Magic Power Emission: Eight Extremities!
After using two Genjutsu to control his opponents, Taiyi's fight was already over. On the other hand, however, compared to Taiyi and Shirō, Nakamura's battle was much slower.
It wasn't that Nakamura was weaker than Shirō and Taiyi—far from it. His true strength just wasn't being utilized properly. Their team had been operating under stealth conditions, relying on surprise. That meant loud or destructive techniques were off the table.
Earth Release and Wind Release, Nakamura's main specialties, were simply too conspicuous—leaving craters, torn-up terrain, or visible trails of chakra. He couldn't afford to reveal their position.
That left only Lightning Release, the element he had only recently begun learning. For Nakamura, it was like fighting with one arm tied behind his back.
And unlike his students, he had no kekkei genkai or hidden clan techniques to fall back on. So while Shirō had already dispatched his foe and Taiyi was engaging another jōnin, Nakamura was still locked in a stalemate.
He was frustrated, yes—but not shaken. Nakamura had always been the pillar of the team, the one who faced the strongest enemies head-on and ended battles swiftly. To still be fighting after this much time was embarrassing, but he understood the reality: Lightning Release wasn't his strength.
And his opponent was no slouch. A jōnin with years of combat experience wasn't easy prey.
Nakamura's calm held firm. He had long prepared himself for the day when his students—blessed with bloodlines, secret arts, and strange talents—would surpass him. In fact, more than anything, he felt proud. Their growth was, in part, his achievement.
---
Meanwhile, after defeating his enemy, Shirō didn't immediately move to assist. His magic circuits were overloaded, forcing him to crouch down and apply healing magic in tandem with medicine to stabilize the backlash.
The pain was sharp—healing while the circuits themselves burned was agony—but he bore it. He had studied just enough healing magecraft over the past two years to handle emergencies like this. It wasn't medical ninjutsu, with its exhaustive anatomical knowledge, but his magecraft foundation let him make it work.
A few moments later, his body calmed. Projection and Noble Phantasms were still off the table, but Reinforcement Magic and chakra control were stable again.
"Shirō, are you alright?"
Shikamaru hurried over, seeing him crouched and sweating.
"I'm fine. It's handled." Shirō rose, rolling his shoulders. "How's Taiyi's side?"
"He's still locked with his opponent. It's tricky."
"I see." Shirō narrowed his eyes, gauging his remaining chakra. "Then I'll support the captain. His ninjutsu isn't well-suited for this fight. Taiyi can manage. You and Blue Snake stay here—be ready to cover us."
With that, faint blue lines crawled across Shirō's skin as Reinforcement took hold. His foot pressed into the earth—boom!—leaving a small crater as he shot forward.
Shikamaru stared at the mark left behind, stunned. Shirō's methods were becoming stranger and stranger. He hardly knew any ninjutsu, yet his archery was unmatched, his taijutsu frighteningly sharp, and now… one step left a pit in solid ground.
Clearly, Shirō's "clan technique" was more than it appeared. But Shikamaru didn't pry. Shirō was his comrade, and if Konoha's higher-ups—especially Hatake Sakumo, his mentor—were unconcerned, then it wasn't his place to question.
---
Shirō himself wasn't thinking about that. This was his first time unleashing Magic Power Emission at full force since mastering it. The surge of speed and strength was intoxicating, but controlling it felt clumsy at first.
Still, his years of training in the Eight Extremities Fist (Bājíquán) paid off. Martial arts were about precision in force and coordination, and Shirō quickly adjusted to his enhanced body.
Once he had adapted, he increased his pace and charged directly into Nakamura's battlefield.
Nakamura didn't flinch when Shirō joined the fray. He already knew the boy's strength. If not for his limited chakra reserves, Shirō's speed, power, and technique already rivaled a jōnin's. The problem was longevity—Projection and Reinforcement consumed vast amounts of chakra, unlike Kakashi's precise efficiency.
But for short bursts, Shirō was unstoppable.
"Damn it! Is this kid really human?!"
The enemy jōnin snarled after another exchange. He was already avoiding Shirō head-on, preferring Nakamura's blows over clashing with the boy. His left arm, still aching from their last collision, trembled despite his Lightning-enhanced body.
Every strike, every feint—Shirō was reading him like an open book. Attacks that should have pressured Nakamura were being diverted or countered by Shirō's relentless assault.
Bit by bit, the momentum shifted. The enemy found himself fighting just to defend against Shirō, unable to mount any offense at all.
And then—
Bang!
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