Chapter 100: Testing the Subordinates' Strength!
'These clones are all solid?'
Nara Keisuke held his sword in his right hand and raised his left arm, simultaneously blocking the attacks from two Uchiha Shisuis. At the same time, his peripheral vision caught sight of more Shisuis surrounding him.
With a thought, Keisuke was about to replicate the opponent's move. But just then, a very slight sound of something cutting through the air came from behind, as if a sharp blade were slicing through it.
At some point, another Uchiha Shisui had flickered and appeared behind him, his blade already drawn and poised to strike.
Keisuke's sensory abilities were far beyond what they used to be. Having sensed the movement behind him in advance, his eyes narrowed slightly, a dark light dyeing his pupils as the [Lacquer Eye] technique silently activated.
[Shadow Sewing Technique]!
One after another, shadow tendrils shot out from the shadow beneath him, their tips like incomparably sharp shadow blades, attacking the Shisuis surrounding him with speed and urgency.
The attack speed of the shadow spikes formed by the [Shadow Sewing Technique] was not particularly fast. But the distance to these few Shisuis was simply too close. They had no time to react before their bodies were directly pierced through.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
With several dull sounds, the few Uchiha Shisuis surrounding Nara Keisuke were all run through by the shadow spikes.
Unexpectedly, after being attacked, these clones did not explode into a puff of smoke like normal [Shadow Clones]. Instead, they slowly dissipated on the spot like three intangible afterimages.
'It seems it's not the [Multiple Shadow Clone Technique].'
The shadow tendrils at Keisuke's feet continued to surge as a few thoughts flashed through his mind. 'No physical body, yet they can inflict effective attacks... A combination of the Clone Technique and the Body Flicker Technique? Perhaps with some Yin Release skills mixed in...'
In a short period of time, Keisuke had more or less figured out the substance of Shisui's very special "Phantom Body Flicker Technique."
He had no time to think too deeply. The new round of attacks had already arrived.
Uchiha Shisui held his kodachi, and fire-nature chakra spread and was infused into the blade. A bright yellow light gradually covered the snow-white blade, adding a dazzling color to it. "Uchiha Style: Sword Flame Dance!"
Shisui instantly closed in, swinging the flaming sword in his hand heavily, and slashed towards Keisuke.
"A combination of swordsmanship and ninjutsu?" Keisuke calmly swung his own sword to intercept. "A very good nin-taijutsu, Shisui."
Clang!
The lacquer-black blade of [Little Jizō] steadily intercepted the attack of the flaming sword, preventing it from advancing an inch.
The only response to Keisuke was: "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
The real Uchiha Shisui was forming the Tiger seal with both hands. Using the time bought by the attacks of his multiple clones, he released a fire ninjutsu of extremely high power.
Roar—
The sound of a dragon's roar seemed to come from mid-air. Three majestic and domineering giant fire dragons soared out from in front of Shisui. They moved their bodies in the air with incredible agility, carrying a terrifyingly high temperature that could suffocate an ordinary person, and smashed towards Keisuke's position. And the bright light emitted by these three fire dragons also directly drove Keisuke's shadow backward, completely destroying its original shape.
Faced with this familiar fire dragon attack, Keisuke sheathed his sword and rapidly formed hand signs. But Shisui's offense was not just a frontal fire-style suppression. In Keisuke's blind spot, a true shadow clone of Uchiha Shisui, holding a kodachi, closed in on the enemy with the Body Flicker Technique and infused almost all the chakra in its body into the sword in its hand.
"Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!"
Whoosh—
The kodachi held by Shisui's shadow clone seemed as if it had been doused in boiling hot oil. Raging flames wrapped around the blade, turning it into an abnormally magical great fire sword.
The Great Dragon Fire in front, the Great Fire Sword behind.
Trapped in the middle, Nara Keisuke completed the last hand sign and released the water-nature chakra he had been accumulating for a long time. "Water Release: Water Collision Waves!"
Surging water gushed out from beneath the earth, forming a vortex that surrounded Keisuke. It began to spin at high speed, and in the blink of an eye, it formed a towering water tornado.
Hiss—
The closer "Great Fire Sword" struck the barrier formed by the water tornado. The flames wrapped around its blade were extinguished in an instant, like the flame of a weak matchstick. Even the shadow clone holding the sword was directly crushed by the rotating power of the water tornado, exploding into a puff of smoke and dissipating into the air.
The next moment.
BOOM!
The three fire dragons crashed into the tornado barrier of the "Water Collision Waves" almost in unison, immediately erupting in a loud roar. The scorching flames evaporated the rotating water flow, instantly forming a sky full of white steam.
"A Water Release ninjutsu..."
Astonishment once again filled Uchiha Shisui's heart. He had never expected that besides his secret techniques, Keisuke could also use such a high-level water jutsu! It had only been a few months...
The insight of the Sharingan was not like the Byakugan; it did not have the effect of seeing through matter. Not to mention that the white steam covering the area was formed by the clash of high-level water and fire jutsu, mixed with a large amount of free-floating chakra, which further hindered the Sharingan's observational ability.
Shisui was just about to flicker out of the area covered by the white steam. But a lacquer-black bullet, under the cover of the mist, shot towards his body as fast as the wind.
[Shadow Binding Bullet]!
