In fact, it was already too late for Ryoma Aburame to retreat.
"Did you know?"
Gisei Shiraishi suddenly spoke up. "Victory and defeat are often decided in a single instant."
His left hand lit up with the crackle of lightning.
Simultaneously, the shuriken flying in front of Ryoma also began to glow with electricity.
Ryoma frantically tried to retreat, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Feel the thunder!" (Kaminari o kanjiro!)
A flash of lightning tore past, speeding by in an instant!
At that moment, Ryoma's body had only just left the ground.
Gisei's right hand was already pressed flat against his chest.
After a burst of crackling electric sounds, Ryoma collapsed to his knees, smoke rising from his entire body.
Gisei had held back.
If he had used a fist instead of an open palm to hit Ryoma's chest, the Aburame clan member would have been seriously injured at the very least.
He felt there was no need to be so ruthless.
So, at the moment the Lightning Body Flicker was activated, he had changed his fist to a palm strike.
Even so, Ryoma would have to lie in the hospital for at least a week.
"It's over."
Gisei clapped his hands and sighed. "What a boring battle."
Actually, he was just paying lip service.
That slacker appearance at the beginning was just for show, and that shuriken had been thrown weakly on purpose.
No matter who the opponent was, he would have done the same; it was a strategy he had thought of long ago.
The purpose was, of course, to paralyze the opponent's caution.
If Ryoma had dodged that shuriken the moment he threw it, Gisei probably would have been forced to use the yet-to-be-perfected Lightning Body Flicker for real.
Although the result might still have been a win, it wouldn't have been nearly so easy.
It's a pity there are no "ifs" in battle.
When Ryoma didn't immediately move away from that shuriken, his fate was sealed.
Gisei looked at the middle-aged Jonin proctor, who hadn't recovered from the shock yet, and said, "You should announce the result."
The proctor finally snapped out of it, looking at him as if he were looking at a monster.
"Winner, Gisei Shiraishi!"
When the result was finally announced, the crowd began to react.
"You're kidding, right?"
"What was that speed?"
"Hey, this kind of battle..."
Even Eisawa Shiraishi had a strange look on his face. He turned and asked Masamasa Takemoto, "Did Uncle Shuichi teach him that?"
Masamasa looked back at his daughter with blank eyes.
Anna Takemoto hurriedly shook her head.
On the high platform, the Third Hokage and his companions were silent.
Orochimaru stared at Gisei, his gaze burning with intensity.
Tsunade's mouth hung open, but in her mind, the image of herself rubbing Gisei's face into the ground appeared unbidden.
Jiraiya's face was full of disbelief, as if he were living in a dream.
After a long silence, the Third Hokage whispered, "Butterfly Clan... truly a power to be feared."
Danzo narrowed his eyes and suddenly spoke up: "Hiruzen, let him enter the Anbu. It's a pity for such talent to go to waste in the hospital."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and shook his head.
Even the Hokage couldn't treat the ninja clans like soft persimmons to be squeezed, especially now that Gisei had shown such immense talent.
The clans would be eager for action. If he didn't handle this delicately, it would instantly cause a backlash.
Koharu Utatane suddenly spoke: "What ninjutsu is that? It looks surprisingly similar to the Flying Thunder God."
The Third shook his head again. With his experience, he could naturally see that it belonged to the Body Flicker Technique family.
A Body Flicker Technique used by connecting a shuriken with a wire—this was the first time the Third had seen such a thing.
"It should be some kind of Lightning Body Flicker. The principle isn't clear yet, but looking at the way he uses it, I'm afraid there are many limitations."
As expected of the Hokage, he spotted the drawbacks of Gisei's Lightning Body Flicker at a glance.
"Orochimaru, go tell Gisei Shiraishi to meet me at the Hokage's office. I want to personally ask him about his wishes."
Even the Third had to compromise in this situation and start showing a gentler side toward the Butterfly User clan.
Politics is just like that.
When you show your value, someone will immediately rush to give you benefits.
As for those who lose their value, others will not only kick them away but also stomp on them a couple of times just to make sure they stay down.
After Gisei walked out of the underground training ground, his "good" uncle was waiting for him.
"Good job."
Gisei shrugged, indicating that this was nothing at all.
Eisawa laughed dumbly and reached out to pat his head.
"Did you develop that Body Flicker Technique yourself?"
Gisei nodded, took out a shuriken from his ninja pouch, and showed the wire tied to it.
"Grandpa Shuichi told me to use the conductivity of lightning in battle. I had a brainwave and came up with this Body Flicker Technique. Isn't it amazing?"
Gisei wore an expression that practically begged for praise.
"Oh~~ So Gisei-kun is such a genius. To think you developed that kind of ninjutsu yourself, it's truly astonishing."
This voice...
Orochimaru!
Gisei looked like he was constipated. He turned around and saw the Sannin standing behind him.
Orochimaru had a rather "passionate" expression on his face.
Tsunade looked as if she was meeting him for the first time, and there was a bright red slap mark on Jiraiya's face—no need to ask who put that there.
Gisei recalled some bad memories.
When he was gathering intelligence from them, these three guys were more detestable than the last.
Gisei's expression changed immediately. He snorted coldly and stared at the three of them blankly.
"You... unrelated personnel, please leave quickly. Don't disturb other people's warm family moments."
Orochimaru's smile froze on his face.
Actually, he felt that his relationship with Gisei was quite good—they were desk mates, after all—so why was he acting like this now?
Eisawa knocked Gisei on the head and smiled. "They are your classmates, aren't they? How can you be so rude? Alright, I have something to do next, you guys chat."
Eisawa left after speaking.
Gisei looked up at the sky and felt that there was absolutely nothing to chat about with these three guys. He patted the non-existent dust off his sleeves and turned to leave.
Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya all had expressions like they had just eaten shit.
"Gisei-kun, wait a moment. Sensei wants to see you."
Gisei stopped, pointed at himself, and asked, "Which sensei? Kawano or the Hokage?"
"The Hokage. Come with me."
Orochimaru took the lead and walked in front. Gisei frowned and followed.
He didn't expect the Third to want to meet him. Why?
His uncle was handling the clan matters. He was basically in the dark right now and knew nothing.
What was the benefit of meeting him? Or rather, what did the Third want from him?
The Lightning Body Flicker?
Even if the dignified Hokage wanted to obtain this kind of ninjutsu, his "eating manners" wouldn't be so ugly as to demand it outright.
Could it be about his future placement?
But could this kind of under-the-table deal be brought out into the open?
He couldn't figure it out. Gisei shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
The remaining question was what attitude he should adopt when talking to the Third.
Stand from the clan's standpoint or the village's standpoint?
This kind of question would be a trivial matter in normal times. But for a meeting with the Third, this issue would be infinitely magnified, largely determining the Third's future attitude toward him.
Future political enemy, ordinary villager, or inheritor of the Will of Fire?
The more Gisei thought about it, the stranger his expression became. He was simply caught in a vortex of hesitation.
He didn't notice at all that because of his presence, the atmosphere between the Sannin was getting weirder and weirder.
Usually, the three of them would say whatever came to mind, but now they couldn't say anything in front of Gisei.
The issue of "face" can be big or small.
Naturally, it doesn't matter in front of friends, and it often doesn't matter in front of enemies.
But for people who are somewhere between the two, it is a huge problem.
For the three of them, Gisei was exactly this kind of person.
Familiar yet annoying, and also arousing curiosity.
They wanted to have a good relationship but were afraid of losing face by speaking first and being mocked by Gisei.
Even the idiot Jiraiya kept his mouth shut at this time.
Tsunade started to wink at Orochimaru. Jiraiya's face was full of conflict. Orochimaru felt that since he and Gisei were desk mates after all, he should speak up.
"Gisei-kun, you seem to hate us very much?"
Gisei came back to his senses and glanced at Orochimaru.
"Drop the 'kun' and drop the 'seem to' as well, because that's not an illusion."
This sentence completely lit the powder keg.
Jiraiya danced with his hands and feet, shouting, "Bastard Gisei Shiraishi! What are you saying, you dead-last? Damn it!"
Tsunade clenched her fist. "Did you forget how you begged for mercy in front of me before?"
Orochimaru remained calm, but his smile was completely gone.
Gisei ignored them and walked on his own.
He knew the way to the Hokage's office, so why walk with these three annoying guys?
Seeing Gisei walking further and further away, the three looked at each other with ugly expressions.
Tsunade: "Does this guy look down on us?"
Jiraiya: "Is this a question of looking down? This is a question of a man's dignity!"
Orochimaru: "I think someone needs a little lesson."
Jiraiya hesitated. "That's not good, right? After all, we are comrades. Are we really going to fight?"
Tsunade punched him. "Idiot, you just said you were a man. Did you forget about the entrance ceremony?"
Tsunade began to reopen Jiraiya's old wounds. Jiraiya's face flushed red, and he chased after Gisei without another word.
Orochimaru glanced at Tsunade, then followed.
Tsunade had been lawless since she was a child, so she naturally wouldn't be afraid of this small scene. Clenching her fist, she also chased after them.
Gisei was still pondering about the Third when suddenly there was the sound of breaking wind behind him.
A small stone was shooting toward him.
Tilting his head slightly, Gisei turned back to look at Jiraiya, who had thrown the stone, and said expressionlessly, "You want to fight?"
Orochimaru and Tsunade also caught up. Gisei frowned and said, "You want to gang up on me?"
Tsunade took a step forward and said, "Don't worry, Jiraiya alone is enough to deal with you."
Orochimaru crossed his arms and stared at him coldly. "This great one will be your opponent."
Jiraiya put his hands on his hips, feeling capable again.
Gisei tilted his head and then started to fake a smile.
"You guys started it. To be honest, I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Jiraiya, this idiot, is not my opponent. I advise you to attack together."
Being called an idiot to his face by someone he didn't get along with... that feeling...
Jiraiya: "Bastard! Today the great Jiraiya will let you know how powerful I am!"
He began to form hand seals, then opened his mouth and spat out a fireball.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
Gisei curled his lip, staring at Tsunade and Orochimaru with a strange smile.
"Water Style: Raging Waves!"
Fire Style and Water Style collided, and white mist rose instantly.