A flicker of surprise flashed through Pakura's eyes. The katana in her hand trembled slightly from the impact of that draw-cut, a numbing sensation spreading through the web of her thumb.
This brat… what monstrous strength!
The thought flashed through Pakura's mind, but her reaction was anything but slow. Using the rebound force from her blocked strike, her body twisted midair in a bizarre arc, forcibly changing direction as she darted sharply to the left!
At the sa instant, chakra erupted beneath Shinichi's feet. The ground cracked with a sharp crack, and his entire body shot forward like a cannonball, blade in hand, giving chase!
However!
Just as Shinichi was about to close in—
Pakura's figure suddenly blurred, as if lting into the air itself, vanishing from where she stood!
The next mont!
A chilling killing intent surged violently from behind Shinichi!
Like a ghost, Pakura reappeared three feet behind him, her katana carrying a silent, cold gleam as it thrust straight toward his back!
This strike was fast, precise, and ruthless—its speed pushed to the absolute limit!
Shinichi seed to ignore the blade about to pierce him. Instead, he swung his longsword backward in a reverse slash, the blade aid directly at Pakura's neck, its range sweeping wide!
A trade of lives!
This kid is ruthless!
Pakura's eyes flickered. The thrust of her blade halted midair by sheer force, and in the next instant, she withdrew, her body once again dissolving into the air as she vanished. Shinichi's reverse slash cut through nothing but an afterimage.
About ten ters away, Pakura's figure reappeared—but the instant she stabilized—
A piercing, shrill sound like a thousand chirping birds exploded into the air!
Shinichi's blade suddenly blazed with dazzling azure lightning. Lightning Release chakra surged wildly into the weapon, arcs of electricity crackling and dancing along the edge, transforming the entire blade into a weapon of pure lightning!
Lightning Release: Chidori Blade!
Under the stimulation of Lightning Release chakra, his speed surged again. His entire body beca a streak of blue-white lightning as he shot straight toward the retreating Pakura!
Lightning Release!?
Wasn't this kid known for Fire Release?
A flicker of shock crossed Pakura's mind, but her reaction remained flawless. With a twist of her wrist, green wind-attribute chakra surged onto her blade, forming a thin, cicada-wing-like layer of razor-sharp wind.
Her Kekkei Genkai, Scorch Release, was the fusion of Wind and Fire chakra natures. Yet it wasn't an inherited bloodline—it was sothing she had painstakingly developed through countless attempts, sothing uniquely her own.
That also ant her mastery over both Wind and Fire chakra natures far exceeded that of ordinary shinobi.
Facing Shinichi's Lightning Release pursuit, she imdiately activated Wind Release chakra, coating her blade with that green edge!
Clang!!!
Blade t blade once again!
This collision was far more violent than the first!
Blinding sparks exploded outward as the green wind edge and azure lightning tore into each other at the point of impact!
The wind blades that shot outward carved deep grooves into the ground, while the leaping arcs of electricity blasted shattered stones in every direction!
Amid the dust-filled battlefield, the two beca streaks of light moving at lightning speed—colliding, separating, colliding again!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Shinichi's blade beca a storm of blue-white lightning. Each strike was heavy and powerful, carrying the violent penetrating force of the Chidori Blade—slashes, cuts, lifts, thrusts—every move aid at vital points!
Pakura's katana, however, moved like a nimble serpent. Wrapped in green wind blades, it was light and agile, eting speed with speed, skillfully neutralizing force. Each clash redirected Shinichi's terrifying power, dissolving it invisibly.
The sharp sounds of clashing steel fell like torrential rain. Every impact erupted with dazzling sparks. Wind blades and lightning arcs continuously shot outward, shredding the already ruined battlefield into utter chaos, leaving scorched marks and crisscrossing cuts everywhere!
The ground beneath their feet cracked again and again from the repeated collisions. Stones were pulverized by the wind blades and lightning arcs, turning to dust. The smoke thickened, nearly swallowing their figures entirely!
Too fast!
