Phantom Flicker Technique

"Brilliant..."

Itachi murmured under his breath, his Sharingan shifting back and forth between Dan and Shisui, unwilling to miss a single detail of the fight.

Izumi, standing beside him, was even more shocked. Even with her Sharingan activated, she still couldn't make out their movements.

They were too fast.

There were plenty of other clan members who felt the same way as Izumi.

Shisui's dazzling swordsmanship, wreathed in flames, and his elusive Body Flicker Technique were breathtaking to behold.

Dan stood as solid as a mountain. Although he couldn't move as fast as Shisui, his punches were every bit as quick.

His muscles brimmed with immense strength and astonishing defensive power. The Ghost Face on his back was even more terrifying: one look at it made you feel as though a demon from hell had fixed its gaze on you.

A chill ran through them.

This fight—

had shifted from offense and defense to a reversal of their roles. Dan had mounted a beautiful counterattack, successfully suppressing Shisui's momentum and destroying his Ninja Sword.

At the moment, Dan had the upper hand.

"Dan, give that traitor Shisui a good beating!"

Yashiro shouted, his face alight with excitement.

Inohi and Tekka, standing beside him, were just as fired up. Though Dan had beaten them both before, they couldn't help cheering him on now.

At the front of the crowd,

Fugaku watched with his arms crossed, a look of approval on his face as he praised his brother-in-law:

"Impressive. Truly impressive."

Mikoto still looked worried. She prayed that her younger brother wouldn't let his guard down, because the fight didn't seem to be over yet.

Far away, atop a tree,

Kakashi's entire body was hidden among the dense leaves. Only one Sharingan showed as he watched everything unfolding in the clearing below.

He knew that the exchange between Dan and Shisui had been nothing more than a warm-up.

The real fight was only just beginning.

As expected,

Shisui fixed his burning gaze on Dan and spoke:

"Dan, your muscles are incredibly powerful. Your body has been trained to perfection. But I don't believe that a body like yours is truly without any weaknesses."

Before he had finished speaking, his hands quickly formed Hand Seals.

In an instant,

more than a dozen identical copies of Shisui appeared around him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

They ran around Dan at a speed so great they left afterimages, forming a wide circle and surrounding him completely.

There it was—Shisui's signature technique.

The Phantom Flicker Technique.

Compared to using it in the Secret Room, this technique was obviously easier to perform out in the open. Shisui had created more than a dozen clones at once, leaving everyone dazzled.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The clones soon surged forward, launching a barrage of attacks against Dan.

Crack!

Dan stepped forward and swept one arm out like a mighty dragon, unleashing a sonic boom as he struck three of Shisui's clones.

They were all illusions.

He immediately swung his other hand at the two clones attacking from behind.

Illusions again.

The most troublesome thing about Shisui's phantom clones was that they didn't disappear when struck.

An opening.

Shisui's real body, mixed in among the clones, seized Dan's opening and launched a sneak attack from the side and behind.

Whoosh.

A vicious rising kick, propelled by a sharp gust of wind, shot straight toward Dan's groin.

Facing the sneak attack,

Dan didn't panic in the slightest. He simply leaned backward and fell, his massive body crashing down like a collapsing mountain, straight toward Shisui.

If Shisui's attack landed, Dan would crush him beneath his body, leaving him unable to move.

Shisui frowned.

He couldn't afford a move that would leave both of them injured.

So he abandoned the sneak attack. His real body instantly shifted to one of the other clones, leaving an illusion behind where he had been.

Both attacks missed.

But Shisui quickly attacked again.

He used feints from his clones to distract Dan, hiding his real body among them as he targeted Dan's eyes, temples, groin, and even the spot between his buttocks...

He struck at every vital point.

He didn't believe Dan could have trained the weak points of the human body to be as hard as steel.

There was no denying it.

Shisui was clever, and he had indeed discovered the weaknesses of Dan's body. But in the process—

Dan had discovered Shisui's weakness, too.

The so-called Phantom Flicker Technique was actually a technique created by combining the Body Flicker Technique with the Clone Technique.

Shisui wasn't creating Shadow Clones, so his clones had no physical form and wouldn't disappear even when struck.

But he was so fast that he could flicker to any clone and merge with it, allowing him to attack his opponent.

From that perspective,

every one of Shisui's clones could also be considered real.

On the battlefield,

attacks against Shisui's clones were useless, and no one could predict which direction he would appear from or which clone he would use to launch his next sneak attack. Naturally, it was difficult to defend against him.

However,

Dan was different from everyone else.

He realized that he didn't need to predict which direction Shisui would attack from. He only needed to protect the vital parts of his body.

Because Shisui could only choose to attack those few areas.

As for the rest, even if Dan let Shisui punch and kick him as much as he wanted, Shisui couldn't break through his defenses. He would only expose himself, giving Dan a chance to catch his real body.

Hm?

Shisui soon noticed it, too.

He attacked again and again, but he couldn't break through Dan's defenses to hit any of his vital points.

Thud, thud, thud!

For a while, the clearing rang with the sound of fists connecting with flesh, but the two were locked in a stalemate. Neither could get the better of the other.

So how could Dan break the deadlock?

If he summoned his Stand, "The World," and stopped time for five seconds—

It wouldn't be difficult to find Shisui's real body and defeat him during that time.

But Dan had made up his mind long ago.

Unless it was a critical moment, he wouldn't summon his Stand again, and he certainly wouldn't use Za Warudo lightly.

Part of the reason was to keep his abilities secret. More importantly, he didn't want to become overly reliant on time stop.

Once he became dependent on the Stand Power, he would grow lazy and stop thinking. Given enough time, that would turn into a lack of ambition.

Dan would never forget:

The one who was powerful was the person, not the Stand.

Even if his Stand disappeared right now, he would still have to rely on his own strength to make his way through this world and carve out a place for himself.

For now, he would try to crack Shisui's Phantom Flicker Technique.

He had it.

A flash of inspiration crossed Dan's mind.

If he couldn't tell Shisui's real body from his illusions, then...

he'd just beat them all up.

"Roar!"

Dan's eyes suddenly blazed, and he let out a roar. Yang Release Chakra flooded his muscles, skin, and fascia, making them swell.

Crack, crack, crack.

As his joints popped, his body grew a whole size larger, making him look even more like a giant.

Thick veins rose to the surface, winding all over his muscles like pythons coiled around one another.

At that moment,

the full potential of Dan's body was unleashed.

What was he doing?

Shisui's heart skipped a beat when he saw Dan's actions, but he didn't stop attacking. If anything, he attacked even more fiercely.

Dan had exposed an opening and was no longer protecting his vital points.

For Shisui, this was a golden opportunity.

Was that really the case?

The answer came the very next second.

"Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda!"