"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
As soon as the match began, Shisui quickly formed hand seals and used the Great Fireball Technique to keep Yusuke at bay.
"Scorch Release: Flame Return."
Yusuke also formed hand seals and countered with a ninjutsu technique. Like a whale sucking in water, the Great Fireball Shisui spat from his mouth was entirely drawn into the hand seal Yusuke had formed.
Then Yusuke opened his mouth and spat out a massive red-gold fireball at Shisui.
The red-gold fireball was visibly larger than the Great Fireball Shisui had used, and it was clearly hotter, too. The parts that touched the ground scorched it to ash, leaving a crater behind.
On the battlefield, Shisui realized that Yusuke's Scorch Release would be difficult to counter. He immediately leaped backward and high into the air, evading Yusuke's counterattack.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
In midair, Shisui fired more than a dozen shuriken wrapped in flames and spinning at high speed toward Yusuke.
But Shisui's Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson wasn't so simple. He formed hand seals once more and used genjutsu to multiply the original shuriken several times over, making it impossible to tell which were real.
Faced with a barrage of flaming shuriken, Yusuke knew the best way to deal with them was to wipe them all out at once with an area-of-effect attack. He swiftly formed hand seals and used a Scorch Release technique no one had ever seen before.
"Scorch Release: Burning Wind."
A massive red whirlwind formed in front of Yusuke and swept toward Shisui and the shuriken he had fired. Every shuriken the whirlwind touched was sucked inside. The ones it missed were naturally genjutsu-created copies, without physical form or the ability to attack.
Yusuke's impressive ninjutsu drew gasps from the shinobi in the Training Ground stands.
"I can't believe Uchiha Yusuke is this skilled at ninjutsu, too. And it looks like he's mastered Scorch Release," Asuma said, dumbfounded.
"Exactly. He was already incredibly skilled at using Fire Release chakra, and somehow he managed to change the nature of Scorch Release chakra as well. In his early days, he was always a ninjutsu-focused shinobi."
"It wasn't until he fought Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, on the battlefield that he first used that sword technique that lets him control fire. After that battle, his reputation as the 'Flame Tachi' gradually spread." The speaker was Shiranui Genma. During the Third Shinobi World War, he had once served on the same squad as Yusuke.
"Is there someone named Raiga Kurosuki among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? I thought all their names included a fruit or a dried fruit," Guy asked, raising a sharp question.
Everyone paused at Guy's question, surprised that this was what he had focused on.
Kakashi pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head helplessly.
On the Training Ground, Shisui's body was already caught in the red whirlwind Yusuke had created. The audience immediately erupted in startled cries.
But the one caught in the whirlwind wasn't Shisui's real body. He had already used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Yusuke, drawing the katana from his back and slashing at him.
Yusuke had keenly sensed Shisui's movement. He spun around, and a splendid tachi appeared in his hand, blocking Shisui's attack. It was Ryujin Jakka, which had yet to be released.
The two blades locked together as Yusuke and Shisui stared into each other's eyes. Shisui's gaze was full of determination and a fierce desire to win, while Yusuke's was calm and detached.
Shisui abruptly swung his katana and used the impact of their blades colliding to propel himself backward.
"Uchiha Style: Sword Jump Flame!"
Flames rose from Shisui's katana, forming a blade of fire that slashed toward Yusuke.
Yusuke was momentarily surprised. It was the first time anyone had attacked him with a flaming sword. He leaned aside to dodge Shisui's fiery slash, then immediately released Ryujin Jakka.
"Everything in the universe, turn to ash."
Just as Yusuke released Ryujin Jakka, Shisui suddenly formed hand seals with his left hand and vanished from sight.
Yusuke immediately turned around, coming face-to-face with Shisui, who was using kenjutsu.
"Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!"
Shisui swiftly swung his katana, sending four enormous flaming slashes toward Yusuke. But despite the name Gale Sword, Yusuke couldn't see how Shisui's move had anything to do with a gale.
The corner of Yusuke's mouth lifted. He didn't believe Shisui's flaming slashes could outmatch Ryujin Jakka—not even when it wasn't unleashing its full power!
Yusuke casually swung Ryujin Jakka sideways. A red flash of fire swept across the air, and all four of Shisui's flaming slashes vanished.
"The title 'Flame Tachi' is clearly well deserved. When it comes to playing with fire on a blade, Uchiha Shisui is no match for Uchiha Yusuke," Asuma said with a laugh. The shinobi around him nodded in agreement.
"But Uchiha Shisui isn't famous for Fire Release. His nickname is 'Body Flicker Shisui.' It looks like their fight hasn't reached the crucial moment yet," Kurenai analyzed.
Since Kurenai had offered her opinion for once, Asuma immediately nodded in agreement. "Well said!"
On the Training Ground, Shisui frowned as he watched the long blade in Yusuke's hand blaze with fire. He could tell that the flames on Yusuke's blade were produced in a completely different way from his own, and they were in an entirely different league.
