Chapter 27 — Shisui's Genjutsu, Obuya's Counterattack
"My body… I can't move!"
Obuya's pupils tightened sharply.
Just moments ago, he had intended to seize the opening—Shisui had been struck, his body paralyzed, his movements disrupted. It should have been the perfect chance to press the advantage and end the battle in one decisive strike.
But in the next instant—his entire body froze.
Not from hesitation, nor injury. But from something far more insidious.
The world before his eyes, which had been as calm and clear as a still lake, suddenly shattered—as if a stone had been violently hurled into its surface. Ripples spread outward, distorting everything. Space twisted, reality blurred, and the arena around him dissolved into nothingness.
In its place—
A strange, unfamiliar world took shape.
Mist rolled endlessly through the air, thick and heavy, carrying with it an indescribable sense of illusion. It was neither entirely real nor entirely false—a space suspended somewhere in between.
Above him…
Hung a black moon.
Obuya's expression changed immediately.
The moment he saw that moon, he also saw the figure before it.
A man hovered in the air, silhouetted against the ominous black celestial body behind him, as if he stood at the center of this entire world.
"…As expected," Obuya murmured inwardly, a flicker of shock flashing across his mind. "There's no escaping it… I've fallen into his genjutsu."
From the very beginning, he had been on guard.
He knew Uchiha Shisui's genjutsu was extraordinary—perhaps even the strongest among his peers. Every movement, every glance, he had treated with caution.
And yet—
He had still been caught.
Shisui hovered high above, his figure calm and composed, gazing down at Obuya with detached authority.
"Your consciousness has already been drawn into this illusion," he said evenly. "In this space… I am absolute."
The moment his voice fell—
The black moon behind him trembled.
Then—
It burst open.
From within it, countless black crows surged forth, their wings beating in chaotic unison. They gathered into a massive swirling vortex, spiraling downward like a storm of darkness, enclosing Obuya at its center.
"You are a worthy opponent," Shisui continued, his tone calm yet resolute. "But this battle… will still end in my victory."
"Three Thousand Crows Killing Technique!!!"
The storm descended.
Countless crows rushed in from every direction, their forms overlapping, compressing, suffocating. The sound of flapping wings filled the space, sharp and overwhelming, like a tide of death closing in.
In an instant—
Obuya was completely swallowed.
His figure vanished within the writhing mass of black feathers.
"Huh?"
High above, Shisui's expression shifted for the first time.
A trace of surprise flickered across his face.
Within the storm, a sudden sound broke through.
Zzzt—
A single arc of vivid blue lightning erupted.
Then—
It spread.
The crow struck by the current became a conduit, and in the next instant, the electricity leapt outward, chaining from one crow to another. What had once been a unified swarm now became a network—each crow connected, each one a path for the current to travel.
The reaction escalated instantly.
"This… impossible!"
Shisui's eyes widened.
The Three Thousand Crows Killing Technique was a genjutsu construct reinforced by Sharingan control. Normally, even if the crows were destroyed, they would continuously regenerate, making escape impossible through brute force.
But every technique had its limits.
Even Shisui himself knew this.
The crows could revive from individual destruction.
But if all three thousand were annihilated at the same moment—
The technique would collapse entirely.
Whoosh—
A violent surge of energy tore through the illusion.
The massive sphere of crows surrounding Obuya disintegrated in an instant, reduced to ash as if swept away by a silent, destructive storm. The black feathers vanished without a trace, leaving only empty space behind.
The illusion shattered.
Like clouds dispersing after a storm, the world cleared.
And in the next moment—
Obuya's consciousness snapped back into reality.
The arena reappeared before him.
The crowd, the walls, the battlefield—
Everything returned.
"Impossible! He broke free from Shisui's genjutsu!"
Gasps erupted across the stands as Obuya's body twitched, his eyes regaining clarity.
At the same time—
Shisui staggered slightly.
Blood seeped from the corners of his eyes, thin crimson lines tracing down his cheeks. The Sharingan in his pupils faded, returning to their normal state.
The strain had reached its limit.
