Chapter 449: The Birth of Shisui the Body Flicker
To an outsider, it looked as if the Hidden Mist jonin froze out of nowhere, and Yuki, the hostage in his grip, instantly seized the opening and tore herself free.
In the next moment, the shriek of shuriken slicing through the air rang out.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several flaming shuriken enveloped the Hidden Mist jonin and punched clean through his body.
Just like that, all three Hidden Mist jonin were wiped out.
The remaining Mist shinobi stared in horror, their fighting spirit shattered.
Before the battle even started, not a single one of them had imagined an ending like this.
Three jonin and nine chunin and genin. That was an elite unit by any standard.
Their opponents were an ordinary Konoha squad plus one genius.
By all logic, they should have won.
Instead, they lost. Not just a loss, but a crushing defeat, with all three jonin dead.
In truth, the Mist shinobi were not the only ones shocked. Even Shisui's teammates were stunned.
"So this is what a real genius looks like…" Shinji exhaled hard, relief and disbelief twisting into a smile.
He had already braced himself to die, yet Shisui had flipped the whole battlefield over. Shisui usually held back, and his real strength was even greater than Shinji had imagined.
"If Shisui is this strong, then how strong is Guy, who people say is even stronger?" Shinji could not help but think.
He estimated that everyone here combined might not be enough to handle Guy alone.
"You were seriously cool today," Uesugi said, staring at Shisui like he was looking at a legend.
Based on what Shisui had shown, when Shisui sparred with him before, he was not holding back a little. He was holding back a lot. Otherwise, Uesugi would have been finished in an instant.
"Quick thinking and terrifying strength… he's too perfect, isn't he?" Yuki blurted, still pale.
A moment ago, she had truly believed she was going to die. She never expected Shisui to save her.
With a rescue that clean, someone with a romantic streak might already be thinking up names for future children.
Yuki was not thinking that far. Right now, she only felt one thing.
Shisui was absurdly strong, and having him as a teammate made her feel safer than she had ever felt in her life.
Kenji, whose injuries were worse, finally loosened the stone lodged in his chest. The goddess of victory had already smiled on their squad.
After killing the last jonin, Shisui did not pause. He exited Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, turned toward the Hidden Mist chunin fighting Kenji, and dropped him into genjutsu.
Kenji seized the opening Shisui created, reversed the situation, and heavily wounded the Mist chunin.
Seeing that, the remaining Mist shinobi understood the fight was over. They each used their own tricks and tried to flee. Shinji and the others killed one of the runners and injured two more, then stopped.
Because Shisui did not pursue.
"Retreat," Shisui said immediately, wasting no time. "I'm not in good shape right now."
Flame Breathing Chakra Mode was powerful, but the consumption was brutal. On top of that, he had been using his Sharingan continuously. His body had already hit its limit.
If he could still fight properly, why would he rely on genjutsu to support his teammates? It would have been more reliable to handle it himself.
Shinji nodded, lifted Shisui onto his back, and withdrew quickly with his disciples.
A shadow clone of Mugetsu, who had been watching in silence the entire time, followed and left as well.
It was not a coastal typhoon. How could ordinary wind disperse a Hidden Mist Technique cast by jonin?
The answer was simple.
Mugetsu had used Wind Release to blow the fog away.
Hidden Mist Technique really was a troublesome jutsu. It could restrain the Sharingan to a certain extent.
If Mugetsu had not intervened, then even if Shisui entered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, he would not have achieved the result he just did.
After returning to camp, Shinji immediately reported the encounter and the outcome to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, on one hand, continued investigating the situation of other squads. On the other, he used Shinji's squad as a public example and pushed their story through the camp.
It could not compare to the battle where Mugetsu killed Reiki, of course.
But Shinji's squad had achieved something worth praising. They won against a stronger opponent.
Most squads could not rely on a powerhouse like Mugetsu showing up every time. Shinji's squad became a model example of fighting with what they had and surviving through discipline and grit.
And because of Shisui's achievements, plus his connection to Mugetsu, Orochimaru put special effort into building momentum for him.
At the same time, the surviving Mist shinobi spread new information about Shisui through the Hidden Mist forces.
