mukai acted. He extended his right hand claw-like backwards, grabbing Kakashi's neck... The entire process was like with Kakko earlier, as if Kakashi offered his own neck.
Thud!
Kakashi's body flew sideways, crashing into the two, knocking them off the tower wall.
Mukai quickly pursued.
Thud! Thud! Thud!!!
The three landed one after another, suffering several fractures from the fall. But they endured the pain, standing up immediately.
But the moment they stood, their feet appeared on an Eight Trigrams pattern.
"This is?"
Shisui seemed to think of something, sharply turning. But what greeted him were palm strikes to his chest and abdomen.
[Eight Trigrams: Two Palms]!
Two palms struck, no time even to breathe before attacking again. This time, a four-hit combo.
[Eight Trigrams: Four Palms]!
[Eight Trigrams: Eight Palms]!
This time, an eight-hit combo.
Shisui attempted to counterattack, but the other's offense flowed seamlessly, without the slightest gap.
Mukai seemed to mock Shisui's action as a storm-like attack came, like raindrops falling on Shisui. Each strike made him spit blood, staggering back.
Suddenly, Mukai halted the attack, upper body leaning back.
Obito's flying kick passed over Mukai's face, kicking Shisui, sending him flying.
"Ah!"
Obito was stunned, instinctively wanting to apologize. But intense pain came from his lower back, and he himself flew amidst the sound of bone breaking.
[Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm]!
Mukai retracted his right palm emitting hot smoke, spit out the just-finished cigarette butt, and took out another to light.
"Hah..."
Mukai took a deep drag, slowly exhaled, then looked at the three struggling to get up from the ground.
Shisui had taken the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms... although not fully completed and he still had some flowing Chakra, but the main pathways used for Ninjutsu were sealed. Internal organs also suffered varying degrees of damage.
Obito had his spinal bone in the lower back broken.
If not treated quickly, his rest of his life would be spent paralyzed in bed.
And Kakashi... When Mukai grabbed his neck, he had squeezed, intending to snap it.
But due to Obito and Shisui's timely rescue, Mukai wasn't sure if he completely snapped it. But Kakashi now lay on the ground, without movement.
"Truly some skill, worthy of your reputations in the Shinobi World." Mukai, confirming the outcome, deactivated the Byakugan. Then he carefully recalled the battle... Obito's final kick came from his Byakugan's blind spot.
The Byakugan, though boasts 360-degree, no blind spots, actually only the Main Family have truly no blind spots. Branch Family have a one-degree blind spot.
This was a secret within the Hyuga Clan, but for this war's victory, the Hyuga Clan told this secret to Konoha's few high-level officials.
From Kakashi's sneak attack from behind, this entire thing was his strategic plan targeting this blind spot.
Kakashi never thought his sneak attack could succeed. After all, the other had the Byakugan; attacking from behind was a joke.
But Kakashi still did it, to distract Mukai's attention, giving Obito or Shisui a chance to sneak attack from the blind spot.
Of course, he calculated Obito and Shisui's speed of coming to rescue, trusting they could save him in time.
Although there was still risk, it wasn't large.
He trusted Obito.
But...
"'Training' is a process of continuously overcoming one's weaknesses. Using Taijutsu to cover the Byakugan's blind spot was the first step of my training. Don't underestimate this uncle, kids!"
"Kohinata Mukai..."
Hearing this victory-declaring voice, Obito couldn't help but call out this overwhelmingly powerful enemy. He tried to push himself up from the ground, but his lower body had no sensation.
"What's wrong? Want me to kill you?" Mukai asked.
"Go die!!!"
Obito screamed hoarsely, his Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly flashing with light.
"This kind of Genjutsu, I won't fall for it."
As he spoke, Mukai instinctively looked away, meeting Shisui's eyes.
"Kotoamatsukami!"
Shisui muttered low, blood tears flowing from the corners of his eyes.
He originally intended to use it on Ryuji if the situation became the worst.
But the enemy before them was too powerful.
Most of his pathways were sealed, unable to circulate Chakra. Only his eyes in his brain were unaffected.
If he didn't use it now, they would probably all die here.
'This is all thanks to Obito interrupting Mukai's Eight Trigrams Palms. If he had completed the set, my entire body's pathways would have been...'
Before the thought finished, Shisui's vision went black, suddenly arriving in a world of blue ocean.
No sky, no earth, no up, down, left, right, nor concept of time. Only boundless blue and a dumbfounded Mukai standing before him.
"This is Mukai's mental space!?"
Shisui looked around in shocked uncertainty.
As a Genjutsu Master, he was not unfamiliar with people's mental spaces. But it was his first time seeing such immense mental power.
This level of power compared to his Kotoamatsukami was like the difference between the ocean and a water droplet.
"Impossible. If this is Mukai's mental space, he couldn't have fallen for my Kotoamatsukami, and I couldn't have entered his mental space."
Genjutsu is essentially Yin Release.
A technique that controls the target's Chakra, thereby affecting the five senses to create various illusions.
But Kotoamatsukami differs from ordinary Genjutsu. It doesn't affect the five senses but affects the brain, modifying the target's consciousness.
This requires invading the target's brain with Chakra… the mental space.
"This is certainly not Mukai's mental space. It's mine."
…
(A/N: Although previously stated clearly, here's a reminder just in case: Why doesn't Obito use Kamui here?
Because he doesn't have Hashirama's cells, so he doesn't have that much Chakra.
In the original work, he used Kamui like a minor skill. Here, it becomes like Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susano'o… a big move that consumes a large chunk of Chakra and lowers eyesight each use. It can't be used without a good opportunity.)