Chapter 35 — Speed Rivaling Shunshin Shisui
Obuya's feet crackled with electricity as he leapt from branch to branch, moving through the dense forest canopy with almost supernatural speed. Sparks leapt off his legs, illuminating the shadows beneath the trees as though each step carried the power of a lightning bolt.
Behind him, Shisui's voice carried through the treetops, tinged with both surprise and frustration:
"Are you running for your life? Why are you moving so fast? I have to push myself to keep up with you!"
At first, Shisui had assumed that Obuya's sudden burst of speed was little more than a display of stamina—a test of endurance. Determined to match him, Shisui had unleashed his own full potential, using Shunshin no Jutsu to accelerate through the forest.
For an hour, the two had raced in near silence, their forms blurring like streaks of wind and lightning. But gradually, Shisui's stamina began to waver. His leaps faltered slightly, and his speed dropped—a subtle change that only someone as attuned to motion as him could notice.
Obuya, by contrast, showed no hint of slowing. Despite having just killed a formidable Iwa ninja who wielded Explosion Release and sustaining scratches and bruises from the encounter, his stride remained effortless, fluid, and unrelenting. Shisui felt a rare sting of unease—here was someone who had just faced death and emerged victorious, yet moved faster than any normal jōnin could even imagine.
Obuya paused for a brief moment, processing Shisui's words, and a sudden realization dawned on him. All along, he had been moving at what he considered a moderate pace—barely twenty to thirty percent of his true power.
The truth struck him with clarity: his lightning ability had become something extraordinary. Simply channeling the power through his legs while moving had multiplied his speed exponentially. Yet, as the wielder, Obuya had not fully perceived the magnitude of this enhancement.
Turning his head with a faint, confident smile, he called back to Shisui:
"Shisui, I heard your Shunshin no Jutsu is fast. I wonder if you can catch up to me."
Shisui's eyes narrowed, a spark of excitement lighting his expression. A subtle grin tugged at his lips.
"So you dare to challenge me, huh? Brave enough to test your speed against mine, not afraid to lose face… Why would I refuse?"
In an instant, Shisui vanished from view, reappearing several dozen meters ahead, as if time itself had bent around him.
"Catch up at your own pace," Shisui called over his shoulder. "By the time I return from a bath and a meal, you should be there too. Then we'll report to the Hokage together."
Before Obuya could respond, Shisui had disappeared again, leaving only the faintest whisper of movement in the forest.
Obuya's lips curved into a faint smile. "Let's see how fast my electricity can make me after reaching ultimate form."
With that, he fully unleashed the power coursing through his body. Electricity surged upward from his feet, tracing his legs and torso until his entire body glowed with brilliant blue energy. Sparks flew in every direction as he became a living bolt of lightning, tearing through the air with an almost tangible trail of energy. The forest around him blurred into streaks of green and brown as he moved faster than the eye could follow.
---
Shisui's perspective told another story.
"This Obuya… he just killed an Iwa ninja, and now he thinks he can compete with me in speed? My Shunshin no Jutsu is unmatched in Konoha, unrivaled even across the entire ninja world. Only Minato Namikaze could hope to challenge me."
A confident grin spread across his face, but a flicker of unease lingered. Something behind him made his senses tingle, a subtle disturbance in the air he could not ignore. Instinctively, he turned.
His face went pale.
Behind him, Obuya had transformed into a streak of lightning, appearing nearly a hundred steps away in an instant.
"Impossible! What kind of speed is this?!" Shisui's eyes widened in shock. He instinctively activated Shunshin no Jutsu again, pushing his body to its absolute limit.
Despite all his skill, despite every ounce of chakra he poured into movement, he could barely keep Obuya in view. The boy's newfound speed was unlike anything Shisui had ever witnessed.
---
Half an hour later, the four Iwagakure pursuers finally halted, exhausted.
"We've been chasing for thirty minutes and still have no sign of Minato Namikaze. He must be using Flying Thunder God to move. If we go further, we'll be walking straight into the Land of Fire's core defenses… and if we're discovered, we'll be annihilated," one of them muttered, chest heaving.
Another crouched beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The war has just begun. Minato Namikaze… we'll face him again. For now, retreat."
The blond man gritted his teeth, muttered a word, and immediately signaled a withdrawal. They turned and disappeared into the forest.
Obuya, of course, had no knowledge that the group had been following them all along. His spontaneous race with Shisui had inadvertently allowed him to avoid direct confrontation with multiple enemies—a fortunate side effect of his unplanned speed contest.
By now, both Obuya and Shisui had returned to Konoha.
In the speed contest, Shisui emerged as the nominal winner. Yet only he knew the truth: his victory had been narrow, by a mere ten steps. And those ten steps came only after letting Obuya gain an initial advantage of nearly a hundred steps.
Obuya felt no bitterness. On the contrary, he was elated.
"Once an ability reaches ultimate form, all attributes experience revolutionary improvement," he thought, heart racing. "Even speed alone… can now rival Shisui's Shunshin no Jutsu."
He reflected on his previous decision to allocate Demon Points to Cardiac Shock. That choice had dramatically increased his survivability. Now, his Surgical Fruit abilities—, Human Body Modification, Lethal Injection—had evolved beyond his prior understanding of Fruit powers, surpassing even the feats of certain pirates he had known.
The truth was clear: the development of a Demon Fruit was profoundly personal. Each wielder's abilities manifested differently, and the resulting powers varied depending on the user's nature, experience, and willpower.
---
Konoha Hidden Village — Hokage's Office
"What?! Gari, the Iwa ninja with Explosion Release, was eliminated by you two?!"
The Hokage had assumed that, given their swift return, they had failed to locate the target. The fact that they were reporting success was almost unbelievable.
"Are you certain you got the right person? The one described in the intelligence report?" The Hokage's voice carried skepticism, tinged with astonishment.
Several facts made the outcome almost impossible to accept.
First, the speed of their mission completion was extraordinary. Even with optimal planning, such a task should have taken three to five days. They had done it in just half a day.
Second, the conditions of the two ninja told another story. Shisui returned seemingly unscathed, as if he had not engaged in life-or-death combat. Obuya, however, bore visible bruises and bloodstains—proof of a fierce encounter.
Obuya spoke first. "The main reason we succeeded was that the opponent underestimated us. Once Shisui activated his Sharingan, the enemy had no chance of escape. The outcome may have seemed sudden, but it was logical."
Shisui's eyes flickered with surprise, though he said nothing. He could not comprehend why Obuya presented the victory as a joint effort, especially since it had been Obuya who had slain the Iwa ninja. He could not bring himself to correct the report; mission completion mattered more than personal recognition.
Obuya's caution was intentional. By downplaying his own actions, he concealed his newly acquired Explosion Release. The world would learn of his power in due time—but the later, the better. By the time he reached a level capable of contending with a Kage, it would no longer matter who knew.
The Hokage, satisfied with their report, nodded approvingly.
"Very good. Konoha has two rising talents once again. This mission was a test. Completing it demonstrates your ability to handle even greater challenges. From today onward, you will fully participate in the war between Konoha and Iwagakure…"