Facing Off

Facing Off

After hearing Shisui's words, Kagami fell silent for a long time. He didn't know what to say. In the end, he only managed to utter a somewhat trite sentence.

"Shisui, you're a great ninja."

Shisui shook his head and changed the subject.

"No, I'm nowhere near that. You're flattering me too much. Let's talk about something else. Did you know that I've actually been watching you ever since shortly after you were born?"

Kagami stared at Shisui in surprise.

"Hm? Shisui, are you serious?"

"Of course I am."

"Then why were you watching me?"

Shisui said mysteriously,

"It's because, not long after you were born, Lord Guizhi came to find me. Guess what he wanted me for?"

Kagami furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Father? I don't know."

Shisui placed a finger against Kagami's forehead.

"Uchiha. Kagami."

He pronounced Kagami's name one syllable at a time.

"Do you understand now?"

Kagami still didn't understand and shook his head.

"No."

The finger Shisui had placed against Kagami's forehead pressed down a little harder.

"You didn't go study Konoha's history? Did you only learn about the grudges between Konoha and the Uchiha in recent years?"

Kagami scratched his head and admitted sheepishly,

"Yeah."

For Kagami, the massacre was a matter of life and death. Naturally, he had studied the recent conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha thoroughly. But as for the rest of history, what was that supposed to mean? What did it have to do with staying alive? If it didn't, then why bother reading it?

Shisui withdrew his hand and explained,

"During the Second Hokage's era, there was a clan member named Kagami Uchiha. He possessed ideals that surpassed clan interests and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the village. He served as one of the Second Hokage's guards alongside the current Third Hokage and Danzo. He was a truly great ninja, and he was also my ancestor. Lord Guizhi wanted to give his child the name of a great person, just as the Clan Head had, so he thought of my ancestor.

"Of course, you couldn't simply take the name of a great man on a whim. So Lord Guizhi came to ask for my permission as a descendant of that ancestor. I didn't refuse. However, you and my ancestor were both Uchiha, so your surnames were already the same. If your given names were the same as well, people wouldn't know which of you they were referring to in the future. To prevent that, he added the character for 'person' to the end of your name."

"Now you know why I've been watching you since shortly after you were born, right? You carry my ancestor's name! Hahaha."

Kagami was shocked. He had never expected his name to have such a story behind it.

"I'm just afraid I'll tarnish your ancestor's great name, Shisui."

Shisui patted Kagami on the shoulder.

"Then you have to work twice as hard! Become stronger as soon as possible!"

Kagami's gaze hardened.

"I will, Shisui!"

Shisui smiled and handed Kagami a cooked fish.

"Here, eat."

The two of them happily began eating the fish.

What Kagami didn't know was that behind Shisui's gentle smile lay immense expectations for him.

I believe you'll definitely live up to my ancestor's name. Kagami, after Itachi, you're the other hope of the Uchiha I've seen.

Konoha Year 55, January.

With the final exams approaching, training became increasingly frequent.

This time, the sparring match on the school field was between Kagami and Sasuke.

The two stood facing each other and formed the Opposition Seal. Iruka stood between them and raised his hand high. Once he saw that both of them were ready, he suddenly swung his hand down.

"Okay, begin!!"

As Iruka's voice fell, the sound of Sasuke's footsteps and shout rang out.

"Yeah! Kagami, I won't lose to you this time!"

Kagami remained unmoved. As Sasuke charged toward him at full speed, he merely smiled faintly.

"Since I'm fighting you, I naturally won't hold back. So I'll win!"

Kagami had started school in September, and beginning in November, he had started forfeiting most of his sparring matches. In other words, whenever there was a match, Kagami would surrender without hesitation. It wasn't because he couldn't win, but because he found it pointless—truly pointless. Fighting these peers could no longer bring him even the slightest improvement.

So Kagami couldn't be bothered to exchange blows with them. It was quicker to surrender.

This indifferent attitude was naturally obvious to everyone. In the eyes of his peers, Kagami was an extremely arrogant Uchiha.

Kagami didn't care, though. In the entire class, Sasuke was the only one he wouldn't surrender against, because Sasuke was at least somewhat interesting.

He waited for the right moment to strike. Only when Sasuke approached did Kagami finally move. Although he had moved second, Kagami was simply too fast. Before Sasuke could throw his punch, Kagami stepped forward and closed the distance, kicked Sasuke's foot out from under him, seized his arm, and pinned him to the ground.

The winner had been decided!

Sasuke was somewhat interesting, but only somewhat. From September to January, Kagami's sparring partner after school had been Body Flicker Shisui!

The famous Body Flicker Shisui, renowned throughout the shinobi world!

Although Kagami was beaten black and blue every time, his record to date was 301 losses and 0 wins.

Even so, Kagami's current abilities were beyond what this group of peers could hope to reach.

In other words, if Shisui could beat Kagami senseless, Kagami was confident he could beat these brats senseless too.

Iruka wasn't surprised in the slightest. He announced the result in a formulaic tone.

"That concludes the match! Kagami wins."

Then, under Iruka's supervision, Sasuke reluctantly formed the Reconciliation Seal with Kagami.

Looking at Sasuke's puffed-up, thoroughly unconvinced face, Kagami smiled.

"You're still so unhappy about losing."

Sasuke sighed.

"Kagami, you're too strong! Can't you go easy on me?"

Kagami said solemnly,

"No, Sasuke. Either I refuse to fight you in the name of surrender, or I have to win. Someone gave me a rule: when facing people my age, if I start fighting, I must win!"

Sasuke said helplessly,

"Ah, it was Shisui, wasn't it?"

Kagami smiled without answering, clearly confirming it.

After Kagami and Sasuke finished forming the Reconciliation Seal, Iruka continued announcing,

"Next match: Uchiha Kagami versus Naruto Uzumaki!"

Kagami immediately raised his hand.

"I for—"

Iruka had anticipated his reaction and interrupted him.

"No surrendering today!"

Kagami scratched his head and spoke helplessly.

"So it happens occasionally."

A moment later, the blond boy walked in front of Kagami and formed the Opposition Seal. His gaze was firm as he said,

"Don't look down on me! I'll definitely make you willing to fight me!"

By now, among their peers, having Kagami surrender to them was actually a humiliation. They knew it meant Kagami thought they were too weak to bother fighting. On the contrary, every one of them hoped to earn the right to have Kagami willingly fight them.

Although they considered Kagami an extremely arrogant Uchiha and didn't want to become too close to him, no one could deny that this Uchiha was absurdly strong—so strong it was despairing. His peers only dared dream of reaching the point where Kagami would willingly fight them. By now, no one even dared dream of defeating him.

Kagami looked at the familiar stubbornness in the blond boy's eyes and developed a hint of interest.

To everyone else, Naruto's stubbornness was merely a sign that he refused to accept defeat. But Kagami was different. He knew very well that this stubbornness had supported the boy before him through one obstacle after another, ultimately allowing him to become one of the two strongest people in the world.

"I'd certainly like to see you try."

As Iruka called, "Begin," Naruto charged. Naruto raised his fist. Naruto threw a punch!

Naruto was defeated.

Kagami pinned Naruto to the ground.

"Perhaps one day in the future, I'll need to treat you as a formidable enemy. But not now, Naruto. Keep working hard."

Sasuke stood to the side, staring at Kagami in confusion along with the others.

Everyone in Kagami's class knew of a strange phenomenon: for some reason, this extremely arrogant Uchiha seemed to think highly of the dead-last Naruto Uzumaki, encouraging the boy from time to time.

At first, Sasuke had also been puzzled. He wondered whether Naruto was secretly strong, so he went to fight him. The result was an extremely easy victory.

After countless victories, Sasuke had confirmed it. Naruto really was a complete dead last! There wasn't even the slightest bit of exaggeration!

He really couldn't understand why this absurdly powerful friend of his would inexplicably think so highly of that dead last.