Saitama didn't dare to be careless. He tightened his grip on the short sword in his hand and charged forward.
His eyes remained locked on Shisui, analyzing every movement.
After so much time apart, Saitama expected Shisui to surprise him.
Just as the two were about to clash, Shisui's eyes sharpened—and Saitama immediately sensed something was off.
Sure enough, Shisui formed a hand seal with his left hand.
Whoosh!
Shisui vanished from sight.
"He's behind me!"
Saitama's sword sliced a half-circle through the air, and as he spun around, he swung upward from the lower right.
Clang!
The blades met with a flash of sparks—Saitama had blocked him.
"Body Flicker Technique?" Saitama muttered with a smile. He hadn't expected Shisui to already be capable of using the Shunshin no Jutsu so effectively.
"You've got sharp instincts, Saitama," Shisui replied.
At this stage, Shisui couldn't use the Body Flicker Technique freely—his chakra reserves limited the number of times he could perform it in battle.
Though Saitama had managed to block the strike, the clash sent him stumbling back several steps.
Even though he'd predicted Shisui's move, his counterattack had been rushed—he hadn't managed to put his full strength into it.
He spun the sword lightly in his hand, shaking off the numbness in his wrist from the impact.
As the battle pressed on, Saitama's excitement grew.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He planted his sword into the ground and quickly formed hand seals.
A large fireball, nearly half a meter wide, erupted from his mouth and roared through the woods.
The intense heat seared the surrounding air, the flames rushing toward Shisui like a tidal wave.
Shisui's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Saitama to have already learned Katon ninjutsu.
Boom!
A large tree branch was completely engulfed in flames and burned to ash in seconds.
"I didn't think you'd already mastered Fire Release," Shisui said as he reappeared some distance away from his last position.
He looked at the smoldering flames with a lingering sense of dread—he'd narrowly avoided it thanks to a well-timed Substitution Jutsu.
"There's a lot you didn't expect, Shisui!" Saitama grinned, watching his opponent warily.
"In that case," Shisui said with a small smile, "I'd better get serious."
He formed hand seals again.
Poof!
A Shadow Clone appeared at his side.
The two Shisuis exchanged glances, nodded, and charged in.
Unfazed, Saitama yanked his short sword from the dirt and met them head-on.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Steel rang out repeatedly as the three figures clashed in a blur of motion. Despite his skill, Saitama began to feel the pressure.
His swordsmanship was close to Shisui's level—perhaps slightly inferior—but now that a shadow clone was in play, the odds were against him.
Clang!
Saitama blocked another blow, but—
Whoosh!
The second Shisui darted to his left and slashed at his waist. Saitama twisted mid-air to avoid a fatal cut, but his clothes tore open across his side.
Thud!
He retaliated with a sidekick, which collided with one of Shisui's kicks. Both were knocked apart by the force.
"How're you holding up, Saitama?"
"This is fun," Saitama smirked. "But if that's all you've got—this fight's mine!"
He closed his eyes briefly.
If this continued, his movements would become more predictable. It was time to end it.
A scarlet light flickered in his eyes as he opened them again—his Sharingan had awakened.
Two tomoe spun in each eye.
He looked calmly at the two Shisuis now standing opposite him.
"What'll you do now, Shisui?"
Saitama's smile was steady, his gaze unwavering.
Under these eyes, nothing escapes.
"Two-tomoe Sharingan?!" Shisui's eyes widened in disbelief.
The shock was understandable.
To awaken a double tomoe Sharingan at six years old was unheard of in the history of the Uchiha clan.
Even though Shisui had never seen the clan's secret records, he instinctively understood—Saitama's talent was extraordinary.