As Might Guy was completely engulfed by the sphere of insects, the battle on the field shifted into a two-on-one situation.
Yet, facing both Aburame Shibi and Hyuga Satoru, Uchiha Shisui showed not a trace of panic or tension.
His eyes flicked briefly toward the churning ball of insects that held Guy captive, then refocused on Satoru. Seeing that his opponent's gaze had cleared and was now steady again, a flash of surprise crossed Shisui's face. He raised his short blade horizontally before his chest, sliding seamlessly into a battle stance.
"Hm?"
In that instant, Shisui's entire aura changed. Gone was the gentle warmth from before—in its place was the sharp, icy edge of a naked blade, brilliance condensed into killing intent.
Satoru didn't even catch the motion of Shisui's hands forming seals, yet suddenly, seven identical copies of Shisui appeared around the battlefield.
Each one stood perfectly still, short blade poised in front of the chest—movements utterly synchronized.
"Shadow Clones?"
Activating his Byakugan, Satoru examined the seven figures carefully. To his surprise, each body possessed its own flow of chakra. That meant… these weren't simple illusions. They were real.
"No… something's off. This doesn't feel like a normal Shadow Clone."
Satoru himself had trained extensively with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. He was familiar enough with it to know that what Shisui was using now was entirely different.
While Satoru pondered, Shisui suddenly moved.
All seven figures lunged forward in unison, converging on him like swift phantoms.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, Shisui closed the distance in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Satoru found himself surrounded.
"So, he's targeting me first, huh?"
In a ninja battle, it was standard practice to eliminate the weaker link first. Sometimes, the enemy's strategy was even to wound the slowest one—to bait the others into rescuing them, turning the tide through attrition.
Shisui, though young, was already a chunin—a mature and tactical fighter. With his intellect and talent, he could easily lead a Genin squad himself.
Even in a two-on-one disadvantage, he hadn't lost confidence. Deep down, he didn't believe he would lose at all.
"Unfortunately for you… you picked the wrong target."
Satoru's Byakugan tracked all seven figures clearly. Despite the encirclement, he didn't even consider using the Flying Thunder God to dodge. Instead, he shifted his stance, letting powerful chakra erupt from every tenketsu across his body.
As his body began to spin, chakra burst outward in a spiraling wave, forming a translucent, dome-like barrier around him.
Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!
A whirling sphere of chakra exploded outward, striking all seven of Shisui's figures simultaneously. The overwhelming force swept them off their feet, hurling them into the air like ragdolls.
In that instant, no matter whether they were clones or the real Shisui—they were all blasted skyward, powerless to resist the storm.
"So this is the Hyuga Main Family's famed absolute defense—the Eight Trigrams Rotation…" Shisui thought midair, his eyes wide even as his body spun helplessly. "Incredible!"
Unlike the experienced Shibi, young Shisui had never before witnessed, let alone personally felt, the true might of the Hyuga's secret technique.
That kind of power… at his current level, he had absolutely no way to break through it.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom—!
One after another, the seven Shisuis crashed back to the ground, thudding heavily against the training field.
Under Satoru's sharp gaze, none of them vanished. Not a single one popped like a clone normally would.
Instead, every "Shisui" staggered slightly, then slowly got back to their feet.
Except for one.
One figure stayed down a few seconds longer than the rest, grimacing faintly as he rose—his expression betraying the pain that rippled through his body.
"So I was right… not Shadow Clones after all."
"But now I've found your real body!"
Satoru sprinted forward, crossing several meters in a flash. He dipped low, snatched up one of his marked Flying Thunder God kunai from the ground, and hurled it straight toward the Shisui who had shown that slight abnormality.
The moment Satoru moved, several of the other figures darted in from different directions, closing in for the kill. Their movements didn't waver in the slightest—they seemed to fight with their own independent intelligence.
But it didn't matter.
As the kunai flew, Satoru's form blurred—and vanished.
In the next heartbeat, he reappeared above the spinning kunai—right in front of Uchiha Shisui.
Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!
This time, Satoru unleashed the technique midair. To Aburame Shibi, watching from a distance, it looked as if a sphere of chakra swallowed Satoru whole—then plummeted downward like a blazing meteor straight toward Shisui.
Unlike a stationary Rotation that only deflected attacks, this airborne version was an offensive weapon.
Satoru himself had become a massive, spinning chakra cannonball.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion ripped through the training ground. Dust and debris filled the air, the shockwave tearing across the field with terrifying force. Even Shibi had to crouch low to avoid being blown off his feet.
At this point, he no longer cared about "sparring" or "training." Breaking out of the insect cocoon, he shouted in alarm, "Shisui!!!"
He didn't dare imagine what might have happened if that attack had hit head-on.
Inside, Shibi couldn't help but blame himself. He should have seen this coming. Satoru was just a boy—not yet capable of fully controlling the immense power he wielded. The child likely had no true concept of how destructive his techniques could be.
After all, how could the Hyuga clan possibly test their heir's ninjutsu by using living targets?
"What—what happened?!"
Might Guy, just freed from the insect sphere, was instantly swept up by the roaring wind. He tumbled several times before finally skidding to a stop, utterly dazed.
Not far away, one of the remaining "Shisui" figures—one that Satoru had assumed was a clone—stared wide-eyed at the chaotic scene.
Cold sweat slid down his temple.
"If that had hit me head-on…"
"I'd be dead for sure…"
For the first time, genuine fear rippled through Shisui's chest.
He exhaled slowly, heart still pounding. Fortunately—fortunately—he had deliberately lured Satoru's aim toward the wrong body.
Otherwise…
He'd already be a corpse lying in that crater.
He wondered idly—if a ninja got accidentally killed by his own teammate, would that count as dying a hero?
As the thought flickered through his head, Shisui canceled his Phantom Flicker Technique, letting his illusions dissolve into air. His gaze drifted toward the young boy now emerging from the heart of the storm—
That boy, still standing amid the fading winds, his eyes calm and unshaken—
His teammate.
The grim reaper who had brushed right past his soul.
...
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