Clash

Anko nimbly sprang several times, clearing space for the two in the Training Ground.

After forming the Seal of Confrontation, Shisui instantly activated his Sharingan once more and looked at Kagetsu across from him. But Kagetsu seemed to have anticipated this, his eyes tightly shut.

Closing his eyes to guard against my Sharingan?

Shisui leaped backward several times in succession. While airborne, he pulled four kunai from his pouch and held them between the fingers of both hands, but did not attack immediately.

Though they were teammates and had never truly fought before, just as Kagetsu was familiar with him, he was equally familiar with Kagetsu's methods.

Clang! Clang!

Shisui jumped high and flung out the four kunai. The kunai collided in midair, changing course at angles impossible to predict as they stabbed toward Kagetsu below.

This was a unique kunai-throwing technique of the Uchiha Clan, built upon the Sharingan. Relying on the Sharingan's powerful perception and observation, they used dazzling yet elegant throwing skills to make kunai and shuriken collide repeatedly in midair and change direction, striking enemies by surprise.

Though it looked flashy, it was often highly practical. Not only was it difficult to guard against, even if there were obstacles before you and you hid behind a stone wall, Uchiha kunai could still accurately injure you from behind.

Shisui did not hold back. He knew very well that this throwing technique was not enough to truly threaten Kagetsu's life. Whether it was the defense of Blut Vene or his superb Medical Ninjutsu, both were enough to ensure Kagetsu's safety.

This was a probing first move.

He wanted to see just how well Kagetsu could defend himself with his eyes closed.

Then, in the next moment, he saw it. Anko, watching their sparring match without blinking from the edge of the Training Ground, saw it too.

As the four kunai approached Kagetsu, the shadow beneath him suddenly rose like four octopus tentacles, wrapping around the four kunai and stopping them in midair.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Then came four sharp whistles through the air as the four shadow tentacles hurled the kunai back toward Shisui.

Shisui immediately drew the short sword from his back and gripped it in his palm. Using the Sharingan's dynamic vision, he knocked away the incoming kunai one by one.

At the same time, Shisui did not remain where he was. He left afterimages as he rapidly ran in a circle around Kagetsu, searching for an opening.

Sensory Ninjutsu?

Shisui watched Kagetsu, whose eyes remained shut but whose front always faced him, and silently made his guess. The changes in Kagetsu's shadow earlier also concerned him.

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

Shisui formed hand seals while running. After the final seal, he stopped, and a massive fireball blazing with heat shot across the ground toward Kagetsu.

Kagetsu immediately stepped back.

Yet in the next instant, several smaller fireballs suddenly burst out of the Fireball Jutsu. Each held a shuriken within it, appearing abruptly before Kagetsu with scorching heat.

The distance between them was so short that the flames curling around the shuriken cast a blazing glow across Kagetsu's face.

Fire Release: Hosenka Tsumabeni.

Shisui had clearly used not one technique, but two! He had used the Fireball Jutsu as cover to conceal his next ninjutsu.

Yet in the next moment, a black barrier rose from the ground right before Kagetsu's nose, blocking the attack. The four shuriken blazing with heat struck it and were directly swallowed up.

Wind suddenly rose behind Kagetsu. Shisui, having used the Body Flicker Technique, had already closed in before him. Just as the tip of his short sword pressed against Kagetsu's back, it was firmly blocked by a mass of black shadow.

Missing his strike, Shisui instantly vanished from where he stood and reappeared ten meters away. At the exact moment he flickered away, a cluster of black thorny spikes exploded from Kagetsu's back, nearly piercing Shisui's vital points.

Though Shisui had dodged quickly, a faint bloody cut was still left on his face.

"Just as I thought, Kagetsu-kun, your shadow is very different from before today!" Shisui said cautiously, staring at Kagetsu's shadow as it slowly contracted into an utterly harmless-looking shape. He frowned slightly.

Previously, no matter what, Kagetsu had needed at least one hand seal to use his Shadow Secret Technique. But now, his Shadow Secret Technique was like a seal-less ninjutsu.

This would make his ninjutsu faster to activate, more troublesome and more dangerous in close combat.

And now Shisui was certain that Kagetsu's shadow was like a living creature with its own consciousness. Not only could it instantly activate ninjutsu according to Kagetsu's will, it could also independently block incoming attacks for him.

Two against one?

Shisui assessed the shadow's threat in his mind.

But Kagetsu did not give him the chance to continue analyzing. The shadow beneath his feet rapidly stretched out, chasing after Shisui.

With his Sharingan active, Shisui almost instantly dodged and widened the distance between himself and Kagetsu again.

Against an opponent who had shut his own eyes, an Uchiha should have been able to seize the upper hand more easily.

But Kagetsu had clearly considered how to fight against the Sharingan. At this moment, his shadow and senses had replaced his eyes.

The Genjutsu that made the Sharingan so feared, and which Shisui excelled at most, could not be used. Close combat was likewise an area in which Kagetsu excelled.

In their previous sparring sessions, once Anko was approached, it meant the battle was over. Under the Shadow Secret Technique, no matter how brilliant Anko's close-combat skills were, she had no room to use them.

Next, Shisui dodged the shadow's pursuit while constantly counterattacking, using shuriken and ninjutsu to test his theories and gather more information about Kagetsu's techniques.

After several rounds of testing, he discovered that Kagetsu's shadow had become a ninjutsu that combined offense and defense. Whether it was physical attacks or Chakra-based ninjutsu, the shadow could immediately provide Kagetsu with the best protection.

Especially under the Sharingan's observation, his opponent still had plenty of Chakra left.

Shisui narrowed his eyes slightly.

Fire Release, Wind Release, Water Release—the shadow was like a sturdy shield, always blocking fatal damage for Kagetsu at crucial moments.

Should I try a high-frequency barrage of attacks?

Shisui thought of the new technique he had just created and wanted to test it. Yet in the next moment, a hard object suddenly clamped tightly around his ankles, fixing him in place.

Shisui instinctively looked down. A hand made of earth was tightly gripping both his feet.

When did that happen?

In the next instant, black branches like nerves and blood vessels spread from the earthen hand and merged into Shisui's body.

Shisui instantly felt that he had lost control of his feet. At the same time, the shadow beneath the approaching Kagetsu connected with Shisui's shadow, and dense black lines swiftly crawled over Shisui's entire body.

Just as Shisui wanted to burst out with Chakra and struggle free, the kunai in Kagetsu's hand was already pressed against his throat.