Nara Kagetsu's Fighting Style

A black shadow instantly stretched out beneath Kagetsu's feet, like a black snake lying prone on the ground, darting toward Aburame Qingzhi at incredible speed.

However, as though he had anticipated this beforehand, Qingzhi retreated almost the moment Kagetsu made his move after releasing his insects. His toes tapped the ground several times before he flipped through the air and landed.

The black line extending from beneath Kagetsu's feet came to an abrupt stop three meters in front of Qingzhi, like a rope stretched to its limit.

"What was that?" Uchiha Obito stared wide-eyed at the line extending from beneath Kagetsu's feet, as if his shadow had been stretched to its limit, and cried out in alarm.

"It's the Nara Clan's secret technique. They're a clan that manipulates shadows." A somewhat muffled voice sounded behind Obito. Turning around, he saw only a chubby boy holding snacks, pouring the last of a bag into his mouth while chewing and answering.

"Dongfeng, don't talk to the dead last!" Behind the chubby boy, a little girl with a single ponytail tugged at his collar.

"Okay, Xue." Akimichi Dongfeng somehow produced another bag of snacks from his body. His chubby fingers deftly tore it open, then began stuffing the contents into his mouth.

"Who are you calling dead last?" Obito was so provoked by Yamanaka Xue's words that he nearly jumped up, but the cries of surprise around him drew his gaze back to the ongoing battle.

"The Nara Clan's Shadow Binding. People say their technique can control someone's body, but as long as you don't let them get close and keep enough distance from their shadow, their technique is useless."

After repeatedly confirming the maximum range of Kagetsu's shadow, Qingzhi designated it as a safe distance. At the same time, he kept moving to maintain that distance from Kagetsu while ordering his Kikaichū to attack.

A dark cloud of insects spread through the air like a giant open sack, rushing toward Kagetsu under Qingzhi's control.

The sight made everyone present's scalps tingle. The girls, including Yamanaka Xue, all took a step back, watching in fear as the nauseating cloud of insects swirled through the air in pursuit of Kagetsu.

"Kagetsu's shadow secret technique has been seen through. That Aburame Qingzhi prepared for it beforehand." Yamanaka Xue frowned as she watched Kagetsu dodge left and right beneath the insect cloud's assault, trying to close the distance with Qingzhi. Her voice carried a trace of worry.

"If he can't win, he can just surrender. But Kagetsu probably won't lose that quickly, right?" Akimichi Dongfeng paused. Thinking of what he knew about Kagetsu in daily life, he gave his answer somewhat hesitantly.

To him, as long as no one stole his food, losing a match was no big deal. Children of the Akimichi Clan were naturally optimistic. The ones who were not had long been beaten down by the looks around them until they could not hold their heads up.

Of course, what kept him optimistic was having friends like Kagetsu and Yamanaka Xue, who had played with him since childhood, by his side.

"Hmph! A single Great Fireball Technique would take care of these bugs." Obito looked eager to try. He began imagining himself releasing a Great Fireball Technique in the arena, coolly wiping out all those insects, defeating that gloomy opponent in sunglasses, then walking off to receive Rin's admiring gaze and praise.

He looks kind of stupid.

After silently giving him that assessment, Yamanaka Xue took another step back and once again pulled the snack-focused Akimichi Dongfeng to her side.

Having spent so much time around Kagetsu, she had inevitably been taught a few principles by the smartest person in their group. For example: stay away from stupid people, lest you get dragged down or assimilated.

"Did he make a mistake?" Several nameless chūnin in the Training Ground's spectator area suddenly saw Kagetsu stagger. Then, the insect cloud chasing closely behind him caught up and took the opportunity to crawl all over his body.

Kagetsu's body was immediately swallowed by the dark insect cloud until he could no longer be seen. All anyone could make out was a figure staggering forward, wrapped in a bloated Insect Coat.

The girls, including Yamanaka Xue, all covered their eyes. The sight of countless crawling insects wrapping around an entire person as though they intended to devour him as food made everyone deeply uncomfortable, and they could not help crying out.

