*Clang!* *Ding!* In Konoha, at a training ground within the Uchiha Clan compound.
Two shadows darted past each other.
The instant their feet touched the ground, both threw their hands outward in unison.
Two kunai shot through the air, clashing with a crisp chime before deflecting back toward them.
The two figures rapidly charged forward, snagged their respective kunai, and crossed paths once more.
“Heh!
Watch out!” One of them chuckled softly as his body faded into thin air.
The other’s face flickered slightly.
Sensing something, he swung his kunai, stabbing behind him.
*Ding!* Another crisp metallic clash rang out.
“Oh?” With a soft exclamation of surprise, the vanished figure reappeared, holding a kunai to block the incoming strike.
The sharp point of the kunai stopped less than twenty centimeters from his chest, gleaming with a cold luster.
The two remained motionless on the spot, locked in a silent contest of strength.
“You’ve made fast progress.
You can already predict the trajectory of my attack,” Shisui sighed.
“Haha, Shisui-niisan’s Body Flicker Jutsu is as impressive as ever!” Both retrieved their weapons at the same time.
Shisui lapsed into silence, gazing at the shinobi in front of him.
He was twelve or thirteen years old, with short black hair, dark eyes, and delicate facial features.
Even among the Uchiha Clan, renowned for their good looks, he was exceptionally handsome.
He also possessed his distinctive stress lines beneath his eyes.
Itachi Uchiha!
In that moment, Kazuki’s commentary flashed through Shisui’s mind: *There are three people in the Uchiha Clan whom you could never mistake at first glance, even if you’ve never met them before.* *The nose: Shisui Uchiha!* *The stress lines: Itachi Uchiha!* *And the one whose glare can scare little kids into tears…* *Ahem!* Shisui let out a dry cough.
*How could I think like that?
So impolite!
Have you been infected too, Shisui?
Get a grip!* And yet…
Dammit, why was that random description so bizarrely accurate?
Shisui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Shisui-niisan, what are you thinking about?” Itachi asked curiously.
“Something happy?” Shisui: “…Are you sure about that?” Happy?
Like hell it was!
Whenever he thought of Kazuki, his scalp went numb and his body twitched as if shocked by electricity.
And following Kazuki’s logic, the third person he associated with that list was Itachi’s old man!
Happy?
His expression was probably uglier than if he were crying.
“Huh?” “Forget it!” Shisui let out a heavy sigh and said, “Itachi, I was just thinking about Kazuki.” “Kazuki-niisan?” Itachi’s eyes brightened.
“What happened?
Did you convince him to join us?” Kazuki Uchiha was a rising star within the Uchiha Clan.
Itachi had heard his father, the clan leader, say that Kazuki was a born shinobi whose talent was the greatest he had ever seen in his life, destined to become a core pillar of the Uchiha Clan.
Neither Itachi nor Shisui had ever received such an evaluation as “the greatest seen in his life.” Though both of them were exceptionally talented, awakening their Three-Tomoe Sharingan at an early age and becoming Uchiha Jonin, and Shisui’s fame resounded throughout the Ninja World, within the internal evaluation of the Uchiha Clan, Kazuki was rated higher than Shisui.
He was a monster who had awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his early tens.
In Itachi’s view, someone qualified to be a core pillar of the Uchiha Clan was a wonderful asset; with a bit of guidance, Kazuki could become a vital pillar for the village as well.
Kazuki’s usual attitude and background gave Itachi that confidence.
Shisui sighed and said, “I was just heading back to see him.
I extended an invitation to him a while ago, and he said he’d consider it.” “There definitely won’t be any problem!” Itachi smiled and said, “Kazuki-niisan is a very gentle person, highly talented, and he was taken as a disciple by the Sannin.” “Goodness.” “To be taken as a disciple by all three of those lords at the same time is completely unique in all of Konoha.
Furthermore, the Sannin are disciples of Lord Hokage.
He will surely understand us and join our cause!” Itachi spoke with admiration, his eyes filled with envy.
If he could be accepted as a disciple by the Sannin, he would certainly be able to forge closer ties between the village and the clan, earning the villagers’ acceptance for the Uchiha.
Shisui was utterly dumbfounded.
Being taken as a disciple by all three Sannin simultaneously was indeed one of a kind.
But…
*Gentle?* Itachi, are you serious?
You’ve got to be joking, right?!
Shisui didn’t even know what expression to make at that moment.
