Clang! Clang!
The crisp ring of drawn steel echoed in sync—
In the next moment, two figures collided once more!
Their silhouettes blurred under the moonlight, exchanging blows at high speed—clashing, retreating, re-engaging, seeking even the slightest opening.
Sparks flew continuously as metal met metal.
'His swordsmanship…'
Uchiha Tekko's eyes narrowed.
To his surprise, in terms of pure sword skill… Shisui was actually being suppressed?!
It wasn't until Shisui's deep black pupils suddenly flashed scarlet—two tomoe spinning slowly—that the balance finally began to shift.
"Good."
Tekko's heart settled.
With the Sharingan activated, both dynamic vision and predictive insight leapt to a new level.
Sure enough, under its power, Shisui's movements became seamless—
He began anticipating Kiyohara's slashes in advance, countering and parrying with precise timing.
'So this is the power of the Sharingan… What a headache.'
Kiyohara frowned, but then—
Magnet Release: Magnetic Field Rotation!
An invisible magnetic force erupted around him.
His magnetic field rotated—
And directly acted on his own body.
Whoosh!
His speed instantly jumped by a tier.
His form blurred, sword slashes trailing afterimages through the air.
Shisui's Sharingan tracked every motion clearly…
But even so, the sheer explosiveness of Kiyohara's movements forced him to go all in.
If he wanted to keep up, he had to focus with everything he had.
The clash reignited at blazing pace—
Faster, denser, sharper.
From the sidelines, Rin, Kurenai, even Asuma found themselves falling behind.
They could only catch flickers of light and steel dancing beneath the moon.
Only the clang of weapons and the occasional flicker of chakra betrayed the rhythm of their duel.
Shizune arrived, hugging Ton-Ton.
It had taken some time to find the riverside clearing, but now her eyes locked on the intense battle—and especially the youth surrounded by swirling black iron sand.
'Tsunade-sama might really be right… Kiyohara might win this.'
She stared in awe.
Kiyohara's blade descended again—met by Shisui's parry.
But even as their swords clashed, Kiyohara's left hand formed seals in secret.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Bind!"
From the surrounding terrain, previously scattered particles of iron sand surged forth!
Like black fluid, they wrapped around Shisui's sword and rapidly began crawling up his arm.
Shisui tried to shake it off, but the magnetic pull was too strong.
His weapon control was seriously disrupted.
And in that split-second of delayed response—
Kiyohara struck.
His voice came calm and close to Shisui's ear:
"It's over."
The tip of Kiyohara's blade stopped one inch from Shisui's throat.
Rin and Kurenai both exhaled softly.
Kiyohara looked at Shisui and slowly lowered his sword.
"This is the end, right? You're just a projection, aren't you?"
But the "Shisui" in front of him only gave a calm smile—
And with a poof! of white smoke, the clone vanished.
"You're amazing, Kiyohara-senpai," Shisui's real voice called out as he stepped from the shadows.
"Your Magnet Release and speed… both exceeded my expectations. If we kept going, one of us would've been injured. Let's stop here."
He paused, and then said openly:
"That final clash—had I not used [Phantom Body Flicker] just in time, the outcome might've been hard to predict. But I'll admit… I was a bit outmatched."
Kiyohara blinked.
So that was it—Shisui had substituted in advance, hiding in the smoke after his fire jutsu failed.
Uchiha Tekko, standing nearby, widened his eyes.
He hadn't expected Shisui to admit defeat so frankly.
But when he saw the boy's calm eyes, and Kiyohara still standing strong, he knew—
Shisui wasn't lying.
That was just how it was.
After a long pause, the pride of the Uchiha refused to be petty.
He sighed deeply and said:
"Fine. You win this round.
Our Uchiha clan knows how to win—and how to lose.
We honor our wagers!"
Kiyohara nodded and let the chakra aura fade from around his body.
"You're strong too, Shisui.
If we fought for real, the result might be different."
He hadn't actually seen through the illusion completely.
But his massive spiritual power allowed him to sense the subtle difference in aura—
That the 'Shisui' in front of him had grown weaker for a moment.
That gave it away.
Still, he knew that soon, very soon…
Shisui would evolve into something far more terrifying.
Two tomoe today.
But in the near future?
Three tomoe.
Then the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Even Kiyohara had to admit—
The Sharingan was broken.
'Maybe someday… I'll have "Uchiha Kiyohara" on the roster,' he mused internally.
Tekko's expression eased a little.
"…Take it."
He handed the special shuriken to Kiyohara.
"In all the non-Uchiha peers I've fought, I'll call you the strongest."
That was high praise.
The Uchiha clan respected strength above all.
"Thanks," Kiyohara smiled.
Score! A good payday tonight.
These rare, high-grade shuriken from the ninja cat clan would serve him well.
If money got tight later, he could always resell them with a cheeky "gently used" tag.
He glanced at Tekko.
'Bit of a blockhead, like Sasuke. But… hopefully they'll come challenge me again.'
Aloud, he said:
"Come find me again if you want to spar. I'm always open."
He tucked the shuriken into his pouch.
Free sparring AND loot?
Where else would you find a deal this good?
"I will, Kiyohara-senpai," Shisui nodded with sincere eyes.
Unlike some of his clanmates, Shisui wasn't arrogant.
He treated outsiders the same as kin.
Tekko hesitated a moment—then also gave a nod.
Kiyohara's talent was the real deal.
Worth befriending.
Of course… Tekko still had one regret.
His brand new custom shuriken were now just… sitting in Kiyohara's pouch.
Unused. Unblooded.
Argh!
He'd get them back. Someday!
As the two Uchiha walked away, Kakashi appeared beside Kiyohara.
"…Your chakra's grown fast," he commented.
"Is that another perk of the Magnet Release?"
There was a subtle note of envy in his voice.
If only he had chakra like that, maybe the Sharingan wouldn't be such a drain…
"…Maybe," Kiyohara replied vaguely.
"You really won, huh?" Kurenai pumped her little fists.
"…So what was that 'go, Kiyohara!' from earlier?" he teased, turning to look at her.
Her red eyes widened as her black curls bounced slightly.
"…Just didn't think you'd win that fast," she huffed.
"…Is that so."
Kiyohara smiled and let it go.
He was thinking about something else entirely.
Only five days left…
Until the next Will Testament arrives.
What kind of bloodline limit would he receive next?
What sort of future version of himself would be calling out for help?
He couldn't wait to find out.