Outside the training grounds, the spectators shifted their positions, following the flow of the battle.
"What incredible Clone Jutsu! Absolutely flawless!" Mitokado Homura exclaimed, unable to hide his astonishment.
To produce a standard Clone Technique of that caliber… even he couldn't guarantee such perfection.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes darkened slightly as he let out a soft sigh. "He has talent. It's a pity he didn't have access to more ninjutsu sooner…"
It hadn't been long since Yagyu Masahiko had acquired the Shadow Clone Jutsu. To master it to this degree in such a short window was nothing short of extraordinary.
Turning his head, Hiruzen looked toward Inoichi and Shikaku. "And you two? What are your thoughts?"
"For now… he is far stronger than Ebisu," Shikaku Nara commented, his tone analytical. "No matter how perfect a standard Clone is, a Jōnin will eventually see through it. Masahiko knows this; he relies on no lucky breaks. He uses the standard Clones to screen the activation of his Shadow Clones."
Shikaku rubbed his chin, continuing, "At the same time, the Shadow Clones cover the tracks of the standard ones. Once he entered the forest, he used the terrain to hide and reposition, using the visual noise of the clones to create openings."
A glimmer of appreciation surfaced in the strategist's eyes. "His tactics are solid."
"However," Inoichi Yamanaka added, "he still exposes openings when he attacks. That will be the deciding factor."
Masahiko was fundamentally different from Ebisu. Ebisu was shaping up to be an educator; his combat requirements were lower. Masahiko, however, was clearly forging a path of blood and iron.
Inside the forest.
Kakashi formed a hand seal, splitting into two Shadow Clones. Together with his main body, the three silver-haired shinobi drew their blades and scattered, chasing down the three suspicious trails Masahiko had left behind.
Ahead of them, Masahiko sprinted through the undergrowth. Hearing the rapid, whistling sound of wind breaking behind him, he made a grim calculation.
'Kakashi's speed is superior to mine.'
Whether the prodigy was holding back was irrelevant; assume the worst, and you live longer.
So then…
He snatched a hide bag filled with oil from his pouch and wedged it into the fork of a tree branch. Without breaking stride, he sprinted forward again.
Moments later, a Kakashi appeared, ready to pursue—
Thwack!
A kunai flew out from the shadows. Tied to its handle was a hissing paper bomb.
Kakashi's pupils constricted. He immediately dropped low to evade the blast radius. But in that split second of downward momentum…
His eyes caught something resting on the branch diagonally above him. A strange object.
It looked like…
'Bad move!'
Kakashi's hands blurred through seals. He expelled a massive torrent from his mouth, forming a circular wall of rushing water around him.
Water Style: Water Wall!
An instant later, from above—
BOOM!
The explosion shredded the oil bag. Burning oil rained down, ignited by the blast, turning the surrounding area into a blazing inferno. The water wall hissed as the temperature spiked, filling the clearing with a thick, scalding fog.
Through the white mist, three silhouettes suddenly lunged from the air, blades drawn, eyes burning with resolve.
'Clones?'
Kakashi's gaze darted around, but he dared not gamble. His hands flew together again.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!
A massive sphere of flame erupted from his mouth, billowing upward to engulf the aerial attackers.
But in that exact moment, the heavy thud of footsteps came from his flank.
'An ambush!'
Kakashi immediately cut the flow of chakra to the fireball, twisting his body to execute a Body Flicker retreat. But…
Just as Kakashi moved to escape, a nearby tree abruptly transformed. It became a person. It became a blade.
A slash, fast and ruthless.
Although it only grazed his arm—
Poof!
The Kakashi before Masahiko vanished into a cloud of white smoke.
'A Shadow Clone.'
At the same time, a surge of foreign memory rushed into Masahiko's mind.
'My Shadow Clone is dead too!'
Elsewhere in the forest.
The real Kakashi frowned.
The opponent he had just dispatched was undoubtedly a Shadow Clone. As he processed the clone's memories, a look of genuine surprise crossed his masked face.
'He had his real body lying in wait along my escape route?'
The realization hit him, and he couldn't help but feel impressed.
"First, create chaos with an explosion. Then, use three clones to surround me from above, forcing me to retreat into the exact spot where he was hiding…"
"A fine strategy."
Kakashi's speed surged. He vanished, reappearing instantly to slash through the body of "Yagyu Masahiko."
The figure dissolved into splashing water and foam.
"Haa… haa…"
Hidden away, the real Masahiko digested the memories from his clones, his mind racing to formulate the next step.
The "clone" he had just sacrificed wasn't a Shadow Clone, but a Water Clone. Its primary purpose was to confuse Kakashi, so the chakra cost was minimal.
Even so…
Having used the Shadow Clone Jutsu earlier, his reserves of physical and spiritual energy were draining fast.
