Chapter 62: The Phantom Body Flicker Technique

"Since we've known each other, this seems to be our first time facing off in a match, doesn't it?" Yagyu said with a smile, raising two fingers in front of him as he faced Nara Shikamaru.

"Yeah... sorry for not matching up to you sooner. My grades were too poor," Shikamaru replied, scratching his head with one hand while also raising two fingers with the other.

Upon closer look, his usual lazy, fish-like eyes had sharpened into a serious gaze.

Yagyu was the unbeatable "final boss." This was a consensus shared by all the students from the 60th class of the ninja academy.

If it were someone else, Sasuke Uchiha or Naruto, losing would make them feel incredibly frustrated. But losing to Yagyu—well, even Sasuke and Naruto had gotten used to it over the past six years.

As one of the first people to realize that Yagyu was hiding his true power, Shikamaru knew very well that he wasn't on Yagyu's level. However, his brain told him that if Yagyu only had those abilities, there might still be a chance for him to win.

After all, the Nara clan's shadow imitation technique wasn't to be underestimated.

With a field this large, no matter how much chakra Yagyu had or how skilled he was in Water Release, there was no way he could flood the entire area. As long as Shikamaru could catch him in his shadow, victory would be his.

Over the past few days, Shikamaru had been pondering how to trap Yagyu and had come up with more than a dozen plans. Now, it was time to put them into action!

Seeing that both had made the seal of confrontation, Genma Shiranui raised his arm again and shouted, "Second round match, Yagyu vs. Nara Shikamaru... Begin!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Shikamaru immediately jumped back, putting distance between himself and Yagyu.

While still in midair, he reached into his ninja pouch, pulling out three black spheres and tossing them toward Yagyu. The spheres landed in front of Yagyu and to his left and right, then exploded into clouds of smoke that enveloped him.

As soon as he landed, Shikamaru formed hand seals, and black shadows began spreading from his feet, splitting into several snake-like tendrils that slithered quickly toward the smoke.

What no one saw was that within the white smoke, a faint red powder briefly appeared before vanishing.

Suddenly, three Yagyus burst out of the smoke, hands behind their backs in the typical ninja running stance, rushing toward Shikamaru.

As the shadows extended toward them, the three Yagyus spread out in a fan formation, moving to surround Shikamaru. None of them showed any intent to use Water Release for a ranged attack.

Shikamaru didn't have time to think about why Yagyu wasn't using long-range attacks. Seeing the three Yagyus split up, he immediately directed his shadow toward the closest one—directly in front of him.

In the next moment, his pupils shrank.

He had expected that Yagyu would use a body flicker to dodge the shadow, but instead, Yagyu ignored the encroaching shadow and kept rushing toward him.

As Shikamaru started to glance at the other two Yagyus out of the corner of his eye, trying to determine which was the real one, his shadow touched the Yagyu in front of him. But instead of freezing in place or dispersing into a puff of smoke, the shadow passed right through him. Yagyu kept coming.

"Wait, is this... a basic Clone Technique?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, surprised that Yagyu would use such a low-level move.

But then, his expression shifted. "No, this isn't the Clone Technique—it's an illusion!"

The Clone Technique and Shadow Clone Technique are similar; without specialized techniques like the Byakugan or certain sensory skills, it's difficult to tell the two apart with the naked eye. You can figure it out by making contact with them.

The Clone Technique creates illusions that vanish upon contact, much like a mirage in the desert. Shadow clones, on the other hand, are physical and even the Byakugan can't see through them.

If this Yagyu was just an illusion clone, it should have disappeared as soon as it was touched by the shadow.

But it didn't. It kept running toward Shikamaru.

Shikamaru quickly disrupted his chakra flow, trying to break free of Yagyu's illusion. But even after that, Yagyu didn't disappear. He was already in front of Shikamaru, his fist heading straight for his face.

In a split-second reaction, Shikamaru canceled his shadow imitation technique and pulled out a kunai, swinging it at Yagyu.

As expected, the kunai and Shikamaru's arm passed right through Yagyu's body.

Yet, the illusionary clone didn't vanish, and Yagyu's punch landed squarely on Shikamaru's face.

Boom!

The force of the punch distorted Shikamaru's face like a wave, showing just how strong Yagyu's blow had been.

In the next instant, Shikamaru was sent flying more than ten meters, crashing to the ground.

Lying there, Shikamaru was utterly dumbfounded, his normally sharp mind completely blank.

In the audience, many shinobi stood up in astonishment. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, were visibly shocked, almost rising from their seats.

"That... that's the Phantom Body Flicker Technique!"

"Seriously? Is that really the Phantom Body Flicker? How is this possible?!"

"He doesn't have a Sharingan! How could he have mastered the Phantom Body Flicker?"

"Incredible! His skill in both body flicker and genjutsu must be extraordinary to have mastered Shisui's secret technique!"

The shinobi in the audience were in an uproar, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Many younger ninjas and even civilians nearby looked on in confusion, not understanding the significance of what had just happened.

But their reactions were understandable, as the Uchiha clan had been wiped out years ago.

Everyone knew that during the Third Great Ninja War, two prodigies emerged from the Konoha side.

One was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, whose mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique earned him the moniker "The Yellow Flash."

The other was Uchiha Shisui, a ninja whose long-distance kills using his unmatched genjutsu could only be spotted from afar by the Byakugan. Shisui earned the title "Shisui of the Body Flicker."

Just like how Minato was renowned for the Flying Thunder God Technique, Shisui's "Shisui of the Body Flicker" title came from his own invention—the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.

The concept behind it was simple: Shisui combined the Sharingan's genjutsu with the standard Body Flicker and Clone Techniques.

But despite its simplicity, no one else in the entire Uchiha clan, or even the larger ninja world, had ever been able to replicate Shisui's technique.

The Phantom Body Flicker created one or more illusion clones using the E-rank Clone Technique, which would attack enemies alongside Shisui himself.

Though these clones were mere illusions that should disappear upon contact, Shisui's genjutsu-infused clones didn't vanish.

When enemies attacked what they believed to be Shisui's clone and let down their guard, thinking it was just a mirage, Shisui would then use the body flicker to replace the clone, making the phantom clone become his real body.

And just as easily, that real body could once again become an illusion.

Because of this, Shisui's enemies never knew which form was his real body and were forced to defend against every attack, lest an illusion turn into a lethal blow.

Countless people had fallen to Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker Technique.

With a technique as powerful and terrifying as the Flying Thunder God, Shisui had become renowned throughout the ninja world, becoming the strongest Uchiha of his generation by the time he was only in his teens.

But after Shisui's death, the Phantom Body Flicker Technique—along with the Flying Thunder God—became the stuff of legend.

Now, seeing this technique reappear was enough to shock any shinobi who knew of Shisui's legacy!

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