Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Seeing Kakashi rush forward with the attitude of "If you can cheat, so can I," the surrounding crowd erupted into fierce gasps.

"Is this what a genius looks like? He learned such an advanced technique just at a glance!"

"They're both monsters! Doing things we wouldn't even dare to dream of!"

"Wait, what about A-ranked Jutsu? Why hasn't Kakashi used one yet?"

"You don't understand? The Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu evenly distributes chakra—if he can't defeat his opponent before his clones disappear, it means defeat!"

On the battlefield, Kakashi parried shuriken with his tanto and charged straight toward Seiki, thrusting a Lightning Ball toward him.

Then, before his disbelieving eyes, a fist pierced through the lightning glow, sending him flying with a heavy blow.

"Coughing violently, Kakashi painfully pulled himself to his feet."

Normally, the opponent would've taken worse injuries than him.

Yet Kakashi felt no relief.

Because the murmurs from the crowd had already reached his ears.

"Still a rookie, huh. Already forgotten the fear Seiki initially brought upon us?"

"Exchanging injuries with Seiki? Just how desperate could one be?"

"Don't say that. Seiki rarely exchanges injuries with others anymore. It's normal for a newcomer not to know."

Kakashi's heart sank further. Sure enough, in the next moment, he saw Seiki stepping out almost completely unscathed.

"Not going to reveal your full strength yet?" Seiki asked with a smile.

"If that's how it has to be… then I suppose I have no choice but to go all out!" Kakashi took a deep breath and began forming hand seals.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu replicates your exact condition at the time. That means—the worse shape you're in, the weaker your clones' durability becomes.

Therefore, despite the great risk of this technique, he could only bet everything on it. If he delayed any longer, he wouldn't even have the qualification to gamble!

Poof!

After a burst of smoke, dozens of Kakashi copies suddenly appeared around the area.

Even with enough chakra to create a thousand clones, just seeing sixty or seventy Kakashis was mind-blowing for the young genin watching.

"Senpai, this is my final attack!" Dozens of Kakashis spoke in unison, their voices echoing like thunder across the battlefield.

"Full of spirit indeed!" Seiki began forming hand seals, his speed dazzlingly fast. "Looks like I'll have to get serious after all!"

[Genjutsu: Fox's Heart Jutsu!]

However, the charging Kakashis showed not the slightest disruption in their steps.

"Sorry, but genjutsu doesn't work on shadow clones!"

"No, this will be more than enough!"

Seiki smiled faintly and surprisingly rushed directly toward the audience.

Realizing that Seiki was charging straight toward *him* without even trying to hide it, Kakashi's real body suddenly understood, "No! That previous genjutsu was meant to test my true location!"

At this thought, Kakashi's real self abandoned all pretense, quickly commanding the other clones to turn directions and protect himself.

After all, Seiki's current chakra reserves were merely one-seventieth of his original strength. There was no way he could go head-to-head against Seiki.

"The formation's completely messed up!" Seiki kept moving forward relentlessly, crushing through the opposition.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu had their own minds, but when their thoughts clashed with orders from the original, they'd start getting confused. In this confused state, stiff attacks naturally weren't much trouble for Seiki.

Therefore, in everyone else's eyes, it looked just like Seiki knocking down Kakashi after another.

Kakashi also realized the danger. He gritted his teeth and simply ordered all the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to surround him, completely concealing his true figure.

"Blocking my line of sight—could it be you don't want me to see something?" Realizing this in an instant, Seiki quickly grasped Kakashi's intention, "Hmph, let me guess—you're trying to copy my movements again? Even without your Sharingan, that copycat heart of yours won't change, will it?"

Thinking this, Seiki charged forward even more violently: "All the better then. If I want him to listen to what I have to say calmly, I guess I'll need to crush even his last shred of pride! [A-ranked Jutsu]... isn't something you alone can use!"

Under Seiki's ruthless assault, the Kakashis disappeared at an observable rate.

Soon, only the final one remained!

However, just as Seiki threw his finishing punch...

The tanto in Kakashi's hand suddenly transformed into humanoid shape, grabbing a kunai to meet the incoming strike.

Crack~ BOOM!

The kunai shattered into pieces. Blood splattered from his hand as Kakashi got sent flying backward forcefully.

This sudden shift in just a few seconds left everyone breathless, gripping their hearts with tension.

"Is it over?"

"Who actually won?"

In their expectant gazes, the dust gradually settled.

Kakashi struggled back to his feet, his right arm twisted grotesquely.

Although Seiki stood there composedly, red blood continuously dripped from his fingertips.

At a glance, it looked like both were injured—but everyone knew: Kakashi was definitely worse off than Seiki.

"Not bad! You learned quickly!" Seiki smiled slightly, seeming totally unconcerned about his own injury.

"Although I don't know why you didn't dodge, Senpai, neither of us can perform hand seals anymore now... Which means next is a battle of kenjutsu and taijutsu!" Kakashi raised his tanto and charged forward with determination: "I will definitely prove..."

BOOM!

Yet in the next instant, Kakashi flew back at a speed faster than when he had charged in.

Even the blade got knocked away far off.

Kakashi struggled back up again, then stared at the spiraling sphere of chakra rotating continuously in Seiki's left hand, disbelief evident in his eyes: "How is this possible? Could it really be one-handed hand seals? Moreover, why have I never seen this technique before?"

Seiki grinned and dissipated the chakra in his hand: "That's because you shouldn't have. Actually, this is a newly-developed [Seal-less Ninjutsu] I've successfully created recently. As for its training difficulty, it should be roughly comparable to your [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu]."

Upon hearing Seiki's explanation, a deathly silence initially reigned among the surrounding crowd, which soon erupted into an uproar.

"What?"

"Didn't know Seiki could use an A-ranked Jutsu too?"

"Kakashi may have mastered it earlier, but the technique was actually developed by Seiki himself—and it's even a Seal-less Ninjutsu!"

"That's just incredible! While we were still struggling with The Body Replacement Technique, Seiki was already developing his own A-ranked Jutsu!"

Everyone was electrified, feeling like they'd just witnessed the birth of a miracle.

Kakashi's talent had been impressive enough, but compared to Seiki, he seemed to fade into shadow—just like stars in daylight, only shining when the sun sets.

Kakashi's eyes dimmed as well. Ever since last night, he had desperately tried to prove himself, but still failed.

He just couldn't compare to his senior, and worse—he'd lost every last bit of pride he had left.

At that thought, Kakashi—who had barely held on until now—collapsed weakly onto his back, staring at the setting sun and murmuring softly, "In the end… a loser's son is still a loser."

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