'I have one shot left.'
Masahiko didn't flee far. instead, he stopped nearby and wove a string of hand seals.
Three Water Clones emerged from the moisture. Under Masahiko's command, they began rigging the area with traps.
Water Clones only possessed one-tenth of the user's strength and lacked combat viability against an elite. However, his mastery of the technique was at the 'Perfection' level. For setting traps and acting as decoys for the Dance of the Crescent Moon, they were more than sufficient.
Whoosh!
Kakashi was fast. Terrifyingly so. In mere moments, he had crossed the training ground to close in on Masahiko's position.
Masahiko had only managed to set two layers of traps.
'Not enough time!'
But it would have to do.
He could hear the approach. Just as the footsteps grew loud, the hair on the back of Masahiko's neck stood up. Instinct took over. He grabbed a branch and used the Body Flicker to drop toward the base of a tree.
Thunk!
Above him, a blade cleaved deep into the wood where he had been standing a split second ago.
Below, the earth split open.
Earth Style!
Cold sweat drenched Masahiko's back. With a thought, his three Water Clones simultaneously severed the tripwires.
Snap!
Wooden spikes, sharpened to lethal points, whipped out from both sides of the clearing, whistling through the air to cover Masahiko's retreat.
Simultaneously—
At the location of the footsteps, another Kakashi appeared.
Fwoosh!
He was too fast.
The moment Masahiko saw the blade flash, he knew: he couldn't outrun this.
Then…
His hands clapped together. In an instant, a Shadow Clone burst into existence beside him.
Above them, the three Water Clones abandoned their cover and charged at Kakashi.
But then.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
A rain of shuriken descended from the canopy, blotting out the sky.
Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!
The three Water Clones were riddled with steel and burst into splashes of water instantly.
Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly.
'Water Clones?'
Sensing something off, Kakashi gripped his tantō in one hand, tucking his other hand behind his back.
The next instant, Masahiko flickered forward, hurling a beast-hide bag into the air. Following close behind it was a kunai.
'That trick again!'
The memory of the oil explosion flashed through Kakashi's mind. He immediately fired a kunai attached to a steel wire from his hidden hand, anchoring it to a large tree behind him.
With a sharp tug, he arrested his forward momentum, preparing to yank himself backward.
But then he saw it.
Masahiko and his Shadow Clone were airborne, flying toward him. They, too, had thrown kunai with wires attached, anchoring themselves to trees on the flanks.
In mid-air…
The original Masahiko and the Shadow Clone slapped their palms together. The Shadow Clone's free hand pressed against the bursting water bag.
Ninjutsu Activated!
The spilled water, catalyzed by a surge of chakra, instantly morphed into two new clones. They grabbed the hands of the others.
Four figures, linked in a human chain, swung wildly on the axis of their steel wires, defying gravity to flank Kakashi.
Kakashi had just landed from his wire-pull when he saw the "Masahiko" swinging toward him let go and form seals.
'Those hand seals are fast!'
He was startled, but the first seal told him everything he needed to know.
Fire Style: Great Fireball!
Kakashi instantly aborted his own counter-attack and flickered backward to gain distance.
But the next second, the other "three" Masahikos descended upon him from three different angles.
Konoha Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon!
Three blades. Three arcs of cold light. Like three crescent moons crashing down from the heavens.
Kakashi's hands blurred.
Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!
A beast formed of pure blue lightning snarled and lunged outward, tearing through the surroundings like a gale.
Splash! Splash!
The Water Clones detonated into puddles immediately. The final figure reached Kakashi, only to be bisected by a lightning-infused slash.
'All clones!'
'The real one was the one casting the Fire Style earlier!'
However—
A single paper bomb drifted into view where the Shadow Clone had just vanished.
By the time it appeared, the fuse was already two-thirds burned.
Flash!
Kakashi channeled his Lightning chakra, stimulating his nervous system to push his body's reaction speed to the limit. He accelerated again.
But from behind, a blade curved like the moon hooked onto a wire and swung down from the air.
BOOM!
The explosion roared, flames licking the sky. Kakashi spun, slashing backward through the smoke.
His blade met air. Masahiko had slid his sword along the flat of Kakashi's guard, deflecting the lethal force and slashing across Kakashi's arm protector.
In the air, Masahiko prepared to pivot for a second strike…
But the Kakashi in front of him flickered and vanished into nothingness.
'He was a Shadow Clone too!'
From a tree branch not far away, the real Kakashi stood watching. He smiled beneath his mask, though his tone quickly shifted to professional coolness.
"Congratulations. You pass."
Masahiko sheathed his blade. He popped a Soldier Pill into his mouth and leaned heavily against a tree trunk, gasping for air.
Finally…
The effort hadn't been in vain.