"Finishing the written portion of the Chūnin Exam and jumping straight into a combat assessment? Just how impatient is the Fourth Hokage?"
Uchiha Shion muttered as he glanced across the training field at Kakashi, who stood there looking lazy as ever. The boy's droopy, dead-fish eyes made it seem like he hadn't even woken up yet. Kakashi tilted his head slightly, meeting Shion's gaze.
"In that state, aren't you underestimating me a little?" Shion asked.
Kakashi shook his head slightly. "The match hasn't even started yet. And with power like yours, this exam is little more than a formality, isn't it?"
With that, he lifted his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan. The three tomoe spun slowly as he fixed his gaze on Shion.
"You've already used that power. You know how draining it is. For something like an assessment, surely you won't need to use your Mangekyō?"
Shion smiled. You pass out after two shots, but I'm not you…
Besides, his Kamui was faster at long range than Obito's speed. Not bad for a simple exam.
At that moment, the Fourth Hokage—Namikaze Minato, watching personally from the sidelines—spoke up.
"This is only an assessment. Don't use your Mangekyō Sharingan; the chakra drain is too great."
As his words fell, he raised his hand.
Shion and Kakashi formed the seal of confrontation.
"Shunshin!"
Shion's figure blurred. In an instant, he appeared behind Kakashi, kunai pressing against his neck. "Too careless. It's over."
Kakashi's voice came out low. "The one who isn't taking this seriously is you. You didn't even activate your three-tomoe Sharingan."
"Boom!"
Smoke puffed out—the Kakashi he had struck vanished.
From below—Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu.
The ground shifted beneath him. Shion's body flickered and disappeared before the technique could take hold.
Kakashi surfaced, only to see Shion with both eyes blazing—his three-tomoe Sharingan now revealed. Thin glints of silver—wires—stretched faintly in the air.
Seal sequence: Snake → Dragon → Hare → Tiger.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Flames roared along the wires, surging like a dragon toward Kakashi.
Seal sequence: Tiger → Snake → Tiger → Snake → Tiger → Snake.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Kakashi's hands blurred with seals. From the nearby pool, a torrent of water surged up, forming a barrier that shielded him from the flames.
"Hiss…"
Steam clouded the training field. Kakashi swept the area with his Sharingan, but visibility was poor. With only one Sharingan eye, this environment worked against him.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
He exhaled a gust of wind, scattering the steam.
But then—
"Shunshin!"
A blade flashed. A long sword sliced past his face by a hair's breadth.
"Your reaction speed is impressive," Shion remarked.
Kakashi leapt back, a kunai raised defensively. "And you're no slower than Shisui himself."
Steel clashed—sword against kunai—sparks scattering. Shion broke away, hands flying through seals: Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Hare → Tiger.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Six fireballs burst forth, each guided by chakra threads, fanning out to engulf Kakashi's front.
But Kakashi was equally quick, hands weaving signs.
Dragon → Snake → Ram.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Boom!"
The fireballs smashed into a massive wall of earth. Four snarling dog heads decorated the barrier, making Shion's eye twitch.
"Huff… huff…" Kakashi wiped sweat from his brow, panting hard.
Shion raised an eyebrow. "Out of chakra, but you still make time for the dog heads? Need to keep your image intact?"
He leapt over the wall in a flash, blade crashing down.
"Boom!"
Kakashi was blasted backward from the force of the strike. Shion pursued without pause.
"Chiiiiiirp!"
The screech of a thousand birds filled the air, then suddenly cut off. Lightning flared in Kakashi's hand—the perfected Chidori, Raikiri.
"Shunshin!"
With lightning speed, Kakashi shot forward, hand piercing toward Shion's chest.
If this weren't an exam, that strike would have been aimed at his heart.
"Pshhh!"
The lightning pierced Shion's shoulder—yet Kakashi's instincts screamed wrong. The sensation wasn't right.
A clone!
When?
At the Phoenix Sage Fire? While on the Earth Wall?
"You figured it out?" Shion's voice echoed as the clone dissolved into smoke. His real self appeared, blade descending once more.
"Clang!"
Steel clashed again. Kakashi's lightning-charged hand thrust out, stabbing through Shion's body.
"What?!"
His Raikiri pierced clean through—but no blood flowed.
The sword strike was real, the kick to his gut had been real… but this body? An illusion? A paradox?
Kakashi staggered back, staring in shock.
From the mist, five Uchiha Shions emerged at once—identical blades, identical movements.
How?
Back then—three years ago—the masked man's battle with Shisui in Kamui's space. Shisui's famous technique, wasn't it the same as this?
"So it's like that…" Kakashi's eyes narrowed, voice steady now. "Shisui's Shunshin was never just speed. It was an illusion entwined with the Sharingan. That's the true 'Body Flicker Shisui.'"
Shion chuckled. "You caught on quickly. But can you unravel it in time?"
The five figures spoke in unison, their voices overlapping. "What stands before you is both real and unreal. Illusory, yet each strike lands true."
Kakashi's expression hardened. "I underestimated you because of the three tomoe. One Sharingan eye alone isn't enough to match your twin Mangekyō, even when you're not actively using their power."
He bit his lip and formed a seal, summoning a shadow clone.
"Huff… huff…" Lightning sparked once more in his hand.
"Even if I can't tell which one is your true body… every single attack still cuts for real…"