Chapter 27: Black Flash!!
Chapter 27: Black Flash!!
The Earth-Style Wall shattered as searing flames evaporated the swamp, leaving those trapped with no time to escape.
Some managed to cast jutsu to shield themselves, but others, caught in panic, were engulfed by the blazing wave and reduced to charred remains.
Even those who survived the inferno found no solace. Their defensive earth-style jutsu was torn apart by black, spectral claws.
Whoosh—
Faced with the oncoming shadowy wolves, the Iwagakure shinobi instinctively raised their kunai to block. However...
The wolves passed straight through their bodies!
Faintly visible within the wolves' spectral forms were glimmers of pale blue light—their souls being ripped apart.
"Who are you?!" the Iwagakure leader bellowed, his voice tinged with fear and fury. "Why are you attacking us?!"
"Damn it! I can't hit these things! What kind of monster are they?!"
The lead jōnin quickly deduced the key to this bizarre technique, shouting orders to his comrades.
"Stay calm! These wolves are slow! We can dodge them—just don't engage head-on!"
But before he could finish his sentence, his voice faltered.
"Easy for you to say! How about you come save me?!"
---
Kagami smirked knowingly. He was well aware of his jutsu's weakness. This Yin Release technique had an effect similar to Kamui: bypassing physical defenses to directly target the soul.
While devastating, its primary flaw was the wolves' sluggish speed. Even a chūnin could easily evade and outlast the technique if they kept their distance.
But Kagami had anticipated this and devised a countermeasure.
Control the battlefield.
The tactic was simple yet effective: trap and burn.
Kagami deliberately left seven or eight shinobi alive, each surrounded by a few shadow wolves. Their comrades were forced to either assist or abandon them.
In the heat of battle, even the most disciplined shinobi were reluctant to leave their comrades behind. Many had grown up together, trained together, and formed deep bonds over years of missions.
The three remaining jōnin could have fled on their own, but seeing their comrades in peril, they chose to stay.
"Damn you! What kind of demonic jutsu is this?!" shouted Daishi, his anger barely masking his desperation.
Kagami stood calmly, allowing five shadow wolves to encircle him like an impenetrable barrier.
"Really? That's the best insult you can come up with? How uncreative," Kagami retorted, his tone dripping with disdain.
"And speaking of uncreative... our uniforms and eyes are quite distinctive. Are you seriously still asking who we are? Is your brain made of rocks too, Daishi?"
---
Daishi froze for a moment before finally noticing the distinctive red Sharingan in Kagami's eyes.
"No! It's the Sharingan! Don't look into those eyes—"
His warning came too late.
Whoosh—
A shadow wolf tore through Daishi's body, extracting a faint blue spirit-like essence from within.
"Nooo!!!"
A female jōnin screamed, her voice laced with desperation. Summoning all her chakra, she slammed her palm to the ground.
Earth-Style: Fissure Strike!
The earth roared as a massive crack split the ground, surging toward Kagami and his comrade Genka.
But Kagami had already prepared.
Biting his finger, he formed a series of hand seals and slammed his hand to the ground.
Poof!
A giant hawk materialized in a burst of smoke, spreading its wings to lift Kagami and Genka skyward.
The hawk ascended swiftly, soaring high into the sky beyond the reach of the jōnin's jutsu.
From a height of nearly 100 meters, Kagami gazed down, his expression calm yet calculating. Iwagakure's shinobi might dominate the earth, but they were helpless against an aerial assault—unless you were the Third Tsuchikage, of course.
---
On the hawk's back, Kagami exhaled slowly, feeling a wave of fatigue wash over him.
The combination of the swamp jutsu and the shadow wolves had consumed a significant portion of his chakra—nearly equivalent to what an adult Kakashi could muster.
The shadow wolves alone demanded immense chakra for both creation and maintenance, their energy drain magnified by the necessity of spiritual power.
Yet Kagami pressed on. This was war, and he needed to test his abilities in real combat to prepare for the battles to come.
He couldn't afford to falter—not against Hiruzen, the Nine-Tails, Nagato, or the other monstrous forces he knew awaited him in the future.
This war was his crucible, his chance to evolve and perfect his powers. Only in his most refined state could he awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and subdue Sukuna.
---
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The rest of Minato's team emerged from the surrounding terrain, their eyes widening at the scene before them.
"What kind of jutsu is this...?" Shibi muttered, his usually stoic demeanor faltering.
"It looks like our clan's shadow techniques... but far more potent," Suzaku added, his tone tinged with awe.
"That was Iwagakure's Daishi. I've seen him before, but to think Kagami could take him down like this..."
Fugaku, standing among the group, recalled his previous encounter with Kagami. His heart sank.
This boy's most formidable skill wasn't even these shadow wolves. It was his terrifying swordsmanship.
Fugaku had always considered himself a genius, one of the finest shinobi of his generation. But watching Kagami now, he felt a gnawing sense of inadequacy.
If Kagami awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan...
What right would he, Fugaku, have to call himself the clan leader?
---
"Who are you people?! Why is Konoha attacking us?!" shouted the remaining Iwagakure leader, his voice trembling with anger.
"This is the Land of Earth's border! Are you declaring war?!"
Kagami's gaze was as cold as his voice.
"Some things are better left unsaid. But don't pretend to be ignorant. The old man Onoki sent you to scout Fire Country's defenses, didn't he?"
"You dare speak of Lord Tsuchikage that way?!"
The jōnin's face twisted in fury. "You scum of the Uchiha clan! Your sneak attack will not go unanswered! Lord Tsuchikage will bring his wrath upon you all!"
Kagami chuckled darkly.
"Didn't your precious Tsuchikage ever tell you? Both he and his master were beaten down by my clan."
"If Madara hadn't shown mercy, that old fossil would've been long dead."
Madara... merciful?
The Konoha shinobi, familiar with Madara's infamous reputation, found this statement difficult to process.
---
"Enough! I'll kill you myself!" the Iwagakure leader roared, leaping high into the air, his rage blinding him to all else.
Like Icarus chasing the sun, he reached for an impossible goal.
Kagami smirked, his Sharingan spinning as he maneuvered the hawk to dive in a calculated arc, evading the attack with ease.
As the Iwagakure leader descended, Kagami's eyes locked onto a disturbance in the earth below—an underground escape route.
"So, trying to flee?" Kagami whispered, his tone laced with amusement.
Minato, watching from a distance, smiled faintly. He had noticed the same escape attempt but chose not to interfere, curious to see how Kagami would handle it.
---
Kagami leapt from the hawk, predicting the escape route with precision.
He exhaled sharply, clenching his fist as chakra surged through his body.
In that moment, everything became silent.
His mind focused entirely on a single point.
He found it—the infinitesimal window where physical force and chakra could converge to distort space itself.
His Sharingan spun furiously, blood threatening to seep from his eyes.
CRACK—
A deafening sound tore through the battlefield.
Kagami's punch extended impossibly, his torso twisting at an inhuman angle.
The air trembled.
Space warped.
Before the stunned eyes of his allies, a black-red flash erupted from Kagami's fist.
Black Flash!!!
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