The Masked Man's hand was barely half a foot from Kakashi's left eye.
Shisui did not try to block that hand.
His short blade thrust toward the Masked Man's grasping right arm.
If his opponent remained solid, the blade would sever his wrist first.
If he phased, his palm would no longer be able to take Kakashi away.
As expected, the Masked Man abandoned his grab.
The black glove passed through the side of Kakashi's face, and his entire right arm faded with it.
At the same time, Kakashi stepped back, spreading Lightning Release across the ground in a fine ring of electricity.
The electric net could not hurt a phased body, but it could mark every spot where he became solid again.
The first blue flash lit up beneath the Masked Man's feet.
"Three steps back and left," Kakashi called out.
Shisui's Shadow Clone was already there.
A kunai pierced empty air.
But a second blue flash flickered beside the Masked Man's shoulder.
To knock the Shadow Clone aside, he had briefly returned his right shoulder to the current space.
Kakashi did not attack the shoulder.
A steel needle charged with Lightning Release struck the outer edge of the mask.
Electricity spread inward along the cracks in the clay, forcing the Masked Man to phase again.
"You're only stalling."
The voice behind the mask remained calm.
Shisui answered, "Stalling still buys us time."
Three observation posts independently called out the start and end of every instance of phasing.
The Masked Man could let attacks pass through him, but he could not make every record disappear at once.
Kakashi gradually noticed that whenever his opponent prepared to absorb a target, the tomoe in his right eye tightened first.
A spatial vortex then unfurled from the center of his gaze.
Phasing