Uchiha Shisui's name began to echo louder and louder across the East Bank battlefield.
To avoid punishment, those Mist shinobi did not just describe his strength, they exaggerated it.
As Shisui's reputation grew in both camps, a title began to follow him.
At first it was a mess. Some called him the Flame Demon. Others called him the Illusion Eye.
In the end, because Shisui's Body Flicker was ghostlike and frighteningly refined, the name became consistent.
Shisui the Body Flicker.
…
Konoha Village, Konoha Hospital.
Guy, fully recovered, finished his discharge paperwork and lifted his gaze to the sky.
Under the clear blue, he raised an arm high.
"What a perfect day for a battle!"
He remembered what Obito told him earlier, and his blood started to boil.
"My best friend must be dying to spar with me. Youth is about to blaze!"
With that, Guy strode straight toward Kakashi's home.
Since Kakashi wanted to experience Eight Gates and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, Guy would naturally respond to his best friend's expectations as quickly as possible.
Just as Guy reached Kakashi's doorstep, the door opened, and Kakashi stepped out.
"Yo, Kakashi! What a coincidence!" Guy laughed, greeting him with blazing enthusiasm.
A black line appeared across Kakashi's face. "You call meeting me at my front door a coincidence?"
"Trivial details!" Guy gave Kakashi a thumbs up, laughing as he spoke. "Come on! Let's have an intense, exciting, youthful battle!"
He was already eager to share the power of Rock Breathing Chakra Mode with Kakashi.
"Compared to what I'm about to do, sparring is the trivial thing," Kakashi refused flatly.
He had no confidence in beating Guy right now, and he had no interest in volunteering for pain.
Guy's expression turned solemn, as if he had just heard a life changing confession.
"Kakashi… when did you get an incurable disease?" Guy said urgently. "Don't give up! We'll go to Lady Tsunade together!"
Kakashi nearly choked. He was going out to buy groceries. Somehow, he had been diagnosed on the spot.
"Guy," Kakashi said with forced calm, "you should spend less time with Obito. Your comprehension is drifting away from what normal people consider reality."
Guy scratched his head, completely lost on how those two things were related.
"If you have nothing to do, go home," Kakashi continued. "I'm going to buy groceries."
He turned to leave.
"What?" Guy's eyes widened. "The important matter is buying groceries?"
Kakashi paused, then nodded as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. Buying groceries was absolutely more important than getting beaten.
"How can buying groceries be more important than fighting?" Guy looked wounded. He had come with such passion.
"It depends on the timing," Kakashi replied. "Right now, groceries win."
If this were Guy from before he mastered Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, Kakashi might have been interested.
Pressure could become motivation. Fighting a stronger opponent could stimulate growth.
But Kakashi had seen with his own eyes what Rock Breathing Chakra Mode combined with the Eight Gates looked like.
The gap was no longer small. It was too big for a spar to mean anything.
"But, my best friend," Guy asked, confused, "weren't you looking forward to fighting me with Rock Breathing Chakra Mode activated?"
This was the opposite of what Guy imagined.
In Guy's mind, he would challenge Kakashi, Kakashi would accept with burning excitement, and they would clash for three hundred rounds. Guy would win in the end, and Kakashi would gain insight from the battle.
"I'm not looking forward to it now," Kakashi said without mercy.
Who would look forward to getting beaten?
Guy frowned and scratched his head. "Did I… misunderstand Obito's words?"
Kakashi's eyes sharpened.
Obito's words.
"What did Obito tell you?" Kakashi asked calmly.
Guy thought back as he explained, "Didn't everyone give you gifts for your jonin promotion earlier, Kakashi? We gathered to discuss it before handing them over. That's when Obito told me you really wanted to fight me at full power."
Kakashi understood immediately.
So someone had been stirring the pot.
"Guy," Kakashi said after a brief pause, "you were recovering at the time. Maybe you misremembered. I never said that. It's more likely Obito himself wants to fight you."
"Is that so?" Guy looked unconvinced.
His body was injured, not his head. How could he misremember something that simple?
"Of course," Kakashi replied. "Would I forget what I said?"
Guy's confidence wavered. "My best friend… that does sound reasonable."
