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"Boom!"
The mirror image, its chest pierced, turned into a puff of white mist and vanished.
"A shadow clone?"
"Damn it, that kid escaped!"
The Anbu ninjas were no weaklings; most were selected from among the Jōnin, so in many cases, Anbu members were even stronger than typical Jōnin. The same went for Root. Upon realizing that the ones attacking him were from Root or Anbu, Kagaya didn't hesitate—he bolted immediately.
His current strength wasn't enough to take on Root members, especially if the Root ninja facing him was particularly strong.
While Root and Anbu recruited from Jōnin, not all their members were Jōnin. Some were trained from childhood, while others were exceptions to the rule. As a result, their ranks included both the strong—capable of rivaling or even surpassing elite Jōnin—and the weak, who might only have the strength of a Chūnin.
If it was a Chūnin-level opponent, Kagaya could handle them. But if it was a Jōnin-level opponent, Kagaya stood no chance. He wasn't about to gamble on them being weaker members.
"Root? Anbu? Probably Root."
As he fled, Kagaya pondered whether his pursuers were from Root or Anbu. Both groups operated with masks, making it hard to distinguish them at a glance.
But after some thought, Kagaya reasoned that the Third Hokage wasn't the type to kill without reason, and he had no personal conflict with him. Danzō, on the other hand, acted based on his own judgment, often without needing a clear reason. Plus, Kagaya had previously rejected an invitation to join Root.
So, Kagaya was certain: these were Danzō's men.
"Hey, kid, stop right there!"
A short sword slashed toward Kagaya, forcing him to halt and dodge.
Standing in front of him was the Root member who had been keeping watch.
"Tch, no wonder you're Shisui's student. That speed is impressive. Lucky for us, we came as a pair, or you'd have gotten away."
Kagaya's speed was remarkable. If this Root member hadn't intercepted him, Kagaya would have escaped. Once he reached the Uchiha clan grounds, these two Root ninjas wouldn't dare make a move.
Kagaya eyed the Root ninja in front of him, sensing the other one still chasing from behind. With two Root members after him, Kagaya understood: Danzō wanted him dead quietly, or there'd be no need for two of them.
Now cornered, Kagaya didn't bother with words. Several kunai appeared in his hands, and he hurled them at the Root ninja in front of him.
The Root ninja before him wore a fox mask, while the one chasing from behind wore a dog mask.
The fox-masked Root ninja deflected all of Kagaya's kunai with his short sword.
Snake–Ram–Monkey–Boar–Horse–Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Following the kunai was a fireball over a meter in diameter.
Snake–Boar–Dog.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
The fox-masked Root ninja quickly formed hand signs, raising an earth wall to block Kagaya's Fire Release. He then shouted toward the rear.
"Hurry up! Stop him from using ninjutsu. This is getting too loud!"
The dog-masked Root ninja caught up. Hearing the fox-masked ninja's words, he charged at Kagaya.
Tiger–Dog–Rat.
This was Kagaya's first real combat use of the Instant Body Technique!
Buzz!
The Root ninja charging at Kagaya suddenly saw the single Kagaya split into two, one rushing from the left and the other from the right.
"Two of them? Shadow clones?"
The fox-masked ninja shook his head.
"No, it feels different. Not shadow clones. Just ordinary afterimages?"
Kagaya, rushing toward the dog-masked ninja, chuckled lightly.
"Why don't you find out?"
"Hmph!"
The dog-masked Root ninja snorted, swinging his short sword at the Kagaya on the left.
Kagaya dodged the slash while grabbing the arm that swung at him.
At the same time, the Kagaya on the right charged in. The dog-masked ninja raised his other hand to block, only to be met with a heavy impact.
"Both have substance? So, they are shadow clones?"
Feeling the force from both sides, the dog-masked ninja made his judgment.
At that moment, the two Kagayas each restrained one of the dog-masked ninja's arms. Then, with their free hands, they reached toward each other and began forming hand signs!
Kagaya couldn't form seals with one hand, but he could use one hand from his main body and one from his clone to do it.
Snake–Ram–Monkey–Boar–Horse–Tiger.
"Oh no!"
The dog-masked ninja sensed danger and tried to stop them, but with both his arms restrained, he was powerless.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A near-point-blank fireball. The dog-masked ninja couldn't form seals to counter or dodge. There was only one outcome—defeat!
The flames erupted, and Kagaya and his clone quickly retreated.
But the fox-masked ninja wasn't just watching. He had already closed in behind Kagaya, throwing a heavy punch aimed at him!
If that punch landed, Kagaya would be crippled, if not dead.
But as the punch connected, the fox-masked ninja stared in shock at the Kagaya before him.
"No substance?"
His fist had passed through nothing, yet visually, it looked like he'd hit Kagaya.
"So, it was an afterimage?"
Instinctively, the fox-masked ninja let his guard down. After all, afterimages couldn't harm anyone—that was common knowledge.
But a kunai pierced through the fox-masked ninja's neck.
"This isn't an afterimage."
Kagaya maintained his pose after throwing the kunai, speaking coldly.
The fox-masked ninja's punch could only hit one of the two Kagayas, so it couldn't truly strike Kagaya's real body. Kagaya, however, was different. He could switch between being intangible and tangible at will. When attacked, he was intangible; when attacking, he was tangible!
Shisui's Body Flicker Technique was like another version of Kamui, similar to Obito's ability, each with its strengths and weaknesses.
The downside of Shisui's technique was that the main body always remained on the battlefield. Against large-scale attacks, like a Tailed Beast Ball from the Nine-Tails, Kagaya couldn't dodge with this technique, whereas Obito could with Kamui.
The advantage, however, was that Shisui's Body Flicker Technique could create multiple clones, each effectively equipped with Kamui-like abilities—intangible when attacked, tangible when attacking. This was something Obito couldn't do.
Looking at the two bodies, Kagaya let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't held back. Root members were ruthless; if they were after him, would they leave him alive? No way. From the moment they attacked, one side was destined to die. If Kagaya had shown mercy, he'd be the one dead.
Kagaya had no choice but to kill them. Fortunately, these two seemed to be only slightly above Chūnin level. With the Instant Body Technique as his trump card, Kagaya managed to turn the tables. If they had been elite Jōnin-level Anbu, Kagaya would have been dead no matter what.
It seemed Danzō had underestimated him, assuming he was just a Genin. After all, a seven-year-old reaching Genin level was already impressive.
But Danzō had miscalculated. Kagaya's single-tomoe Sharingan allowed him to see clearly during high-speed movement, and the Body Flicker Technique let him strike unexpectedly.
Looking at his clone, Kagaya smiled faintly.
"From now on, I'll call you Instant Clone."
The clones created by his Body Flicker Technique weren't ordinary clones, so giving them a unique name felt fitting.
*****
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