Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

Shūichi Hoshita's victory in the first round was a great start, earning him 100,000 ryō.

However, to everyone's shock, the black-robed youth was executed by Ken'ichi as soon as he returned.

"He..."

Kurama Sanyō was too stunned to speak.

Minato Namikaze, with a serious expression, reminded them, "Shisui, Sanyō, be careful from now on."

With the opposing jōnin showing such ruthlessness, the remaining opponents would certainly fight desperately.

Uchiha Shisui and Kurama Sanyō nodded in unison. "Understood!"

At that moment, the bearded middle-aged man stepped forward.

Minato immediately instructed, "Shisui, you take this one."

"Yes, Sensei!"

Uchiha Shisui moved out swiftly, leaning forward as his pace quickened, charging directly at the bearded man.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The bearded man launched shuriken as a probing attack, but Shisui effortlessly blocked and dodged them, not even activating his Sharingan.

Shisui then engaged the bearded man in close combat, with their kunai clashing repeatedly, sparks flying.

The two figures leaped and darted around the vast battlefield at high speed, their movements closely followed by Shūichi and the others.

Even without using his Sharingan or drawing the short sword on his back, Shisui fought the bearded man to a standstill.

Suddenly, after a seamless retreat, the bearded man swiftly formed hand seals and stomped the ground with force.

The ground cracked open from where the bearded man stood, rapidly spreading in all directions, with two fissures trapping Shisui in the center.

In the next moment, sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground, converging on Shisui's position.

However, Shisui, well-versed in hand seals, quickly recognized that the bearded man was using an Earth Release jutsu and leaped into the air just in time.

But then, the bearded man clasped his hands together, causing the sharp stone pillars to grow even taller.

This left Shisui with no place to land!

As he began to fall, Shisui completed his own hand seals.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!

Boom!

The fireball shattered several of the sharp stone pillars into pieces.

As Shisui landed, he activated his Sharingan, and the short sword on his back was drawn.

But the bearded man wasn't finished. He formed more hand seals, shouting, "It's not over yet!"

On top of the existing stone pillars, smaller, sharper spikes emerged, lunging toward Shisui.

Shisui's Sharingan whirled as he moved at high speed, slicing through the stone spikes with his short sword.

At that moment, it looked as though he was dancing on the edge of a blade.

Even Shūichi, who was watching, couldn't help but feel a bit anxious for Shisui.

The bearded man turned out to be an expert in Earth Release ninjutsu, his skill at least on par with a high-level chūnin, possibly even a special jōnin.

Soon, Shisui broke free from the area of the fissures and stone pillars.

Even with the Sharingan, he wasn't unscathed—he had a few cuts on his body, blood trickling from them.

Once out of the Earth Release jutsu's range, Shisui sheathed his sword and quickly formed hand seals.

Body Flicker Technique!

Shisui's figure instantly split into two, then began to move at high speed around the battlefield, creating more and more afterimages.

Shūichi watched in shock—this was the first time he had seen Shisui use this technique.

Could this be the origin of his title "Shisui of the Body Flicker"? Had he already developed this technique so soon?

However, Kurama Sanyō, standing nearby, exclaimed in surprise, "Shadow Clone—no, it's a genjutsu!"

Minato Namikaze confirmed, "Yes, it's indeed a genjutsu. A very advanced one at that, creating genjutsu clones. What a genius idea."

Genjutsu clones?

Even Kurama Sanyō, who came from a clan known for genjutsu, couldn't fully grasp it at first.

"Illusions created by genjutsu shouldn't have physical forms, should they?" Shūichi Hoshita pondered before asking, "Sensei, do those clones have chakra signatures?"

Minato nodded. "That's correct."

Among the three of them, only Minato had sensory abilities, so he could detect that the illusions, which Kurama Sanyō thought were mere phantoms, actually had chakra.

These clones were different from ordinary illusions and not like typical clone techniques.

On the stone pillars, the bearded middle-aged man was also observing Shisui Uchiha's clones. He quickly tested them by throwing shuriken.

The shuriken passed through Shisui's body without causing any harm, simply going through them, yet the clones didn't dissipate.

"They're not Shadow Clones... It's a genjutsu, isn't it? Typical of the Uchiha clan," the man muttered with a sneer.

At this moment, the clones of Shisui began to move within the range of the Earth Release jutsu.

The bearded man clasped his hands together again and smirked. "Even if I can't tell which is the real one... I'll just attack them all!"

The stone pillars reactivated, striking through each Shisui, but every attack missed.

Cold sweat dripped from the bearded man's forehead. "How is this possible?"

"Are they all illusions?"

"Where is his real body hiding?"

"Am I still trapped in his genjutsu? Is he just trying to exhaust my chakra?"

Despite attacking every Shisui, none of the strikes had any effect.

By then, three Shisui clones had closed in on the bearded man, slashing down with their blades.

The bearded man released his hands, blocking with his kunai.

Clang!

The attack had substance.

The bearded man was in disbelief. "How is this possible?"

Another Shisui clone's short sword came down, and he raised his other hand to block it. Clang! Again, the attack was real.

The third Shisui clone's blade was now at the bearded man's neck, the cold touch sending shivers down his spine, but he still shouted, "Impossible!"

"They're all illusions!"

"Ha! I won't surrender!"

Shisui looked at the bearded man and said, "If that's the case..."

Slash!

Shisui's blade cut through.

The bearded man dropped his kunai, clutching his neck as blood poured out. "It... it's real?"

Kurama Sanyō was equally stunned by what he saw. "How... how did he do that?"

"Could Shisui be manipulating the five senses to make genjutsu attacks real?"

Even Minato couldn't answer that question. Despite his own abilities, he hadn't fully understood Shisui's Body Flicker Technique.

Genjutsu combined with clones and the Body Flicker?

Minato wasn't entirely sure.

Shūichi Hoshita's knowledge couldn't compare to Minato's, but based on Minato's explanation and Shisui's performance, he also felt that the Body Flicker Technique had a significant connection to genjutsu.

But regardless, Shisui had secured the second round.

After returning, Shūichi immediately began treating his wounds.

Next, it was Kurama Sanyō's turn.

His opponent was a young man with a katana at his waist, more like a samurai than a ninja.

(End of Chapter)

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