Shisui Uchiha

Hyuga Kagami carefully sized up the short Uchiha before him, and his thoughts immediately began to wander.

Shisui Uchiha.

A boy who had shaped Itachi's entire life and indirectly brought about the Uchiha Clan's massacre; a boy wholeheartedly devoted to reconciling with the village, only to be ruthlessly betrayed and ambushed by Danzo.

After losing one Mangekyō Sharingan, he had resolutely chosen to kill himself in silence to prevent the conflict between his clan and the village from escalating.

This Uchiha, whose talent perhaps even surpassed Itachi's, had ended his own life—brief as a comet yet dazzlingly brilliant—in an almost tragic manner.

"What a tragedy!"

Thinking of Shisui's future, Hyuga Kagami could not help sighing inwardly.

Shisui's tragic end was inseparable from his naivety. He should not have revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, much less confessed to the village's higher-ups about a dreaded eye technique like Kotoamatsukami.

Putting himself in their shoes, if he were the Hokage and an Uchiha who was plotting a coup possessed Kotoamatsukami, Hyuga Kagami feared he would find it difficult to rest easy as well.

Reining in his wandering thoughts, Hyuga Kagami smiled. "I've heard many legends about the Sharingan. I hope I'll get the chance to fight you this time and experience its power for myself."

Shisui smiled as well. "Compared to your Byakugan bloodline limit, Senior, the Sharingan has no advantage at all. Still, I'm also very much looking forward to sparring with you."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shisui turned and left.

Shisui understood the village's current suspicions toward the Uchiha Clan very well, so he kept a certain distance from the village's ninja. It was both to protect himself and to protect them.

Watching Shisui's departing figure, Hyuga Kagami let out a soft sigh.

The Uchiha coup had seemed absurd and laughable entirely because the three strongest members of their clan were either slacking off or had defected.

Leaving aside Shisui and Itachi, the two traitors, even Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku had merely been swept along by his clansmen into planning the coup. He had never possessed any particularly strong desire to rebel, which was why he had given up resistance the moment he discovered his son's betrayal, using his own life to fulfill Itachi's ninja way.

In truth, if the Uchiha had united as one, whether the coup would have succeeded was hard to say, but they certainly could have wrecked Konoha beyond recognition. In fact, Shisui alone could have wiped out Konoha's higher-ups with Kotoamatsukami.

Just as Hyuga Kagami was sighing to himself, Guy sidled over and muttered, "Huh, Shisui may be famous, but he seems like a very approachable Uchiha!"

Genma, senbon clenched between his teeth, snorted. "That depends on who he's dealing with. Kagami is from the Hyuga Clan, so of course he'll be polite. If it were you, he might not even bother with you."

Asuma also came over, his face darkening. "That guy is no simple opponent. If you run into him during the exam, be extremely careful."

Guy looked curious. "How strong is he?"

"I heard he has killed Kirigakure Jonin three times. He's a publicly recognized genius within the Uchiha Clan!" After a pause, Asuma continued, "I also heard from the old man that he'd long since met the requirements for promotion to Jonin. This Special Jonin selection is just a formality for him."

Everyone nearby cried out in shock, "What!?"

Seeing their astonished expressions, Asuma shrugged. "What's so surprising about that? Look closely. The Uchiha only sent him here alone. Doesn't that explain everything?"

Once he said that, everyone immediately began observing more carefully.

Although the venue was packed with people, they discovered that Shisui Uchiha was indeed the only ninja wearing clothing marked with the Uchiha family crest.

At once, everyone's hearts sank.

Asuma had clearly not been lying. One of the roughly fifteen promotion slots had indeed already been reserved by the Uchiha.

Of course, it could not really be called reserved. With Shisui's strength, passing the selection was effortless. This so-called reservation instead limited the Uchiha Clan from sending more of their members to compete for the slots.

Hyuga Kagami, however, noticed that he also seemed to be the only member of the Hyuga Clan taking part in the exam. Could the clan have reached some kind of deal with the village and reserved a slot for me too?

Noticing the change in Hyuga Kagami's expression, Asuma winked and nudged his shoulder. "You noticed it, right? Your Hyuga Clan must have secured a slot for you too."

Hyuga Kagami crossed his arms and put on an annoyed expression. "What a pointless gesture!"

If he claimed to be disgusted by pulling strings, that would be far too hypocritical. But in front of all his classmates, he had to show disdain for such privileges, both emotionally and logically.

As his teammate, Guy wholeheartedly agreed. "Yeah, yeah! With Kagami's strength, there's no way he'll have any trouble with this exam."

Everyone had also heard of Hyuga Kagami's recent accomplishments and knew that his strength had grown rapidly, so they nodded in agreement. Besides, in their minds, it was only natural for children of prominent clans to enjoy certain privileges. They were surprised, but it was not worth dwelling on.

At that moment, the Third Hokage appeared at the examination grounds.

The participants were all experienced ninja, so the Third Hokage did not waste words and immediately announced the rules.

This examination primarily tested combat strength. As long as one was strong enough in battle, or possessed some exceptional specialty that others could hardly match, one could pass.

Thus, for bloodline-limit ninja and Forbidden Technique ninja, being promoted to Special Jonin was somewhat easier than it was for ordinary civilian ninja.

The examination used random pairings. After the officials drew lots, Hyuga Kagami's opponent in the first round turned out to be his classmate, Yuhi Kurenai.

Training Ground No. 9.

Hyuga Kagami stood with one hand on his hip and said calmly, "Kurenai, your luck isn't very good."

Kurenai's expression darkened. She said nothing, merely staring fixedly at Hyuga Kagami as though searching for an opening.

As a genjutsu-type ninja, facing an eye-technique bloodline-limit ninja was indeed extremely troublesome.

Everyone knew that both the Byakugan and Sharingan possessed a certain degree of resistance to genjutsu. They were not completely immune to it, but ordinary genjutsu would inevitably be greatly weakened against ninja with such eye-technique bloodline limits.

Hyuga Kagami was actually quite curious about how resistant his Tenseigan was to genjutsu, so rather than attacking first as he usually did, he quietly waited for Kurenai to make her move.

Hyuga Kagami's composed demeanor placed immense pressure on Kurenai, giving her a faint sense that something was wrong.

Under the pressure of their standoff, Kurenai ultimately could not hold back any longer.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

The moment Kurenai attacked, she used her most proficient genjutsu, one of her clan's secret techniques.

Hyuga Kagami immediately went blank for a moment, then returned to calm in an instant, as if nothing had happened.

Kurenai cried out in shock, "How is that possible!?"