The Forbidden Secret Art: Instant Hell Shadow Kill and One Thread Light Formation

"Then let me see just how strong your 'Shadow Warrior' really is!"

Mingxi glanced inconspicuously toward where Kageka Maple had vanished. After murmuring under her breath, she immediately formed hand seals. Her undeveloped, flat chest suddenly puffed up like an inflated balloon.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

As her swollen chest gradually deflated, a blazing, enormous fireball burst from Mingxi's mouth and shot straight toward the Shadow Warrior!

Heat waves raged!

The glare scorched the eyes!

Yet, facing Mingxi's Fire Release, the faceless Shadow Warrior merely tilted its head slightly, as though thinking. Then it transformed directly into a black shadow line and rushed into the sky. Concealed by the night, it vanished from Mingxi's sight in an instant.

Suddenly, a metallic ring sounded behind Mingxi. Two black katanas silently slashed toward her, cutting her body into three pieces in the blink of an eye!

The severed "Mingxi" abruptly exploded into a cloud of white smoke. It turned out to be a Shadow Clone she had left behind during the opening after using Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

Unexpectedly, that combat habit had allowed Mingxi to escape the Shadow Warrior's lethal sneak attack!

"Truly elusive!"

As Mingxi's voice drifted from behind the Shadow Warrior, blue lightning flickered and danced in her palm.

"Lightning Release: Serpent Thunder!"

The blue electricity transformed into a winding, snake-shaped bolt of lightning that struck toward the Shadow Warrior. It was so fast that it neared the Shadow Warrior's body in the blink of an eye.

The Shadow Warrior sensed the threat and tried to evade, but Mingxi's Lightning Release still struck it. Blue arcs of electricity flickered across its inky body, and it seemed to suffer the numbing effects of the lightning, unable to move for the moment.

Seeing this, Mingxi's lips curled slightly. She coldly pulled several kunai from the ninja tool pouch at her waist and hurled them all at the Shadow Warrior.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

But what happened next greatly surprised Mingxi. When the kunai struck the Shadow Warrior, it was as though they had hit the surface of water. They merely created faint ripples on its body before passing through it, seemingly causing no damage at all!

"Is it immune to physical attacks?"

With her exceptional combat instincts, Mingxi quickly identified the cause. She felt somewhat fortunate that she had not chosen to fight the Shadow Warrior in close combat earlier. Otherwise, she would have suffered badly!

"But... can you still be immune to this next move?"

Suddenly, Mingxi made a pulling motion with her right hand. Nearly invisible, slender conductive metal wires stretched between her fingers. Their other ends were tied to the kunai she had just thrown, and those wires had pierced through the Shadow Warrior's body.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Net!"

Brilliant blue lightning erupted from Mingxi's fist. Guided by the conductive wires, it instantly spread outward and quickly landed on the Shadow Warrior, striking it with lightning a second time and making its inky body noticeably paler!

"Still not disappearing?"

Mingxi frowned slightly. After enduring the power of two Lightning Release techniques, its body had merely faded somewhat. There were no signs that it was about to dissipate!

"I'd like to see how long you can hold out!"

Refusing to accept it, Mingxi formed hand seals again as violent Chakra reacted within her mouth.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

A stream of blazing, miniature dragon-shaped flames burst from Mingxi's mouth, carrying astonishing heat as it shot toward the Shadow Warrior, whose body was temporarily unable to move.

Roar!

The Fire Dragon Bullet struck the Shadow Warrior, instantly igniting a blazing fire that illuminated the dim surroundings. Since Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet had a secondary burning effect, Mingxi firmly believed that the Shadow Warrior would be unable to endure this Fire Release technique and would be utterly destroyed!

"Kageka Maple, come out!"

"You've already lost!"

Mingxi slowly walked toward where Kageka Maple had vanished earlier. Two tomoe slowly rotated in her scarlet eyes. If what Kageka Maple had said was true, then she had to be hiding somewhere in this "shadow space." As long as Mingxi searched carefully, she would eventually find Kageka Maple's hiding place!

