Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 109: Scale-Scattering Blindness and Excitement Buff

"Oh no, my eyes! I can't see anything!"

"Quickly, close your eyes, don't look at the sky!"

Within the circular valley, hundreds of Konoha ninja were instantly rendered blind. And that wasn't all.

Soon, the illusion descended, and everyone's fighting spirit surged, even slightly affecting their judgment.

The illusion technique "Breath of Excitement" was used by Shisei Aburame in his previous battle against Orochimaru, though it wasn't perfected then. Now, while it's more difficult to execute, its effects are even more terrifying.

It is neither pure illusion nor pure poison, but a mixture of toxins and chakra, colorless, odorless, and formless. This special chakra-toxin mixture enters the body through respiration, affecting the nervous system and adrenaline secretion.

Those who are affected by the spell will gradually become excited, manic, and even lose their rationality.

But if you happen to be on a battlefield—then there's only one outcome.

Within the valley, the Konoha ninjas who had inhaled the stimulating aura began to have their eyes turn red after about half a minute. Not the red of Sharingan, but a bloodshot red.

However, his pupils were dull and lifeless, clearly indicating that he was still blind.

"kill!"

A Chunin suddenly sprang into action, stabbing his kunai at his comrade. He wasn't even sure if it was a comrade; he only sensed danger approaching. He was already blind, completely deprived of his sight.

"Are you crazy!" His companion was slightly stronger, but he had just entered a state of excitement and still retained a sliver of rationality. He recognized that the person rushing towards him was his teammate who had been hit by the spell.

He could only recognize this teammate, but couldn't distinguish the other Konoha ninjas. Soon, another deadly attack came from behind, and to protect himself, he had no choice but to fight back.

And so, a comrade died at his hands, his gushing blood splattering all over his body.

"Don't move, stay where you are!" a Jonin shouted, his hands forming hand seals to dispel the illusion.

But it was useless, and nobody listened.

Those ninjas who were under the influence of the aura of excitement were weaker and only had the desire to kill left. They could not distinguish friend from foe, nor could they tell which way was which.

Those ninjas who were not seriously affected had no choice but to retaliate in order to protect themselves.

Of course, there is an even more important point: some of the Grass Ninja were also affected, but for some reason, they seemed to have taken precautions to protect their eyes. They did not go blind, or were not completely blind, and could still see a little bit.

Fueled by anger, revenge, and excitement, his buffs were almost fully stacked, causing his combat power to skyrocket. In an instant, the battle descended into chaos.

In the chaos, some people, having inhaled even more stimulating energy, lost control of their willpower and joined the frenzy.

Standing amidst the chaos, Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan spun rapidly, his eyes filled with a large amount of blood, washing away the phosphorus and quickly shaking off the blinding effect.

At this moment, he could feel that strange aura invading his body, trying to arouse his emotions, but he forcibly suppressed it with his pupil power.

"Uchiha clansmen, come closer to me!" he shouted sternly.

It must be said that the Uchiha clan has a very high resistance to genjutsu. Even though their bodies were still excited, many clansmen regained their senses with the help of Uchiha Fugaku, slowly suppressing their warlike restlessness and moving closer to him.

However, the Seven-Tails' scales were no joke; they had already invaded their eyes, and even the three-tomoe Sharingan could not resist them.

Before long, a dozen or so Uchiha clan members gathered around him. Fugaku told them that he could forcibly activate his Sharingan and use the blood overflowing from his eyes to wash away the scales on his pupils.

The crowd did as he said, but many of the tribesmen who were not strong enough still had not recovered their eyesight and their vision remained hazy.

"Lord Fugaku, I still can't see!"

"Are we blind?!"

An Uchiha clansman covered his eyes, his expression one of pain. His eyes were his pride, but now that pride had been utterly destroyed.

"Don't worry too much, the effect is only temporary, you'll be fine soon."

What Fugaku Uchiha didn't know was that while his previous blindness might have been temporary, their actions might change that. It could be said that what could be restored now would be restored, and at most, his vision would only decline slightly afterward.

However, in those wounds that haven't healed, the scales have seeped into the wound along with the flowing blood, and the situation will only worsen. If not treated promptly, it could lead to complete blindness or partial blindness.

Just then, the sound of flapping wings came from the sky again. Uchiha Fugaku looked up.

There, a giant insect was slowly flapping its wings, its golden compound eyes looking down at the seven-tailed Chongming.

Nearly a hundred figures were hovering around it.

Those figures either rode giant dragonflies or merged with dragonflies, growing a pair of transparent wings on their backs, soaring through the air like hunting birds.

"A flying ninja, a giant dragonfly-like summoning beast..." Fugaku Uchiha murmured. He finally understood what the true trump card of the Grass Ninja Village was.

Before anyone knew it, Shisei Aburame had appeared on the back of the Seven-Tails. It turned out that the one casting illusions in the valley was never the real thing.

"Save them." He looked down at the chaotic battlefield and spoke calmly. The Seven-Tails was beside him, still scattering scales.

Hundreds of dragonfly messengers responded to the order and swooped down to retrieve the grass ninjas who had strayed from the front lines and were still conscious.

Those grass ninjas had all taken insect soup, and some of them were immune to information toxins. In addition, Aburame Shisei deliberately avoided them when casting the spell, so not many ninjas were actually affected by the illusion.

"It's the strategist! We're saved!"

The rescued ninja collapsed onto the dragonfly's back, weeping with joy. Sixty-seven people—that was the final number rescued.

The remaining forty-odd people were either killed in battle or had gone completely mad. Coupled with their semi-blind state, they trusted no one but themselves and killed anyone they saw.

However, there's nothing that can be done about it. It's just that they didn't absorb the medicine well and their bodies couldn't develop resistance; or their resistance to illusions was too weak, so even without being deliberately targeted, they were still implicated.

"Retreat," Aburame Shisei ordered again.

The dragonfly messengers carried the rescued Grass Ninja upwards. On the battlefield, only the Konoha ninja who had gone mad and the Konoha strongmen who barely maintained their senses remained.

Fugaku Uchiha remained expressionless, watching helplessly as the dragonfly messengers rescued the grass ninja.

Those flying enemies were too troublesome, too fast, and too high for him to reach.

"Lord Fugaku, let's retreat!" said one of the Uchiha.

Fugaku Uchiha remained silent, watching the Konoha ninja who had gone mad, and the Jonin who were being held back by his own ninja.

Finally, steeling his resolve, he waved his hand and said, "Retreat!"