The viscous shadow transformed into tangible shadow tendrils, which firmly bound Shisui's body in place, making him unable to move.
'What kind of ninjutsu is this...'
Feeling the strong restraining force on his body, his red eyes were filled with confusion. 'What on earth has Nara learned...'
Through the binding effect of the [Shadow Binding Bullet], Keisuke flickered and appeared in front of Shisui, looking at his immobile subordinate with a smile. "Shisui, I've won this spar again."
Uchiha Shisui fell silent. He had thought his own progress was already exaggerated enough. He hadn't expected Keisuke's growth rate to be even more terrifying than his! No wonder he was already a Jonin...
Shisui said, convinced of his defeat, "I've lost, Captain."
As his voice fell, several lines of text popped up on the panel.
[You have defeated the B-rank Ninja Combat Mission target!]
[You have obtained one B-rank [Shinobi Secret Scroll]!]
Nara Keisuke was in a cheerful mood.
The white steam gradually dissipated, and the figures of the two were revealed in the eyes of the other two.
"Shisui, those few new ninjutsu just now were very good," Keisuke praised him from the bottom of his heart. "Especially that Uchiha-style nin-taijutsu, it was so cool!"
So cool...
The corner of Uchiha Shisui's mouth twitched slightly. He so wished he had heard "strong" just then, not "cool"!
"Those are new techniques I've researched during this time." Shisui sighed slightly, his expression showing a slight struggle. "And that Body Flicker Technique from before that looked like a clone technique. I originally thought they would provide considerable assistance in battle, but I didn't expect..."
"They were already very strong," Keisuke said, giving a thumbs-up. "Especially that Body Flicker Technique. In time, you might become famous on the battlefield for it!"
Hearing this, Shisui's mouth twitched again. Famous for the Body Flicker Technique? He had heard of the fame of the Yellow Flash! Was he supposed to be called something like the "Black Flash"? Or the "Uchiha Flash"?
The now-unbound Uchiha Shisui silently flickered to the side.
Nara Keisuke looked at the still-cold Hyūga Retsu, and the blank, helpless, and somewhat frightened Shizune at her side. "You two, who's next?"
"Me." Hyūga Retsu took a step forward and assumed the Gentle Fist stance. "Captain, I am not your match."
"Don't worry, I just want to test your skill level," Keisuke waved his hand dismissively. "It's not like we have to determine a winner."
Hyūga Retsu nodded silently. Vicious green veins bulged on the sides of her eyes and forehead; she had activated her family's inherited Kekkei Genkai—the Byakugan.
With the aid of the Byakugan, she clearly identified the position of the chakra point on her right palm, molded a large amount of chakra from her body, and released it all at once through that point. "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Bang!
An incomparably condensed ball of chakra energy was released from Retsu's fair palm, shooting towards Keisuke at extremely high speed. Sensing this high-density chakra attack, Keisuke had no intention of being careless. The Hyūga's Gentle Fist was famous for a reason! But considering the purpose of testing her strength, he still did not flicker away to dodge. Instead, he manipulated his own shadow, which quickly formed a black shield in front of him.
[Shadow Shield Technique]!
Bang—Crack!
The high-density chakra from the Vacuum Palm bombarded the shadow shield, immediately erupting in a strange sound. However, after only a moment's stalemate, the shadow shield shattered and dissipated into the air. The impact energy of the Vacuum Palm continued to fly backward. Keisuke planted his feet and, relying on his own agile speed, dodged its attack.
The unspent force of the Vacuum Palm continued backward, flying into the forest surrounding the Third Training Ground and easily knocking down several trees.
[C-rank Ninja Combat Mission Detected!]
[C-rank Mission: Squad Member #2]
[Mission Content: Defeat/Kill Hyūga Retsu]
[Mission Reward: C-rank Shinobi Secret Scroll]
"A very powerful attack." Keisuke looked at Retsu, just about to praise her.
But Retsu, who had no intention of stopping, just raised both hands and simultaneously released two Vacuum Palms. "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm!"
The combination of the two palms formed a larger and more powerful mass of chakra energy, and its flight speed was also faster than the previous attack.
Keisuke did not dodge, letting the opponent's attack smash into his body.
[Earth Release: Earth Substitution]!
Boom!
The "Vacuum Wall Palm" attack easily smashed Keisuke to pieces. His body exploded into clumps of mud, splashing in all directions. And Keisuke's real body seized the opportunity to flash forward, arriving in front of Hyūga Retsu.
Before he could attack, Retsu, whose forehead was already showing beads of sweat, took the initiative to speak. "I surrender."
[You have defeated the C-rank Ninja Combat Mission target!]
[You have obtained one C-rank [Shinobi Secret Scroll]!]
The corner of Keisuke's mouth twitched. "Not going to try a bit more?"
"In close-quarters combat, the advantage of the Shadow Secret Techniques is too great," Retsu said, her expression showing no fluctuation. "So I surrender."
Keisuke was silent for a moment. He had clearly won, yet he had the feeling of having lost. He looked at the last person. "Shizune?"
The medical ninja took a deep breath and charged forward with a series of yells.
A moment later, the message on Keisuke's panel revealed the fate of this medical logistics soldier.
[You have defeated the C-rank Ninja Combat Mission target!]
[You have obtained one C-rank [Shinobi Secret Scroll]!]
(End of Chapter)
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