"Mingxi, I haven't lost yet!"

Kageka Maple's voice rang out from all directions. Then the blazing light in the distance suddenly dimmed, and the surroundings once again sank into the dark night.

"Shadow Warrior: Dual Blade Style: Shadow Slash!"

As Kageka Maple's voice sounded again, a black humanoid figure suddenly attacked from afar. It leaped into the air, as though embedded against the moon in the night sky, wielding two black shadow katanas. Carrying soft moonlight with it, it slashed down toward Mingxi at high speed!

"How is this possible?"

That was Mingxi's first reaction, but she had no time to think. She knew that if she failed to block the Shadow Warrior's Shadow Slash, she might truly die!

"Substitution Technique!"

Just as the Shadow Warrior's Shadow Blades fell, Mingxi used the Substitution Technique at the last possible moment. A broken log replaced her body, allowing her to narrowly escape the Shadow Warrior's Shadow Slash. The log was sliced into several pieces and scattered casually across the ground.

Mingxi, who had already hidden herself with the Substitution Technique, subconsciously swallowed when she saw that scene. If she had failed the technique because of panic just now, what lay on the ground would not have been that broken log, but her corpse!

"This guy..."

Thinking of that, Mingxi gritted her teeth. Did Kageka Maple really intend to kill her?

"And why did that Shadow Warrior still exist after taking damage from both my Lightning Release and Fire Release?"

Mingxi's mind was in chaos. The Shadow Warrior's existence was far too strange. Could it be immune not only to physical attacks, but also to ninjutsu? But its earlier reactions clearly showed that her ninjutsu had affected it! It couldn't possibly be that her techniques were simply too weak...

"Mingxi, you must have a lot of questions. How about you admit defeat, and I'll tell you everything about the Shadow Warrior?"

Kageka Maple's voice rang out again. That omnipresent voice irritated Mingxi.

"Every ninjutsu has a weakness. I refuse to believe the Shadow Warrior has none..."

Mingxi ignored Kageka Maple and calmed herself, thinking carefully.

"Who would have thought that besides that 'monster' from the Hyuga Clan, someone else of the same age could push Mingxi this far!"

"Forget Mingxi. Even if you went in yourself, you probably wouldn't fare much better than that child!"

"That's true. The abilities of the Shadow Release Kageka Maple awakened are simply too bizarre. If an ordinary Chunin didn't understand its properties, they would probably be dealt with easily!"

"Exactly. She not only possesses Shadow Trick, an escape technique with extraordinary concealment, but also that 'Shadow Warrior' that automatically attacks enemies..."

"And that 'Shadow Warrior' is not only immune to physical attacks and most ninjutsu, but also possesses special ambush abilities and fierce taijutsu. Its very existence seems to be for slaughter..."

Uchiha Eiichi and Uchiha Shinji, who had secretly followed Mingxi to protect her, chatted quietly. Both wore wary expressions toward Kageka Maple, a six-year-old child. If they had not observed from the sidelines, they might not have discerned the Shadow Warrior's properties or the unique and incredible concealment ability of Kageka Maple's Shadow Trick.

"What should we do if Mingxi truly faces mortal danger?"

Eiichi asked Shinji. The former was not particularly strong and was not confident he could rescue Mingxi in time, so he could only ask Shinji, his clansman with Jonin-level strength.

"We don't need to do anything, because someone won't let that child Mingxi get hurt..."

After hearing Eiichi's words, Shinji wore an exceptionally calm expression, leaving the latter confused.

"Brother Shinji, what do you mean?"

Eiichi asked with a puzzled expression.

"Have you not sensed that chilling, unsettling presence in the distance? Like a snake..."

