Kyosuke vs. Uchiha Madara

"Hey, hurry up! Something big is happening at the Training Ground."

"What is it? Did someone attack the clan grounds?"

"Idiot, it's a duel between the Young Clan Head and Kyosuke. They're both renowned geniuses, and today they'll finally settle who's stronger."

"What? Wait for me! I want to watch too!"

At the Training Ground, Kyosuke felt a headache coming on.

"Damn it, Izuna." He glanced at the smug little brat and knew this whole commotion was his doing.

The reason was most likely that Izuna wanted his brother to defeat him in public.

Over the past year, people had constantly debated who was the greatest genius of the clan's new generation.

Some believed the Young Clan Head's impressive record spoke for itself, while others believed Kyosuke, who had awakened the Sharingan at seven, was the strongest.

He had wanted to keep a low profile and train for a while, but he had never expected Izuna to pull something like this.

"Kyosuke!" someone suddenly called from beside him.

He turned around and saw his snobbish cousin approaching.

"What are you doing?" Uchiha Kai strode over and demanded angrily, "The Young Clan Head is who he is. How can you challenge him in public?"

Then he leaned closer and explained quietly, "If you win, how will the Young Clan Head save face? And what will the Clan Head think of you?"

He appeared concerned for his cousin, but in truth, he was worried Kyosuke would anger the Clan Head and drag him down with him.

He had originally intended to make his cousin forfeit and admit defeat, but Kyosuke merely glanced at him before turning to face the slowly approaching Uchiha brothers.

That made Uchiha Kai completely lose his temper. "Bastard! I'm talking to you! Is that how you treat your own cousin?!"

"You're noisy." Kyosuke narrowed his eyes and said coldly to the chattering man, "Get lost. Stop being an eyesore."

"You little bastard, you've really got some nerve!" Swiftly pulling a kunai from the Ninja Tools pouch at his waist, Uchiha Kai decided to teach his cousin an unforgettable lesson.

Don't think a few praises from the clan make you anything special. In Uchiha Kai's eyes, the boy before him was still the pathetic wretch who had once begged to be taken in.

He was a Chunin with considerable combat experience, and he believed he could easily take Kyosuke down.

Who would have thought that Kyosuke had already seen through his movements?

Daring to fight the Sharingan at close range—he really didn't know how death was spelled.

With one motion, Kyosuke knocked aside his opponent's thrust, spun halfway around, and twisted behind Uchiha Kai.

At the same time, he gripped his Short Sword in reverse and held it across the other man's throat.

"If this weren't inside the clan, I'd kill you today."

As he spoke, he drove his knee viciously into his adoptive cousin's lower back, knocking the young man flat onto the ground.

In truth, Uchiha Kai was fairly capable. He should not have been defeated in what was practically an instant.

The only reason was that he had been too arrogant. Without the Sharingan, he had actually chosen close-quarters combat. Wasn't that simply letting Kyosuke do as he pleased?

Kicking him away, Kyosuke looked at the approaching Dance King and said with a faint smile, "I didn't expect our first match to happen under these circumstances."

"Do we need to clear the area?" Madara looked around, then frowned slightly and shot an unhappy glare at his younger brother.

Seeing that, Izuna shrank his neck and quickly turned to flee.

"No need." Kyosuke tightened his grip on the Short Sword and said calmly, "What is meant to come will come. Besides, I'm tired of staying in the clan."

"Fine. Then let's fight without holding back today."

"My thoughts exactly."

There were no overly complicated rules. Once both sides assumed their stances, their first exchange began immediately.

In terms of physique and Chakra, ten-year-old Uchiha Madara held an absolute advantage.

A direct clash was out of the question, and Kyosuke also had to watch out for his opponent's ninjutsu.

If he wanted to win, he could only make full use of the Sharingan and the Shisui-style Body Flicker Technique he had just learned.

Crimson light flashed through his eyes as the Sharingan reopened. In an instant, every movement his opponent made entered his sight.

His free left hand slipped into his Ninja Tools pouch. With a flick of his wrist, three shuriken whistled through the air.

Clang! Uchiha Madara, holding a long blade, did not slow in the slightest. Raising one arm, he had already formed a solid defensive net before himself.

The three shuriken, thrown from tricky angles, could not break through his blade net, and the distance between the two rapidly closed.

"Nice!"

The spectators shouted their approval. With that move alone, Madara had displayed swordsmanship a level above Kyosuke's.

Everyone present was a battle-hardened ninja, so it was naturally not difficult for them to see the subtleties of the exchange.

"You're still the same, Kyosuke." Uchiha Madara suddenly tossed his long blade into the air, his hands completing Hand Seals with the speed of fluttering butterflies.

As flames gathered in his mouth, the surrounding temperature instantly rose.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

Holy shit, is he trying to kill me?! In an instant, Kyosuke recalled the scene from the Shinobi World War, where more than twenty Mist Ninja had joined forces to resist the attack.

But he quickly realized that Madara's current strength had not yet reached Jonin level. It was impossible for him to unleash a Fire Release of such terrifying power.

Even so, he did not underestimate the Dance King.

His hands rapidly completed their Hand Seals. Just before the fan-shaped sea of flames reached him, Kyosuke transformed into a blurred afterimage and shot toward the distant Uchiha Madara.

Body Flicker Technique?!

Uchiha Madara was startled. He had never expected Kyosuke to pull such a move.

Didn't he fear that forcibly using Body Flicker would leave his body with irreversible hidden injuries?

What is Keisuke doing? How could he let him learn the Body Flicker Technique already? Madara cursed inwardly, sheathed his long blade, and turned to look behind him.

There, Kyosuke was baring his teeth as he climbed up from the ground.

Half of it was from the fall after failing to control his speed and strength, while the other half was because the Fire Release had roasted him badly.

"Keisuke taught you that Body Flicker Technique?" Lord Madara asked with a frown.

If Kyosuke answered yes, he would definitely go find trouble with Keisuke.

Yet Kyosuke shook his head. Stroking his slightly singed hair, he sighed. "I learned it myself. Damn it, my hair."

Following Uchiha Clan tradition, Kyosuke, much like Madara, sported a hedgehog-like hairstyle whose beauty was impossible to judge.

He planned to grow it out, at the very least so he could look different from those two damned brothers.

"Self-taught." Madara fell silent for a moment, glanced at the hair nearly reaching Kyosuke's shoulders, and said flatly, "You should get a haircut too."

"Bastard, I'm trying to grow it out."

"That would affect your fighting."

"Heh, I'm planning to develop a hair-based ninjutsu. You'll see when the time comes."

After bickering for a few moments, the two chose to leave separately.

Overall, Uchiha Madara's performance had been more impressive.

Kyosuke's Body Flicker was fast, but he still could not control it very well. Everyone present could see that clearly.

Still, the two were two years apart in age, so it was hard to say who possessed greater talent.

At any rate, in Uchiha Tajma's eyes, his own son was the one destined to lead the clan.

Uchiha Kyosuke?

It was time to think of a solution.