Chapter 447: When Did You Think You Weren't Under Genjutsu?

"Shisui, don't worry about us, withdraw quickly." Takagi Shinji said while blocking the attacks from the Mist ninja.

There were too many enemies; whether Shisui stayed or not couldn't change the final outcome of the battle. The only difference was that if Shisui stayed, he would merely inflict a few more casualties on the enemy.

But compared to that, Takagi Shinji believed it would be more meaningful for Shisui to survive.

Unlike ordinary people like them, Shisui was a true genius; if he grew up normally, he would absolutely become a powerhouse.

If he could, Takagi Shinji would even want all the other disciples to retreat together, but he knew that wouldn't work.

The number of Mist ninja was several times their own. Takagi Shinji couldn't hold back so many enemies. If his disciples scattered and ran, they would only die faster. Only Shisui, who was stronger than him, had any hope of breaking through the encirclement and successfully retreating.

"If you manage to get away and move fast, maybe you can still find reinforcements to come save us. If you don't leave now, everyone will die."

This was a well-meaning lie unless they were very close by; otherwise, there was no way he'd make it in time.

Shisui remained unmoved and continued fighting. He was also a hexagonal warrior like Kakashi, excelling in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Even several Mist ninja working together found it hard to gain any advantage over him.

Although Shisui was young, he had read quite a few books, so such an obvious lie from Takagi Shinji naturally couldn't fool him.

If he left, Takagi Shinji's squad definitely wouldn't last three minutes.

These were three Mist jonin plus nine chunin and genin.

"Shisui, even though you're a genius, let me be the cool one just this once." Uesugi Toru struggled to locate Shisui's position in the thick fog.

He wanted to use his fire release to create an opening for Shisui to escape.

Kobayashi Kenji, who was closest to Shisui, endured his injuries and tried his utmost to help Shisui fight, relieving his pressure.

Shisui sighed inwardly, his desire for strength growing ever stronger.

Actually, they hadn't known each other long—only a month.

But perhaps because they were on the battlefield together, carrying out missions day in and day out, sharing life and death, they got familiar quickly and soon recognized one another.

Shisui believed that if the thick fog weren't blocking them, the others would rather get injured themselves to cover his retreat.

"So this is war…" Shisui's heart could no longer remain calm.

This ambush made Shisui feel the cruelty of war even more than the previous chance encounter with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Because last time, most of his teammates were disciples of Muyue, each possessing extraordinary burst capabilities. Even when facing powerful enemies like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, they could repel them after unleashing their ultimate bursts.

This time was different. This time, none of his teammates had mastered the Eight Gates, nor could anyone enter the Clear World. Even with exceptional performance, they wouldn't be much stronger than usual.

So even though the opponents weren't famous strong foes, they still found themselves in a desperate situation.

"Then let me become their pillar of support!" Shisui clenched his fists, a fire igniting in his heart.

Shisui was not an arrogant person, but he never underestimated himself. He was a genius—and not just any genius, but a genius of the Uchiha clan. At only eight years old, he already possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

He had an excellent and reliable teacher who had taught him many powerful secret techniques and ninjutsu.

With so many factors stacked in his favor, he should be qualified to be someone others could rely on.

With that thought, there was no more hesitation in Shisui's heart. He simply couldn't bear to peacefully accept the retreat opportunity his teammates fought to give him.

Rather than a retreat bought by his teammates' lives, Shisui wanted to save his teammates like Might Guy did.

The instant his thoughts became clear, memories of consulting Teacher Muyue about the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode technique kept surfacing in Shisui's mind, and his breathing changed.

"So this is the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode." Feeling the power continuously surging from within his body, Shisui's expression returned to its usual calm.

The Flame Breathing Chakra Mode felt very strange to Shisui—an indescribable sensation, as if the inside of his body was burning like a furnace, and the energy from that combustion flowed into every limb and bone as power.

Making a major breakthrough in a key secret technique was a very gratifying thing, but right now, even more than the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode itself, what made Shisui happier was that he now had the power to turn the tide.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

Just as Shisui was about to test the boost from Flame Breathing Chakra Mode on the Mist ninja, a fierce gale blew up.

Rustle, rustle!!

The leaves of countless trees rustled loudly, and dust, leaves, and fine stones were swept up by the wind.

Under this sudden strong wind, the Mist ninja's thick fog was also blown away, and everyone regained their visibility.

