Konoha Yellow Monkey: The salary is in place, and Wukage is useless!

Chapter 496 The World of Illusion

Although Yamato froze the Fireball Jutsu, Itachi had already achieved his tactical objective.

The next moment, Itachi used the same trick again, his body transforming into countless black crows that rushed towards Yamato under the cover of white mist, completely obscuring Yamato's vision.

Enveloped by black crows and unable to see anything clearly, Yamato fell from the sky, swinging his spiked club forward, but failing to hit anything.

What surprised Yamato even more was that, the moment the black crows swooped in, the aura of Itachi, which she had been locking onto with her Observation Haki, disappeared briefly, then split into three and appeared simultaneously on her left, right, and behind her.

What kind of ninjutsu is this? Is it a clone technique? Or is my perception being misled?

Yamato, somewhat agitated, intensified his attack, wildly swinging his spiked club and using the freezing air he spewed from his mouth to eliminate all the pesky black crows.

Just as the black crows dissipated and Yamato's vision gradually returned, she heard a whooshing sound. Almost out of battle instinct, Yamato quickly swung her spiked club to block any possible attacks, while simultaneously covering her vital areas with Armament Haki.

From the left, right, and behind, Itachi, who had used Shadow Clone Jutsu, simultaneously threw shuriken and kunai. With the Uchiha clan's superb skills and the enhancement of the Sharingan, Itachi's projectiles collided with each other in mid-air and attacked Yamato from all sides.

The shuriken shot towards her rapidly from almost every angle, except for the ground where Yamato was fighting on her feet. Unable to dodge in time, she could only barely block some of the attacks with the help of her spiked club, but her body, especially her arms, were slashed by the sharp shuriken.

Yamato reached out and caught the last kunai that was aimed at his face, then threw it to the ground. He looked down at his thigh, where the tip of a shuriken was embedded in his thigh muscle.

Yamato reached out and pulled out the shuriken, throwing it away and letting the blood seep out. He then looked up at the three itachi who were standing in a triangle around him.

"Is this your ninjutsu? It is indeed troublesome, but such attacks are too weak!" After this exchange, Yamato realized that Itachi's strength should not be underestimated, and her fighting spirit was gradually aroused.

As he spoke, Yamato gripped his spiked club with both hands, and black and red lightning erupted from it. The next second, Yamato transformed into a white light, dashing at high speed towards Itachi directly in front of him. With the added power of the lightning, he raised the spiked club and smashed it into Itachi's clone.

After taking down one Itachi with a single blow, Yamato didn't stop. She pushed off the ground with both feet, twisted her waist and turned around, and slashed her right spiked club to the right like a sharp sword, unleashing a shockwave like sword energy that rushed straight towards Itachi on her right side.

On the right, Itachi's clone reacted promptly to the shockwave, dodging the attack with a quick teleportation. At the same time, he rapidly formed hand seals and used Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique, spitting out more than a dozen flames in succession.

Faced with the dense barrage of fireballs, Yamato in his human form simply opened his mouth and unleashed the Ice Fang, spewing out a domineering freezing breath comparable to Kaido's heat breath.

The domineering freezing air not only froze the flames, but also shot straight at Itachi's clone like an energy ray.

Itachi's clones instantly dissipated under the widespread freezing temperatures of the frost.

At this point, Yamato had successfully dealt with Itachi's two clones. She turned to look at Itachi on her left, who had remained motionless.

"This remaining one is your true form, Itachi." Yamato planted his spiked club on the ground with one hand, speaking with a calm but not arrogant tone.

Itachi stood still, calmly looking at Yamato, and reminded him, "My true form may not be in your sight."

"Stop lying to me! I've locked onto you!" Yamato's Observation Haki covered the entire arena, and she was certain that Itachi's presence was limited to the one in front of her.

This time, Yamato did not launch an attack rashly. Her previous experience told her that she had to defeat Itachi with enough speed and power in one strike, without giving Itachi any time to react.

Otherwise, he would most likely transform into a flock of pesky crows again to dodge his attack.

So this time, Yamato will not give Itachi a chance to react. She bends her knees, pushes her feet off the ground, quickly gathers her strength, and then uses Divine Footwork: White Serpent Drive.

Transforming into a white phantom, Yamato arrived in front of Itachi in the blink of an eye, his spiked club attacking Itachi at incredible speed.

Just as the spiked club, imbued with Armament Haki and freezing air, was about to touch Itachi, in Yamato's vision, Itachi's image blurred and shifted, transforming into Gekko Oden, who, to save his retainers, single-handedly held his subordinate aloft on his head, enduring the scorching heat of the boiling oil while still maintaining a smile. Yamato's swinging spiked club abruptly stopped, her eyes widening in confusion and bewilderment, as darkness engulfed her.

When Yamato regained consciousness, Kaido, Orochimaru, and other guys she hated appeared before her. She instinctively wanted to attack them, but the burning pain in her legs and the weight on her head made her stop abruptly.

I've become Oden?

