Shisui: In the End, It Was All for Nothing

The close-quarters battle between Chiga and Kakashi was also nearing its end.

The speed the two had displayed was elite even among chūnin, to say nothing of their dazzling swordsmanship.

However, Chiga was ultimately a cut above.

He closed in on Kakashi like the wind, the tomoe in his eyes shifting as he quickly spotted Kakashi's opening. Seizing the moment, Chiga gripped his sword with both hands and slashed horizontally at Kakashi's waist.

Kakashi had not expected Chiga to be so fast. He could only defend in haste, instinctively raising his short sword in front of his chest.

Clang!

After a crisp metallic ring, Kakashi awkwardly blocked Chiga's attack.

But he had not expected Chiga's strike to carry so much force. The web between his right thumb and index finger throbbed with pain, and for a moment, he lost his grip on the short sword.

Even after losing his weapon, Kakashi did not panic. As he retreated, he pulled several shuriken from his Ninja Tool Pouch and flung them at Chiga to buy himself time.

At the same time, he rapidly formed hand seals, seemingly wanting to decide the victor with ninjutsu.

Facing the incoming shuriken, Chiga had no intention of dodging. Waiting for the right moment, he swept his Samurai Sword through the air and precisely knocked every shuriken to the ground.

"Kakashi, your hand seals are pretty fast!"

He then noticed Kakashi forming seals to release a ninjutsu and could not help exclaiming in admiration.

That hand-seal speed was worthy of Kakashi, who had been single for six years.

Could the book I gave him really have had that effect?

"But ninjutsu isn't just about speed!"

Chiga pressed his palms together, gathering the Chakra within his body. Then he shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

In an instant, flames burst from Chiga's mouth, forming a fireball that shot toward Kakashi.

Kakashi, who was still forming hand seals: "?"

Minato and Shisui, who were watching: "."

Kakashi Hatake's negative emotions, Emotion Points +50!

Uchiha Shisui's negative emotions, Emotion Points +10!

Minato Namikaze's negative emotions, Emotion Points +10!

Did you even hear what you were saying?

Kakashi had thought Chiga meant to compete over the power of their ninjutsu, but Chiga had immediately followed up with a Fire Release technique using simplified seals.

Kakashi stared blankly at the enormous fireball flying toward him. The scorching heat had already singed much of his white hair.

What's the point of forming seals now?

At that moment, Minato suddenly appeared in front of Kakashi. He stood between the Great Fireball and Kakashi, holding a Kunai and slashing viciously at the fireball.

The Great Fireball was forcibly split in two and dispersed in midair.

Chiga's expression tightened.

Although this was the simplified-seal version of the Great Fireball Technique and its power was weaker, it was still a ninjutsu.

Senior Minato, you just extinguished it with a Kunai. Isn't that a little too disrespectful to the Uchiha clan's inherited secret technique?

"All right, Chiga. I have a rough understanding of your strength now. Let's end the spar here."

Seeing that neither of them intended to continue fighting, Minato said this as well.

As for the result of the spar, everyone knew it already.

Kakashi knew that he had lost—and lost to Chiga in every aspect.

He had been defeated in both taijutsu and ninjutsu. As for Genjutsu, there was even less to say. With a Sharingan, Kakashi had no need to seek out such abuse.

However, he was not discouraged. His father had said that he had yet to teach him their family's inherited ninjutsu. He had heard it was called something like Thousand Years of Death, and his father had apparently become famous throughout the Shinobi World by relying on it!

"Senior Minato, how did you appear?"

At this moment, Chiga appropriately displayed his surprise.

Minato showed him the Kunai in his hand and then gave a simple explanation.

"You mean this? This is the Flying Thunder God Technique! I can teleport to places marked with the Flying Thunder God seal. Look, I left a mark on this Kunai."

Chiga pretended to listen, then revealed a yearning look and asked, "Senior Minato, forgive me for being presumptuous, but may I learn it?"

"I'm sorry, but this is an S-rank forbidden ninjutsu. Besides, it cannot be passed on without the Hokage's permission."

"If you really want to obtain the Flying Thunder God Technique, you'll have to earn enough military merit and personally exchange for it with the Hokage. So you... work hard and complete more missions!"

Minato shook his head regretfully.

He could understand Chiga's thoughts. In fact, everyone who had seen the Flying Thunder God Technique wanted to learn it.

For one thing, the Flying Thunder God Technique was extremely difficult to learn. For someone without the talent, let alone mastering it, even finding the entrance would be a problem.

For another, the prerequisite for learning this technique was having enough military merit.

Moreover, Minato felt that it would be extremely difficult for Chiga to exchange for the Flying Thunder God Technique from the village. After all, this technique had been developed by the Second Hokage specifically to counter the Uchiha clan. How could the Uchiha clan be allowed to learn it?

However, considering that Chiga had Kushina backing him, Minato did not make his answer so absolute.

Minato understood his girlfriend very well. If Kushina were truly pushed too far, it was not impossible for her to sneak into the Sealing Scroll and steal it.

"Oh, it's already noon. Shisui, go catch some fish for our two seniors. We'll have grilled fish for lunch today."

Since this was already the Uchiha clan's territory and Minato and Kakashi were guests, Chiga felt that he should at least show them some hospitality, so he instructed Shisui.

As for why he did not treat them to a meal at a restaurant, that was of course because the fish in this river were fresh, delicious, and pollution-free.

Minato and Kakashi were not fussy people either, so they did not mind Chiga's miserly nature.

When they saw Shisui go catch fish, they helped Chiga start a fire.

Before long, Shisui returned with seven or eight small fish weighing a little over half a kilogram each.

He skillfully cleaned out the fish and skewered them on wooden sticks.

Everyone sat around the fire.

While waiting for the fish to cook, they chatted with one another, and before long, the time passed.

As the aroma of grilled fish spread through the air, everyone began to eat.

"Crow Feather, here!"

After carefully grilling a fish, Shisui looked at Crow Feather on Chiga's shoulder and held it out.

Crow Feather first glanced at Shisui twice before clamping its beak around the grilled fish. Then, under Shisui's expectant gaze, it turned around and brought the fish to Chiga's mouth.

Chiga smiled and shook his head. Only then did Crow Feather begin to feast.

Shisui: "." In the end, all my devotion was for nothing.

Uchiha Shisui's negative emotions, Emotion Points +50!

Seeing this, Kakashi said, "Chiga, that crow of yours is still just an ordinary crow, right?"

"Yes." Chiga nodded, then asked in confusion, "Is there a problem?"

"You should know about the Inuzuka clan, right? I bought my Ninja Hound from their clan."

Of course Chiga knew about the Inuzuka clan. They were professional dog breeders. The clan was truly at odds with the Uchiha clan, since one liked cats and the other liked dogs. The fact that they did not start fighting the moment they met was already giving Konoha plenty of face.

Tomorrow's update will be a little later. A friend is getting married today, and I'm going to celebrate with him, so I won't have time to write.

Bridesmaids, here I come~