Shisui vs. Team 8

"Don't interfere. I'll teach this brat a lesson myself!"

Asuma shouted, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. At the same time, his hands flew through seals before his chest.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Shisui frowned. "Using Fire Style against an Uchiha? Don't underestimate the power of the Uchiha!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Shisui puffed out his chest and fiercely expelled a fireball as large as a house, violently crushing toward the noticeably smaller fireball ahead.

The two fireballs collided in midair, flattening against each other as they struggled for dominance. Yet the point of impact rapidly shifted toward Asuma.

Asuma's pupils contracted. "This brat's Fire Style is actually this strong?!" Seeing that he could not overpower it, he immediately stopped supplying chakra and rolled aside to evade it.

The next instant, deprived of chakra support, Asuma's fireball was instantly overwhelmed. Shisui's Great Fireball grazed past his side and exploded with a deafening boom!

The blast wave instantly hurled Asuma away. With a twist of his wrist, Shisui produced eight shuriken between the fingers of both hands. His arms flicked in succession, and the shuriken tore through the air toward Asuma's airborne body with piercing whistles!

Asuma's pupils shrank. After landing, he quickly rose and hurriedly began forming hand seals. But Shisui had seized the initiative, and his sealing speed was not fast enough. As the shuriken drew near, fine beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

At the critical moment, a woman's voice came from behind him.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

A thick earthen wall rose in response, blocking the space before Asuma.

"Clang clang clang clang~"

Four shuriken embedded themselves into the wall from different directions. Shisui flicked his right arm again, and four more shuriken overtook the first wave, colliding with them in midair and producing a series of crisp rings.

Then, a strange sight unfolded. After a chain of collisions, the shuriken actually changed their trajectory in midair, curving around the Earth Flow Wall to attack Asuma from both sides and above.

But after that brief delay, Asuma had completed his hand seals as well.

Dog—Horse—Rooster!

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Asuma exhaled a violent gale that swept away every shuriken.

Two figures swiftly appeared beside Asuma. Kurenai Yuhi watched Shisui with a serious expression and said, "Let's attack together. Mo's little brother isn't an ordinary genius."

A child who could skillfully master a ninjutsu at the age of five while possessing relatively high taijutsu proficiency could already be called a genius. But not only was Shisui's Fire Style stronger than Asuma's, despite Asuma being twice his age, he had also displayed an extremely high level of mastery over Uchiha shuriken techniques. He was clearly no ordinary genius.

Even Asuma, who had already graduated, had only mastered two basic Wind Style and Fire Style ninjutsu. Kurenai Yuhi likewise only knew one Earth Style defensive ninjutsu and genjutsu, while Hayate Gekko had mastered only a single sword technique.

Asuma wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded, no longer being stubborn.

"Then, the battle begins!"

With that cry, all three charged out at once.

Shisui immediately adjusted his stance, drawing the wakizashi from the scabbard on his back. He stared seriously at the three before him.

Asuma remained at the rear, his hands rapidly forming seals.

Dog—Horse—Rooster!

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent gale rushed straight at Shisui. At the same time, Hayate Gekko had reached a point not far to Shisui's right. His right hand rested on the hilt at his waist as he took a deep breath, a sharp glint bursting from his eyes.

"Leaf Style Swordsmanship: Iaido Slash!"

A fierce arc of blade light slashed horizontally toward Shisui, sealing off his retreat. An ordinary genin facing such a coordinated assault would surely have been at a loss, but Shisui's current strength had already fully reached the level of a chunin.

"Clang!"

Shisui gripped his short sword in reverse and used his other hand to brace the back of the blade, blocking the slash. Sparks burst fiercely, but the gale was already right before him!

At that very moment, the hand Shisui used to brace his blade suddenly raised two fingers in a hand sign.

"Body Flicker Technique!"

The moment he spoke, Shisui vanished from where he stood. Hayate Gekko lost his resistance, his body pitching uncontrollably forward as he stumbled directly into the attack path of Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

Hayate Gekko cried out in alarm and shut his eyes in fear.

Yet the next instant, a sudden sensation of weightlessness struck him. When he opened his eyes, he had already arrived at the edge of the battlefield.

Uchiha Mo casually tossed Hayate Gekko onto the ground, then folded his arms and turned his attention back to the battle.

After using three ninjutsu in succession, Asuma had already consumed more than half his chakra. Shisui had arrived at his side after using the Body Flicker Technique, but fortunately, Kurenai Yuhi was guarding Asuma's side.

The instant Shisui appeared, he did not hesitate. His short sword came slashing straight down at Asuma.

"Such a fast Body Flicker Technique!" A chill ran down Asuma's back, and he had no time to react at all.

"Clang!"

At the critical moment, Kurenai Yuhi raised a kunai to block Shisui's strike. At the same time, invisible ripples suddenly spread through her ruby-like eyes.

Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!

Clang~

However, just as the genjutsu took shape, Shisui's eyes suddenly bloomed with a crimson light!

"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

Kurenai Yuhi's body trembled as she froze in place.

Her kunai slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. Asuma reacted swiftly and tried to rise, but Shisui was clearly faster.

A cold blade rested against Asuma's shoulder. With his Sharingan activated, a faint chill surfaced on Shisui's face.

"I win."

Feeling the coldness at his neck, Asuma swallowed and shifted his gaze to the Sharingan slowly spinning in Shisui's eye sockets.

"Looks like you won't be getting my ninjutsu."

Mo appeared beside the three of them, a barely noticeable curve lifting at the corner of his lips as he placed his right hand on Shisui's head.

"Good job."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shisui deactivated his Sharingan, and that sunny smile returned to his face.

"As for you three..."

At those words, the members of Team 8 immediately tensed up.

Though they had lost the match, Team 8 had actually displayed considerable strength. Each of them had mastered at least one effective technique. Even among genin, they could be considered solid pillars, unlike ordinary ninja academy students who had only just graduated.

"Come accept missions with me tomorrow."

Asuma and the other two immediately let out sighs of relief, afraid that Uchiha Mo had remembered the matter of punishment.

After agreeing on a time to gather the next day, Mo left with Shisui.

Once he returned home, he took out the scroll Kakashi had given him from his ninja tool pouch.

Leading a few genin on low-level missions was purely a waste of time for Mo, so he planned to use the time to thoroughly master Kakashi's still-incomplete Chidori.

While improving his Lightning Release proficiency, he could also use the opportunity to legitimize his fire-control ability.

Moreover, Chidori possessed tremendous power and potential. Among the Lightning Release techniques Mo had mastered at his current stage, there really was no technique more useful than Chidori.