Shisui's eyes lit up. This was truly a heaven-sent opportunity.

As Shisui gathered chakra in his eyes, his irises turned blood-red once more.

"What kind of weather is this? Why did such a strong wind start without any warning?" The Kirigakure jōnin cursed inwardly, then prepared to attack Shisui again—only to meet those blood-red eyes.

The Kirigakure jōnin's outstretched hand froze, his expression vacant.

"It's a Sharingan genjutsu! Disrupt his chakra flow!" another Kirigakure jōnin shouted immediately.

Every jōnin knew at least one way to dispel genjutsu, but a Sharingan genjutsu was different from ordinary ones—it was hard to break alone, and the simplest and fastest method was to have an ally help.

The Kirigakure chūnin beside the ensnared jōnin quickly nodded and stepped forward.

But faster than the Kirigakure chūnin was Shisui.

With a whoosh, Shisui appeared silently near the Kirigakure jōnin, and two shuriken carrying kunai pierced through the jōnin's body.

"As I thought, what I lack is a burst method similar to the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode," Shisui thought as he observed the results of his work.

Before entering the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, Shisui probably wouldn't have had time to kill the Kirigakure jōnin; the overall boost from the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode was far too great.

If it were only about the ultimate power of a single technique, then Armament Haki also provided a significant increase.

So why did Shisui, who had mastered Armament Haki, still say he lacked a burst method?

The answer was that the burst boost from Armament Haki was one-dimensional—it only enhanced Shisui's own defense and the power of his techniques.

But an enemy wouldn't necessarily choose a direct confrontation, especially when they had the advantage in numbers and could opt for a prolonged fight.

The boost from the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode was different—it was a comprehensive, multi-faceted enhancement.

Although it wasn't as purely physically boosting as the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode still provided a considerable boost to the body, much stronger than ordinary focused breathing methods.

Moreover, the greatest feature of the Flame Breathing was its enhancement of fire-nature chakra transformation and fire release techniques.

Using elemental ninjutsu requires converting chakra into the corresponding elemental chakra—this process takes time, though very little—and the Flame Breathing shortens this process.

Faster movement speed plus faster casting speed—all these boosts stacked together and ultimately allowed Shisui to finish off the Kirigakure jōnin.

"What's going on? He's moving faster than before." The Kirigakure jōnin's pupils shrank sharply as he saw his comrade die.

"Kirishima! Forget about that guy, kill Uchiha Shisui first!" the Kirigakure jōnin quickly said to another Kirigakure jōnin who was fighting Takagi Shinji.

Originally, he thought one jōnin would be enough to hold off Shisui, and the remaining shinobi could kill Shisui's companions first, then surround and kill Shisui more safely.

But now Shisui's displayed strength didn't match the intel they had; if they didn't kill Shisui first, they would probably be picked off one by one.

The Kirigakure jōnin named Kirishima had no choice but to abandon the injured Takagi Shinji, ordering two chūnin to take his place while he went to help surround and kill Shisui.

Shisui's Sharingan swept across the entire battlefield. At present, Takagi Shinji was holding off two Kirigakure shinobi, Uesugi Tetsuya was also holding off two, Kobayashi Kenji and Miyashita Yuki were each holding off one. That meant the enemies he now had to deal with were only two jōnin and three chūnin or genin.

"Phantom Shunshin Technique!"

From the Kirigakure shinobi's perspective, dozens of Shisui suddenly appeared, surrounding them as if he had used a multiple shadow clone technique.

One Kirigakure chūnin stabbed his kunai at the nearest Shisui, but the feeling that came back through his hand made him freeze.

It was as if he had struck a phantom that didn't exist in reality—only the resistance of the air itself.

"These clones are all fake!" the Kirigakure chūnin shouted to inform his comrades.

In the next instant, another Kirigakure chūnin was pierced through the heart by a Shisui wielding a kunai.

The two Kirigakure jōnin stared coldly at the chūnin who had spoken, making him break out in a cold sweat.

The Kirigakure jōnin frowned deeply at the multitude of Shisui. It was too bizarre—they looked like phantom clones, but some were solid.

Shisui seemed to be nowhere and everywhere at once, attacking them with kunai, shuriken, and taijutsu.

