Chapter 338: Kakashi's Life Mission
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
The moment Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall rose up, Shisui immediately formed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone, then used Body Flicker Technique to retreat and hide his real body behind a large tree.
Since he did not know what Kakashi planned to do next, Shisui chose to conceal himself first and observe.
Then he activated his Sharingan, his perception sharpening in an instant.
In the next moment, Kakashi leapt up onto the top of the earth wall, looking down at Shisui's Shadow Clone below.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Shisui's Shadow Clone quickly flung several shuriken, forcing Kakashi to move, then used Body Flicker Technique to rush straight at him.
Kakashi ran and jumped along the earth wall, weaving past the incoming shuriken, and finally collided with Shisui's charging clone.
The two exchanged dozens of rapid blows.
Very soon, Shisui's Shadow Clone fell into a disadvantage.
The clone wanted to pull back.
Even though Shadow Clones were solid, once they took enough damage, they would disperse.
Just then, another Kakashi suddenly burst up from underground and grabbed the Shadow Clone's ankle.
The abrupt change opened a gap, and the first Kakashi's punch landed cleanly.
With a bang, Shisui's Shadow Clone burst into smoke and vanished.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
The instant the Kakashi on the ground surfaced, dense fireballs rained down from the tree and blasted toward him.
Boom, boom.
A storm of small fireballs swallowed the Kakashi on the ground, and he dispersed together with the fading remnants of Shisui's clone.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
At that moment, yet another Kakashi emerged from underground, quickly forming hand seals and unleashing a powerful spear of lightning.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Shisui, still concealed in the tree canopy, formed hand signs again and spat out a massive fireball at Kakashi.
Rumble.
The razor sharp lightning spear pierced through the giant fireball as easily as popping a balloon, then continued on to smash into the large tree where Shisui was hiding, splitting the trunk and sending it crashing down.
Kakashi did not smile.
At the last instant he had seen a figure flash away and had to twist aside to dodge a kunai.
Whoosh.
Just as Shisui was about to press his attack, a streak of yellow lightning tore out from behind another tree, a vicious lightning charged slash aiming straight for his body.
Ambushed at close range, Shisui did not panic.
He even smiled.
Rumble.
The "Shisui" struck by the lightning slash suddenly exploded, and the fierce jonin level blast swallowed both figures.
"That Kakashi guy is always tricking people with Shadow Clones, and he finally got tricked himself. But an explosion like that probably will not kill him," Obito muttered, staring at the billowing smoke. He even felt an itch to activate his Sharingan.
"How could my best friend fall to something like an exploding tag," Guy said firmly. He had complete faith in Kakashi.
The smoke quickly thinned and drifted away.
There was no one inside the blast zone, only scorched earth blackened by the explosion.
Both Kakashi and Shisui from earlier had been Shadow Clones.
Whoosh.
While the spectators were still processing the sudden reversal, Shisui's real body suddenly flashed out from another direction.
Kakashi immediately locked onto him, meeting the blood red glow of Shisui's Sharingan.
"Phantom Body Flicker Technique!"
The moment their eyes met, Shisui activated his Sharingan and formed hand seals at the same time.
In an instant, more than twenty "Shisuis" appeared all over the field, encircling Kakashi from every direction.
"Multiple Shadow Clones?"
That was the first thought that flashed through Kakashi's mind.
But he immediately rejected it.
The technique itself was not that hard to learn, but Shisui's chakra reserves should not be enough to support more than twenty proper combat ready Shadow Clones.
Unless they were hollow clones without combat ability, which would be pointless.
Whoosh.
Kakashi flung a shuriken at one of the Shisuis, and something unexpected happened.
The shuriken passed straight through the body.
The Shisui it hit did not vanish, there was no blood, no reaction at all.
"A clone without a physical body?" Kakashi frowned. "That is even more useless."
Before he could think it through, several Shisuis rushed him at once and engaged in close combat.
The strange part was that these Shisuis all felt completely solid.
Kakashi drove Thunder Breathing to the limit, erupting with speed to break through the encirclement.
And the more he moved, the more confused he became.
In the chaos, he casually hurled another ninja tool at one of the figures, and it still passed through like cutting through mist.
A suspicion formed.
Kakashi pushed Thunder Breathing as high as it would go.
In his perception, his own body became transparent.
This was the result of a month of hellish training.
It was still not a true Transparent World, but he could enter and leave this state at will now without relying on fleeting flashes of inspiration.
