A moment later,
on the Uchiha clan's exclusive training ground,
Mikami Yuu and Uchiha Inabi stood facing each other. Around them were several young Uchiha ninja. Fugaku and Shisui were among them as well.
Speaking of which…
Uchiha Inabi could be considered a named background character, one of the Uchiha F3 alongside Yashiro and Tekka. Although he had been easily beaten by Itachi in the original story, compared with other Uchiha—or ordinary ninja—he was actually rather outstanding and had the potential to become a three-tomoe jōnin.
At this moment,
Uchiha Inabi locked onto Yuu, his eyes carrying both scrutiny and pride.
"So you're Mikami Yuu, the newly promoted special jōnin who's been making a name for himself in the village lately? I've heard of you. But the title of genius isn't that easy to bear."
"Is that so?"
Yuu calmly looked at him.
"Of course. Although outsiders see you as a genius, the truth is, you merely took first place in a Chūnin Exam where no Uchiha like me participated. You're nothing but an ordinary man among the mediocre. Let me teach you what true swordsmanship is!"
Inabi snorted coldly, slowly drew his ninja blade, then activated his Sharingan and assumed an imposing opening stance.
"Uchiha-style, Inabi. Please instruct me!"
The young Uchiha watching nearby began whispering.
"Inabi's Sharingan is already two tomoe!"
"Yeah, and his Uchiha-style swordsmanship is pretty good too. He's one of the strongest among the clan's younger generation!"
"But isn't that white-haired guy a genius too?"
"Hmph, I think he's overrated. He's on a team with that dead-last Obito and comes from a civilian background. How strong can he be? He's just the tallest dwarf among the short."
"Don't say that. Obito has two tomoe now too. Although he awakened late, his strength isn't at the bottom like before. I saw him training a few days ago. Honestly, he might not be much worse than Inabi…"
Yuu ignored the surrounding chatter. He simply gripped the hilt of his sword calmly. At the instant he drew it, Heart Blade Domain had already silently opened. All the surrounding noise faded away. The whole world contained only the opponent before him and the blade in his hand.
"Hatake-style, Mikami Yuu. Please instruct me."
The next moment,
both moved at the same time. The black tomoe in Uchiha Inabi's eyes spun to their limit, and he clearly saw all of Yuu's movements. Then he stepped forward and swung his blade head-on. The blade light tore through the air with a sharp whistle, stabbing straight toward Yuu's centerline.
"Got you!"
Clang!!
Amid the metallic clash, a long blade was sent flying far away, spinning through the air before stabbing into the dirt.
"I apologize for failing to let Inabi-senpai enjoy himself."
Yuu slowly sheathed his sword and spoke in a calm tone.
Across from him, Uchiha Inabi froze in place. He looked at his empty hands, then glanced back at the blade that had flown six or seven meters away.
"Huh?"
…
Uchiha Inabi, age twelve, was a chūnin.
Among Uchiha clan members of his age, he counted as exceptional. His Fire Release and swordsmanship were both solid, and the clan elders all said he had the bearing of a jōnin.
But…
What just happened?
My opening slash… got instantly beaten?
This script didn't seem right.
At this moment, the entire training ground fell silent.
The expressions on the young Uchiha spectators' faces changed one by one from anticipation to shock and disbelief. From their perspective, they had not seen how the sword in Inabi's hand had been knocked away at all. It was like the frames in between had been removed, leaving no connection.
Only Uchiha Fugaku and Shisui's eyes flashed brightly.
They could see clearly. Although Uchiha Inabi had indeed underestimated his opponent just now, there had been nothing wrong with his swordsmanship movement. It was just that Yuu's slash had been perfect in timing, angle, and power. He had completely predicted the trajectory of Inabi's blade and struck the weakest point, allowing him to win in a single move.
That level of swordsmanship…
was no longer ordinary.
If Fugaku had been in Yuu's position, he wasn't sure he could have made that slash. Although his strength was much higher than Inabi's, under normal circumstances, it would still take him three to five moves to decide the result.
On the field, Inabi's face flushed red with humiliation and anger.
"Again! I was careless just now. I didn't dodge…"
"Inabi!"
Uchiha Shisui stepped forward and called out to his clansman.
