Shisui smiled and nodded in response. Although he wasn't familiar with Yamato as he hadn't been to Loulan, Shisui had a good impression of him.
According to Kakashi, much of their information about the future was provided by the future Yamato.
"Shisui-senpai, just fight as you would normally, you don't need to hold back against me." Seeing Shisui's gentle demeanor, Yamato reminded him.
He thought Shisui was Mokgetsu's second youngest disciple, and his strength should be far inferior to Kakashi and the others. Meanwhile, he himself was carrying the future of Konoha as a Wood Release Ninja, so if Shisui deliberately went easy on him, he might suffer.
If other disciples saw it, Shisui's face as a senpai might have trouble holding up.
"Is that so? I understand." Shisui nodded, believing that Yamato was the type of ninja who liked to challenge difficulties, so he quickly revised his battle plan.
Shisui's original plan was to suppress his strength as much as possible so as not to crush Yamato, preventing a blow to his confidence.
But since Yamato himself had requested it, and Shisui was always an agreeable person, he decided to go all out to fulfill Yamato's wish.
"Begin!"
As Mokgetsu gave the word, Yamato burst out with chakra and charged forward, wanting to test Shisui's taijutsu level first.
"His eyes turned red." Yamato noticed Shisui's eyes suddenly becoming blood-colored, with three tomoe patterning them.
Yamato didn't quite understand what this ability was, so he continued rushing towards Shisui, engaging in an "intense battle."
Watching Yamato punch the air with an excited expression, Kakashi shook his head. Of all people, he challenged Shisui; wasn't that asking for trouble?
Just as Yamato was indulging in the "evenly matched" battle, he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder. Instinctively, Yamato turned to look, only to find it was Shisui.
Yamato was full of questions, thinking that even at high speed, there should be movement, and Shisui didn't show signs of using Instant Body Jutsu just now.
"You were caught in a genjutsu just now," Shisui explained proactively.
Yamato immediately understood. Shimura Danzo had indeed taught the basics of ninjas.
Yamato's face flushed red at once; thinking about how he must have looked under the genjutsu in others' eyes made him wish he could dig a hole and hide for half an hour—it was so embarrassing.
What evenly matched? He was basically knocked out by Shisui in one glance.
"Shisui-senpai, how old are you this year?" Yamato couldn't help but ask.
He thought he might have misjudged an information—just because someone is shorter doesn't mean they're younger, and perhaps Shisui was the same age as Kakashi and the others.
"Nine years old," Shisui replied.
Yamato's eyes widened; Shisui was really only two years older than him, not younger due to being shorter.
Yamato looked at Kakashi, then at Shisui, and then at his own hand, feeling doubt in the words of Shimura Danzo.
"Am I really that important to Konoha? Is a Wood Release Ninja really the strongest ninja?" Yamato asked himself.
Shimura Danzo had instilled in Yamato early on that he was the unique Wood Release Ninja in the world, and he needed to bear the responsibility of protecting Konoha.
Now, Yamato felt Shimura Danzo was speaking nonsense with open eyes; Shisui was only two years older than him, yet he didn't feel confident he could reach Shisui's level at his age. Wouldn't Konoha be fine with Shisui as the guardian?
"What's wrong, losing confidence in yourself?" Mokgetsu, sitting on the ground and looking up at Yamato, asked with a smile.
"I just feel like I'm not as important as Lord Danzo said." Yamato admitted truthfully.
Previously, one of Yamato's motivations for cultivation was his sense of responsibility, feeling that he should train hard to become stronger and use Wood Release to protect Konoha.
"Don't doubt yourself because you lost to Kakashi and Shisui. First of all, they are older than you, and secondly, they are among the most talented young ninja in Konoha today." Mokgetsu said while rubbing Yamato's head with a smile.
Then Mokgetsu recounted some of Kakashi's experiences, such as fighting the Seven-Swords Ninja and counter-killing them, continuously fighting several jonin on missions.
Although Yamato didn't know what the Seven-Swords Ninja represented, Mokgetsu would introduce their opponents beforehand, giving Yamato a preliminary understanding, allowing him to comprehend the significance of Kakashi and the others' achievements.
"So Kakashi-senpai and the others are that amazing." Yamato's mood calmed down considerably.
He had been trained in the dark by Root, and once he came out, he was beaten by Kakashi and the others; it was hard for Yamato not to doubt himself.
With Mokgetsu's explanation, Yamato realized it wasn't that he was lacking, but rather Kakashi and the others were also geniuses.
"You don't need to put undue pressure on yourself because of Wood Release. It's not about mastering Wood Release and becoming invincible. The First Hokage became the God of Ninjas because he was Senju Hashirama, not because of Wood Release," Mokgetsu continued to console.
As a transmigrator, Mokgetsu knew that Hashirama's power lay in his terrifying chakra amount and Sage Body, not Wood Release as the core of his strength.
Yamato showed a puzzled look; Mokgetsu's words didn't match with Shimura Danzo's; whom should he believe?
"You don't need to train hard to take responsibility as a Wood Release Ninja; you just need to train as Yamato," Mokgetsu said as he looked into Yamato's eyes, as if trying to instill these words into Yamato's confused heart.
"As Yamato, I will train..." Yamato murmured the name Mokgetsu had given him, his heart gradually leaning towards Mokgetsu.
In truth, there were still many things he didn't understand now and couldn't fully grasp Mokgetsu's words, but for some reason, he felt Mokgetsu was right, that Mokgetsu genuinely wished him well.