[Sasuke Uchiha: "What?! Thirty chūnin and jōnin?!"]
[Onoki: "You're joking… This is a freshly graduated genin?"]
[A (Fourth Raikage): "Hey, hey—thirty chūnin and jōnin? Even I would treat that lineup cautiously."]
Although the power scaling of shinobi could sometimes seem inconsistent—some jōnin were exceptionally powerful (such as Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy), while others were more average (such as Kurenai Yūhi)—they were still jōnin.
Jōnin represented the high-end combat power of a village.
Chūnin were its backbone.
Shinobi were typically high offense, low defense. One mistake, and the outcome could flip instantly.
Though the thirty gathered here were mostly chūnin and special jōnin, even an average Kage-level fighter would need to approach them carefully.
The Battle Begins
The Root shinobi struck first, launching a volley of shuriken.
"Shing—shing—shing!"
A dense rain of shuriken shot toward Nagi.
He remained standing where he was. Relying solely on his sensory perception, his body made subtle shifts—barely noticeable movements that allowed him to evade the entire barrage.
When the shuriken assault ended, Nagi was still standing in the same spot.
Not only was he uninjured—his clothes weren't even scratched.
[Naruto Uzumaki: "Whoa! Nagi, how did you do that?!"]
[Onoki: "I considered many possibilities—but not this one."]
[A (Fourth Raikage): "This… how is that possible?"]
Even someone like him, a master of taijutsu, could tank attacks with his body and boast tremendous speed—but such precise, minimal evasion? That was another matter entirely.
[Kiba Inuzuka: "That move was awesome! Nagi, can you teach me?!"]
Ninjutsu Exchange
With the shuriken assault failing, the Root shinobi switched to long-range ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"…!"
A barrage of techniques thundered forward.
Nagi raised his right arm, palm open.
"Water Release: Water Shield."
Chakra gathered instantly in his palm, forming a massive shield of water.
The incoming ninjutsu bombarded the shield—but it only rippled. It did not break.
Then—
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Eight dragon heads suddenly emerged from the surface of the water shield. The dragons surged forward at astonishing speed, crashing toward the Root shinobi.
Some dodged. Others countered.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
"…!"
Meanwhile, those who evaded drew their blades and kunai, closing in for close-quarters combat.
Nagi drew his own chokutō and engaged.
Though outnumbered, and though every strike aimed for vital points, Nagi's heightened sensory ability allowed him to evade each killing blow. His blade flowed seamlessly, neutralizing their assaults.
For a moment, neither side gained ground.
The Root shinobi leapt backward in unison—
And as they did, the kunai previously hidden behind their bodies suddenly shot toward Nagi.
The distance was too close.
Nagi deflected the kunai with his blade—
But some were wrapped in explosive tags.
The instant they struck his sword—
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The explosion erupted, filling the area with thick smoke.
"Did it work?"
An experienced jōnin noticed flickers of lightning flashing within the smoke.
His instincts screamed danger.
"Not good! Get back!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Spear!"
A concentrated bolt of lightning blasted from within the smoke.
Those too slow to evade were struck instantly.
After the flash faded, the hit shinobi lay collapsed—their skin charred black, hair standing on end, eyes rolled back in unconsciousness.
Nearby comrades dragged them out of the field to waiting medical-nin, who immediately began treatment as usual.
[Naruto Uzumaki: "Huh? What just happened?!"]
[Shikamaru Nara: "Too fast… I couldn't see it."]
Onoki, long accustomed to fighting Lightning Release users, narrowed his eyes.
[Onoki: "If I'm not mistaken, the one struck by the explosive tags was a Lightning Release shadow clone. At the same time, Shiranui Nagi used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to the opposite side. The explosion triggered the clone's lightning current, which resonated with the lightning in his own hand—causing the electrical current to instantly return to him."]
What Onoki did not say was this—
That current had returned at terrifying speed.
One mistake in control, and Nagi's arm would have been ruined.
[Choji Akimichi: "I don't really get it… but it sounds amazing."]
Counterattack
Nagi launched his assault.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A massive surge of water erupted around him like a crashing sea.
In the next instant, he drew his blade.
"Flowing Ripple Slash."
He dashed forward, executing a sweeping iaijutsu strike. Water spiraled around him, forming a vortex-like current that amplified the slash into a massive rotating wave of destruction.
Most couldn't evade in time.
They were struck head-on.
When the waters receded, the majority lay unconscious.
Because Nagi had struck with the blunt edge of his blade, they were merely knocked out—otherwise, they would have been cut in half.
The few remaining shinobi attacked the instant he reappeared.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Caught off guard, Nagi froze mid-step.
A pale, purple-skinned shinobi—Torune Aburame—appeared before him in a blur and slammed his palm into Nagi's body.
Nagi was blasted backward, crashing heavily into the ground.
A purple handprint remained where he had been struck—and the discoloration began spreading rapidly.
[Shino Aburame: "Not good. Those are Torune's nano-sized venomous insects."]
[Kiba Inuzuka: "Huh? Like the bugs on you?"]
[Shino Aburame: "No. Torune's nano-insects are far more lethal than my kikaichū. Anyone they touch becomes infected and dies almost instantly."]
[Naruto Uzumaki: "What?! That's terrifying! Isn't Nagi in danger?!"]
[Onoki: "Probably not. He's the leader of Root. As a member of the Aburame Clan, Torune should have the ability to retract them. Still… for a young shinobi to push things this far is already impressive."]
[Killer B: "Yo! Nice! His swordsmanship's legit, yo! Hope we spar someday, yo!"]
[A (Fourth Raikage): "At his age, reaching this level is already remarkable."]
The Hidden Cloud Village always respected strength.
[Mei Terumi: "He's done wonderfully, handsome boy."]
For Mei, good looks carried their own justice.
Indeed—
Thirty chūnin and jōnin amounted to a force comparable to that of a small nation.
And these were Konoha's jōnin.
It was widely acknowledged that Konohagakure's jōnin were among the highest quality in the Five Great Nations.
Some shinobi watching felt that, in Nagi's place, they might not have performed as well.
Yet veterans of the Warring States Period sensed something strange.
Those who had lived through that era remained constantly vigilant.
[Tajima Uchiha: "Something's off."]
[(Uchiha elder): "There's something strange about this."]
[Butsuma Senju: "It's genjutsu."]
Perhaps the ones most familiar with genjutsu were not those who cast it—
But those who had spent their lives fighting against it.
Having battled the Uchiha Clan for decades, Butsuma Senju's instincts recognized it immediately.
[Onoki: "What?! Genjutsu? That's impossible."]
[Hashirama Senju: "Hm? Isn't it obvious?"]
[Onoki: "Cough… If the First Hokage says so, then it must be so."]