The three of them stepped deeper into the training ground. Izumi and Shisui were both fully prepared for combat. As soon as Itachi announced the start of the match, Izumi immediately unleashed his shuriken—three at once, fired from different directions, aiming to corner Shisui.
Shisui's eyes glimmered with appreciation at the display. With a graceful leap, he dodged the incoming shuriken with ease.
Seeing Shisui's movement, Izumi's face lit up with a mischievous grin. Suddenly, extremely thin steel wires appeared in his hands. Pulling with all his strength, he altered the trajectory of his shuriken. What was supposed to be Shisui evading his attack now landed him right in Izumi's trap.
Shisui casually tossed a shuriken in response. It bounced between Izumi's three shuriken, destroying the trap and redirecting itself toward Izumi.
True to his reputation, Shisui effortlessly neutralized Izumi's attack—and counterattacked at the same time. But was Izumi really that easy to handle?
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
With a flick of his fingers and two rapid hand signs in a single second, Izumi released a fireball within three seconds. The massive sphere of flame not only engulfed Shisui's shuriken but surged toward him with relentless force. Seeing this, Shisui responded in kind, releasing his own Great Fireball Jutsu.
Compared to Izumi's one-second, two-hand-sign release, Shisui's speed was double. Within two seconds, an enormous fireball formed, its size and heat far surpassing Izumi's.
The two jutsu collided in a deafening explosion. When the smoke cleared, Izumi had vanished. Shisui, cautious not to activate his Sharingan, waited patiently—using it recklessly could have given Izumi the chance to strike.
Minutes ticked by, and Izumi still hadn't revealed himself. Shisui remained vigilant. Just as the fifteen-minute mark neared, a shuriken suddenly shot out. Though Shisui still hadn't activated his Sharingan, he noticed a strange talisman attached behind it—a detonation seal. Seeing this, Shisui couldn't help but wonder: was this little boy some kind of explosives enthusiast? At such a young age, how could he even think of this?
Shisui dodged the shuriken and extinguished the detonating talisman, careful not to damage the training ground.
At that moment, Izumi suddenly appeared, launching two shuriken, each attached with a detonation seal.
After firing the explosives, he still had two shuriken left in his hands. Just as he prepared to throw them, his foot slipped, and he tumbled to the ground. The shuriken fell a short distance ahead, the detonation seals now burning and moments away from exploding.
Reacting instantly, Shisui teleported to Izumi's side, extinguishing the seals.
"Izumi, are you okay?"
Shisui tried to help him up, but at that moment, a sudden burst of flame erupted. Shisui, caught off guard, barely dodged the fireball. Though he avoided a direct hit, a trace of fire scorched his shoulder.
"You little…!" Shisui sat heavily on the ground, utterly shocked. He had never expected Izumi to pull off something like this.
"Hehe," Izumi said, sitting awkwardly on the ground, a sheepish smile on his face. In a normal fight, he knew there was no way he could have injured Shisui without the Sharingan. This was the only method that could possibly succeed—and it had.
"You're not even worried you might blow yourself up if I react too slowly?"
"No, Shisui-dono. The last two detonation seals were ones I drew myself—they won't actually explode. As for the flames, I lit them in advance."