So fast that their movents were impossible to follow—only two streaks of light weaving across the battlefield could barely be seen. Wherever they passed, the air tore apart, the ground shattered, and debris was swept up into miniature whirlwinds by the violent currents!
Hizashi stood in front of the dical ninja, his Byakugan locked tightly onto the two rapidly moving chakra signatures within the cloud of dust.
Fast!
In his vision, the trajectories of those two chakra flows had already tangled into a chaotic web of light—so fast that even he could not fully track every single exchange!
Lightning Release!
Shinichi-kun actually knows Lightning Release—and at such a high level.
Hizashi was shocked, but he had no ti to dwell on it.
After all—that was Higashino Shinichi.
Konoha's youngest and most dazzling genius.
Soone who could, at such an age, bring Fire Release, taijutsu, swordsmanship, and dical ninjutsu all to that level—adding Lightning Release on top of that suddenly didn't seem so strange.
But… this Lightning Release felt strangely familiar.
Two months ago, the samurai from the Land of Iron—Isshin—who had caused quite a stir in the Konoha arena, had also used Lightning Release.
And now, the Lightning Release Shinichi was using—whether in form, fluctuation, or application—was nearly identical to that samurai's.
Could it be… he learned it from just one battle?
Hizashi's pupils contracted slightly.
That samurai's Lightning Release was clearly a self-contained system—an exclusive secret technique. It was not sothing that could be copied just by watching.
And yet, what he was seeing now—
How could it be explained?
Genius…?
…
Wind blades! Lightning arcs!
They shot wildly along the intersecting paths of the two fighters!
The sharp clang of blades striking each other fell like a storm beating against plantain leaves. Every collision burst into sparks; every exchange detonated waves of air!
So what if this kid knows Lightning Release—how is he this proficient with it!?
Amid the fierce clash, Pakura stared at the boy before her—his body wrapped in lightning, his speed surging, his swordsmanship fierce and overbearing—and her heart shook.
His speed had already been terrifying from the start. In their initial exchange, she had realized just how explosive his bursts and movent were.
And now, empowered by Lightning Release chakra—
His speed had skyrocketed to an absurd level.
He was even a notch faster than her, even with Swift Release activated!
The only issue was that this kid's reaction speed couldn't quite keep up with his body speed. In the tiny gaps between his high-speed attacks, there would be extrely subtle monts of delay.
It was like his eyes and brain hadn't finished processing the previous action, yet his body had already launched into the next one.
Even so, the battle remained difficult.
This kid was far too troubleso!
Although she did her best to avoid direct clashes—either dodging or redirecting force—
his blade was simply too fierce, its coverage too wide. In battle, he seized the initiative with every strike, each move risking his life. That wild, ruthless montum made him seem like a bloodthirsty beast!
Several tis, she had been forced into head-on clashes. After only a short while, Pakura's hands were already going numb in waves.
This couldn't go on.
She took a deep breath. Swift Release erupted once more, and her figure shot backward!
At the sa ti, her right hand slashed forward—
Vacuum Blade!
A solidified wind blade tore through the air, howling as it cut toward Shinichi!
A flash of lightning flickered around Shinichi's body. He twisted aside to evade, about to give chase—
However, in that very instant, Pakura's left hand had already completed its hand seals!
Scorch Release: Extrely Steaming Murder!
Several orange fireballs shot out, sealing off every path of Shinichi's pursuit!
Shinichi's eyes sharpened. He swung his longsword in a sweeping arc, the azure lightning on the blade surging violently!
A blade of lightning shot from the edge, striking those incoming orange fireballs with perfect precision!
Boom!!!
The fireballs exploded midair, scattering into a rain of sparks!
Scorching heatwaves spread outward, blackening even the scattered stones on the ground.
Sparks fell like rain, forming a dazzling yet deadly curtain of light between the two of them.
And within that curtain of sparks, Pakura's figure lightly landed atop a protruding rock.
Her orange-highlighted hair fluttered slightly in the heatwaves, her slender form standing out vividly under the firelight.