Using the Sharingan continuously—first against Aburame Mutou, then sustaining the genjutsu against Obuya—had already pushed his eyes to exhaustion. And now, with the technique forcibly shattered, the backlash had injured him further.
For the time being—
He could no longer rely on it.
"You've already lost, Shisui."
Obuya's voice was calm.
Earlier, Shisui's punch had sent him crashing into the wall, leaving a lingering ache in his abdomen. But now, the pain had dulled, replaced by steady control.
He did not rush forward.
Instead, he stood his ground, watching Shisui from a distance of a hundred paces, his gaze clear and composed.
Caution remained.
Even now, he would not underestimate him.
At that moment, Shisui's body, still stiff from the residual paralysis of the high-frequency current, trembled slightly—
Then moved.
Pride would not allow him to yield.
With sheer willpower, he forced his rigid right hand to lift, inch by inch, forming a one-handed seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique…"
Obuya murmured, observing the movement.
The moment the seal completed—
A dozen shadow clones appeared around Shisui.
Without hesitation, they surged forward under his command, rushing toward Obuya from multiple directions.
Obuya's expression remained unchanged.
He slowly clenched his hands.
Electricity surged violently between his palms, crackling with sharp intensity. The air vibrated faintly under the gathering power.
Then—
He struck.
A bolt of lightning shot forward, striking one of the incoming clones.
That single point of contact—
Was enough.
The current spread instantly, chaining from one clone to the next, linking them all into a single network.
Boom!!!
In the next instant—
All of the clones collapsed simultaneously. Every clone disintegrated at once under the overwhelming current.
With a sharp crackle beneath his feet, Obuya moved.
In a flash—
He appeared directly before Shisui.
There was no wasted motion or hesitation.
A blade formed in his hand—a Chakra Surgical Electric Blade, condensed and refined to lethal precision.
And then—
It struck.
The blade pierced straight through Shisui's chest, driving cleanly through his heart and emerging from his back.
"Ah—!"
A collective gasp tore through the crowd.
For ordinary shinobi—
This was death.
A pierced heart was an absolute fatal wound.
Only a handful of people—Minato, Rin, and a few others who understood Obuya's ability—remained calm.
Within the Surgical Barrier—
Obuya was absolute.
Life and death were under his control. Even such a fatal injury could be rendered harmless. Of course, if he wished, he could end a life instantly simply by withdrawing the barrier.
Shisui's eyes widened slightly.
For a brief moment, he had expected death.
But then—
He realized something was wrong.
There was no pain.
"So… this is your Kekkei Genkai…" Shisui said quietly, his voice steady despite the situation. "Though I don't like losing… I have no complaints."
"I've been defeated."
Obuya slowly withdrew the blade.
The wound closed instantly, leaving no trace behind.
At the same time, he dispelled the lingering electricity restraining Shisui.
Shisui's body regained control, his posture stabilizing.
"Winner: Obuya, recommended by Minato Namikaze!"
The referee's voice rang out across the arena.
For a moment—Silence.
Then—
The arena exploded into cheers.
Uchiha Shisui—the pride of the Uchiha clan, hailed as one of Konoha's greatest prodigies—had been defeated.
And by someone who had once been dismissed and underestimated.
"Awesome!"
Rin shouted, her face bright with excitement.
Nearby, Obito clenched his fists, fired up with renewed determination, eager to reclaim the pride he had lost in the earlier group battle.
"Unbelievable… he actually did it."
Minato allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.
His thoughts drifted back to the days of training.
Obuya's natural talent in ninjutsu and taijutsu had been, by all accounts, below average. Every technique took him far longer to grasp than others—sometimes ten times the effort.
And yet—
In less than a week, he had mastered two highly practical jutsu: the Chakra Surgical Blade and the Shadow Clone Technique.
Effort had compensated for talent.
As Obuya stepped down from the arena, the long-awaited voice sounded once more in his mind—
cold, mechanical, and unmistakable.
[Demon Side Quest Completed: Promoted to Chūnin.]
[Completion 100%, gained 40 Demon Points. Demon Points reached 100, promoted to One-Star Demon.]
[One-Star Demon Fruit Ability Successfully Unlocked.]