"A loss is a loss. On the battlefield, no one will give you a second chance. Go back and train properly. Striving not to make the same mistake again is the right path. As for now… I'll take over."
Yuu had no objection.
The fight with Uchiha Inabi just now had not been recognized by the galgame system. Presumably, it was because the opponent was too weak and the battle's value was too low. Neither the galgame system nor Hatake Swordsmanship "herself" considered this a victory over Uchiha-style Swordsmanship.
But if it was Shisui…
there should be no problem.
After all, this guy had Kage-level potential. Although he had not yet awakened the Mangekyō and was still young, he should at least be close to special jōnin level. If that still didn't count, Yuu could always spar with Uchiha Fugaku.
However, considering the galgame system's requirement was victory, if the opponent was Uchiha Fugaku, that might be a little difficult. It wasn't that Yuu couldn't win, but as a boy from outside the clan, defeating the Uchiha clan head would probably make things awkward for the other side.
Of course, it also wasn't impossible that Uchiha Fugaku still had one or two hidden trump cards and could surprise him. After all, Fugaku had rarely acted in the original story, and whether he had the Mangekyō was still unknown…
Soon,
Shisui stepped into the field and replaced Uchiha Inabi.
"Yuu-senpai, I'm coming!"
"Come!"
Before his words had fully fallen,
Shisui shot forward with a swish. His speed was more than a level above Inabi's just now. His sharp Uchiha-style swordsmanship unfolded in an instant, blade light tearing through the air. Compared with when he had sparred with Yuu a few months ago, he was no longer the same at all.
But…
Yuu was no longer at his old level either. After unlocking Hatake Swordsmanship's trait, experiencing the battlefield, and sparring with people like Yūhi Shinku, the current him already faintly had the beginnings of a swordsmanship master. Looking at Shisui's offensive now, it felt like he had already crossed an ocean.
Clang—!
A crisp metallic clash exploded.
Yuu and Shisui faced each other with blades raised, both their hair lifted by the sharp blade wind.
"…Now this is more like it."
Yuu let out a soft breath and said.
Across from him, the three black tomoe in Shisui's eyes rotated slightly. Then he suddenly moved his arm, forcing the two blades apart, and his sword momentum unfolded once more. With the dynamic vision provided by the Sharingan, he launched a storm-like offensive against Yuu.
He even used a secret technique from Uchiha-style swordsmanship in the battle: Sword Leaping Flame. This move was a nin-taijutsu technique combining Fire Release and swordsmanship. Driven by chakra, scorching flames wrapped around the bright blade, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it slashed down again and again.
Facing this increasingly fierce assault, Yuu also opened Heart Blade Domain to its limit. He lowered his center of gravity, his senses rapidly sharpening, breaking Shisui's swift movements into clear trajectory lines. Then he blocked, dodged, and counterattacked with the smallest possible movements.
From a distance, he looked like a reef standing in a raging current, unmoving no matter how the waves struck.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—!
Dense metallic clashes exploded one after another, sparks bursting wildly between the two rapidly crossing blades.
By now, Uchiha Inabi and the others were completely speechless.
The scene before their eyes had faintly exceeded their understanding.
They had not even known Shisui's swordsmanship had already reached this level. After all, Shisui was one of the few Uchiha who had a restrained personality and disliked showing off. His age was also there. When sparring with Inabi and the others, he usually kept things around fifty-fifty and rarely revealed his full strength.
As for Mikami Yuu…
Even Uchiha Fugaku was secretly shocked while watching.
As for Inabi and the others, there was even less need to say. Thinking back to his own fight just now, Inabi broke out in a cold sweat.
On the training ground,
Shisui gradually realized that the swordsmanship methods he had used so far were not enough to gain an advantage in this duel, unless…
"Let's try this move…"
"Phantom Body Flicker!"
With a low shout, Shisui's figure swayed and split into more than a dozen images at once. From all directions, using different angles and moves, they launched a storm-like combined assault toward Yuu at the center.
This move was the source of the title Shisui of the Body Flicker and was a secret technique Shisui had developed himself. Its phantom images had the characteristic of not disappearing after being attacked.
However…
"Fine. If you use Body Flicker, I'll use Body Flicker too!"
Yuu snorted coldly. Around him, seven or eight clones burst open one after another. Under the effect of Substitution Technique: Pseudo-Instant Field, his clones and main body swapped five or six times in an instant, making it look as if five or six Mikami Yuus and over a dozen Shisuis were clashing at close range on the training ground.
The explosive sounds of blade collisions continued endlessly. The airflow stirred up by blade light scattered outward, kicking up dust. Lines of varying depth were carved into the ground, spreading out across a large area.
"What?!"
Uchiha Inabi rubbed his eyes hard and shouted in disbelief.
"He… copied Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker?! How is that possible?!"
"…It's not copying. It's an extremely fast Body Flicker."
Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes, the three tomoe appearing in his pupils, taking in both sides' movements.
"So that's how it is. He used ordinary Three Basic Techniques to simulate the effect of Flying Thunder God…"
"As expected of Minato's disciple. What a genius-level idea and execution…"
Too bad. If only this child were an Uchiha…
For an instant, the thought "to have a son like Mikami Yuu" arose in Uchiha Fugaku's mind.
Once Shisui used Phantom Body Flicker, he had used up his trump cards.
Yuu, on the other hand, still had Super Strength and Neural Activation Technique.
So…
the result of this battle was already decided.
At a certain moment,
Yuu swung his blade. The edge turned into a silver arc in midair, cutting in from the trickiest angle along a nearly imperceptible gap as Shisui changed moves. Although Shisui saw it, his reaction was half a beat slow. The blade swept across the armor on his chest and finally came to rest beside his neck.
"It's over."
The outcome was decided.
The training ground was deathly silent. Only the sound of wind brushing across the sand and two sets of uneven breathing remained. The watching Uchiha all had their mouths open, unable to speak.
"I lost. As expected of Yuu-senpai. Admirable."
Shisui exhaled, withdrew all the phantoms, and smiled bitterly.
"No. It's only because I'm older than you. If I were your age, I wouldn't be your opponent."
Yuu said calmly.
This was the truth.
After all, one year ago, he had not even攻略ed Hatake Swordsmanship yet. Even just now, he had used Neural Activation Technique for a few seconds. Otherwise, it would have been hard to break Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker.
As for when Shisui grew to his current age, who would be stronger…
That would depend on whether the Sharingan cheat was stronger or Hatake Swordsmanship's trait was stronger.
On the other side,
Uchiha Fugaku walked forward and looked at Yuu with a somewhat complicated expression.
"Yuu, excellent swordsmanship. It seems Konoha has produced another remarkable swordsmanship genius… If you have time in the future, come here more often for exchanges. I think Shisui and the others would all welcome you."
After a pause, Fugaku turned to the absent-minded Inabi and said sternly, "Inabi, did you see that? There is always someone better, and there is always a sky beyond the sky! Remember today's defeat and reflect properly!"
"Yes… Clan Head."
Inabi lowered his head, his voice dry.
However, the Uchiha clan had always had a tradition of admiring the strong. Yuu had fully displayed his strength just now, so Inabi's gaze toward Yuu did not seem resentful. Instead, it was somewhat burning, as if he wanted to have another match as soon as possible and wash away his shame.
"Ahem, Uncle Fugaku, you're too kind. I'll come ask for guidance again."
Yuu exchanged a few polite words, then took his leave.
Only after leaving the Uchiha clan district
did he shift his attention to the galgame system, noticing the text box that had appeared earlier.
[Hatake Swordsmanship affection +4. Current affection: 68/100. Special Event "The Finest Sword Art Under Heaven" progress: 2/8. Defeated: Konoha-style Swordsmanship, Uchiha-style Swordsmanship.]
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Hmph, little white-hair. After training for so long, you finally look somewhat like a sword user.]
[Hatake Swordsmanship: But don't get arrogant. That guy's Uchiha-style Swordsmanship just now was decent, but it still hasn't reached its peak, let alone the method of using it alongside the Third Power… If you want to reach that level, you still have plenty to train.]
"Huh?"
Yuu was a little surprised and could not help asking, "You know about the 'Third Power' too?"
Could it be that the ancestors of the Hatake clan had once used their family swordsmanship to fight Mangekyō Uchiha during the Warring States Period?
How would they even fight that? Like a certain unnamed 5.5th-generation pot king, stabbing Susanoo with a short blade?
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!