At this time, in the eyes of Itachi, who possessed a single magatama Sharingan, more than a dozen Shisui figures continued to slash out flaming blades.
They were all able to launch attacks, which meant they weren't afterimages that moved at high speed and remained in the visual nerves, but were all solid entities.
The intensity of the attack was so high that even Minato, who was caught in the middle, couldn't easily escape it.
But the scene in Minato's eyes was completely different.
In reality, the number of people surrounding him, including Shisui's real body, was only four in total - Shisui and three shadow clones. After all, even though Shisui was a member of the Uchiha clan, his physical capabilities were only slightly stronger than those of ordinary people.
It would be impossible to maintain such intense attacks continuously with more than a dozen shadow clones.
Shisui and his three shadow clones were constantly alternating positions according to specific patterns, making it appear to ordinary ninja as if more than a dozen Shisui were attacking simultaneously.
The essence of this technique wasn't much different from Minato's "Flying Thunder God Dance Level 3."
However, Shisui used his incredible body speed to form this continuous attack pattern. Of course, he wasn't as fast as Minato, who could continuously jump through time and space.
"Minato-sensei, even you can't escape easily now!"
Shisui called out, and in Itachi's ears, more than a dozen voices rang out at the same time.
Under such a dense barrage of attacks, unless Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape directly, even if he used ninjutsu to counter some attacks, it would be impossible to resist strikes coming from all directions simultaneously.
However, Minato, surrounded in the center, made no attempt to dodge or evade, allowing the flame blades to approach him.
"Burn!"
The next moment, the incredibly dense attack completely enveloped Minato's figure.
Shisui and his shadow clones didn't know what trick Minato would use next, so each one carefully watched a different area.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a light sound came from the place covered by the flame blades.
"A shadow clone?!" The four Shisui looked sideways, their expressions filled with shock.
From the beginning to the end of this battle, Shisui hadn't seen Minato make a single hand seal.
Could his hand seal speed be so fast that even Shisui's own speed plus the three-magatama Sharingan couldn't catch it?
That seemed impossible, because such speed would be beyond human limits - even the Yellow Flash couldn't move that quickly!
"Bang!"
Just as the four were still processing their surprise, a golden light flickered and moved, followed by the sound of a shadow clone disappearing.
Shisui and the remaining two shadow clones became instantly alert and finally caught the slightest trace of Minato's figure.
However, having just launched their intense combination attack, they simply couldn't react quickly enough.
"Bang! Bang!"
As Shisui's eyelids trembled, his remaining two shadow clones were also defeated by Minato.
Shisui's hair stood on end. When Minato defeated the two clones, he finally had a brief moment to react.
Immediately, he swung the weapon in his hand and slashed downward.
"Clang! Clang!"
The special kunai and the ANBU long sword collided, with flames sparking at the impact.
"Not bad."
Minato and Shisui locked eyes, and there was a hint of satisfaction in Minato's blue gaze.
Since merging his soul with Old Minato, his reaction speed, which had already reached near the limit of human capability, had been strengthened even further.
Although Minato wasn't using his full strength, the fact that Shisui managed to form a defensive posture in such a short time was quite impressive.
"Sensei, your hand seal speed is so fast that even my Sharingan can't keep up."
Shisui gritted his teeth as he held his ground. Minato's strength was terrifying, his body having been transformed by the Nine-Tails chakra.
"You did well too. You actually managed to catch me when I cut through the gap in your Fire Release jutsu."
Minato chuckled, but Shisui suddenly seemed to realize something, his expression changing.
"So it was then!"
Shisui exclaimed. Even if he couldn't match Minato's movement speed, no matter how fast Minato formed hand seals, they shouldn't have escaped the Sharingan's perception.
It turned out that when Shisui used the Fire Release jutsu to obscure his body and circle behind Minato, his teacher had also used the Shadow Clone Technique at that exact moment.
That was the only time during the battle that Shisui's eyes had lost track of his teacher.
"As expected of Minato-sensei," Shisui said in admiration.
Thinking about it carefully, Minato truly was an exceptional shinobi. His strength wasn't just in raw power. The important thing was that he excelled at taking advantage of every tiny detail in battle. How could Minato-sensei let slip any opportunity he could identify?
"That's enough."
Minato relaxed his stance. His goal of testing Shisui's abilities had been achieved.
Although it appeared that Shisui was at a disadvantage after just a few exchanges, there weren't many people who could last this long against the Yellow Flash of Konoha.
Shisui's current strength was truly formidable even by the standards of the entire ninja world.
"Yes!" Shisui nodded, sweat having soaked through the back of his shirt.
If the fight had continued, it would have taken Minato just one more exchange to completely defeat him.
He knew this outcome was only possible because of Minato's restraint - otherwise, he wouldn't have had even a chance to attack.
After the match concluded, both of them turned their attention to Itachi, who had been observing the battle.
The boy's face was filled with astonishment.
In truth, with Itachi's current level of visual prowess, what he had actually seen was only fragments of the battle between the two.
Even those fragments alone represented a level of combat he had never witnessed before.
"Sorry, Itachi."
Shisui walked over to Itachi and scratched his head apologetically.
Although he had been prepared, he had used Itachi's safety as bait to lure Minato.
Itachi shook his head and said, "This is how a real battle should be - using everything around you to your advantage."
Despite his young age, his mindset was far beyond his years.
Minato, who approached them, nodded in approval.
"Itachi, what do you think of Shisui's strength?" Suddenly, Minato looked at Itachi and asked.
"Very strong," Itachi replied without hesitation. Although he couldn't fully analyze combat at this level yet, the fact that Shisui could fight against Minato to this extent was explanation enough.
"Well then, where do you think Shisui's powerful strength comes from?"
Minato asked again. Hearing this, Itachi fell into deep thought.
This question seemed simple on the surface. For Shisui, if an ordinary person were asked this question, they would definitely point to his talent and the powerful bloodline inherited from the Uchiha clan.
But Itachi knew that Minato's question must have a deeper meaning.
From the beginning, Minato had brought him to observe this battle, probably for this seemingly simple but extremely difficult question.
After pondering for a while, Itachi suddenly raised his eyes to look at Minato and shook his head.
"I don't know."
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