"Hey, hurry up! Something big is happening at the training ground."
"What happened? Is someone attacking the clan compound?"
"Idiot, the Young Clan Head is dueling Kyosuke. They're both famous geniuses, and today they'll finally find out who's better."
"What? Wait for me! I want to watch too!"
At the training ground, Kyosuke felt a headache coming on.
"Damn you, Izuna." He glanced at the smug little brat, knowing he was behind all this commotion.
As for why he'd done it, it was most likely because he wanted his brother to beat Kyosuke in front of everyone.
For the past year, people had constantly debated who was the greatest talent among the clan's new generation.
Some thought the Young Clan Head's record spoke for itself. Naturally, others believed that Kyosuke, who had awakened the Sharingan at seven, was the strongest.
Kyosuke had wanted to train quietly for a while, but he hadn't expected Izuna to pull a stunt like this.
"Kyosuke!" Suddenly, someone called out beside him.
He turned and saw his short-sighted cousin approaching.
"What are you doing?" Uchiha Kei strode over, fuming. "The Young Clan Head is a person of such status. How can you challenge him to a public duel?"
Then he leaned closer and explained in a low voice, "If you win, how will the Young Clan Head save face? And what will the Clan Head think of you?"
He seemed concerned for his younger cousin, but in reality, he was worried that if Kyosuke angered the Clan Head, he'd get dragged down too.
He'd meant to tell his cousin to forfeit, but Kyosuke only glanced at him before turning to face the Uchiha brothers as they approached.
That was the last straw for Uchiha Kei. "You bastard! I'm talking to you. Is this how you treat your own cousin?!"
"Quit your yapping." Kyosuke gave the chattering man a cold look, narrowing his eyes. "Get lost. You're in my way."
"You little bastard, you think you can get away with that?" Uchiha Kei quickly pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, deciding to teach his cousin a lesson he'd never forget.
Just because the clan members praised him didn't mean he could think he was special. In Uchiha Kei's eyes, the boy before him was still the same pitiful kid who'd begged to be taken in.
His strength had reached Chunin level, and he had plenty of combat experience. He was sure he could take Kyosuke down with ease.
What he didn't know was that Kyosuke had already seen his move coming.
Picking a close-quarters fight against someone with the Sharingan? He clearly had no idea what danger meant.
Kyosuke knocked aside his opponent's thrust, pivoted, and twisted around behind Uchiha Kei.
At the same time, he gripped his short blade in reverse and held it against the man's throat.
"If we weren't in the clan compound, I'd kill you today."
He drove his knee hard into his cheap cousin's lower back, sending the young man sprawling to the ground.
In truth, Uchiha Kei was fairly strong. Kyosuke hadn't needed to take him down almost instantly.
The problem was that the man was far too arrogant. Picking a close-quarters fight without the Sharingan was just asking Kyosuke to toss him around like a rag doll.
Kyosuke kicked him away, then looked at the Dance King approaching him and said with a faint smile, "I didn't expect our first fight to happen like this."
"Should we clear everyone out?" Madara glanced around, frowning in annoyance. He shot his younger brother a glare.
Izuna shrank back at the look, then quickly turned and ran off.
"No need." Kyosuke gripped his short blade, his expression calm. "What's coming will come. Besides, I'm tired of staying cooped up in the clan compound."
"Then let's give it everything we've got today."
"That's exactly what I had in mind."
They didn't bother with elaborate formalities. Both took their stances, and their first clash began at once.
In terms of physical ability and chakra, ten-year-old Uchiha Madara had an overwhelming advantage.
Kyosuke couldn't afford to meet him head-on, and he also had to watch out for his opponent's ninjutsu.
To win, Kyosuke had to make full use of his Sharingan and the Shisui Style Body Flicker Technique he'd just learned.
His eyes flashed crimson as the Sharingan activated once more. In an instant, he could see every movement his opponent made.
He reached into his ninja tool pouch with his free left hand and flicked his wrist, sending three shuriken whistling through the air.
Clang! Uchiha Madara, holding a long sword, didn't slow his stride. He raised one arm, forming a solid defensive net in front of him.
The three shuriken, thrown at tricky angles, couldn't break through his sword guard. The distance between them was rapidly closing.
"Nice!"
The spectators cheered. That move alone had shown that Madara's swordsmanship was a cut above Kyosuke's.
Everyone present was a battle-hardened ninja, so they could easily see the nuances of the exchange.
"You haven't changed, Kyosuke." Uchiha Madara suddenly tossed his long sword into the air and swiftly formed Hand Seals, his hands moving like butterflies among flowers.
As flames gathered in his mouth, the temperature around them rose in an instant.
Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!
"Damn, is this guy trying to kill me?!" Kyosuke's mind flashed to the scene from the Shinobi World War, when more than twenty Mist Ninja had joined forces to fight the attack.
But he quickly realized that Madara wasn't yet at the level of a Jonin. He couldn't possibly unleash a Fire Style technique that powerful.
Even so, Kyosuke didn't dare underestimate the Dance King.
He rapidly formed Hand Seals. A moment before the fan-shaped sea of flames reached him, Kyosuke's body became a blurred afterimage as he shot toward Uchiha Madara in the distance.
Body Flicker Technique?!
Uchiha Madara was startled. He'd never expected Kyosuke to pull off a move like this.
Using the Body Flicker Technique by force—wasn't he worried about causing permanent internal damage?
"What is Keisuke thinking? How could he let him learn the Body Flicker Technique already?" Madara cursed inwardly. He gathered up his long sword and turned to look behind him.
Kyosuke was there, grimacing as he struggled to his feet.
Half of his pain came from the fall after he'd failed to control his momentum. The other half came from getting badly roasted by the Fire Style technique.
"Did Keisuke teach you the Body Flicker Technique?" Madara-sama asked with a frown.
If Kyosuke confirmed it, he'd definitely go and give Keisuke a piece of his mind.
But Kyosuke shook his head. He touched his slightly singed hair and sighed. "I taught myself. Damn it, my hair!"
Following the Uchiha family tradition, Kyosuke, like Madara, had an unruly hedgehog hairstyle that was hard to call handsome or ugly.
He'd planned to grow his hair long, if only to look different from those two damn brothers.
"You taught yourself?" Madara fell silent for a moment. He glanced at Kyosuke's hair, which nearly reached his shoulders, and said flatly, "You should get a haircut."
"Bastard, I'm growing it long."
"That'll get in the way during a fight."
"Heh, I'm planning to develop a hair-based ninjutsu. You'll see."
After trading a few barbs, the two went their separate ways.
Overall, Uchiha Madara had put on the more impressive performance.
Kyosuke's Body Flicker was fast, but he still couldn't control it very well. Everyone present could see that.
Still, the two of them were two years apart in age, so it was hard to say which one was more talented.
As far as Uchiha Tajima was concerned, his son was the one who would lead the clan in the future.
Uchiha Kyosuke?
It was time to start thinking of a way to deal with him.
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