Quite a few people even instinctively looked toward Yeka Shuren at the edge of the field and the chūnin on the viewing platform, expecting them to step in.

Yet neither Yeka Shuren nor anyone else rushed forward immediately.

Aburame Qingzhi, who had kept moving to maintain his distance from Kagetsu, stopped at what he considered a safe location. Looking at Kagetsu, who was tightly wrapped in insects and had become an Insect Cocoon, he slowly raised his hand toward Yeka Shuren after a moment.

"Teacher, he no longer has the ability to fight," Qingzhi said.

Yeka Shuren glanced at the field and thought for a moment. Just as he was about to blow the whistle to end the battle, the situation suddenly changed.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, successful."

Kagetsu's voice came from within the dark swarm. In an instant, Qingzhi lost control of his body.

Under the gazes of everyone—some delighted, some confused, some shocked, some unable to understand—the insects wrapped around Kagetsu like clothing began falling away in large patches.

Under Qingzhi's distressed gaze, some Kikaichū that sensed danger and tried to flee took off shakily from Kagetsu's body. Yet after flying only a short distance, they dropped from the air to the ground.

As the Insect Coat peeled away, Kagetsu's face and body were revealed once more. Beneath his feet lay a ground covered in Kikaichū corpses, along with the shadows connecting the two of them.

"How?" At that moment, only Qingzhi's eyes and mouth remained under his own control.

"I should be at a safe distance! Is that what you wanted to say?" After the shadow secret technique succeeded, Kagetsu spoke while releasing the hand seal he had been maintaining.

"You deliberately made me misjudge the distance?" Qingzhi was clearly sharp-minded as well, immediately thinking of a possibility.

"Yes. From the moment you showed wariness toward my shadow, I knew you had some knowledge of and preparation against the Nara Clan's techniques. With my information exposed and you already on guard, the chances of winning by going all out in a direct confrontation were slim. Your Physical Fitness is much better than mine as a member of the Nara Clan."

With victory secured and the situation reversed, Kagetsu did not mind explaining a little while his hands continued moving. The next technique he intended to use also required time.

"So after testing that you couldn't control me in one go, you deliberately gave me a false idea of a safe distance. Then what about my Kikaichū? How did you deal with them?"

Qingzhi's suspicions were confirmed by Kagetsu's words. But what he could not understand now was how Kagetsu had dealt with his Kikaichū.

At that moment, he had already lost information on most of the Kikaichū he had sent out. The field of insect corpses did not merely leave the onlookers bewildered—he himself was full of confusion.

Could it be that the Nara Clan had another secret technique specifically for dealing with insects?

"Just an Insecticide that affects the nervous system and physiology. By smearing and scattering it over my body during battle, then deliberately letting the insects catch me, I could achieve a good killing effect."

Kagetsu walked step by step toward Qingzhi. Under his movements, Qingzhi, controlled by the Shadow Imitation Technique, approached Kagetsu in perfect synchronization.

"Impossible." Qingzhi's instinctive response upon hearing Kagetsu's answer was disbelief. The Aburame Clan's insects were diverse and versatile. As long as information about the insects had not been leaked, outsiders could hardly prepare targeted countermeasures against them.

The Kikaichū he had chosen were not the strongest contracted insects in the Aburame Clan, but they possessed the most functions and were the most practical.

Attack, defense, healing, support, reconnaissance—they were a unique all-purpose summon. Their small size also made them difficult to notice, allowing them to produce unexpected effects in many situations.

To create a drug specifically harmful to the insects, one first needed to understand what kind of insects they were. More importantly, one needed the insects themselves as research and testing materials.

And the Aburame Clan had never neglected the secrecy surrounding their insects.

When it came to using and understanding insects, only the Kamizuru Clan of the Iwa Ninja, another insect-user clan, could stand alongside them.