The moment he really "looked," Kakashi was startled to see that his chakra flow was in complete disarray.
He had unknowingly fallen into Shisui's genjutsu.
"So that is it. No wonder it felt so strange."
Kakashi finally understood the mystery of the "clones."
Those Shisuis that could not be hit were not Shadow Clones, and they were not basic clones either.
They were not clones at all, but genjutsu phantoms.
As Kakashi steadied his inner chakra, the number of Shisuis on the field plummeted.
In the blink of an eye, only three remained.
Sensing Kakashi break free, Shisui cursed inwardly.
This was a jutsu he had personally created by combining Sharingan genjutsu, Body Flicker Technique and Shadow Clone Technique.
So far, he had only shown it to Mugetsu.
It should not have been dispelled that easily.
He immediately abandoned his charge and tried to pull back.
With his technique broken, he did not want to approach Kakashi head on.
But how could Kakashi possibly let such a golden opportunity slip by?
The three Shisuis were not far apart.
He could eliminate them in a single strike.
"Thunderclap Flash!"
Kakashi's eyes sharpened, and dazzling yellow lightning burst from his body.
The crackling current poured from his palm into his White Fang Short Blade, extending into a blade of pure light.
As his chakra erupted, his aura climbed higher and higher, growing more and more terrifying.
When watching from the sidelines, Shisui had only thought Kakashi's speed was incredible. Without the Sharingan, he would not even be able to see his body clearly.
Facing Kakashi directly, he finally understood just how monstrous Kakashi's current strength really was.
Boom.
The lightning roared as Kakashi exploded forward like a bolt from the heavens.
Bang, bang.
The Shadow Clones could not withstand the impact and dispersed instantly.
Shisui himself was struck and sent flying, carried away on the thunder's echo.
"Kakashi wins."
Mugetsu caught Shisui, gave him treatment, then announced the result.
Kakashi let his breathing return to normal. The lightning around him dissipated as he exhaled and slowly sheathed the White Fang Short Blade.
He was calm.
Incredibly calm.
Defeating Shisui had been easier than he had expected.
In his mind, this fight should have been as difficult as the Chunin Exam finals.
In reality, it was not.
It had actually been a little easier than his match against Obito in the semifinals.
Back then, he had been badly injured by the time he won.
Thinking it through, Kakashi realized it made sense.
Shisui had not even graduated yet and had never experienced the kind of power that bursts out in life and death moments.
If he could still keep up the same rate of growth as people who had, that would be the truly strange thing.
Even so, Kakashi did not think Shisui was anything less than a genius.
On the contrary, after seeing his genjutsu, Kakashi felt that if Shisui were the same age as him, he probably would not be able to win.
They both had the Sharingan and they both learned under the same teacher, but Shisui had not even graduated and had already created such an impressive genjutsu.
Meanwhile, Obito's two tomoe Sharingan still could not manage anything like that.
"Even though you are amazing, I am stronger right now."
Kakashi's mood finally brightened.
There was no doubt.
He was currently Mugetsu's strongest disciple.
Aside from Rin, he had defeated every other disciple at least once.
"What a pity. If Kakashi had not been so sneaky, Shisui might have won," Obito grumbled, refusing to admit defeat.
He still wanted to make sure Rin saw Kakashi's victory as a lucky, underhanded win.
"You could also say he was resourceful," Rin countered gently.
Obito clenched his fists.
He really wanted to go fight Kakashi again, but that thought only existed in his head.
At the moment, Obito had no confidence that he could win.
"Mugetsu sensei, thank you."
After recovering, Shisui immediately bowed his head in thanks.
There was a faint confusion in his eyes.
He had expected a hard fight, but he was still Shisui, who had never lost before.
It was impossible for him to have zero confidence going in.
Kakashi's base strength was indeed high, but Shisui held the information advantage and had believed he had a good shot at victory.
The moment Mugetsu announced Kakashi's win, it felt to Shisui like the world had dimmed a shade.
He was no longer Mugetsu's strongest disciple.
His undefeated record was gone.
"Was it because I did not train hard enough? Because I have not trained long enough? Because I did not think enough during the battle? Why did I lose?"
The questions echoed inwardly.
Shisui did not know what Kakashi and the others had gone through recently.
All he knew was that their strength had already far surpassed his, and not by a small margin.
He silently made up his mind.