As Shinji spoke, his inky pupils had somehow turned scarlet. Three tomoe slowly rotated within them as his gaze pierced through layers of leaves and darkness toward a distant location.

"A snake?"

Eiichi muttered while looking at Shinji. He seemed to realize something and immediately fell silent.

On a large tree branch not far from where Mingxi and Kageka Maple were fighting, a young man lay concealed. He had long black hair and golden vertical pupils. Purple eyeshadow extended to the sides of his nose, and paired with his pale skin, it gave him an eerie, cold aura. He was Orochimaru, one of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's personal disciples.

"That idiot Jiraiya. It was clearly a mission Sarutobi-sensei assigned to him, yet he dumped this mess on me just because he wanted to prepare a birthday gift for Tsunade. It's infuriating!"

"Tsunade's birthday is still several days away..."

Orochimaru worked to calm himself. He had other matters to attend to today as well. If he had not been so busy, he would not have minded helping Jiraiya. But Jiraiya had absolutely no attitude of someone asking for help, as if helping him were only natural. That was what displeased Orochimaru so much!

"Forget it. I'll make sure that idiot Jiraiya pays dearly when I get the chance!"

Thinking this, Orochimaru continued watching Kageka Maple and Uchiha Mingxi. Kageka Maple's awakened Shadow Release and Uchiha Mingxi's Sharingan both interested him. That was one reason he had been willing to take over Jiraiya's mission...

"A Kekkei Genkai that has never appeared in the Shinobi World before—Shadow Release. Its abilities are truly far too bizarre..."

Orochimaru's talent for ninjutsu needed no explanation, and his insight was beyond that of ordinary Jonin. The fact that he would say such a thing was enough to show how extraordinary Kageka Maple's Kekkei Genkai was!

"I really want to study it properly..."

Orochimaru lightly licked his lips, and a research-like desire flickered deep in his eyes.

"However, the Uchiha Sharingan seems somewhat ordinary..."

Orochimaru muttered again, then shook his head with a laugh. He could not judge so rashly. After all, Akeshi was facing the inhuman Shadow Warrior, and her Sharingan could not give her a sufficiently great advantage.

Compared to the Hyuga Clan's bloodline eye technique, the Byakugan, the Uchiha Clan's bloodline eye technique, the Sharingan, was more suited to offense, while its perception naturally fell somewhat short. This left Akeshi struggling when facing Kageka Maple's bizarre Shadow Release and placed her at a disadvantage for the moment...

"Sarutobi-sensei originally wanted me to ensure Kageka Maple's safety, but it seems the person who needs protecting is not Kageka Maple, but Uchiha Akeshi..."

With that thought, Orochimaru secretly prepared to intervene. Just as Uchiha Shinji had said, whether it was Kageka Maple or Uchiha Akeshi, if either of them faced mortal danger, he had to save her. It was his duty as part of the Hokage's faction...

After thinking for a long time, Akeshi finally came up with a way to deal with the Shadow Warrior. She formed hand seals and immediately created a Lightning Clone. Her real body then used the Transformation Technique to turn herself into a kunai, which the Lightning Clone held in her hand.

"This is my only chance!"

Among the ninjutsu Akeshi had learned, she could think of only one technique that might restrain the Shadow Warrior. It might fail, but she could only force herself to try. Losing to Hyuga Yuzuru of the Hyuga Clan, another great clan of Konoha, was already the limit of what she could endure. If she could not even defeat Kageka Maple, a civilian ninja, then she could not accept such an outcome!

Akeshi's Lightning Clone leaped directly down from the concealed tree trunk and landed on the ground, completely exposing her position.

"Akeshi, are you going to admit defeat?"

Kageka Maple's voice rang out once more, making it impossible to identify her location.

"Admit defeat? How could I!"

Akeshi's eyes flickered scarlet, and her face was full of arrogance. The Uchiha Clan's pride and dignity would never allow her to lose to a civilian ninja!

