Sasuke vs. Kakashi (Part 1)

In Konoha, at the Third Training Ground, an intense sparring match was unfolding.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Kakashi spun around, his hands weaving seals with such speed they left afterimages. After gathering Chakra in his throat, he spat a massive fireball that hurtled forward.

Heaven knows how he managed to spit out a Great Fireball Technique while wearing a mask.

The fireball traveled at incredible speed. Used by Kakashi, this basic C-rank Fire Release ninjutsu was faster, hotter, and contained far more potent and dense Chakra than when used by anyone else.

A fireball of this caliber was such that even without a direct hit, an ordinary person would begin to dehydrate after just ten seconds within its range, suffer from dizziness in half a minute, and fall into a state of shock from dehydration in about a minute.

What a formidable Great Fireball Technique; its power already exceeded that of an average B-rank ninjutsu.

Facing the massive, menacing fireball, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Instead of retreating, he surged forward, concentrating Chakra into his feet for an instant burst. He launched into a rapid sprint, the air screaming as it was torn apart, and charged straight at the fireball.

There were two types of Body Flicker Technique left behind by Uchiha Shisui. One was the most common and widely circulated version.

It involved concentrating Chakra in the legs for an instant burst, allowing the user to move at high speeds.

Of course, even this version had been refined by Uchiha Shisui to allow the user to achieve maximum effect with minimal Chakra.

Sasuke was currently using this first type!

Clang!

When Sasuke reached a point less than five meters from the fireball, he drew his blade with a fierce motion. A crimson flash of light erupted, and a massive blade of flame instantly burst from the edge of his sword.

With a boom, it sliced the fireball directly in two, continuing its momentum to slash toward Kakashi.

"That's a very impressive fire-style swordsmanship."

Kakashi offered a compliment, leaping away from his original spot. At the same time, he drew a forty-centimeter-long white short sword from his waist, its surface shimmering with white Chakra light.

Weapon—White Fang!

This was the weapon once used by Kakashi's father, a specially crafted Chakra short sword and a memento left to Kakashi. The blade of White Fang had been snapped by the sword of the Iwagakure jonin Kakkō during the battle at Kannabi Bridge.

After the war, although Kakashi had collected the fragments, he never had it reforged until he met Sasuke two years ago and finally had the broken sword recast.

Whoosh!

No sooner had Kakashi dodged the flame blade than he saw Sasuke stomp his foot, leaving only afterimages behind. In the blink of an eye, he flashed in front of Kakashi, his crimson katana hissing as it pierced toward Kakashi with lightning speed.

Such incredible speed!

A flash of surprise crossed Kakashi's eyes; Sasuke's speed had increased significantly.

However, he did not panic. He simply rotated his right hand, parrying the blade with perfect precision.

Clang!

Amidst the metallic ring of clashing steel, Kakashi couldn't help but feel his hand go numb. He hadn't expected Sasuke's physical fitness to be this high, especially his raw strength.

"When I was your age, my strength was far inferior to yours, Sasuke."

With their blades locked, Kakashi still had the leisure to offer a compliment.

If you had consumed all kinds of high-end nutritional supplements for over four years like I have.

Combined with all sorts of hellish physical training.

And taken medicinal baths with various precious herbs every day.

You, too, could possess such strength at this age!

Facing Kakashi's praise, Sasuke remained calm and said nothing, merely increasing the pressure on his blade.

In recent years, Naruto had specialized in taijutsu, spending far more time and energy on physical training than Sasuke. Coupled with his natural Uzumaki constitution, it could be said that Naruto now surpassed Sasuke in terms of pure taijutsu.

However, Sasuke's physical fitness was only a hair's breadth behind, with no obvious gap. This was because, in addition to the grueling physical training, Sasuke had also used various insane "pay-to-win" methods to make up for his physical shortcomings.

"It seems I need to get serious as well."

Feeling the immense force coming from the blade, Kakashi narrowed his eyes, his gaze curving into crescent moons.

He rotated the short sword in his hand, sparking white electricity. The dazzling white light filled Sasuke's vision in an instant; intense light often signaled the arrival of deep darkness.

For a moment, Sasuke was almost blinded, his vision temporarily lost.

Yet, facing this near-blind state, there was not a hint of panic on Sasuke's face. Blindness could cause a ninja's combat effectiveness to plummet by ninety percent.

But for someone like Sasuke, who had habitually practiced while simulating blindness, the impact was real, but it only hindered him by at most ten percent.

With a swift draw and counter-strike, he forced Kakashi back. Sasuke then flipped backward to a distance of ten meters and quickly wove three seals.

"Body Flicker Technique!"

In an instant, eight identical clones appeared around Sasuke.

This was the second type of Body Flicker Technique left behind by Uchiha Shisui, and it was his own unique creation.

According to the records, the Shisui-style Body Flicker Technique involved instantly creating multiple clones that possessed either physical form or were mere afterimages. With truth and falsehood intertwined, it made it difficult for the enemy to distinguish the real body.

Once the enemy mistakenly identified a clone as an afterimage, the clone would instantly transform into a physical entity or the real body to strike the enemy down!

This was also the origin of Uchiha Shisui's title—Body Flicker Shisui.

When Sasuke first read the records, he was confused, because the Shisui-style Body Flicker Technique contained both physical clones and afterimage clones; at first glance, he had thought it was a Body Flicker Technique combined with the Shadow Clone Technique.

However, the Shadow Clone Technique only requires one hand seal, whereas the Body Flicker Technique of the Shisui style requires three.

What Sasuke found even harder to comprehend was the effect of instantly swapping positions between the afterimage clones and the main body or solid clones.

This could already be considered a space-time ninjutsu, turning the clones into something akin to the space-time coordinates of a Flying Raijin Kunai.

But Sasuke knew deep down that the Body Flicker Technique of Shisui was definitely not a space-time ninjutsu.

After years of careful research, Sasuke finally discovered the secret behind this unique skill.

This Body Flicker Technique was a product that combined the basic Clone Technique with the Shadow Clone Technique, simultaneously manifesting intangible afterimage clones and tangible shadow clones to execute high-speed movement strikes.

The afterimage clones lured and confused the enemy's vision to cover the attacks launched by the solid shadow clones, while the main body hid behind the shadow clones and afterimage clones to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.

It even incorporated some of the genjutsu techniques and psychological warfare mastered by Uchiha Shisui himself.

In this way, it was very difficult for an enemy to distinguish between Shisui's solid body, his main body, and his afterimages; one moment of carelessness meant being cut down.

One could say it was a classic "matryoshka" style of ninjutsu.

"Uchiha Shisui's Body Flicker Technique?"

Kakashi was no stranger to the reputation of Uchiha Shisui; the two had interacted back when they were both in the Anbu and had even carried out missions together.

He knew full well what kind of strength Uchiha Shisui possessed, and he had once estimated that if he were to fight Uchiha Shisui.

His chance of winning would be at most fifty percent.

Or, as the common saying goes, a fifty-fifty split.