Uchiha Genjutsu!

The flames filling the sky gradually vanished from everyone's sight as the insect swarm withered away.

It took Shinichi nearly eight seconds to imprint a Flying Thunder God Mark. As Shibi Aburame released his Kikaichū to attack, the Flying Thunder God Kunai in Shinichi's hand scattered haphazardly across the battlefield. Two of them flew separately toward Shisui Uchiha and Might Guy.

"These kunai are..."

Every movement Shinichi made was observed by Shisui Uchiha, who had activated his Sharingan. As he swiftly drew his blade and knocked away the incoming kunai, Shisui did not rashly counterattack. Instead, he carefully studied the positions of the kunai scattered across the battlefield.

He was not foolish enough to think Shinichi's kunai-throwing skills were so poor that he had missed with so many of them.

Those kunai were probably...

Whoosh!

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out. Having successfully imprinted a mark on Shibi Aburame, Shinichi swiftly activated the Flying Thunder God Technique. His destination was beside the kunai Shisui had just knocked away.

Shinichi suddenly flashed into existence in midair, smoothly caught the kunai as it came within reach, and hurled it at Shisui once more. As he descended, Shinichi Hyuga twisted his body in the air and struck Might Guy with an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.

Might Guy had only just sidestepped the kunai Shinichi had thrown earlier. Before he could assess the battlefield, he suddenly sensed another powerful Chakra shockwave descending from above.

The Air Palm's force was formidable. Though this was a spar, Shinichi did not hold back at all against a Jonin like Might Guy. He did not believe such an attack could cause Guy any irreversible harm. In fact, whether it could even hit Might Guy was another question entirely.

However...

Shinichi seemed to have underestimated the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Hyuga Main Family's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.

Shinichi's attack came too suddenly as he flashed out of midair. The instant Might Guy noticed the attack overhead, he only had time to roll desperately away from where he stood. In the next moment, the ground beneath his former position exploded, and flying stones grazed past Guy's cheek.

A sharp edge of stone left a faint streak of blood on Guy's face.

"!!!"

Guy snapped back to his senses and looked up toward the direction the attack had come from. Yet Shinichi Hyuga was no longer in the air.

At the same time, a crisp metallic clang suddenly rang out from Shisui Uchiha's direction.

After striking from the air, Shinichi Hyuga activated the Flying Thunder God again and appeared before Shisui. He seized the kunai in midair and slashed it toward Shisui's neck.

But Shisui, having reacted in time, blocked the attack with his blade.

In no more than the blink of an eye, Shinichi Hyuga had used the Flying Thunder God to unleash multiple attacks against different opponents.

The dazzling Flying Thunder God footwork left Might Guy utterly bewildered, making it impossible for him to track Shinichi Hyuga's movements.

Shisui Uchiha, on the other hand, possessed the Sharingan. With some understanding of the Flying Thunder God Technique, along with the Sharingan's exceptional perception and his own outstanding reflexes, he was able to respond to Shinichi's attacks.

The man who would one day earn the title of Body Flicker Shisui in the Shinobi World was already beginning to fulfill his astonishing potential at this age.

When his attack was blocked, Shinichi Hyuga showed no surprise. He had no blind faith in the Flying Thunder God Technique. He would not foolishly believe that mastering it meant he could become invincible and unstoppable.

From what he knew, there were already people in the Shinobi World capable of responding to the Flying Thunder God. The Cloud Ninja's A and B Combination had made Shinichi understand that the Flying Thunder God was not invincible.

It was not that Shisui's current strength could compare to those two. But purely in terms of perception and reflexes, Shisui's talent and ability were no weaker than theirs—perhaps even stronger.

Therefore, Shinichi was not at all surprised to see Shisui block his attack.

The kunai suddenly slipped from his hand. Shinichi Hyuga abruptly changed tactics, using his right hand to sweep aside Shisui's blade while his left formed a Sword Finger and stabbed straight toward Shisui Uchiha's chest.

Though he was much smaller than Shisui, the power Shinichi unleashed at that moment was even greater than Shisui's.

The instant Shinichi's attack arrived, their gazes inevitably met for a brief moment.

As the tomoe in Shisui's eyes spun, he rapidly retreated. Rather than fight Shinichi at close range, he swiftly opened the distance, formed hand seals, scattered Shuriken from his hand, and expelled flames from his mouth.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!

The Shuriken were wrapped in flames as they spun toward Shinichi. Though the assault was grand, Shisui had avoided every vital point on Shinichi's body. Even if every projectile landed, they would likely cause only superficial wounds.

Yet Shinichi Hyuga, who had been attacking so fiercely moments ago, merely stood still with his head lowered in the face of Shisui's counterattack.

Within Shinichi Hyuga's Spiritual World.

His body was pierced by heavy iron spikes, nailed to the ground and utterly unable to move.

At the instant he met Shisui's eyes, he had already fallen under Shisui's Genjutsu—Genjutsu: Demonic Binding.

At that moment, Shinichi felt as though he were suffering from sleep paralysis. His mind was perfectly clear, yet no matter what he did, he could not control his body.

So this is Genjutsu enhanced by the Sharingan!

It's so strong!

Shinichi Hyuga knew his opponent was an Uchiha with the Sharingan, so why had he still met his eyes and given him the chance to cast Genjutsu?!

The reason was simple. Shinichi wanted to personally experience how Uchiha Genjutsu functioned in battle. He could not guarantee that he would never fall under Genjutsu in future battles. This spar was also an opportunity for him to gain a deeper understanding of Genjutsu as a system.

At the same time, he wanted to test whether he could break free from a Genjutsu of this level.

The essence of Genjutsu was to disrupt the enemy's Chakra, and the method of dispelling it was not actually difficult.

Within the Spiritual World, Shinichi Hyuga's hand slowly moved. Just as he struggled to form hand seals, a wall of insects suddenly rose before the Shinichi standing motionless in the real world, blocking Shisui's Fire Release attack.

At the same time, a chain of insects appeared beneath Shinichi's feet and dragged him away from where he stood.

On the other side, Might Guy had already joined the battle, continuously attacking Shibi Aburame with taijutsu. While observing the overall battle, Shibi was gradually being pushed into a disadvantage by Might Guy's assault. As he defended, he used insects to disrupt Guy's continuous offensive.

"Fallen under Genjutsu, huh!"

"Just as expected of an Uchiha!"

Shibi Aburame naturally noticed Shinichi's abnormal state. As he provided cover, his assessment of Shisui rose considerably.

Not every Uchiha could use Genjutsu so flexibly. At Shisui's age, his Fire Release was already so proficient, and his Genjutsu had reached this level as well. He was practically the perfect definition of a genius.

As for Shinichi Hyuga...

Shibi Aburame glanced sideways at his teammate and found that Shinichi was forming hand seals with one hand. Clarity had returned to his eyes. Clearly, he had already broken free from the Genjutsu.

Kids these days... each one is more frightening than the last!

Shibi Aburame sighed inwardly. Under the fierce wind of Guy's fists, his body transformed into an insect swarm and vanished from the spot.

The next moment, countless insects surged up from the ground and wrapped themselves around Guy.

Insect Ball!

Guy's taijutsu was indeed powerful, but without the Eight Inner Gates, the weakness of a taijutsu specialist was obvious.

Against an insect controller like Shibi Aburame, Might Guy in his normal state had no advantage whatsoever.