Sharingan? Elder Danzo's Gift!

"Long time no see!"

Uchiha Itachi nodded, his voice still flat and emotionless, but his gaze fell on Yo's eyes.

"You've also awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. It seems you've been through quite a bit in the years I've been away."

"No!"

Yo shook his head. "When it comes to the Sharingan, I have no talent!"

"Until recently, my Sharingan hadn't even awakened!"

"This Three Tomoe I have now was transplanted just a short while ago."

"Transplanted?"

Itachi's brow furrowed. "Where did you obtain these Sharingan?"

A Sharingan from the Uchiha clan falling into outside hands and being transplantable often meant misfortune for a clansman.

"Root!"

Yo smiled faintly, his tone carrying a hint of amusement. "Elder Danzo accidentally provoked me before!"

"To express his apology, he specially 'gave' me a few pairs of Sharingan as compensation. I thought they weren't bad, so I accepted them and forgave him!"

Itachi fell silent.

Danzo gave them?

As compensation?

The information in those words was too heavy, and it reeked of strangeness.

Given Danzo's methods and his greed for the Sharingan, how could he possibly give away Sharingan for free? And as compensation?

Danzo provoked Yo?

How exactly did he provoke him?

Danzo colluded with Orochimaru to assassinate the Third Hokage and then defected... Could this matter also be related to this younger brother?

From childhood to adulthood, Itachi had never been able to see through this younger brother, and now he found himself even more unable to do so.

"It seems a lot has happened to you while I've been away."

Itachi spoke slowly, probing. "I wonder, where has your strength... reached now?"

Ever since killing his parents and clansmen, bearing everything alone, Itachi had become a walking corpse.

The only goal he lived for was to wait for his two younger brothers to grow up, kill him, and become heroes of Konoha.

Finally, leave his eyes to them, helping them obtain the Eternal Mangekyo that would never lose its light.

Then he could be free!

Yo seemed to have anticipated this question, his tone eager. "Just talking is boring. Itachi, how about we... make a bet?"

"What bet?"

"Simple!"

Yo smiled. "If I can defeat you, you hand over Uchiha Shisui's left eye. How about that?"

The air instantly froze.

Itachi's pupils sharply contracted, ripples stirring within his heart!

Shisui's left eye? How did Yo know about this?!

Did Danzo tell him?

No, impossible. Danzo himself didn't know the whereabouts of Shisui's left eye! Where did Yo learn of it?!

Countless questions surged into his mind.

Itachi stared at Yo, trying to read something from his face, but only saw a calm, unfathomable depth.

After a silence, Itachi took a breath, suppressing all shock and doubt, restoring his surface calm.

He calmly met Yo's gaze and clearly uttered a single word:

"Fine!"

Just then.

A whirlwind-like green figure suddenly appeared on the scene.

"Kakashi! I'm late! Huh? This is..."

Kai saw the Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki across from him, his thick brows shooting up as he immediately assumed a combat stance.

At the same time, he lowered his head, avoiding Itachi's eyes, instead staring at his own feet.

"Teacher Kai, you came just in time! Please take care of Kakashi-sensei for now—leave this to me!"

Kai looked at Yo, then at Uchiha Itachi, and nodded firmly.

"It's your turn, Yo! Let these two suspicious characters witness the youthful flames of Konoha!"

He hoisted Kakashi onto his back, shielded Asuma and Kurenai as he quickly retreated to a safe distance, keeping a sharp eye on the scene.

Yo turned back to face Uchiha Itachi, rolling his wrists:

"Alright, the bystanders are cleared out. Come on, Itachi!"

"Let me see just how much your strength has grown since you defected from Konoha and roamed outside all these years!"

Uchiha Itachi: "..."

This was completely backwards.

It should be me, the elder brother who's been away from home for years, testing how much you, my younger brother, have grown.

How did it flip around to you wanting to test my strength?

Though he felt like pointing that out, Itachi's face remained expressionless.

He said nothing more, simply raising his hand and flinging out several shuriken.

The angles were tricky, sealing off Yo's left and right escape routes.

To test his younger brother's strength, he naturally wouldn't start with Tsukuyomi.

Taijutsu, basic ninja tools, standard ninjutsu, illusion resistance...

He'd have to test them all one by one.

Seeing this, Yo also tossed out a few kunai, precisely clashing against Itachi's shuriken with a series of sharp clangs.

However, Itachi's shuriken-throwing technique was clearly superior.

The deflected shuriken, borrowing the force of the collision, shifted their trajectories slightly and continued flying toward Yo.

Yo chose not to keep trading ninja tools—he knew this technical game wasn't his forte against Itachi.

His form flickered, vanishing from his spot, dodging all the shuriken.

The next instant.

He appeared at Itachi's side-forward, a fist driving straight toward Itachi's ribs.

Itachi seemed to have anticipated this, sidestepping, blocking, countering—his movements fluid and seamless, without a single wasted motion.

Their figures clashed rapidly, the sounds of fists and feet colliding ringing out without pause.

Yo's taijutsu was sharp and direct, simple and brutal, fierce and domineering.

Itachi's taijutsu was precise and efficient, every move perfectly placed.

With minimal motion and force, he neutralized attacks and retaliated.

In just over ten seconds, they had exchanged dozens of blows, seemingly evenly matched, neither gaining the upper hand.

"His taijutsu foundation is rock-solid, his speed and power are terrifying—it seems Yo hasn't slacked off in taijutsu training!"

Itachi evaluated inwardly: "Now then... let's try illusions!"

His Sharingan flickered faintly.

Illusion Technique: Hanging Seal Technique!

An invisible wave of mental energy silently surged toward Yo.

This was one of the basic Sharingan illusions, capable of binding the opponent's mind and creating the hallucination of being pinned down by wedges.

But Yo's left eye's Three Tomoe spun rapidly in response.

"Child's play!"

A fierce red light blazed in Yo's eyes.

The illusionary force invading his mind crashed against an iron wall, shattered and neutralized by the stronger pupil power.

The transplanted Sharingan also granted him strong resistance and the ability to break common illusions.

Of course.

If it were an illusion on the level of Tsukuyomi, that would be another story.

"His illusion resistance is also strong—it seems Yo has already grasped the basics of using the Sharingan and is quite skilled at it!"

Itachi's eyes shifted slightly, unsurprised, and as Yo broke the illusion, his hands flew through hand seals.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

A scorching fireball roared forward, surging toward Yo.

Yo reacted swiftly, beginning his own hand seals at the same time as Itachi.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Boom!!!

Two massive fireballs collided violently above the lake's surface, erupting with a deafening thunderous roar.

Blinding flames shot into the sky, and waves of scorching heat swept outward, evaporating a thick mist of white steam over the river.

When the flames subsided slightly.

The two brothers stood facing each other from a distance.

Itachi looked at Yo across the way, whose face was calm against the glow of the fire, and finally a hint of gravity crept into his eyes.

That Fire Style just now...

Whether it was the speed of hand signs, the Chakra output, or the power of the technique, it was unlike anything a twelve-year-old boy should possess.