Kakashi pointed down the street. "If we can't figure it out, why not go ask Obito directly?"
Guy's face lit up with realization. He bid Kakashi farewell and headed straight for Obito's home.
Kakashi continued with his original plan and went out to buy groceries.
After hearing Guy's question, Obito cursed Kakashi inwardly for being far too slippery. His blame shifting was top tier.
But Obito had absolutely no intention of taking that blame.
If Kakashi did not want to be abused, neither did Obito.
Guy had once used Golden Skyline to break Kubikiribōchō and almost killed Biwa Jūzō instantly. If the other Seven Ninja Swordsmen had not intervened, Biwa Jūzō would have died.
"Maybe I misremembered," Obito said with a silly smile. "I'm really sorry, Guy."
Sending Guy back to Kakashi was not an option. If Guy actually believed Kakashi and went to fight Obito instead, that would be a disaster.
Guy could only return with regret, but he did not waste the good weather. He trained for the entire day, the way he had been craving.
The next day, Guy participated in the jonin assessment.
Unlike Kakashi's assessment, this time there was only one other candidate besides Guy.
Even so, the practical examiners were still Hiashi Hyuga and Mimurabe Ketsu.
There were not many jonin with free time in Konoha right now, and there were even fewer with the qualifications to conduct jonin assessments.
"A super genius who could fight four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist…" Thinking of Guy's achievements made Hiashi's heart tighten.
Guy did not have killing achievements, but facing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen at all was terrifying. Even if it was only holding off four, that level of strength was extraordinary.
If Hiashi went himself, he was not sure he could guarantee the same result. He would only be confident if it were reduced to three.
"Hiashi, you're really going to have a rough one this time," Mimurabe teased.
Guy had poured everything into taijutsu. So Hiruzen naturally would not arrange for an examiner like Mimurabe, who specialized more in ninjutsu, to assess him alone.
There were only two examiners. If it was not Mimurabe, it had to be Hiashi.
"I will fulfill my duties as an examiner," Hiashi replied, calm and steady, already preparing to go all out.
When assessing Kakashi, Hiashi had not known Kakashi's taijutsu was also so excellent, so he had not activated his Byakugan from the start.
Guy was different.
All public information about Guy screamed taijutsu. He had never used ninjutsu in battle.
"Guy," the referee called, "prepare for battle."
Guy and Hiashi stepped into the arena and faced each other.
"Byakugan," Guy thought as he stared at Hiashi's pure white eyes. "It's been a long time since I ran into that."
He remembered a Hyuga opponent from the academy, someone he respected.
In the first semester of fourth grade, Guy even underwent special training just to beat him.
"I think his name was Hyuga Daimon," Guy recalled.
"Begin!" the referee shouted after confirming both were ready.
The instant the voice fell, Guy focused completely. His breathing tightened, and his aura shifted sharply.
"Eight Gates… First Gate, Gate of Opening, open!" Guy roared inwardly as power surged. "Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, open!"
The rules had been explained clearly before the assessment began. In this simulated combat, they had to display their strongest abilities.
So Guy did not hesitate.
He pushed his breathing to the limit and opened the Eight Gates up to the Fifth Gate.
Without entering Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, this was already his full power.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The moment the fifth gate opened, chakra erupted from Guy's body like a flood, and a crushing presence rose with it. Invisible air pressure pushed dust and leaves away from him as if the world itself was backing off.
Hiashi activated his Byakugan immediately.
Through it, he could clearly see the violent, raging chakra inside Guy's body.
"No wonder he chose to specialize in taijutsu," Hiashi thought. "Even if he trained ninjutsu, he wouldn't be able to use it in this state."
The Eight Gates had a clear drawback.
With chakra in such a chaotic, explosive state, even forming hand signs for ninjutsu would be difficult, let alone executing it cleanly. Some taijutsu that required precise chakra control would also become harder.
Hiashi did not underestimate Guy because of that.
Even if that chakra was used in the simplest, most brutal way to strengthen the body, it still carried terrifying power.
Technique mattered.
But when raw strength reached a certain level, it could crush many things through sheer force alone.
<><><><><>
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]