Walking through the passage leading to the fighting arena, Kuroto could feel gradually increasing cheers. As he came out of the passage and stood at the center of the arena waves upon waves of cheers resonated throughout the stadium. It was as if the very ground was trembling from the excitement.
Looking at the gathered crowd, Kuroto was amazed, "Damn, I did not expect this many people to gather… But I suppose this does make sense."
No doubt, the villagers have shown great enthusiasm towards the Godaime Hokage Election.
Before the Godaime Hokage Elections, most of the villagers had no role. The candidates were nominated by the members of the Elder Council, while the Jonin-ranked shinobi were given the right to select the Hokage through voting.
Even the villagers were concerned about this entire matter, they couldn't play any role. Before they knew it, the village had a new Hokage. True, they were made aware of the achievements made by the different nominated candidates, but that's it. They didn't even know how strong the candidates were relative to each other.
But this time is different. Because of the Uchiha Patriarch's proposal in the Council Meeting, a competition was made part of the election in order to test the strength of the nominated candidates. And since the villagers were given the right to watch the tournament.
As such a chance appeared before them, great enthusiasm was ignited in their hearts.
After all, Konoha is a village of Shinobis. Even if not everyone is a shinobi, they are inseparable from shinobi. Children yearn to become great shinobi and serve the village, admiration and respect towards shinobi are engraved in the bones of most adults.
"Kuroto-san." Shisui's call broke Kuroto's train of thought.
Kuroto looked towards Shisui bowing to him. Kuroto nodded with a smile, "Shisui" and returned the greeting.
As both candidates raised their right hands and formed the seal of confrontation gradually cheers dropped and the stadium became quiet.
Including the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Hokage of the Five Great Nations, everyone was looking at Shisui and Kuroto.
Jiraiya was the referee of the match, he appeared in the area with a body flicker and explained the rules of the match. Then he looked at the candidates and asked, "Are the two of you ready?"
Shisui nodded, "Be careful Kuroto-san!"
Kuroto also nodded, "Let's start!"
Seeing that both the candidates were ready, he nodded at them and signaled the start of the battle, "Begin!"
As the signal to start the fight was given, Shisui was the first to make his move. He weaved the hand signs and as he finished several blurry figures started to appear around. Within a few short breaths, the entire arena was filled with hundreds of such figures.
What's strange is that the blurry figures have the same appearance as Shisui, making it difficult to discern the real Uchiha Shisui.
…
In the VIP Stand
Looking at the hundreds of figures of Uchiha Shisui in the arena, Raikage, Tsuchikae, Mizukage, and Kazekage stared at each other in surprise.
The oldest Kage among them–the Tsuchikage–couldn't help but murmur in praise, "Fast… He really lives up to his name… 'Shisui of the Body Flicker.'"
Even Raikage had to admit that unless using his 'Lightning Chakra Armour' he won't be able to move as fast as Uchiha Shisui.
A worried look flashed in the eyes of Hokage. Even if a shinobi of his village was earning the praise of the Kages of other villagers, Hiruzen couldn't say that he was happy to hear it.
From the beginning, Hiruzen was been extremely worried in regards to the match between Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Kuroto.
Earlier he thought that if Shisui were to fight while releasing water, the scene would become embarrassing. The Kages and leaders of the other clans will realize that something has been set up behind the scenes. But considering the strength Shisui has displayed from his first Jutsu, Hirzuen is now worried about the outcome of the battle, and couldn't help but think, 'Will he be able to win this?'
…
On the other side of the Stadium
With his Byakugan activated, Neji looked at the arena with a shocked expression, "This… this… what kind of Jutsu is this?"
As far as Neji can see with his Byakugan, every figure of Shisui had a chakra sign. It's as if all those hundreds of Shisui are Shadow Clones, but 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' can not create so many Clones besides, the hand signs Shisui used were different from the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu', Neji is sure of this because he too has mastered the that Jutsu.
Sasuke thought for a while, then said in an uncertain tone, "Perhaps Shisui-nii-san is using 'Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu'?! I heard Nii-san mention that Jutsu once, it's an A-Ranked Forbidden Jutsu because it consumes too mu–..."
Suddenly a voice interrupted Sasuke, "Don't be an idiot Sasuke… that's not 'Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu'… it's Shisui's unique Body Flicker… the very Jutsu that earned him the moniker of 'Shisui of the Body Flicker.'"
He turned around and exclaimed in surprise, "Shinichi-nii-san… you did not go with the others?"
Shinichi shook his head distastefully, "They are too noisy for my liking."
Having witnessed the strength of Kuroto, Nagato, 'Madara', and 'Hiruko', it has become difficult for him to tolerate the arrogance of his clansmen. In his view, they possess so little strength, yet have such arrogance, which is a disgrace in his eyes. Therefore, he prefers to keep his distance from the ignorant clansmen. Precisely why, he chose to come here.
Neji asked in surprise, "Body Flicker Jutsu? How can that be Body Flicker Jutsu? There are so many of them, and each of them has a chakra sign.!"
Sasuke and Naruto nodded in agreement with Neji and looked at Shinichi in confusion. The Body Flicker Jutsu used by Shisui is completely different from the Body Flicker Jutsu that they know.
Shinichi did not bother to explain, instead, he observed Shisui in the arena, and thought to himself, 'His speed is exponentially faster compared to what I remember. Is it because of Shodaime-sama's cells?'
As far as Shinichi can remember, the last time he saw Shisui use his unique Body Flicker Jutsu, he couldn't create these many 'shadows', moreover, Shisui generally used his 'Shadows' in dim light. The Jutsu wasn't as effective in the bright areas.
But now? That's not the case at all. Not only Shisui is able to create hundreds of 'Shadows' he is able to display such effectiveness in broad daylight, which surprised even Shinichi.
…
On Kakashi's side
Asuma was surprised upon looking at hundreds of Shisui in the arena, and asked Kakashi, "Do you think Kuroto can win?"
Kakashi had no answer, and thought, 'Is Shisui fighting to win?'
On the other side, Shizune looked at Tsunade with a pale expression, "Tsunade-sama… will he be able to win?"
Tsunade was unsure.
Shizune said in a panicked voice, "Maybe… maybe it would be best if we retract our bet on him… otherwise… otherwise…"
Tsunade nodded, "Yes… it's possible that Shisui is fighting to win… go… go… retract our bet!"
…
On the Arena
Looking at hundreds of Shisui surrounding him. Kuroto grinned, unsheathed his Kusanagi Sword, and pointed at Shisui as he said, "Well then… let's have some fun!"
Hundreds of Shisui replied in unison, "I'll try not to disappoint you Kuroto-san!"
.
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