The sea of flames gradually died away, the firelight dimming along with the fall of the insect swarm.
Hyuga Satoru needed roughly eight seconds to engrave his Flying Thunder God mark. As Aburame Shibi released his kikaichu in a sweeping attack, Satoru simultaneously flung a handful of specially-marked kunai in seemingly random directions across the battlefield. Two of them arced toward his teammates—Uchiha Shisui and Might Guy.
"These kunai…"
Shisui's Sharingan caught every movement. His blade flashed, batting one aside, but he didn't attack immediately. Instead, he carefully studied the scattered kunai positions across the field.
He wasn't foolish enough to assume Satoru had simply missed his throws.
Those kunai were clearly—
"Whoosh!"
A sudden rush of air broke through the battlefield. Having finished engraving his mark on Shibi, Satoru activated Flying Thunder God—and vanished.
A flicker of light, and he reappeared midair beside one of the kunai that Shisui had just deflected. In one smooth motion, he snatched it out of the air, spun, and hurled it again toward Shisui. Then, twisting in midair, he thrust out his palm toward Might Guy.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
Guy had just dodged one of Satoru's earlier kunai and hadn't yet regained his footing when he felt a crushing wave of chakra descend from above.
Though this was merely a spar, Satoru showed no mercy. Against a jonin of Guy's caliber, holding back would be meaningless.
He didn't believe his strike could truly harm Guy—but whether it could even hit him was another question entirely.
However—
Satoru had underestimated the combination of his Flying Thunder God's speed and the Hyuga's Vacuum Palm force.
His sudden teleportation caught Guy completely off guard. The instant Guy sensed the attack, he could only roll desperately to the side. A split second later, the ground where he'd been standing erupted, sending shards of rock slicing past his face.
A sharp stone grazed his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
"!!!"
Eyes wide, Guy looked up—only to see that Satoru's figure had already vanished from the air above him.
At the same moment, a clear metallic clang echoed from Shisui's direction.
Having unleashed one strike midair, Satoru had once again teleported—this time directly to Shisui's side. His hand caught another kunai mid-flight, slashing toward Shisui's neck.
But Shisui reacted instantly, his blade flashing up to block the attack.
In the span of a single breath, Satoru had chained multiple attacks across the battlefield using Flying Thunder God, switching targets fluidly and unpredictably.
Guy could hardly follow the motion; his eyes couldn't even track Satoru's afterimages.
But Shisui—his scarlet eyes whirling—managed to read the movement. His Sharingan, combined with sharp reflexes and natural combat intuition, allowed him to respond just in time.
The boy who would one day be known as "Shisui of the Body Flicker" was already displaying the extraordinary talent that would earn him that title.
When Shisui deflected the blow, Satoru didn't show surprise. He had no illusions about Flying Thunder God being invincible.
After all, even now there were shinobi—like the Cloud duo A and B—who had developed ways to counter it.
It wasn't that Shisui's overall strength matched theirs yet, but in perception and reflex alone, his talent was no less astounding.
So when his attack was blocked, Satoru simply flowed into the next motion.
Loosening his grip on the kunai, he redirected his right hand to push Shisui's sword aside, then drove his left hand forward in a spear-hand strike straight for Shisui's chest.
Despite being smaller and younger, the force behind Satoru's movements carried startling weight—each motion sharp and precise.
For an instant, their eyes met.
And that was all Shisui needed.
His tomoe spun—
—and Satoru's world tilted.
Shisui instantly leapt back, widening the distance. His hands blurred through seals, and with a deep inhale, he exhaled a storm of flames.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
A cluster of fireballs burst forward, interwoven with spinning shuriken. The flames glittered crimson in the sunlight. Despite the ferocity of the attack, Shisui deliberately aimed away from Satoru's vital points. Even if all the shuriken hit, they would cause only superficial burns.
But Satoru didn't move.
Head bowed, his body froze—completely motionless.
Within Satoru's mindscape—
He was pinned to the ground by massive iron spikes, his limbs immobilized. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move even a finger.
The moment their eyes met, he'd fallen under Shisui's Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes Technique.
It was like being trapped in sleep paralysis—fully conscious but utterly unable to move.
"So this is Uchiha-style genjutsu, empowered by the Sharingan…"
"It's incredible."
Why had he allowed eye contact in the first place?
Simple—Satoru had wanted to experience it firsthand.
He couldn't guarantee he'd never be caught in a genjutsu in future battles. This was the perfect chance to understand how it worked—and to test whether he could break free.
After all, genjutsu interfered by disrupting chakra flow. In principle, breaking it wasn't impossible—one simply needed to regain control of one's chakra network.
In his mind, Satoru's hand twitched—slowly, painfully—forming the start of a seal.
Meanwhile, in the real world, a wall of insects suddenly surged up before him, intercepting the incoming flames.
At the same time, Shibi's insects wrapped around Satoru's legs, dragging him back out of the line of fire.
On the other side, Might Guy had already lunged into close combat with Shibi, his relentless taijutsu forcing the Aburame captain into a defensive retreat. Even while parrying, Shibi's kikaichu darted in unpredictable patterns, disrupting Guy's rhythm.
"So, he's caught in a genjutsu…" Shibi murmured to himself. "As expected of an Uchiha."
Even as he defended, he couldn't help but be impressed.
Not every Uchiha could wield genjutsu this skillfully. For one so young to handle both Fire Release and illusion so elegantly—that was true genius.
As for Satoru—
Shibi's eyes flicked sideways—and widened.
Satoru, still standing where he'd been frozen moments ago, had lifted a single hand. His fingers completed a seal, and clarity returned to his gaze.
He had broken free.
"Kids these days…" Shibi sighed under his breath, dodging another of Guy's powerful kicks. "They're getting more terrifying by the day."
His body suddenly dispersed into a swarm of black insects, scattering across the training field.
An instant later, countless kikaichu erupted from the ground, surging toward Guy in a dark tide.
Insect Sphere!
Guy's taijutsu was formidable—but without opening the Eight Gates, even he had clear disadvantages against an insect user.
Against an Aburame who controlled the battlefield itself, raw strength alone wouldn't be enough.
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