Hikari swung her left hand mid-charge, sending a shuriken whistling through the air.
The shuriken abruptly split mid-flight, multiplying into over a dozen shurikens that sealed off all of Shisui's escape routes.
"What?!" Recognizing the Uchiha-style Shurikenjutsu in the attack, Shisui didn't dare underestimate it. He swiftly formed hand seals.
[Afterimage Clone]
In an instant, Shisui's figure blurred and distorted, as multiple afterimage clones materialized around him.
These afterimage clones deftly parried the incoming shuriken with their kunai before counterattacking, charging straight toward Hikari.
"Clone Technique?" When Hikari saw so many afterimage clones intercepting the shurikens she threw, she initially thought it was some variation of the Clone Technique.
But as she engaged them with her kunai, she realized these afterimages had no physical form.
Just as Hikari was puzzling over what kind of Ninjutsu this was, a surge of danger prickled at her back. She immediately lashed out with a reverse.
Her foot connected solidly with one of the afterimages.
The sense of reality coming from her feet told Hikari that this was not an illusion or a clone.
"A brat from the Uchiha Clan?" Catching sight of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning in the afterimages' eyes, Hikari's interest was piqued.
Her black pupils abruptly transformed as her own Three-Tomoe Sharingan whirled to life, instantly locking onto the afterimages.
At the same time, she saw through the trick behind them.
Like a specter, Hikari effortlessly weaved through the converging attacks of the afterimages, her figure flickering indistinctly.
The next moment, she appeared directly in front of one of the afterimages.
Before it could react, she delivered a brutal kick straight to its chest!
Bang!
The force of the blow caved in Shisui's chest, sending him flying several meters before he crashed into a tree.
"Cough, cough-" Shisui spat out a mouthful of blood as the surrounding afterimages dissipated.
"Why do you have…?" Struggling to push himself up, Shisui stared in shock at the black-haired girl before him. Beneath her flowing locks, a pair of scarlet Sharingan stared at him coldly.
This girl, who looked only slightly older than him, was actually an Uchiha too!
And it was precisely because of those Three-Tomoe Sharingan that she had seen through the Afterimage Clone he is proud of!
"I thought it was some kind of clone or Genjutsu, but it was just a high-speed movement technique." Hikari remarked, tilting her chin up as she slowly advanced toward the injured Shisui.
"You've honed your movement technique to its peak… using afterimages to deliver physical attacks while turning intangible to evade strikes. Your real body hides among these afterimages, blending truth with illusion."
Hikari dissected the secrets of Shisui's technique, leaving him deeply wary of this Uchiha Clan's member he had never seen before.
"Konoha's Jonin, Uchiha Shisui." Shisui gasped, pressing a hand to his fractured ribs as he demanded, "You're also an Uchiha, right? Why have I never seen you before?"
Faced with Shisui's questioning, the faint trace of approval on Hikari's face instantly vanished.
"Tch. Uchiha brat, you can call me Nanashi." Hikaru declared arrogantly, glaring down at Shisui.
Whoosh-
Before her words fully settled, several razor-sharp wind blades suddenly shot toward her from behind!
[Vacuum Sword]
Hayama, who had been lurking for a long time, suddenly attacked, slashing his long sword to unleash the wind blades at the girl.
Boom!
Just as Hayama thought his ambush had succeeded, the black-haired girl erupted with black flames that writhed like living creatures, forming a wall of fire behind her that instantly devoured all the incoming wind blades!
Seeing this, Hayama gritted his teeth and prepared to press the assault.
[Konoha-Style Swordsmanship]
Hayama waved the long sword in his hand and charged at Hikari from the flank.
At the same time, Hoheto, who had been hiding in the forest, rushed out from another direction at this time, his Byakugan fully activated. He formed hand seals and joined Hayama in a coordinated attack!
However, upon seeing those black flames, Shisui's expression twisted in alarm. He immediately shouted at the two, "Retreat!"
He didn't even have time to call their names, because the Uchiha's battle instinct told him that this black flame was extremely terrifying!
Hayama and Hoheto also sensed something wrong. This black flame seemed somewhat eerie.
Just as they tried to fall back, they realized the black-haired girl, who is previously protected by the fire wall, had already disappeared.
"Damn it!" Hoheto's Byakugan widened in shock as a kunai shot toward him, aiming straight for his face!
Hoheto barely managed to dodge, but the kunai still grazed his cheek, leaving a trail of blood.
On the other side, Hayama was grabbed by Hikari, who had instantly appeared before him. Her hand clamped around his skull before slamming him violently into the ground.
Boom!
The ground cratered, cracks spreading like a spiderweb, and his long sword clattered away.
Hayama immediately lost consciousness.
"Shisui! Who is she?" Hoheto, who had narrowly escaped death, staggered to Shisui's side. Staring at those all-too-familiar Sharingan eyes, his entire body trembled as he asked.
"Yeah… Without a doubt, she's an Uchiha..." Shisui watched as the black-haired girl effortlessly lifted Hayama's unconscious body and tossed it aside like trash.
Faced with such a formidable enemy, Hoheto felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. As one of the two great noble clans of Konoha, the Hyuga Clan had a deep understanding of the Uchiha Clan.
In fact, during his time at the Ninja Academy and the Third Great Ninja War, Hoheto had many classmates and comrades who were Uchiha, so he knew all too well the terrifying combat prowess of this clan.
Thus, upon confirming that their opponent was an Uchiha, Hoheto did his best to avoid looking directly into her eyes!
"Nanashi!" Shisui endured the pain of two broken ribs in his chest and shouted to the girl in front of him: "I don't know how you ended up lost outside, but our Uchiha Clan has already joined Konoha! You can come back… come home!"
It had to be said that Shisui's loyalty to his clan and village ran deep. Even when facing an unknown Uchiha Clan's member like Hikari, his first instinct was to persuade her to return.
"Home?" Hikari let out a scornful laugh, as if she had just heard the most ridiculous joke.
"I, too, once saw the Uchiha Clan as my only refuge and support. But instead, I was treated as a weapon, imprisoned. In all my time with the Uchiha Clan, I never once felt the so-called warmth of family."
"The clan abandoned me for so many years, never once searching for me. And now, you want me to return?!" Hikari recalled the centuries she had spent sealed underground, wrapped in endless darkness!
No one had come for her. The Uchiha Clan had acted as though she were already dead.
Until that person appeared and rescued her from the endless darkness.
Having already vowed to stay by that person's side forever, Hikari now felt nothing but hatred for the Uchiha Clan!
"If that's how it is, then I'll just have to bring you back by force!" Shisui's Three-Tomoe Sharingan suddenly spun, transforming into the shuriken-like pattern of the Mangekyo.
At this moment, Shisui still believed that the girl before him only possessed an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan.