Sensing an opening, Shinka quickly made the insect circle close in while making a dome to block upward movement.
With no room left for Inori to run, Shiki dashed straight towards the blonde, this game of tag was over . . .
Or was it?
Inori, with an expression of a cat that finished playing with a mouse and is ready to make a meal out of it, cracked a smile.
Making a unique hand seal, a modified version of one used in Yamanaka signature jutsu, the jonin made her move.
'Ninja Art: Mind Jamming Wave'
From her hands, a chakra signal was emitted and suddenly a chain of events was set off.
Mei who was atop a tree felt her body tremble and she lost control as the brain's commands to the body were all jammed, causing her to slip and fall.
Shinka actually seemed aware of what was coming beforehand, making the insects in her body emit chakra pulses that partially countered Inori's jutsu but she was still left locked in place.
Unlike genjutsu, this technique worked on insects just fine as the chakra wave made all the insects crash into the ground while erratically twitching.
Casually, leaping away, a grinning Inori escaped the insect encirclement with ease.
But the grin was soon wiped from her face.
With body flicker amped to the max, Shiki was already on her.
Kukyo, which was meant to let him have full control of himself at all times, was the nemesis for these kinds of jutsu.
None of them worked on the boy and he took full advantage of the gap in his sensei's sensing caused by casting a jutsu and the fault in concentration caused by her confidence that all her students would get done in by her technique.
'Why did it not affect him!?' Inori blanked for a second with shock.
But the battlefield instinct of a veteran kunoichi does not need thought.
By pure reflex, she launched herself backwards, her body parallel to the ground while quickly recovering from the shock.
'Still too slow little boy!' The blonde internally cheered.
Alas, as she did, Inori noticed a devious smile forming on Shiki's face as he looked at her with what seemed to be schadenfreude.
In that very instant, the Shiki that had tried to tag tag her moments ago popped and vanished in a cloud of smoke.
At the same time, a hand emerged from the ground Inori was flying over from her jump and touched her exposed back.
Feeling the contact on her bare skin, the kunoichi got chills, good or bad ones, she could not tell but she knew she had been had all the same.
Gracefully flipping back and with a light handspring, elegantly landing in a straight posture, Inori grit her teeth and eyed the white haired boy, nearly growling a hissing like an offended cat as she showed a cute and sexy pout.
'He really used the trick I used on him just now, didn't he?'
"You're a really petty little boy, you know that?" The blonde complained.
Shiki just smiled wider and preened like he was supremely proud of himself.
In the instant Inori had used her jutsu and jumped away, not having her sensory abilities up and her focus on him being low, the boy switched with a Shadow Clone and sunk into the earth with the same Hiding in Surface jutsu his sensei had used against him, a jutsu he also knew.
After that, the clone went for a tag, causing a surprised Inori to dodge off balance through pure instinct and creating an opening for the hidden Shiki to emerge and tag her.
Already fully recovered, Mei approached the clearing and saw the fight was already over, she was caked with dirt and had a bunch of scratches from tree branches she collided with during her fall.
Shinka who followed behind her however, remained unruffled and untouched, much to the bespectacled girl's annoyance.
'It seems everyone came out looking perfect except good old Mei. Because my life is apparently not misfortunate enough for Sage's sake!' Mei internally complained.
Meanwhile the Aburame girl behind her was more unsettled than she showed but a quick glance from Inori showed the jonin had noticed it.
'That cursed witch is too damn good at sensing emotions, even lower Root operatives that are trained to act as machines without emotion nor thought beyond orders, even they can have the remnants of their emotions read, she even gets a rise out of them.'
Inori could almost read the insect user's internal monologue and her mood which had been brought down by Shiki was rapidly being restored to its heights.
Shinka however, had moved on to more critical matters.
'How did he avoid that woman's jutsu . . . No . . . It's not the kind of jutsu that can be avoided. As hard as it is to believe, he somehow resisted it and perfectly at that.'
"So what happened? Did we win?" Mei's voice sounded out with a question.
'That's the only way he could have exploited that opening, if he was immune. This boy's threat level must be updated. I'll need to secretly report to Danzo-sama. For now, focus on the present' She quickly sorted her thoughts.
Shikli explained his so-called master stroke to the group.
The explanation fit with the Aburame's analysis, the boy did not even pretend that Inori's jutsu had any effect on him, not that it would do him any good, no way Inori would have missed it if that was the case.
"How did you resist sensei's jutsu? I got knocked down completely . . . Even Shinka seemed to have resisted it." Mei pouted.
'How cute.' Shiki internally commented.
Strangely, Shinka took the initiative to explain herself this time.
{Making insects in body emit chakra pulses to counter the interference. Still got mostly paralyzed.}
'You intentions are too obvious little Shinka, tch, tch.' Inori internally cringed, this would only alert the boy.
'Just that much unsettled her, she must really want an explanation of my ability if she so eagerly explained how she did it. Root spy 100% confirmed.' Shiki thought.
When combined with his knowledge that the Root liked recruiting Aburame, his previous analyses on her behavior, it was an easy deduction.
'She seems suspiciously familiar with Inori-sensei as well . . . Mhmm . . .' The paranoia never stopped.
Then again, was it really paranoia if others were indeed out to get you?
All these thoughts came and went in a flash as Shiki formulated his own response.
"Actually . . ." The boy started but then paused, smiling as he felt the three focus on him.
"It's a secret!" He happily exclaimed without a care in the world, with a soft smile on his face.
Inori gave a token expression of annoyance, she could obviously tell that Shiki was not going to spill anything.
Mei on the other hand, was visibly holding back her urge to grab the impertinent little brat by the neck and teach him how to treat his elders.
It was Shinka's reaction, however, that surprised Shiki. A visible shift in her posture showed disappointment.
'D-Did she really think her little scheme would work?' The white haired boy was honestly not expecting it.
The ever perceptive Inori on the other hand, quietly, without drawing Shinki's attention, was already picking everything about Shiki's little move apart.
'My jutsu jams the brain's signals to the body, if it fails, either the signal did not reach or the interference power was not enough.' She pondered.
'That Hyuga bastard already showed that by emitting chakra through all his tenketsu, he can form a barrier to block the jamming, if he emits a violent burst, it can even disperse the signal, allowing others around him to recover.'
'But this boy did nothing of the sort. If anything, it seemed more like when I can't produce enough power due to distance or chakra depletion and the jamming signal just can't do anything . . .'
Slowly but surely, the blonde was figuring it out but the truth was just out of reach, Kukyo made Shiki's body control signal strong and hardened towards external interference.
Shiki did not interfere with Inori's signal, he just made his signal stronger.
'This might even be connected to the disconcerting mental read I have on him. He has some sort of secret jutsu that can counter mine, even my empathic sensing.' Inori's mouth curled into a genuine smile.
Her curiosity had been provoked and now she was immensely interested and personally invested in discovering the boy's secrets, it was not just a job any more.
As for future consequences of this change . . . Those could be considered in said future.
Right on cue, as if drawn by Inori's intense thoughts for him, Shiki called out.
"So what is the prize for winning the game of tag, sensei?"
+++++
Hey, Author here!
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -