Boom!
A deafening crash and an intense shockwave radiated outward from their clashing blades.
Jie Uchiha noticed that at some unknown point, Shisui Uchiha's eyes had already morphed from the standard three-tomoe into four-pointed pinwheels. A faint, ethereal green light flickered behind him.
'He used a partial Susanoo to mitigate the impact. I have to admit, Shisui Uchiha is a true combat genius.'
He didn't have time to dwell on it. A second later, twelve clones of Shisui suddenly materialized in front of him. Shisui had a unique mastery over the Body Flicker Technique, and these twelve clones were high-speed afterimages left behind by his movement. One could say that while every single one of them was fake, every single one was also real. It was precisely because of this technique that he had earned the moniker, "Shisui of the Body Flicker"!
"Young Master, since you refuse to listen to my explanation, forgive my intrusion," Shisui said.
"Uchiha Style Kenjutsu: Flash Slice!"
The twelve clones spoke in unison, their voices echoing from all directions. For a brief moment, even Jie couldn't distinguish which one was the real Shisui. However, his philosophy remained the same: if he couldn't tell them apart, he would simply cut them all down together.
"Hatake Kenjutsu: Lightning Blade—Thunder Severing!"
This wasn't an orthodox Hatake sword technique. Instead, it was one of Jie's strongest original moves. He had developed it by referencing Kakashi's Lightning Blade, pushing the shape and nature transformation of Lightning Style chakra to its absolute limit, and combining it with the Hatake sword style.
A blinding flash of white light erupted, and for a split second, the world seemed to stand still.
A mere moment later, a severed lock of hair drifted down from Jie's temple. Behind him, a perfectly smooth, horizontal cut materialized across the trunks of dozens of massive trees before they simultaneously crashed to the ground.
"Nice swordplay, but you lost," Jie said calmly.
A bitter smile surfaced on Shisui's face. "Young Master, since you already believed my identity, why did we still have to fight?"
"No reason. My hands were just itching for a fight." Jie turned around and casually addressed a dumbfounded Itachi. "Let's go home. Mother is waiting for us."
With that, Jie picked up little Sasuke from the bushes and slowly walked back along the path toward the Hidden Leaf.
'Is this my brother's true strength?' Itachi stared blankly at Shisui's half-bald, charred hair. 'Can I really ever catch up to power like that?'
Just as Jie had lost a single lock of hair, the mere residual chakra leaking from his attack had given Shisui a completely new haircut. But the mountain behind the village, which had borne the full brunt of the strike, looked like an absolute hellscape to Itachi.
The trees within a several-hundred-meter radius behind Shisui had been reduced to charcoal. Even after the dust had settled, arcs of electricity continued to dance relentlessly across the devastated terrain. Itachi didn't dare imagine what would happen to someone who took that strike head-on. Just the thought of it made his hair stand on end.
"Itachi, since the Young Master has returned, you should head home too," Shisui said helplessly, a wry smile still lingering on his lips. "We can discuss those other matters another time."
Itachi nodded absentmindedly and slowly followed in Jie's footsteps.
After Itachi left, Shisui raised a hand to touch his new hairstyle. He glanced back at the devastation behind him and sighed.
'With such a young, immensely powerful Young Master... do I really have the ability to mediate the conflict between the village and the clan?' He steeled his resolve. 'If it really comes down to it, even if I have to sacrifice these eyes, I must correct the Young Master and the Clan Head's misguided beliefs!'
His mind made up, Shisui sheathed his tantō and walked off in the opposite direction. As for the mess left behind, someone else would come to clean it up.
Shortly after Shisui departed, an Anbu wearing an animal mask materialized. A battle of this scale on the outskirts of the village was bound to attract attention. After quickly assessing the situation, the operative immediately reported the incident at the back mountain to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Has Jie Uchiha's strength truly reached this level?" Hiruzen rubbed his temples, a headache forming as he read the Anbu report. "To think that Shisui is no match for him in pure kenjutsu!"
Ever since Jie had joined the Anbu three years ago, the Hokage had been closely monitoring his progress. Yet, every new piece of intelligence left him astounded. Jie was like a genuine monster; his power seemed to grow continuously with every passing moment.
Three years ago, he had barely managed to defeat an Anbu trainee in a kenjutsu exam. Now, even Shisui Uchiha—one of the village's foremost sword masters—was no match for him. And that was just his swordplay.
Hiruzen knew very well that when Jie was only six years old, he had already mastered various jutsu, capable of casting B-rank combination techniques effortlessly. Furthermore, as the Young Master of the Uchiha clan, if someone claimed Jie was ignorant of genjutsu, Hiruzen wouldn't believe it for a second.
A ten-year-old elite Jonin, completely unmatched in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Just the thought of it sent a chill down Hiruzen Sarutobi's spine.
Upto 40 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Vristikk