Battle

Chapter 10: The Duel

After hearing Shisui's words, Kagato fell silent for a long time. He didn't know what to say, and finally, he uttered a slightly cliché phrase.

"Brother Shisui, you are a great ninja."

Shisui shook his head and changed the subject.

"No, not at all. You flatter me too much, kid. Let's talk about something else. Did you know, I've actually been watching you since you were very young?"

Kagato looked at Shisui in surprise.

"Huh? Brother Shisui, are you serious?"

"Of course, I am."

"Then why have you been watching me, Brother Shisui?"

Shisui said mysteriously.

"It's because shortly after you were born, Lord Takashi found me. Guess what Lord Takashi wanted to see me about?"

Kagato frowned in confusion.

"Father? I don't know."

Shisui tapped Kagato's forehead with his finger.

"U-CHI-HA-KA-GA-TO!"

He said Kagato's name, syllable by syllable.

"Do you understand now?"

Kagato still didn't understand and shook his head.

"No."

Shisui's finger on Kagato's forehead pressed down a little harder.

"You know, haven't you been learning about Konoha's history? Have you only learned about the recent grievances between Konoha and the Uchiha?"

Kagato scratched his head, admitting it with a little embarrassment.

"Yeah."

For Kagato, the clan massacre was a matter of life and death. He definitely had to thoroughly understand the recent grievances between the Uchiha and Konoha. But as for other history? What was that? What did it have to do with his life? Nothing? Then why should he care?

Shisui withdrew his hand and explained.

"During the Second Hokage's era, there was a clan member named Kagami Uchiha. He possessed a mindset that transcended clan loyalty and was dedicated to the village. He served as a bodyguard to the Second Hokage, alongside the current Third Hokage and Danzō. He was the truly great ninja, and he is my ancestor. Lord Takashi, like the clan head, wanted to give his child a name worthy of a great person, so he thought of my ancestor.

Naming a child after a great person isn't something you can just do on a whim. So, Lord Takashi came to seek my consent as a descendant of my ancestor. I didn't refuse, but since you and my ancestor are both Uchiha, you already share the same surname. If your given names were also the same, it would be unclear who you were talking about in the future. To avoid this, he added the character '人' (to) to your name.

Now, do you understand why I've been paying attention to you since you were born? You carry the name of my ancestor! Hahaha."

Kagato was very surprised. He never expected that there was such a story behind his name.

"I only fear that I will tarnish the great name of Brother Shisui's ancestor."

Shisui patted Kagato's shoulder.

"That's why you must work twice as hard! Become stronger as soon as possible!"

Kagato's gaze was firm.

"I will! Brother Shisui."

Shisui smiled and handed Kagato the grilled fish.

"Here, eat your fish."

The two then happily ate their fish.

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

I believe you can definitely live up to our ancestor's name, Kagato. You are, after Itachi, another hope for the Uchiha that I see.

Konoha Year 55, January.

With the final exams approaching, training became even more frequent.

On the school grounds, this time, it was Kagato versus Sasuke in a practice match.

The two faced each other, forming the hand seals for a duel. Iruka stood between them, raising his hand high. Once both were ready, Iruka's hand suddenly dropped.

"Alright, begin!!"

As Iruka's words fell, they were followed by the sound of Sasuke's running and shouts.

"Ooh, Kagato, I won't lose to you this time!"

Kagato remained unfazed, watching Sasuke charge at him rapidly. He simply smiled faintly.

"Since I'm fighting you, I won't hold back. Therefore, I will win!"

Kagato started school in September, and from November onwards, he began to surrender in most sparring matches. That is, whenever there was a match, Kagato would surrender without hesitation. It wasn't because he couldn't win, but because Kagato felt it was pointless. Truly pointless. Sparring with these peers no longer offered him even a tiny bit of progress.

Therefore, Kagato couldn't be bothered to spar with his peers anymore; surrendering was much faster.

Everyone could see his indifferent attitude, so in the eyes of his peers, Kagato was an [extremely arrogant Uchiha].

But Kagato didn't care. In the entire class, Kagato only faced Sasuke without surrendering, because Sasuke was at least a little interesting.

Seizing the opportunity, the moment Sasuke approached Kagato, Kagato finally moved. Although he moved second, Kagato's speed was incredibly fast. Before Sasuke could even throw a punch, Kagato took a step forward, kicked Sasuke's leg up, and then grabbed Sasuke's hand, pinning him to the ground.

The match was decided!

Although Sasuke was somewhat interesting, it was only somewhat interesting. From September to January, Kagato's sparring partner after school had been Shisui!

The legendary Shisui the Body Flicker!

Even though Kagato was beaten black and blue every time, his record so far was 301 losses and 0 wins.

However, despite this, Kagato's current abilities were still beyond the reach of these peers.

In other words, however Shisui beat Kagato, Kagato was confident he could beat these brats the same way.

Iruka, unsurprised, announced the result in a perfunctory manner.

"That's it! Kagato wins."

Then, under Iruka's supervision, Sasuke reluctantly formed the reconciliation seal with Kagato.

Kagato looked at Sasuke's pouting, unconvinced face and smiled.

"You're still so unconvinced, huh?"

Sasuke sighed.

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

Kagato said seriously.

"No, Sasuke. Either I refuse to fight you by surrendering, or I must win. Someone set a requirement for me: when facing a peer, if I fight, I must win!"

Sasuke said helplessly.

"Ah, it's Big Brother Shisui."

Kagato smiled without speaking, clearly defaulting.

After Kagato and Sasuke completed the reconciliation seal, Iruka announced.

"Next match, Uchiha Kagato versus Naruto Uzumaki!"

Kagato immediately raised his hand.

"I surrender."

However, Iruka had anticipated Kagato's reaction and interrupted him.

"No surrendering allowed today!"

Kagato scratched his head and said helplessly.

"It happens sometimes."

A moment later, the blonde-haired boy walked in front of Kagato, formed the confrontation seal, and said with determined eyes.

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

By now, among his peers, surrendering to Kagato was a disgrace. They knew it was because Kagato found them too weak to bother fighting. Conversely, everyone among these peers wished they could earn Kagato's qualification for a [voluntary match].

Although they thought Kagato was an [extremely arrogant Uchiha] and didn't want to associate too closely, no one could deny that this Uchiha clan member was overwhelmingly strong, so strong it was despair-inducing. His peers only dared to dream of a [voluntary match] with Kagato; by now, no one dared to even think about [defeating Kagato].

Kagato looked at the stubbornness in the blonde boy's eyes, a stubbornness he knew extremely well, and his interest was piqued.

To others, Naruto's stubbornness was just a sign of his unwillingness to accept defeat. But Kagato was different. He knew very well that this stubbornness had supported the boy through one hardship after another, ultimately making him one of the two strongest people in the world.

"I hope you can do it."

As Iruka called out "Begin," Naruto charged forward, raising his fist, and throwing a punch!

Naruto was defeated.

Kagato pinned Naruto to the ground.

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

Sasuke, along with a group of others, watched Kagato with confusion.

Those in Kagato's class knew a strange phenomenon: this [extremely arrogant Uchiha] somehow seemed to have high hopes for Naruto Uzumaki, the dead last, and would often encourage him.

Sasuke was initially puzzled, thinking perhaps Naruto was a hidden powerhouse. He then fought Naruto and won very easily.

After countless victories, Sasuke was certain that Naruto was genuinely the dead last, with no hidden strength whatsoever!

He couldn't understand why his unbelievably strong friend inexplicably favored this dead last.