Pakura looked at the boy before her, the corner of her lips curving upward.
"Kid from Konoha, long ti no see. Who would've thought our next eting would be—"
But the boy, facing her greeting, only glanced behind her. Without waiting for her to finish, his entire body turned into a streak of blue-white lightning—and he ran!
In the next instant, the dense mass of shadows behind Pakura surged out like a tidal wave!
Three hundred Sunagakure elites!
All combat shinobi—at the front, several dozen jōnin with steady, blazing auras; behind them, over two hundred chūnin with eyes sharp as blades!
And at the very front, three purple-haired youths had fully activated their Red Eyes. Those special pupils flickered with eerie light as they rapidly swept the surroundings. Invisible chakra waves spread outward like ripples, creating illusory images that interfered with vision and perception.
Under the combined effect of those three pairs of Red Eyes, this entire area appeared, to Konoha's perception, as nothing more than an ordinary corner of the battlefield locked in fierce combat.
Even when Hizashi's Byakugan swept over the area, what he saw was still Shinichi and Pakura continuing their fight.
Pakura: "…"
She opened her mouth, the unfinished greeting stuck in her throat.
"Running?"
Pakura quickly snapped back to her senses. The curve of her lips widened, eventually turning into a soft laugh.
"You think you can escape?"
The mont her words fell, her orange afterimage tore through the air, chasing after that streak of lightning!
Behind her, three hundred Sunagakure elites followed closely, sweeping forward like a black tide!
And those three pairs of eerie Red Eyes remained locked onto the fleeing figure—tracking him while ensuring this area remained a blind spot in Konoha's perception.
In the distance, the battle at Kikyō Pass raged on.
Shouts, screams, and the clash of steel blended into a chaotic roar.
No one noticed that on the other side of the battlefield, behind a relatively concealed pile of rocks, a "Shinichi" who had been lowering his head to treat the wounded suddenly raised it—looking in the direction Pakura's forces had pursued.
Go on. Chase with everything you've got.
The one you're hunting is Isshin—what does that have to do with , Higashino Shinichi?
Shinichi withdrew his gaze and lowered his head again, continuing to treat the wound. His hands remained steady, as if nothing had happened at all.
So it turned out that the "Shinichi" whom Hizashi had been following all along was, from the very beginning, Isshin in disguise.
As for Shinichi himself, he had been mixed in among ten shadow clones, scattered across the battlefield under the identity of "Higashino Shinichi" shadow clones—treating the wounded and moving back and forth.
After all, shadow clones already looked exactly like him, and with the battlefield in such chaos, who would notice which one was real and which one was fake?
The "Shinichi" Hizashi was protecting—was Isshin.
The "Shinichi" fighting Pakura—was also Isshin.
And the real Higashino Shinichi had never exposed himself to anyone's sight from the very beginning.
As for Fire Release?
During the more than two months that the clone Isshin had left Konoha and returned to the Land of Iron, he hadn't been idle.
He had been constantly training the nature transformation of Fire-attribute chakra, all so that one day he could better impersonate Shinichi's real body.
Although the clone Isshin lacked the talent-based entries that boosted the original's abilities, making his training efficiency noticeably lower—Shinichi's own mastery and foundation in Fire Release were already there.
Across the entire shinobi world, in terms of understanding Fire-attribute chakra and insight into the essence of Fire Release ninjutsu, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Shinichi was the number one.
So after more than two months, Isshin had successfully developed Fire-attribute chakra and mastered core Fire Release–nintaijutsu techniques like Dark Fla Sweep and Wild Bite.
However, without the various talent entries—especially the [Fire Release Mastery] entry—Isshin's Fire Release, in terms of power and flexibility, was far inferior to when used by the original Shinichi.
Otherwise, that first Scorch Release attack from Pakura earlier—if it had been the real Shinichi, his Dark Fla Sweep alone would have been enough to block it completely, rather than requiring Isshin to rely on Hizashi's Eight Trigrams Air Palm to fully neutralize it.
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