Before Yamato could fully understand what was happening to him, he couldn't help but groan because of the intense pain from his legs and even his entire lower body being in a pot of boiling oil.

Yamato didn't want to lose face in front of Kaido, so she forcibly endured the pain. Only one thought arose in her mind: what Oden could do, she could do too. This obsession occupied her mind and controlled her thoughts, to the point that she forgot other possibilities.

Outside the arena, Kizaru's gaze passed through the barrier as he watched Yamato, after their initial eye contact with Itachi Uchiha, continue to amuse himself by randomly smashing things around. In the end, Yamato stood still, making a lifting motion, holding the spiked club with both legs, his face full of pain.

At this point, it was time for Kizaru to decide the outcome. He stepped into the barrier, glanced at Yamato who was still engrossed in the genjutsu, and then looked at Itachi.

"You and that guy Shisui are truly from the same source. Even I, your teacher, have to be wary of your genjutsu," Kizaru said with a touch of admiration.

Itachi had already dispelled the genjutsu and said very humbly, "Kizaru-sensei, Shisui told me that your mental strength has long surpassed the concept of humanity. If you wish, you can easily create an illusion that plunges the entire city into a long slumber."

"Why does Shisui tell everyone? He has to be criticized when he comes back next time!" Kizaru complained. Itachi took it seriously and hurriedly explained to Shisui, "Kizaru-sensei, I was just curious and kept bothering Shisui, so he told me. Please don't punish him."

Kizaru smiled and looked at Itachi for a while before slowly saying under Itachi's concerned gaze, "Then I'll punish you by making you hand over your newly bought game console when you go back this time. I'll keep it with you for a month before returning it to you."

Upon hearing this, Itachi's face froze for a moment, then he reluctantly agreed, "Yes, yes, Kizaru-sensei!"

"Hahaha!" Kizaru couldn't help but laugh when he saw Itachi's change in expression.

Amidst his laughter, Yamato, who was engrossed in the illusion, gradually broke free from its influence. He threw aside the spiked club he had been holding, lowered his hands, and braced himself on his knees, panting heavily.

At this point, Yamato had not yet completely shaken off the effects and damage the illusion had inflicted on her mind. Seeing this, Kizaru walked over to her side, patted her shoulder, and said with a smile, "How was it? Was the battle exciting?"

Yamato turned to look at Kizaru, somewhat confused. Seeing the slight smile on his face, her memories gradually returned. She had just been sparring with Itachi, had dealt with two of Itachi's clones, and was about to finish off the last one.

Yamato shuddered as she recalled what had happened during the illusion. She tried to look for Itachi, but Kizaru slapped her forehead. In her daze, she heard Kizaru say, "Take a good look at yourself. Don't you understand yet?"

Reminded, Yamato looked down to check her body. When her gaze swept over her thighs, she suddenly stopped, a look of shock on her face.

She clearly remembered that during her match with Itachi, she had been hit in the thigh by a hidden weapon fired by Itachi, leaving a wound, but at this moment her thigh was completely unharmed.

This discovery made Yamato realize something, and she hurriedly looked up to check both sides of her arms, only to find that there were no marks there either.

"This is..." Yamato, unwilling to give up, examined his body again, only to find that he didn't even have any signs of a battle on his body.

Yamato looked at Kizaru again, hoping to get an answer she had vaguely guessed.

“From the very beginning of the competition, you were trapped in Itachi’s genjutsu. All the battles you experienced were genjutsu cast by Itachi.” Kizaru’s smile faded, and he explained to Yamato with pride for his disciple.

"Illusion? How is that possible? How could such a strange ability exist in this world?" Yamato was somewhat unable to accept it. She recalled the realistic battle memories from before, and the last part where she replaced Oden and personally experienced Oden's pain. She was momentarily lost in thought.

Kizaru didn't continue explaining, but instead said in an introductory tone, "The Uchiha clan's genjutsu is just that domineering. They are born with extraordinary talent in this area, just like the bodies of your Oni clan."

Yamato gradually accepted reality. She shifted her gaze from Kizaru and searched the field before spotting Itachi standing quietly in the distance.

Itachi's eyes had already reverted to the three-tomoe Sharingan form. Facing Yamato's gaze, he simply smiled apologetically and said, "Yamato-kun, it will be nice to meet you in the future."

Hearing Itachi's words, Yamato realized that she and Itachi had a bet. Her face fell, but it seemed that Kizaru's last words before entering the academy had some effect. Yamato stopped complaining and quickly cheered herself up. She clenched her right fist and encouraged herself, saying, "It's just courses from two academies! I, Yamato, will pass the graduation exam!"

Upon hearing Yamato's voice, Kizaru smiled slightly. Having personally participated in the school's curriculum design and understanding how tedious and difficult the courses at both schools were, he looked at Yamato with a hint of schadenfreude and encouraged him, saying, "Well then, good luck, Yamato!"

"I will try my best!" At this moment, Yamato chose to accept reality and rediscovered his former passion. (End of Chapter)