"Since you refuse to admit defeat, Akeshi, please be careful from now on. Even I find the next move difficult to control..."

Kageka Maple spoke with an exceptionally serious tone hidden within her sweet voice, as though she was not joking.

"Is that so? Then come at me with the resolve to kill me!"

Akeshi spoke coldly on the surface, but the hands hidden in her sleeves were quietly preparing something.

"Shadow Release: Shadow Warrior: Forbidden Secret Art: Instant Hell Shadow Kill!"

After hearing Akeshi's words, Kageka Maple immediately controlled the Shadow Warrior from afar and unleashed its strongest technique.

The Shadow Warrior, standing not far in front of Akeshi, crouched slightly. Then it explosively pushed off with its feet, transforming into afterimages that began rushing around Akeshi. At a certain moment, all the Shadow Warriors suddenly stopped. Each held a black katana, and with identical teleportation-like speed, they stabbed toward Akeshi!

Seeing this, Uchiha Eiichi and Uchiha Shinji, who were watching from hiding, immediately showed panicked expressions. Without any discussion, they revealed themselves and hurriedly tried to stop the Shadow Warrior's Instant Hell Shadow Kill...

At the same time, Orochimaru's pupils contracted. If Uchiha Akeshi died before his very eyes, he would have no way to answer to Sarutobi-sensei. Moreover, Uchiha Akeshi was one of the few geniuses of her generation in the Uchiha Clan and was highly regarded by the Uchiha higher-ups.

Therefore, Orochimaru immediately used the Body Flicker Technique at full strength, attempting to stop the Shadow Warrior before its attack arrived!

Whether it was Uchiha Eiichi and Uchiha Shinji or Orochimaru, all of them had underestimated the Shadow Warrior's attack speed. By the time they revealed themselves, the Shadow Warrior had already completed its Forbidden Secret Art: Instant Hell Shadow Kill!

Countless black katanas, held by both real and false Shadow Warriors, pierced through Akeshi's body in a shocking display!

"So this is the Shadow Warrior's strongest move?"

Akeshi's body appeared completely unharmed, but all the Chakra in her body had been pulled out by the Shadow Warrior, and her organs had suffered varying degrees of damage. If this had truly been her real body, she probably would have died!

"Akeshi!"

When Uchiha Eiichi and Uchiha Shinji saw that scene, they screamed hoarsely. Their scarlet eyes flashed with eerie light as waves of cold Chakra spilled from their bodies. Violent rage was plainly visible on their faces. If anything had truly happened to Akeshi, they would make Kageka Maple pay with her life!

Not even Orochimaru, a disciple of the Hokage, could stop them!

"This is troublesome!"

Seeing Uchiha Eiichi and Uchiha Shinji in that state, Orochimaru felt both troubled and guilty. He had never expected that even with his elite Jonin strength, he would fail to save Akeshi...

"I should notify Sarutobi-sensei immediately..."

Thinking this, Orochimaru quietly performed the Summoning Technique and sent a small messenger snake to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But at that moment, Akeshi's body, which had been pierced through by the Shadow Warrior, suddenly exploded into a mass of incorporeal blue electricity that spread wildly outward.

"A Lightning Clone?"

Uchiha Eiichi, Uchiha Shinji, Orochimaru, and Kageka Maple, who was hidden in the "shadow space," all cried out in shock. They had never expected that Akeshi, after already using a Shadow Clone and several ninjutsu, would still have enough Chakra to create a Lightning Clone.

"One Thread Light Formation!"

The instant Akeshi's Lightning Clone exploded, a kunai suddenly shot out from it. It landed beside the Shadow Warrior's feet, and in an instant, the Transformation Technique and One Thread Light Formation were completed!

Akeshi, returning to her original form from the kunai, directly used the One Thread Light Formation to bind the Shadow Warrior, preventing it from moving even one step!

"Success!"

