"Sealing Technique: Swift Amatsumikaboshi – Heavenly River!"
A river appeared in the sky, as if the heavens had turned into flowing water. Endless waves and currents swirled above.
Kakashi looked up—and froze. His whole body stopped moving. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open in shock.
A sealing jutsu that covers such a huge area? It could swallow half of Konohagakure. How is anyone supposed to dodge that?
Seeing Kakashi's stunned face, Mito gave a small smile despite her pale complexion, looking a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, Kakashi. This technique is actually the prototype of Konohagakure's sealing barrier. It can detect, suppress, and seal chakra flow."
Kakashi: "…"
One person used a sealing move this strong... no, this wasn't just a sealing jutsu anymore. It was a full-blown sealing barrier.
And she pulled it off alone—even with her chakra restricted.
How terrifying must Mito-sama have been at full power? Was she the one who kept the whole Konohagakure barrier system running by herself?
Actually... that's exactly what she used to do.
No problem then.
Kakashi lowered his head, his dull eyes fixed on Mito as lightning gathered in his hand.
That meant they had to stop Lord Shisui before the barrier jutsu was complete. Once the jutsu was finished, even a tailed beast might get trapped inside it.
With that thought, Kakashi moved fast. In Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his speed was greatly enhanced.
"Lightning Release: Raikiri!"
Lightning gathered in his hand, sharp enough to cut through the air. In a flash, Kakashi appeared in front of Mito, lightning sparking as he aimed for her heart with a piercing strike.
But then the lightning vanished.
"Sealing Technique: Thunder Guide Seal!"
Mito moved her right foot, and black markings rose from the ground. The moment Kakashi got close, the markings locked him in place.
"Sealing Technique: Ground Binding Spell!"
Kakashi froze in front of her, and Mito instinctively threw a punch, turning him into a burst of lightning.
The lightning spread to Mito, but just as it was about to paralyze her, it disappeared again.
"Earth Release: Yellow Spring Swamp!"
"Wind Release: Wind Slash!"
Two Kakashis jumped out, one from the left and one from the right. As the Yellow Spring Swamp appeared, the ground under Mito's feet turned into a swamp, dragging her down. Before she could react, countless thin blades of wind flew at her from all directions.
The sharp wind blades landed on Mito in an instant.
Then she vanished into smoke.
The two Kakashis landed on the ground.
They stood back-to-back, watching their surroundings carefully. This kind of testing attack and counter had happened too many times already.
"Sealing Technique: Swift Kushinadahime—River of Echoes!"
Mito's tired voice came from the shadows as she appeared.
Suddenly, a river surged in the sky, its shimmering light shining down like a mirage across the land.
In an instant, the entire area turned into a flowing river. The forest disappeared, the ground became water, and waves crashed everywhere. The two Kakashis had to leap into the air to avoid getting swept away.
But as soon as they jumped, endless streams of water burst out from both the sky and the ground. It was like Kakashi's body was pulling the water toward him, and no matter how he dodged, there was no escape.
The waves crashed into both Kakashis. Before the next wave hit, they both vanished in a puff of smoke.
Mito stood on the water, her wrinkled face full of frustration.
"Swift Kushinadahiko and Swift Kushinadahime might look like two separate jutsu, but they're actually one. One is for sensing and suppressing, the other for control and destruction. They work together perfectly. Even Hashirama would be in trouble against them."
Of course, that only applies when Mito is using her full power. In a state like this, Hashirama at his peak could break through it with just one jutsu.
At the center of the flowing river, Kakashi crouched on the water, breathing heavily as he looked around.
Everything in sight had turned deep blue. The sky was now a river, the land had turned to water, and it all flowed toward Mito's feet.
Kakashi covered his Sharingan and gave a wry smile. "Everywhere I look, it's all chakra. The Sharingan's ability to see chakra is actually a burden now. The moment I activate chakra sensing, it gets overwhelmed by all the chakra feedback. In this kind of barrier, anything besides your naked eye just can't be trusted."
Or rather—can you even trust what your eyes see? Kakashi wasn't so sure.
What he could be sure of was this: the feeling of water against his skin was fake, the smell of water in the air was fake, the sound of flowing water was fake too. All five senses were being fooled. Only taste hadn't been tested yet, but Kakashi wasn't about to drink the water here to find out.
"Isn't this just one big Genjutsu world?" Kakashi couldn't help but mutter.
Honestly, if a Genjutsu could do something like this, it'd be ridiculously powerful. But Kakashi was certain he hadn't been caught in a Genjutsu, which meant what he was experiencing was real—at least on a sensory level—and not an illusion.
So what was causing all this?
Kakashi looked up, the Sharingan spinning faintly. Even if its power to see through things wasn't helping much, since the jutsu wasn't fully active yet, he still managed to catch a glimpse of something.
That's right—the thing flowing through the water wasn't water. It wasn't even chakra. It was sealing script. The black letters of the sealing technique had turned blue under the glow of chakra, and with the way they were being controlled and gathered under Mito's feet, they looked just like running water.
Sealing script is the core of sealing techniques. When someone touches it, depending on what kind of seal it is, different effects can happen.
First, the moving script sealed Kakashi's sense of sight, so what he saw was water. Then, the trembling of the script sealed his sense of hearing, so what he heard was water too. Finally, the script had no real taste or physical form, and with most of his senses cut off, Kakashi was left feeling and tasting only what the other side wanted him to—flowing water.
"Borrowing a line from Kurama..." Kakashi's eyes lost focus. "Is this really something a human could do? I'm gonna be sick..."
If this kind of barrier was used to protect Konoha, any ninja weaker than Mito would be in big trouble. Unless they had some kind of special trick, didn't rely on their senses, or didn't have chakra at all, there's no way they could move freely inside this kind of sealing barrier.
But is that even possible?
Kakashi let out a deep sigh, feeling like his once-burning fighting spirit was slipping back into lazy mode.
Off in the distance, water rippled, and Mito's figure appeared in front of him. She smiled awkwardly. "Hang in there, Kakashi. This jutsu is actually pretty easy to break."
"Please teach me, Mito-sama," Kakashi sighed. Life was hard.
"Fight sealing with sealing!" Mito said seriously.
Kakashi: "..."
If I had sealing skills like yours, I'd have sealed you already! How did I end up in this mess?
Seeing Kakashi at a complete loss for words, Mito smiled awkwardly again. "Then maybe just blast it apart with a powerful Ninjutsu. Or get me out of the seal's range. As long as I can't keep supplying chakra, the seal will vanish."
As Kakashi looked like he wanted to complain but held back, Mito added, "Oh right—the seal moves with me. So if you want to get me out, you'll have to do it really fast. Take too long and it won't work."
Kakashi: You've got to be kidding me!
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