Shisui's Challenge

"What?"

Mist turned to look and saw Karot smiling at him. He hurriedly leaped away, skidding across the ground and leaving a long track behind.

"Not bad reflexes."

Karot couldn't help commenting.

"Breathing in too much white mist is bad for your health. So, let's clear it away."

With that, Karot swept his hand, dispersing the dense fog that blanketed the forest.

"Can a human really do that?"

The remaining ninjas were stunned. The Mist ninjas dropped their weapons one after another.

"Hm?"

A huge question mark appeared in Karot's mind.

"We surrender."

The Four-Man Squad gave up without hesitation. They weren't fools. After seeing Karot disperse the mist with such ease, they knew they stood no chance against him, no matter how hard they fought. Surrender was the best choice. They couldn't escape, and they couldn't win a fight. Unless they wanted to die, surrender was their only option.

"Why don't you try resisting? Go on, resist."

Karot urged them with utmost sincerity.

The Four-Man Squad tied their own hands and stood before Karot, showing how determined they were.

Seeing that nothing could be done, Karot could only have Might Duy and the others escort the prisoners. He also had them secure the seven Ninja Swords. They were bargaining chips for negotiations with the Mist, and he couldn't let the Mist summon them back.

Then Karot led Might Duy and the others back to camp. When the Konoha ninjas learned that Karot had captured the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the whole camp erupted in celebration, dispelling the gloom of recent days. Konoha had been faring poorly on the Mist Shadow Battlefield, but now Karot had captured the Seven Swordsmen and dealt the Mist a heavy blow. So the Konoha ninjas lined up in two rows to welcome him.

"Lord Karot."

"Lord Karot."

"Red Demon!"

Karot walked along, raising a hand in greeting. The more he acknowledged them, the more enthusiastically the Konoha ninjas shouted.

"Lord Karot."

Shisui greeted him respectfully.

"Shisui, I'll leave the rest to you."

Karot was exceptionally skilled at being a hands-off leader. He left all the camp's administrative affairs to Shisui and focused on slacking off. With that, Karot vanished.

"Senior..."

Shisui's words trailed off. The man was already gone—who was he supposed to say them to?

From Might Duy and the others, Shisui learned the whole story. When he heard that the perennial Genin had killed two elite Jonin, he couldn't help finding the whole thing absurd. Might Duy's reputation was simply too great, and Shisui couldn't accept the sudden reversal of fortune. Then he heard that the Mist had surrendered of its own accord, and he was left numb. They had always fought to the death, and now they were surrendering? Where had their pride as ninjas gone? This made Uchiha Shisui intensely curious about Karot's strength.

Two days after Shisui sent in his report, a group of Konoha ninjas hurried into camp, then hurried away again. They brought Konoha's commendation: because of his outstanding performance in battle, Might Duy had been specially promoted to Jonin. When they left, they took the seven Ninja Swords and the Four-Man Squad with them. Having used the Eight Gates Formation, Might Duy had suffered severe physical damage, so he was also taken back to the village for treatment. They also carried a letter from Karot.

Ever since Karot captured the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Mist had settled down, with no activity at the border. Rumor had it that they were trying to show goodwill before negotiating with Konoha. But none of that had anything to do with Karot. Every day, he still went fishing and took walks, looking like a retired old man. He'd have looked even more the part with a thermos in hand.

"Senior Karot, I want to challenge you to a duel."

After holding back for half a month, Uchiha Shisui finally made his request.

"Oh? Why do you want to challenge me, Shisui?"

Karot asked, though he was thinking:

Have I been shirking too much? Does Shisui want to quit? Maybe I should rein it in, handle some of the paperwork, and sweet-talk him a little. A kid only needs a bit of coaxing.

Just as Karot was about to voice his thoughts, Shisui said, "I want to see how strong you are, Senior Karot, and find out how I measure up."

Uchiha Shisui knew all too well how awkward the Uchiha Clan's position in Konoha was. They lived proudly in the village but had never truly become part of it. What would become of the Uchiha once the war was over? The question had been weighing on Shisui's mind. Karot's arrival had given him a way forward. With his immense strength and lack of prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, Karot was an excellent potential ally. So Shisui wanted to gauge the depth of his strength and weigh the possibility in his mind.

"The Uchiha Clan's prodigy, Body Flicker Shisui. Then let's see how you measure up."

Karot was interested in Shisui's challenge, too. He wanted to see Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, said to be the strongest Genjutsu in the Ninja World. Most importantly, Karot was bored out of his mind. He needed to stretch his limbs, and Shisui was the only one in camp who could give him a decent workout.

The two went to an empty clearing.

"Come at me, Shisui."

Karot showed off his considerate side toward the young.

"Okay."

Shisui didn't hesitate. He formed hand seals and used a technique to create several copies of himself. It wasn't quite the Clone Technique or the Shadow Clone Technique. He could switch between the real bodies at will. This was Body Flicker Shisui's Body Flicker Technique.

"Watch out, Senior Karot."

Shisui didn't hold back. They rushed in together, the blades in their hands repeatedly striking at Karot's vital points.

Karot concentrated Ki into his index finger.

Clang, clang, clang.

He continuously blocked Shisui's attacks.

"Is this Senior Karot's Kekkei Genkai?"

Word that Karot possessed a Kekkei Genkai had spread widely after he killed the Eight-Tails. This was the first time Shisui had seen it. Karot's glowing finger had stopped every one of his deadly attacks.

Seeing that he hadn't harmed Karot, Shisui leaped back and formed hand seals in midair.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball came crashing down at Karot from above.

Karot held out a hand and fired an energy sphere, smashing Shisui's fireball to pieces.

"He doesn't need hand seals. If I use ninjutsu, I'll always be a step slower."

Shisui thought over his strategy as he fought.

The commas in Shisui's Sharingan began to spin. The scene before Karot's eyes changed. Shisui vanished, and all kinds of delicious food appeared before him, their enticing aromas tempting him nonstop. This was Karot's first time experiencing Genjutsu, and he wanted to test what made it different.

Genjutsu didn't only affect his sight and sense of smell; it also hypnotized his brain, making him believe that what he saw was real.

"I really don't want to leave this place."

Karot murmured. The Genjutsu had affected his vision, but leaving it would have been easy if he wanted to. All he had to do was disrupt the caster's Chakra flow to break the technique. Finding the caster was simple, too, because everyone's Ki was different. Karot could locate him with ease.