Might Guy hurriedly dodged, but the sword energy still grazed his body.
Chi—!
The slash tore across his shoulder. Before the blood could even fall, it was instantly evaporated by the flames, leaving behind a scorched burn mark.
"What was that? That wasn't Uchiha-style kenjutsu!"
Guy's eyes widened in shock as he quickly pulled away from Akihito.
Akihito's attack was simply too strange and unpredictable.
In truth, while Akihito's flying slash was fierce, with Guy's speed he could have dodged it.
It was just that he had never seen such a technique before, and in that brief moment of unfamiliarity, he failed to evade it.
Guy was certain—that attack hadn't been ordinary Uchiha-style swordsmanship.
With that thought, he raised the level of the Eight Gates once more.
"Eight Gates—Sixth Gate, Gate of View, open!"
With a furious roar, the green aura around Guy's body flared explosively.
"Akihito, let me show you the ultimate technique of the Sixth Gate!"
"Morning Peacock!"
With a thunderous shout, Guy charged forward.
His fists moved at blinding speed, friction igniting the air into flames that resembled a soaring peacock spreading its wings.
Akihito smiled faintly, his sword flashing in rapid succession.
"Just what I wanted. Let's end this quickly."
"Uchiha Style: Flame Demon."
Guy appeared almost frenzied, his fists striking at extreme speed.
"Ah—shoo! Shoo! Shoo—!"
Akihito, however, transformed directly into a towering Flame Demon giant, standing firm and unmoving as Guy's attacks rained down upon him.
Suddenly, Akihito assumed a sword-drawing stance.
The Flame Demon giant mirrored the motion.
"Sever!"
With a single slash, raging flames engulfed the battlefield.
A true swordsman did not rely solely on flying slashes—he could also sense the breath of all things, greatly amplifying destructive power.
When the flames finally dispersed—
Might Guy was kneeling on one knee.
Akihito stood calmly with his hands behind his back, unruffled.
The outcome was obvious at a glance.
Even with the Sixth Gate open, "Emperor Guy" was still no match for Uchiha Akihito.
"Cough… cough… What kind of swordsmanship was that?"
Guy coughed twice, his curiosity outweighing his frustration.
He knew very clearly—if Akihito hadn't held back just now, he would likely be seriously injured.
Akihito sheathed his sword and smiled slightly.
"A newly developed technique."
"Just some ordinary swordsmanship."
…
Guy shot him a resentful look.
Ordinary?
If that was ordinary, was he even speaking human language?!
Asuma, Genma Shiranui, Hayate Gekkō, and the others swallowed hard.
Uchiha Akihito was an absolute monster.
Meanwhile, Kurenai, Anko, Yugao, and the other kunoichi had long since abandoned all composure, screaming excitedly.
"Ahhh! Akihito-kun is amazing!"
"Akihito-kun, you're the best!"
"Akihito-kun is mine—wahhh!"
Akihito remained as aloof as ever.
Women would only slow down the speed of drawing his sword.
The next day.
The pre-war meeting was convened as scheduled.
Konoha's upper leadership, the heads of major clans, and numerous elite jōnin once again gathered in the Hokage Tower.
"Akihito, you're here."
The moment he stepped inside, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, greeted him with a warm smile.
He had already received the report about Akihito's battle with Might Guy.
A never-before-seen sword technique, easily defeating Guy with the Sixth Gate open.
From this alone, it was reasonable to conclude that Uchiha Akihito's strength had likely stepped into the Kage tier.
Even having witnessed countless prodigies, Hiruzen had to admit—Akihito's talent was extraordinary.
The ability to create new techniques so effortlessly—
He had only ever seen such talent in his teacher, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
The previous night, Hiruzen had experimented for hours. No matter how he tried to manipulate chakra, he couldn't replicate Akihito's flying slash.
Based on current intelligence, the power of Akihito's flying slash was no weaker than an A-rank ninjutsu.
Combined with its speed advantage, it was already approaching the realm of S-rank techniques.
And Akihito was only sixteen years old.
At this rate, even surpassing the Second Hokage might not be surprising.
Hiruzen felt both joy and worry.
Konoha producing such a stunning genius was naturally cause for celebration.
But that genius being an Uchiha—gave him serious pause.
Should he suppress him? Or win him over?
Hiruzen was deeply conflicted.
Although he had long allowed Danzō and the two advisors to target the Uchiha, he had never truly intended to abandon them.
After all, if properly utilized, the Uchiha could serve as one of Konoha's sharpest weapons.
For example—if the Uchiha took the battlefield now, they would pose immense deterrence to Kumogakure.
The title of "strongest clan in the shinobi world" was not just empty talk.
"…Mm."
Faced with Hiruzen's goodwill, Akihito calmly nodded.
Though he held little fondness for Konoha's upper echelons, he still gave the Third Hokage the respect he deserved.
The meeting began.
Hiruzen took the lead in analyzing the current state of the shinobi world.
After the Third Great Ninja War, both Sunagakure and Kirigakure had yet to recover.
Sunagakure's puppet corps had suffered devastating losses, and even the Third Kazekage had disappeared without a trace.
Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been crippled, and rumors suggested the village had recently fallen into the era of the "Bloody Mist."
Both villages had enough of their own internal chaos—it was unlikely they would involve themselves in a conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure.
The greatest concern in a war between Konoha and Kumogakure was the possible intervention of Iwagakure.
During the last war, Iwagakure had made a desperate gamble, deploying a large force to ambush Konoha.
Unfortunately for them, they encountered the Yellow Flash—Namikaze Minato—and their invasion plan ended in total failure.
Afterward, Iwagakure and Kumogakure fought fiercely as well, and even the Third Raikage fell as a casualty of war.
Iwagakure bore grudges against both Konoha and Kumogakure.
Given the cunning of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, it was highly possible that Iwagakure would attempt to fish in troubled waters—reaping the benefits while the other two villages clashed.
After analyzing the situation, it was time for Konoha to assign forces.
Uchiha Akihito was the first to state his clan's position.
"The Uchiha clan is willing to deploy fifty jōnin and two hundred chūnin."
The Uchiha were sending out their elites in full force. The Third Hokage naturally had nothing to criticize.
Although Akihito had stirred up trouble previously, at least when it came to war, he did not hold back.
Following Akihito's declaration, Hyūga Hiashi immediately stood up as well.
"The Hyūga clan is willing to deploy forty jōnin and one hundred fifty chūnin."
The war had been sparked because of them. Now that the Uchiha had stepped forward, the Hyūga could not retreat.
The outcome of this war was of vital importance to the village.
With the heads of Konoha's two greatest clans having spoken, the other clans could hardly remain idle.
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