The two Kirigakure jōnin exchanged a glance and immediately formed hand seals, unleashing large-scale ninjutsu to attack all the Shisui.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A massive amount of water was spewed out by the Kirigakure jōnin, crashing into the ground and striking every Shisui. Even the Kirigakure chūnin trying to locate the real Shisui were caught in the torrent.

Under this large-scale attack, two solid Shisui were revealed. Kirishima immediately controlled the enormous current created by the Great Waterfall Technique to slam into the two solid Shisui.

But just as Kirishima struck, a kunai stuck in the ground suddenly transformed into Shisui.

At the very beginning, Shisui used a clone as cover to transform into a kunai and then threw himself next to Kirishima, waiting for an opportunity.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Shisui put his hands together in prayer, and a large amount of chakra in his body gathered at his throat. In an instant, he converted it all into fire-attribute chakra, which he then expelled in one breath.

A massive torrent of scorching hot flames spewed from Shisui's mouth, rapidly forming a small sea of fire that surrounded Kirishima. The standing water left behind by the Great Waterfall Technique was also completely evaporated.

Kirishima, who was controlling the Water Dragon Bullet to attack Shisui's shadow clone, felt the scorching flames and his expression changed drastically. He immediately tried to cancel his attack and dodge Shisui's ninjutsu.

However, the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, being a wide-range, high-damage Fire Release, could not possibly be dodged at such a distance.

In the incredulous eyes of everyone, Kirishima was directly engulfed by the sea of fire until he lost his life.

The Mist Jonin saw another jonin die horribly at Shisui's hands, and sweat uncontrollably broke out on his forehead, his heart filled with shock.

In just a few short minutes, Shisui had killed two Mist Jonin.

These were not just common cabbages; they were jonin of the five great ninja villages.

The Mist Jonin instinctively took two steps back, a thought of retreat sprouting in his mind.

Although they still had the numerical advantage, in terms of overall strength, having lost two jonin, their defeat was already certain.

The Mist Jonin retreated imperceptibly, moving closer to Miyashita Yuki of the Takagi Squad.

"Charge and kill him!" the Mist Jonin commanded harshly, as if intending to fight Shisui to the death.

The two Mist ninja each took out kunai and drew their longswords, charging at Shisui, while the Mist Jonin used the Body Flicker Technique to quickly create distance.

The difficulty of training a jonin is on a completely different level from training two chunin. If those two chunin's sacrifices could allow him to survive, then it would be considered his final contribution to the Mist.

For Shisui, who was in the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, killing a chunin was as easy as taking something from his pocket. In one exchange, Shisui killed a Mist Chunin.

However, the Mist Jonin's actions really left Shisui speechless—he had sounded like he was ready to fight to the death, but in the end, he abandoned his subordinates and retreated.

But Shisui couldn't ignore the Mist Jonin, because in the direction of his retreat was Miyashita Yuki, who was fighting a Mist ninja.

Shisui ignored the remaining Mist Chunin and pursued the Mist Jonin.

The Mist Jonin estimated Shisui's speed, gritted his teeth, burst into top speed, and rushed to Miyashita Yuki's side, pressing a kunai against her neck.

"Uchiha Shisui, if you dare come any closer, don't expect your teammate to leave alive." The Mist Jonin avoided looking at Shisui's upper body, lowered his head, and stared at Shisui's feet as he spoke coldly.

He had considered the possibility that the two chunin couldn't hold Shisui off for long, so he prepared to take a hostage to withdraw.

To avoid falling under Shisui's Sharingan genjutsu, he didn't even dare look into Shisui's eyes.

Shisui seemed not to care about his teammate's life; he didn't stop his pace and walked forward leisurely.

The Mist Jonin frowned deeply, pressing the kunai against Miyashita Yuki's neck a little harder, and said harshly, "Do you think I wouldn't kill her? If I can't escape, I'll take a few Leaf ninja down with me even if I die."

"Before taking a hostage, why don't you take a good look at who you are holding?" Shisui's extremely calm voice reached the Mist Jonin's ears.

"When did you get the illusion that you successfully captured my companion?"

"Have I already fallen under a genjutsu?" The Mist Jonin's expression changed drastically in an instant. He had looked at Shisui's Sharingan during the fight just now.

Just as the Mist Jonin wanted a nearby Mist ninja to check his chakra, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly came into view—Shisui had crouched down.

Normally, even if one crouches, it's hard to make eye contact with someone who is looking down, but the Mist Jonin was an adult, while Shisui was only eight years old.