"Who is 'Shisui of the Body Flicker'?"
At Orochimaru's question, the Uchiha elites all turned to look at a young man carrying a sword on his back.
Shisui froze for a brief moment, then flickered forward. In the next instant, he was already kneeling on one knee before Orochimaru. "Orochimaru-sama."
"As expected of someone called 'Body Flicker,' your speed is impressive."
Orochimaru licked his lips, narrowing his eyes as he sized Shisui up, the corner of his mouth curling into a dangerous smile.
This boy had fought in the Third Ninja War at only eleven years old, gaining quite a name in the ninja world. His eye power was strong, his strength nearly at the level of an elite jonin. Even Orochimaru had heard of him.
But what struck Orochimaru most on this first meeting wasn't his power—it was Shisui's nature. He was gentle, not like a typical Uchiha at all.
"Could it be true, what Genie said—that he has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan?"
Used to the arrogance of the Uchiha, facing someone as different as Shisui made Orochimaru wonder.
From the Second Hokage's research, the more extreme and forceful an Uchiha's personality, the stronger their Sharingan tended to be.
Yet this boy seemed kinder and calmer than most people. How could someone like him awaken the clan's forbidden eye?
Still, Genie's words had never been wrong before.
And even if he hadn't awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, this boy's talent and eye power already far surpassed normal Uchiha. He was a better candidate for the First Hokage's cell experiments.
The question was—how to make him agree willingly?
Thoughts racing, Orochimaru smiled. "This tailed beast simulation training will be dangerous. I'll need your speed to avoid the fight's shockwaves and carry injured Uchiha out of the battlefield."
"So, do you have the confidence to handle it?"
Shisui thought for a brief moment, then agreed.
He was confident in his speed and also enjoyed the tasks Orochimaru gave him.
"Very good. The drill is about to begin. Clan head Fugaku, as I said before, you don't need to fight—just focus on giving commands."
Fugaku nodded. Beside him, Itachi realized what was about to happen. He held Sasuke and pulled Shisui back to a safe distance.
In an instant, the training field was left with only Orochimaru and the elite members of the Police Force. The atmosphere grew heavy.
Under everyone's gaze, Orochimaru smiled, the corners of his mouth curving coldly. "What are you expecting? I don't have a tailed beast to show you."
"But… letting you feel the power of one is easy enough."
Orochimaru formed hand seals. "Forbidden Jutsu: Eight-Headed Serpent!"
…
A little farther away, in a tall tree.
Itachi crouched on a branch, trying to calm the uneasy Sasuke while his own face grew tense.
"What is that monster?"
Next to him, Shisui had already activated his Sharingan. He looked toward the battlefield, amazed.
"As expected of a ninja on the level of the Sannin. That amount of chakra… is he even human?"
As the smoke cleared, a creature nearly the size of the Nine-Tails appeared on the training field.
Its entire body was pure white, like eight giant snakes tangled together. Each of its eight heads stared coldly at the ninjas around it, as if they were just bugs.
"Itachi, looks like I can't stay here talking. I have to go right now."
After giving Itachi a quick instruction, Shisui vanished from where he stood.
…
"This is a ninjutsu humans can use? You've got to be kidding."
On the training field, more than twenty jonin and nearly a hundred chunin surrounded the Eight-Headed Serpent. Looking up at the massive beast, they swallowed hard.
Until they saw it with their own eyes, they couldn't imagine the shock of facing such a monster. For a moment, it felt like they were back on the night of the Nine-Tails attack.
The difference was, this time they weren't evacuating civilians or watching from afar. Now, they had to face the monster directly.
Fugaku, in charge of command, shouted loudly, "Restrict its movements! Create chances to attack!"
His order was like the signal to begin. The Uchiha elites around the field quickly formed seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
"…"
A storm of ninjutsu flew at the Eight-Headed Serpent, some strong, some weaker, but together they packed a heavy punch.
Still, as Orochimaru had said, they were used to fighting in small teams or one-on-one duels. They had no experience working together like an army to hunt down a boss. Their coordination was sloppy. At one point, someone even raised an Earth Wall that blocked a teammate's Fire Style attack. Mistakes like that threw the battlefield into chaos.
The Eight-Headed Serpent swung its massive tails, blowing away the ninjutsu that posed any threat with sheer wind pressure. The rest hit its body but barely scratched it.
"What pathetic teamwork."
One of the serpent's heads spoke in a booming, mocking voice that shook their hearts. "Do you want me to give you time for a little meeting first?"
Of course, no one could stop to chat. Not now, not ever.
The Uchiha elites felt their faces burning with shame.
After the Nine-Tails attack, they had been blamed and doubted. Deep down, though, many had thought, "If it were us, we could have done better. The huge losses back then were because others were incompetent."
But reality hit them hard. The Eight-Headed Serpent hadn't even started attacking yet, and their teamwork was already a mess.
Fugaku's own face grew hot. At least 80% of the failure in their coordination was his responsibility.
Pushing aside his frustration, Fugaku called out again, "Adjust positions! Return to your squads! First Police Force squad, move to the south—!"
As his orders rang out, the forest filled with the sound of bodies moving, cutting through the air. The Eight-Headed Serpent didn't strike, even though it could have caused great damage.
This was only a drill, after all.
Once they were in formation again, the Uchiha elites began releasing ninjutsu in waves, squad by squad. Their attacks grew more organized, and at last, they were able to land blows that actually affected the Eight-Headed Serpent.
Uchiha Fugaku was a capable clan leader. At least when it came to the members of the Police Force, he knew them well.
From the ninjutsu they had mastered to the fighting styles they were suited for, he was very familiar.
Among them, many of the Uchiha elites relied on sharp taijutsu and sword skills to fight on the battlefield. With their Sharingan, they were almost unstoppable.
But when fighting a tailed beast, much of that advantage was gone. No matter how skilled the blade, cutting into Yamata no Orochi only left a small mark. With its incredible regeneration, the wound could close before the sword was even withdrawn.
Fortunately, these elite ninja had large chakra reserves, so combining their strength with ninjutsu was easy.
"Third squad, use Fire Release to pin it down! Fourth squad, follow with Wind Release!"
Even though their repeated attacks failed, Fugaku's commands became smoother and sharper.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bombs!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"..."
Wind fueled the flames. Red light spread quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a large part of the forest was burning. The fire surrounded Yamata no Orochi.
But even at that scale, Fire Release posed little threat to Yamata no Orochi. It didn't even bother using ninjutsu. Its huge body simply rolled across the ground a few times, and the dust smothered the flames.
Not only that, the serpent's outer skin began to shed, with the burn marks peeling away as if they had never been there.
Fugaku didn't lose heart. This was still within expectations. He raised his arm. "Squad leaders, get ready to use genjutsu!"
While Yamata no Orochi was focused on healing from the fire damage, eight figures leapt into the air, tomoe spinning in their eyes as they locked onto the serpent's gaze.
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