“I will…
do my best to persuade him!” Silence briefly fell between them.
Shisui felt somewhat defeated, his posture slumping despondently as his hair wilted down.
Itachi also sensed something was off.
Especially Shisui-niisan’s expression—wasn’t that a bit exaggerated?!
Was Kazuki-niisan some kind of demon king or something?
“Itachi!” Shisui said suddenly.
“What kind of person is Kazuki in your eyes?” “Kazuki-niisan?” Itachi paused to think, then shook his head.
“I can’t see through him.
His visual prowess is too profound.
Every time I stand before him, I feel my own weakness and insignificance.” “That feeling…” Itachi glanced left and right, lowering his voice.
“It feels a bit like Lord Hokage.” “As if he were a towering, ancient tree.” “However!” Itachi added, “Kazuki-niisan has always rejected ‘those people’ in the clan, even clashing violently with them several times.
I believe he must be an inheritor of the Will of Fire, naturally aligned with our side as our comrade.” “Those people” naturally referred to the radicals, the hawk faction within the Uchiha Clan.
Shisui understood, yet he remained stunned.
*How could this be?!* Reserving judgment on the latter half of what Itachi said for now…
The first half posed a massive problem!
Itachi was already an Uchiha Jonin with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
His strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Konoha Jonin and was barely behind his own.
Yet before Kazuki, he felt weak?
Insignificant?
A sudden possibility struck Shisui, making his expression grow even grimmer.
If there was a decisive gap between them, it could only be…
Shisui instinctively covered one of his eyes.
A pattern resembling a pinwheel shuriken flashed briefly in his gaze, like four-bladed pinwheel blades.
The Mangekyo!
If Kazuki possessed the Mangekyo as well…
the variables would skyrocket.
Only those who wielded the Mangekyo understood how terrifying it truly was.
Especially its unique, singular ability!
Take his own Mangekyo ability, Kotoamatsukami, for instance—a direct strike upon the soul itself!
Shisui’s breathing turned slightly rapid.
He murmured, “Itachi, I’m heading back.
I need to see Kazuki immediately.” “Shisui-niisan…” Itachi started, caught off guard.
Shisui simply let his Mangekyo reveal itself, since Itachi knew about it anyway.
He said in a low voice, “After hearing what you just said, I suspect Kazuki also has the Mangekyo.” Itachi’s expression shifted drastically as well.
He said gravely, “Put that way, it really is possible.” That sensation was indeed very similar to when Shisui revealed his Mangekyo—except Shisui was gentler, whereas Kazuki possessed a fierce, aggressive edge.
“I’ll take my leave!” Shisui activated the Body Flicker Jutsu and hurriedly vanished from the training ground.
A shadow of concern crossed Itachi’s brow.
*The Mangekyo!* *Is Kazuki-niisan a Mangekyo wielder as well?* *If he is, bringing him to our side would be ideal.* *But what if he refuses?
What then?* Just as he had told Shisui, he couldn’t see through Kazuki, much less predict his choices.
…
“La-la-la-la-la-la, I’m a little paperboy…” Inside Kazuki’s home in the Uchiha Clan compound.
Cheerfully sung tunes rang out continuously, accompanied by a chaotic barrage of clattering noises.
It sounded like a warzone!
If anyone were to ask, Kazuki would solemnly inform them that this was called rock and roll!
Sacred!
Majestic!
Striking straight to the soul!
As for the neighboring residents…
Their doors were either bolted shut, or they stared at Kazuki’s house with helpless, thoroughly defeated expressions.
Kazuki and Shisui were the grandsons of Kagami Uchiha.
Even though Kagami Uchiha had been a non-confrontational, modest man, the house he left behind was still located in the heart of the Uchiha compound.
The surrounding neighbors were almost all Uchiha Jonin or high-ranking Uchiha elders.
And yet!
Faced with this situation, they had no choice but to sigh.
They had long grown accustomed to Kazuki’s noise assaults.
Object?
Protest?
Heh!
Want to know what kind of agonizing menace Kazuki was?
Just look at the Darkness of Shinobi!
The famous Darkness of Shinobi had almost been driven to a breakdown by him.
Just thinking of his methods sent shivers down one’s spine.
Now, whenever Danzo’s name was brought up in connection with Kazuki, Danzo’s first reaction was a desire to tear him apart alive.
On several occasions, direct conflicts had nearly broken out between them, almost escalating into major incidents.
And right amid this overwhelming noise attack, Shisui returned.