"As expected, I can't defeat you, senpai, without using my Body Flicker secret technique," Shisui said slowly.
Even now, he still didn't consider Yusuke an opponent on the same level as himself. He believed his Body Flicker secret technique would be enough to deal with Yusuke—and besides, he still had a hidden trump card: the Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Good. I want to see just how powerful the Body Flicker secret technique of 'Body Flicker Shisui' really is," Yusuke replied calmly.
As soon as Yusuke finished speaking, Shisui suddenly began moving at high speed. Each time he moved, he left behind an identical illusion, making it impossible to tell which one was real.
Every one of those copied illusions was real, and every one of them was false. Shisui's real body could use the Body Flicker Technique to appear on any of them and attack. If he was attacked, he could also flicker to the position of an illusion that hadn't been targeted!
By the time sixteen illusions had appeared, Yusuke was deeply impressed by Shisui's strength. An ordinary shinobi facing this move would be completely at a loss.
Faced with the army of Shisuis rushing toward him, Yusuke charged forward instead of retreating, Ryujin Jakka in hand. Amid the shifting figures, he swung his blade, trailing a red tail of flame and leaving fiery lines in the air.
It was the same move Yusuke had once used against Obito Uchiha!
When it came to combat experience, Shisui was clearly more seasoned than Obito.
Shisui keenly realized that the fiery trails lingering in the air were a serious problem. If he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear at an illusion's position and attack with his real body, touching those flames—even a single spark—would immediately set him ablaze. They were powerful Fire Release flames, or perhaps even Scorch Release!
Sixteen of Shisui's illusion clones surrounded Yusuke, but wherever they moved, Yusuke swiftly used Ryujin Jakka to slash fiery trails around himself, restricting their movements.
By watching which of Shisui's illusions passed through the lingering fiery trails unharmed, Yusuke could immediately determine that those clones weren't where Shisui's real body was. This made it easier for him to pinpoint Shisui's true location.
On the Training Ground, Yusuke swung Ryujin Jakka in great, sweeping arcs, leaving behind gorgeous streaks of fire in the air. They looked like red ribbons, dazzling everyone who watched.
Shisui, meanwhile, couldn't unleash the full power of his Body Flicker secret technique. He could only switch between a few illusion clones that weren't caught in Yusuke's fiery trails. As a result, he had been forced onto the defensive, even though he should have been on the offensive after using his secret technique.
Shisui poured in more chakra, speeding up his illusion clones. He actively dodged Yusuke's flaming slashes while attacking him with his katana.
Yusuke tried to make each swing cover as much ground as possible, but he couldn't protect himself from every direction. There were still plenty of openings for Shisui to counterattack.
"Scorch Release: Flame Run Technique."
Yusuke formed hand seals with his left hand and began using his own fire-based Body Flicker technique. Wherever the flames of Ryujin Jakka burned, he could instantly move there with his Flame Run Technique.
Everyone in the stands watched, unable to look away. The Training Ground was filled with Shisui's dazzling illusion clones, constantly dodging or counterattacking amid streaks of red light. Yusuke, too, seemed to appear and disappear among the fiery trails, moving everywhere to block Shisui and find opportunities to attack his real body.
Shiranui Genma swallowed. "Are those two really this strong? Shisui looks like he's only twelve."
"And Yusuke's gotten strong way too fast. When we ran into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, if Yusuke had been this strong back then, maybe Mr. Duy wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself." Genma then shook his head and sighed.
Beside him, Guy fell silent at Genma's words.
Asuma nudged Kakashi with his elbow. "Are you hiding your strength just like them?"
Kakashi shook his head. "I'm probably no match for either of them now. But if I met them as enemies on the battlefield, I'm confident I could hold off either one of them."
If Yusuke had been there, he would definitely have silently complained that Kakashi had already started thinking of himself as a "fifty-fifty" shinobi.
On the other side of the stands, the two Hyuga Clan brothers, Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga, activated their Byakugan and watched Yusuke and Shisui fighting.
"Big brother, even with my Byakugan, I can't distinguish Uchiha Shisui's real body," Hizashi said with a frown.
Hyuga Hiashi replied slowly, "Exactly. I don't know how he uses this secret technique, but every illusion clone looks like the real thing. Even the Byakugan can't tell them apart. It's a troublesome technique."
At this, Hyuga Hiashi's expression turned serious. "The Uchiha Clan truly deserves its reputation as one of the foremost clans since the Warring States Period. Our Hyuga Clan is also a top clan, yet we still haven't produced a genius like this. It's a disgrace."
"And pay attention to Uchiha Yusuke's chakra!"
The two Uchiha Style Kenjutsu moves used by Shisui come from the official game series Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm and have nothing to do with the author. Please don't complain about them!!
(￣y▽￣)~*
One more thing: the author isn't starting to post two chapters a day now... It's just the usual weekend routine of picking one day to put out an extra chapter...
Why only pick one day? Because the other day is for writing next week's chapters in advance!!
Before you continue