If he did not know how they had trained to reach that level, then he would simply push his own training to the limit until he surpassed them.
"You do not need to overthink it. You have already done well. You are younger than they are, and you have not even graduated yet."
As if reading his thoughts, Mugetsu gently placed his hand on Shisui's head and spoke softly.
For someone who had never tasted defeat before, losing even once would sting, no matter how good their temperament was.
On the surface, Shisui seemed calm, but Mugetsu knew his mood was anything but.
"Is losing considered doing well?" Shisui looked up, his gaze meeting Mugetsu's sky blue eyes.
"That depends on the situation," Mugetsu answered with a warm smile. "In this situation, Shisui, you are already good enough."
The midday sun shone down.
Mugetsu's golden hair glowed in the light, and his gentle smile matched the warmth in his tone.
Looking at that smile and hearing that sincere reassurance, the storm churning in Shisui's heart quietly subsided.
If Mugetsu said he was good enough, then he really was good enough.
As for why he had lost, there had to be other reasons.
"You do not need to dwell on it. Just keep training at your current pace," Mugetsu said, patting the dust off Shisui's clothes.
"Mm."
Shisui nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Not wanting to sit there and listen to Kakashi bask in victory, Obito moved away to get ready for training.
As he passed Shisui, he paused and suddenly noticed something.
"Shisui, your Sharingan turned into two tomoe too!"
Only then did Shisui realize he had unconsciously activated his Sharingan.
He drew his short sword and used the blade as a mirror.
Sure enough, there was an extra tomoe spinning in each eye.
The frustration of defeat vanished in an instant, replaced by a spark of excitement.
If that was the case, then with a bit more training, he might just be able to win next time.
With the small interlude of the Kakashi versus Shisui match, all of Mugetsu's disciples felt their motivation return.
The previous period of training had been too intense.
After relaxing a little, it was natural that some laziness would creep in.
Now, after watching that battle, their fighting spirit flared up again.
[Disciple Kakashi Hatake's training mission complete. Reward: Chakra +2500, Chidori (Proficient), Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears (Skilled)]
When Kakashi defeated Shisui, his training mission settled at the same time.
Mugetsu nodded inwardly at the reward.
The skills themselves were fine, but the two thousand five hundred chakra points were especially satisfying.
His total chakra jumped to seventy six thousand, one more step toward his goal of one hundred thousand.
[Disciple Kakashi Hatake has received an optional life mission]
[Life Mission: True Strength Lies in Protection]
[Main Goal: Protect your comrades, protect everything you care about]
[Mission Progress: 0 (Remaining trigger count: 5)]
[Mission Reward: Determined by mission completion and strength growth during the mission period. Settlement will occur for every 50 percent progress increase.]
[Note 1: If any comrade recognized by Kakashi Hatake dies, the mission automatically fails.]
[Note 2: Life missions are extremely difficult. Once confirmed, the next life mission can only be undertaken after the current one is completed. Please choose carefully.]
[Note 3: Greater difficulty yields higher rewards.]
The appearance of a life mission was within Mugetsu's expectations.
After all, Kakashi's trust level had already reached four.
Before this, the system had not generated one only because a training mission was still in progress.
Even so, the exact content surprised him a little.
Other people's life missions granted rewards every ten percent of progress, but Kakashi's only paid out at fifty percent intervals.
Looking at the "mission progress" and "remaining trigger count," Mugetsu guessed Kakashi's mission would increase in large chunks each time it advanced.
Out of curiosity, he opened the life missions of his other disciples as well.
Obito had the fastest progress, already at 9.8 percent, just 0.2 percent away from his first reward.
That was largely thanks to his identity.
As Minato's disciple, Obito naturally fell into the Hokage faction, and combined with his excellent performance in the Chunin Exams, his mission progress had risen sharply.
Guy's progress had also gone up and was currently at 5.1 percent, boosted by his performance in the third stage of the Chunin Exams.
Shisui's, on the other hand, showed no change for now.
As a student of the Ninja Academy, he simply did not have the chance yet to influence major events such as the fate of the Uchiha.
"If the mission record looks a little better, it should rise again," Mugetsu thought to himself as he studied Obito's mission progress.
Missions were essentially a measure of a ninja's contribution to the village.
If someone wanted to become Hokage, they could not neglect this side at all.
Mugetsu was very curious about what kind of rewards fully completed life missions would give.
They only unlocked at Trust Level Four, and every one of them was more difficult than the last.
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