When Akeshi saw the Shadow Warrior's reaction, delight immediately appeared on her face. She had never expected that the basic sealing ninjutsu she had learned out of boredom would truly be able to restrain the Shadow Warrior's body.

"Kageka Maple, you lost!"

Having restrained the Shadow Warrior's body, Akeshi shouted in all directions, venting the emotions of a victor. Even she had not expected her battle against Kageka Maple to be so difficult.

Seeing Akeshi like this, Uchiha Eiichi and Uchiha Shinji exchanged glances and both saw helplessness on the other's face. They were elite members of the Uchiha Clan, yet neither of them had seen through Akeshi's Lightning Clone.

Orochimaru suddenly covered his face with one hand, hiding his embarrassment. Even an elite Jonin like him had been fooled by a little girl like Akeshi. If that idiot Jiraiya found out, wouldn't he laugh at him like crazy?

Hidden within the "shadow space," Kageka Maple tried to control the Shadow Warrior and break free of the One Thread Light Formation. But after expending so much Chakra on Instant Hell Shadow Kill, the Shadow Warrior had no ability to escape the restraint. Kageka Maple could only helplessly emerge slowly from the "shadow space."

"Your position..."

Akeshi stared in astonishment at Kageka Maple, who had suddenly appeared before her, and was momentarily speechless. But in the next instant, her face filled with anger.

"You tricked me!"

Akeshi's furious voice burst out. For the first time, tears shimmered in her scarlet eyes. She had never been deceived like this before, and the most important thing was that she had actually believed it!

"A ninja's intelligence cannot really be given to an enemy so easily, can it?"

"Akeshi, don't you agree?"

Kageka Maple looked at Uchiha Akeshi, and a fake smile appeared on her sweet face. This made the latter grit her teeth in anger. She wanted nothing more than to punch that hateful, irritating face into a pig's head!

"Hmph!"

Akeshi snorted coldly, then punched the Shadow Warrior's head beside her. The terrifying force instantly blew apart its head, turning it into its original "black substance," which flowed across the ground like liquid. Then, under Kageka Maple's control, both the black substance on the ground and the Shadow Warrior's remains were drawn back into her body. The little remaining Chakra in the Shadow Warrior's body also returned to Kageka Maple...

"Akeshi truly deserves to be called a genius of the Uchiha Clan. I lost this time. I hope we get another chance to fight, Akeshi..."

With a fake smile, Kageka Maple spoke to Akeshi. Her tone made the latter bristle. This girl was now just as annoying as Hyuga Yuzuru!

"Alright, Akeshi. We should go back."

Uchiha Shinji suddenly came to Akeshi's side and spoke to her.

Akeshi glared angrily at Kageka Maple, then nodded and left with Uchiha Shinji. As for Uchiha Eiichi, after politely acknowledging Orochimaru, he immediately followed them.

"You're Kageka Maple, correct? You possess a truly enviable Kekkei Genkai!"

Orochimaru's gaze left the backs of the three departing Uchiha and fell upon Kageka Maple. He spoke hoarsely, a probing light flickering in his golden vertical pupils.

"Lord Orochimaru."

Kageka Maple had heard of Orochimaru, a disciple of the Hokage, so she immediately addressed him politely.

"Lord Orochimaru, did you come here for something?"

Kageka Maple asked. Orochimaru's gaze made her feel uneasy.

"There was originally something, but there isn't anymore."

Orochimaru said.

"Lord Orochimaru, then... I'll be leaving first?"

Kageka Maple could not bear Orochimaru's snake-like gaze, so she immediately said this.

"...Alright."

Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

After hearing this, Kageka Maple quickly left the place, making Orochimaru frown slightly. Was he really that scary?

A long while later.

A figure flashed over from the distance—it was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The moment he arrived in the Forest of Death and saw Orochimaru standing in the clearing, he hurriedly asked, "How did things go?"

Orochimaru glanced at his teacher, then answered flatly, "Uh... very well."

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