News Spreads

Water Release: Water Disruption Wave.

After rapidly forming hand seals, Nagisa puffed out her cheeks slightly and spat out a stream of water that was not particularly large.

This was a basic Water Release Ninjutsu, its power freely adjustable according to the user's Chakra output.

Although Kyosuke did not know this Ninjutsu himself, that did not stop him from copying it to tease the little girl.

As his Chakra circulated, his Sharingan abruptly activated, and his hands formed the same seals Nagisa had used.

Water Release: Water Disruption Wave.

With his Chakra already exceeding a thousand, Kyosuke was naturally far beyond what Nagisa could contend with.

The two streams of water briefly stalemated in midair before Kyosuke's stream completely overwhelmed hers.

Of course, Kyosuke had no intention of hurting her, so he promptly controlled the water to crash into the ground in front of Nagisa.

Watching mud splash up before her, Uchiha Nagisa puffed out her cheeks in anger.

Then, her eyes shifted slightly, and she suddenly pulled out several Shuriken and hurled them forcefully at Kyosuke.

At the same time, she rushed forward, clearly preparing for a round of close-quarters combat.

The corner of Kyosuke's lips lifted slightly. After casually knocking away her Shuriken, he watched the little girl with his Sharingan, curious to see what trick she intended to play.

Bang! Bang! Bang! After a round of basic taijutsu exchanges, Nagisa suddenly turned her head away. At the same time, using a clever burst of force, she swung her long ponytail toward Kyosuke.

Tied right in the middle of that ponytail was a Kunai gleaming with a faint cold light.

"Ah~" Kyosuke's exclamation made Nagisa's lips curl upward.

Unfortunately, Kyosuke had already seen through every one of her movements, yet he still played along and let her complete this surprise attack.

After the fight ended, Kyosuke grabbed her little ponytail with one hand and raised the other to remove the Kunai.

With her back to him, Nagisa said, "Hey, Kyosuke, train with me today."

Kyosuke handed the removed Kunai back to her and asked with a smile, "What is it? Why are you in such a hurry to train?"

Hearing that, Nagisa lowered her head and remained silent for a while before finally saying, "I... want to avenge Sister Ikezu and everyone else. I want to kill all those hateful Sand Shinobi."

"So that's it." Hearing her finally speak the words she had kept buried in her heart for so long, Kyosuke finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He raised a hand and stroked the little girl's hair, quietly saying, "There will be a chance."

Unfortunately, Kyosuke had not noticed then that a flash of red quietly faded from Nagisa's lowered eyes.

Within that flash of red lay a bone-deep hatred.

The entire morning passed under Kyosuke's guidance.

By then, word of Uchiha Kyosuke's public challenge to Kakashi Hatake had already spread everywhere through the Uchiha Clan and Root.

"Kakashi." Rin arrived at the Hatake Clan compound with several companions, including Kurenai and Asuma, and found Kakashi training hard.

After respectfully greeting Hatake Sakumo, the group of kids surrounded Kakashi and began bombarding him with questions.

Having trained hard all morning, Kakashi took the opportunity to rest, though the chirping voices around him were somewhat noisy.

"Yo, Kakashi! Youth means bravely facing every challenge! Are you ready?" Gai shouted passionately.

"Kakashi, I swiped some information from my father. It's a little outdated, but I'm sure it'll still help." That was the mature Asuma.

"Not bad, Asuma. Well done." Kurenai gave him a small compliment.

"Hehe." Asuma smiled modestly, looking every bit the mature young man.

"Good luck, Kakashi. I believe in you," Rin said softly.

At that moment, a figure wearing Goggles was peeking furtively at what was happening in the courtyard, as if hesitating over something.

Rin was the first to spot him, so she called him inside.

That figure was Uchiha Obito.

"Hmph, I didn't come here to cheer him on," Obito awkwardly insisted as he walked in.

"Idiot." Kakashi turned his head and muttered quietly.

"What? You bastard, Kakashi! Say that again?" Obito instantly bristled.

"Alright, alright, you two." The other children could not help trying to calm them down.

Still, although Kakashi wore an expression that said, "What a hassle," the corners of his mouth beneath his mask could not help but lift slightly.

Standing beside the windowsill, Sakumo watched the scene with a smile on his face.

"Looks like Kakashi has made friends."

"Now I can rest easy."

"Hey, have you heard? That little genius from the Uchiha Clan is issuing another public challenge."

"The Uchiha Clan? Oh, you mean that kid who used to Patrol the streets every day? Hahaha, I remember him."

"I heard he's challenging that genius from the Hatake Clan this time—the son of Hatake Sakumo."

"Oh, is that so? Then it looks like it'll be an exciting match. I definitely have to go watch."

"Of course, I was planning to go too, but..."

"What is it?"

"Hmph, Hatake Sakumo caused the village such huge losses before. I'm not going to cheer for his son."

"Mm, you're right. Then let's go cheer for that Uchiha kid instead."

Many Konoha villagers began discussing the matter as well.

After all, public challenges like this were relatively rare, so they were all extremely interested.

Moreover, one side was the son of Hatake Sakumo, who was currently at the center of a storm.

That made the villagers even more excited.

At that moment, the Third Hokage was also paying close attention to the matter inside the Hokage Building.

"...It has been confirmed that the Uchiha Clan provoked the conflict first?" the Third Hokage asked expressionlessly.

"Yes, it has been confirmed," replied an Anbu responsible for intelligence.

"Uchiha Clan... Kyosuke Uchiha... What exactly are you trying to do?" No matter how the Third Hokage thought about it, he could not guess their true purpose.

Suddenly, a figure flashed through his mind.

"Danzo... Could it be you again?" The more the Third Hokage thought about it, the more certain he became. He immediately ordered the Anbu to invite Danzo over.

"Sigh... Your methods are becoming more and more excessive," the Third Hokage murmured as he looked out the window.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

"Hey~ Kyosuke, are you confident?" Nagisa asked with a smile as she looked at Kyosuke, now dressed in a black kimono.

"Obviously. You just need to get your victory cheers ready." Kyosuke casually replied as he checked his Ninja Tool Pouch.

"Tch, all you do is brag." The little girl made a face at him, then ran off to join her grandfather and the others.

Today, every available high-ranking member of the Uchiha Clan would be present to cheer Kyosuke on.

Since only a few people knew about Fugaku's Mangekyo, many clan members still regarded Kyosuke as their hope for revival.

So it was hardly surprising that they would react this way.