Qingzhi found it difficult to imagine where the insecticide in Nara Kagetsu's possession, which could harm and destroy the Aburame Clan's Kikaichū, had come from. He felt he needed to ask.

"How did you know the traits of my insects and make an Insecticide specifically for them?"

Hearing Qingzhi's question, Kagetsu did not continue answering, because he had already prepared his next ninjutsu.

A black hand formed from shadow climbed up Qingzhi's legs like a vine. At last, the hand reached his throat and slowly tightened.

Qingzhi immediately felt something tangible pressing against his windpipe and throat.

"Surrender. Or do you want to wait for Teacher Yeka Shuren to make the call?" After making Qingzhi feel the danger through the shadow, Nara Kagetsu actively urged him to surrender.

"I surrender!" Hearing Nara Kagetsu's words, Qingzhi did not stubbornly persist. Instead, while he could still speak, he calmly and decisively admitted defeat.

He knew Kagetsu was right. With his insects countered and himself controlled by the Shadow Imitation Technique, it would be difficult for him to turn things around. Surrendering now was the best choice.

"In the first round of assessments between Nara Kagetsu and Aburame Qingzhi, the winner is Nara Kagetsu!"

Upon hearing Qingzhi surrender, the examiner Yeka Shuren, who had been observing from the side for a long time, immediately stepped forward and announced the result. He had the two form the Seal of Reconciliation, then leave the field.

After Nara Kagetsu dispelled the shadow secret technique, Qingzhi, having regained control of his body, did not leave immediately. Instead, he silently went to where the insect corpses had gathered and released another wave of insects, which consumed all the dead insects.

"Great job, Kagetsu! Congratulations on winning!" The moment Kagetsu returned to the group, he received congratulations from his companions. The extraordinarily lively Yamanaka Xue rushed up first, while Akimichi Dongfeng, following behind her, nodded repeatedly and said, "Me too!"

"It was nothing. I made some preparations beforehand." Kagetsu waved his hand. Though his research conditions were still quite harsh and impoverished, he could still find ways to handle research within his capabilities that did not require advanced Instruments, equipment, or manpower.

During these days since school began, he had not been doing nothing. He had compiled a detailed list of several specially marked people in the class.

It listed all the information he could learn about the people on his list, as well as the targeted countermeasures he could currently use in battle.

Aburame Qingzhi was one of them.

"Can we talk, Nara?" A somewhat low voice suddenly sounded behind Kagetsu, startling Yamanaka Xue and Dongfeng beside him.

"When did you get here?" Seeing Qingzhi standing right in front of them, Yamanaka Xue's eyes widened in surprise. Even with the Yamanaka Clan's specialty in spiritual perception, she had not noticed when he approached, though she had not been fully focused.

Qingzhi glanced at Yamanaka Xue without replying. His gaze behind his sunglasses was clearly fixed on Kagetsu.

Being ignored made Yamanaka Xue bristle a little, but Kagetsu calmed her down with a backward gesture.

"What do you want to ask?" Kagetsu glanced at the two people entering the field for the second round. Neither was on his list, so he had time to deal with Qingzhi. He knew what Qingzhi wanted to ask, but he had to wait for him to say it.

"The insects. The Insecticide." Qingzhi got straight to the point. "Where did you obtain my Kikaichū?"

"Are you questioning me?" Kagetsu asked.

"No, just exchanging information. I want to know where I slipped up." Qingzhi shook his head.

He had thought it through. Nara Kagetsu could not have made a targeted harmful drug without Kikaichū specimens, so the only possibility was that he himself had made some mistake and left behind Kikaichū that Kagetsu had obtained.

As for that Insecticide, perhaps it had come from the Nara Clan?

But as long as even one new Kikaichū that had Devoured those insect corpses survived, he could use that Kikaichū as the basis to breed and cultivate new Kikaichū resistant to that kind of drug.

That was a trait of the Aburame Clan's Kikaichū. As long as they had time, enough insects, enough Chakra and food for the insects to evolve and reproduce, they possessed the ability to evolve rapidly in targeted ways!