Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
After his Great Fireball Technique missed, Uchiha Shisui didn't stop his movements. He formed hand seals again, and flames surged from his mouth once more. Fireballs, one after another, attacked Chishimo from above, middle, and below.
Chishimo remained unperturbed. The moment the fireballs arrived, he used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge each one. When he looked up again, Shisui's figure was gone.
"He's behind me!"
Three years of consistent training had already transformed Chishimo. Although Shisui's Body Flicker Technique was exquisite, Chishimo still detected his presence the instant he appeared.
Chishimo spun around abruptly, raising the Kunai in his hand to easily block Shisui's unexpected downward slash.
His attack missed again, and Shisui didn't linger. Using the recoil from his slash, he propelled himself backward with his legs, widening the distance from Chishimo again. Shisui knew very well how abnormal Chishimo's taijutsu was, so he gave him no opportunity to display that specialty.
"Still no good, huh? Simple Body Flicker Technique really can't deal with you, Chishimo!" Shisui said with a hint of regret.
"Shisui, I can tell this isn't your true strength, right? If you don't use your real power, you're going to lose!" Chishimo smiled confidently, but his heart was already filled with extreme caution.
Others might not know, but how could he, who had read the original work, not know that in the near future, Shisui's Body Flicker Technique would be developed to its peak, to the extent that afterimages could be mistaken for the real body? This was how he earned the title "Body Flicker Shisui."
He just didn't know what level Shisui's development of this technique had reached at this moment, a few years before.
"You saw through it? Then I won't hold back anymore. Chishimo, this is a new technique I developed through the Body Flicker Technique. Although it's not perfect yet, it's enough for every afterimage to be a real body. You need to be careful!"
Forming hand seals again, Shisui's figure began to blur. Three identical figures successively split from Shisui's body. From their appearance alone, the four individuals looked exactly alike, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.
Upon seeing this, the relaxed ease on Chishimo's face vanished. After all, facing "Body Flicker Shisui's" signature technique, he truly felt uncertain.
His Sharingan had quietly activated, three tomoe slowly rotating in his blood-red eyes, as if trying to see through the true nature of the four figures before him. But Chishimo still couldn't discern anything, clearly just as Shisui had said, every afterimage was a real body. This was the manifestation of the Body Flicker Technique pushed to its extreme.
"He's forming the hand seals for the Body Flicker Technique, but the effect is similar to the Shadow Clone Technique, and I can't even tell which is the real body. What exactly is this?"
This display even left the teachers, who considered themselves quite knowledgeable, completely bewildered. Among everyone present, besides the caster Shisui himself, perhaps only Chishimo understood the principle of this technique.
But knowing it was one thing; if Chishimo were to try to replicate it, the probability of failure would likely still be greater than the probability of success.
"Here I come!"
There was no more time to think. Shisui and his afterimages had already swarmed forward. Shisui's eyes had also transformed into Sharingan, indicating he intended to fight with his full power.
The four Shisuis attacked from the left, front, and right directions. Even with Chishimo's strength, simultaneously defending against the combined assault of four individuals became somewhat difficult.
At this moment, Chishimo's brain was rapidly working, constantly thinking of a strategy to break this technique.
The two sides exchanged blows for an unknown number of rounds. Chishimo dodged the attacks of two figures again, then used his Kunai to block another Shisui's Kunai. The next second, he was kicked away by the fourth Shisui who appeared in front of him.
Even though he had raised his arm to block the kick an instant before, a burning pain still shot through Chishimo's arm.
Without giving Chishimo any chance to catch his breath, the four Shisuis advanced simultaneously.
This time, the four Shisuis' movements were identical, thrusting their Kunai forward from different directions, attacking Chishimo.
Even the teachers and classmates watching from the side couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for Chishimo. If these four strikes landed simultaneously, wouldn't Chishimo be riddled with holes like a sieve?
Just as the proctor was about to call a halt, Chishimo, contrary to everyone's expectations, showed no panic. A faint smile played on the corner of his lips.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
A cloud of hot, high-temperature ash burst from Chishimo's mouth, then diffused, covering a large area in moments. The thick ash immediately obscured everyone's vision. Even Shisui, in the center, despite having the enhancement of the Sharingan, momentarily lost Chishimo's position.
Whoosh!
From within the smoke, a shuriken shot out, aiming squarely at Shisui's face. But how could such a trick faze Shisui, who possessed the Sharingan? Sensing the shuriken's trajectory, Shisui easily dodged it by shifting his body.
But how could Chishimo's attack be only of this level?
Shuriken after shuriken darted out from different directions and angles. Shisui and his afterimages dodged each one. Although the attacks still caused no substantial damage to Shisui, imperceptibly, the distance between the four Shisuis was gradually decreasing.
While blocking the attacks, Shisui was also using his Sharingan to constantly search for Chishimo's location based on the shuriken's trajectories.
"Found him!"
Shisui's four blood-red eyes suddenly focused on a single point in the dust. The four figures simultaneously rushed towards that direction.
In the darkness, a soft chuckle came.
"Was I discovered? But it's too late!"
The next moment, an unexpected change occurred. Before Shisui's four figures had run far, they felt themselves being uncontrollably pulled together by an unknown great force.
"Nani?" Shisui looked down, only to see steel wires, appearing from nowhere, tightly dragging him.
Because there was no light penetrating the smoke earlier, Shisui hadn't noticed the steel wires tied to the shuriken. But realizing it now was clearly too late. Shisui tried to resist, but it was completely useless.
Not long after, Shisui's four figures were already bound together. Under spatial restrictions, the Body Flicker Technique automatically dispelled, and the four figures reverted to one.
A gentle breeze swept through, and the dust gradually dispersed. Those outside the smoke could now clearly see the situation inside.
Chishimo was seen holding a Kunai, pressed against Shisui, who had been inexplicably hog-tied.
"This is Sharingan Windmill: Three Blades. You lost, Shisui!"
With the battle over, Chishimo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah! As expected, even using that move wasn't enough to beat you, huh?" Uchiha Shisui's lips curled into a bitter smile.
"Your Body Flicker Technique is indeed formidable. Next time, if you're prepared, I might not necessarily win against you!" Chishimo teased.
At this moment, the proctor had also walked over. Seeing the scene before him, how could he not know the outcome? He just wasn't quite clear about the intermediate process, but now was clearly not the time to ask questions. The important thing was to announce the results.
"Alright, the victor has been decided. This Ninja battle is won by Uchiha Chishimo! Both parties, form the Reconciliation Seal!"
"Chishimo! Chishimo!" Upon hearing the result, waves of cheers erupted like a tide.
At this moment, the graduating students' gazes towards Chishimo and Shisui changed repeatedly, from initial underestimation, to later seriousness, and now to admiration. The strength of the two had been completely recognized by everyone.
Even the teacher beside them couldn't help but exclaim, "Truly heroes emerge from youth! Congratulations to you both, you are now qualified Genin!"
"Eh? Please wait, Sensei, I clearly lost just now." Uchiha Shisui, who had just been untied, questioned the proctor's words with some confusion.
The proctor's mouth twitched violently. If this level of strength isn't enough to be a Genin, how are the other graduates supposed to live?
But he still explained, "Your strength fully meets the conditions to pass as a Genin. You both are qualified to become Genin."