While the older generation of Uchiha reached a consensus over the aroma of tea, the younger generation, even more eager for change, also took steps toward unity.
After seeing the children off, Uchiha Yashiro, Hazuki, and Fugaku did not disperse.
At Fugaku's sincere invitation, the three tacitly made their way to the center of the training ground.
The ring of kunai leaving their sheaths cut through the morning mist. Their figures crossed and clashed—not only to spar, but to communicate.
Meanwhile, the Hawk Faction Uchiha who had received the orders shot off like arrows loosed from a bow, seeking out their Dove Faction colleagues first.
Ever since Ren and Mikoto had made their relationship public, the once-hostile atmosphere between the two factions had become delicate.
At least neither side was opposed to the other.
With the Dove Faction Uchiha acting as a buffer, the two groups went on to seek out members of the Clan Head Faction and began making friends through sparring.
In the Uchiha Clan, nothing made a deeper impression than a strong fist. A fight was far more convincing than mere words.
After all, Chakra was not only the product of an equal blend of spiritual and physical energy, but also the power the Sage of Six Paths had used to connect people through spiritual energy.
This was especially true for Uchiha, whose emotions were so abundant they nearly overflowed.
To them, their oppressive, stifling clan was like a spring constantly being compressed, wearing down their nerves day and night.
The moment they set aside their burdens and their Chakra clashed fiercely, they could truly feel, "I sense your ambition, and you understand mine."
And so their spiritual power began to surge, grow, and soar. The light in their Sharingan shone more brilliantly than the red spider lilies!
Bold, carefree laughter rang out alongside the rush of ninjutsu, the rumble of explosions, and the clash of ninja tools, all echoing like thunder across the training ground!
"Lord Fugaku, please instruct me."
Dozens of pairs of Sharingan around the training ground focused on the two in the center.
Three Tomoe appeared in Yashiro's eyes, glowing a deep red, as he lowered his stance.
The sword in his hand angled toward the ground. Chakra rose from his feet, and an invisible current of air abruptly swirled around him—the opening stance of Uchiha Style: Wind-Riding Sword Technique.
Pure Chakra surged through his meridians with the soft murmur of a flowing stream.
Pale blue light spread from his palm and wound around the cold blade. The air rang with a fine, piercing hum as it was sliced apart, as if countless invisible threads were being drawn taut.
In the hands of an Uchiha elite with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, this complete sword technique—one powerful enough to rival an A-rank ninjutsu—could unleash power comparable to an S-rank technique.
Fugaku nodded calmly, settling into the opening stance of traditional Uchiha swordsmanship with effortless grace.
His left hand rested lightly on the scabbard, while his right gripped the hilt wrapped in black thread.
At a thought, his Chakra had already undergone a nature transformation. Fierce, scorching Fire Release Chakra surged within the scabbard, casting molten-red patterns across the blade forged from Chakra Metal.
Waves of heat seeped through the gaps in the scabbard, warping the light.
"Please."
Before Fugaku had even finished speaking, Yashiro's figure surged forward like a breeze.
His blade swept out, and a vacuum blade of condensed Chakra tore through the air—First Form: Dust Whirlwind - Shredding Slash!
A fierce, invisible pressure swept over the ground like a massive plow, carving deep, crisscrossing furrows into the hard surface of the training ground and sending stones flying.
The dust split cleanly apart as the attack hurtled toward Fugaku at astonishing speed.
The Three Tomoe in Fugaku's eyes spun rapidly. The instant the wind blades reached him, he drew his sword.
"Clang—!"
A clear sword ring rang out as scorching flames burst from the blade, like a slumbering fire dragon awakening—Uchiha Style: Iai: Sword Leaping Flame!
A storm of crimson flame slammed into the pale-blue vacuum blades, unleashing a blinding flash.
Amid the roar, a ring of scorching heat spread outward, making the clothes of the distant spectators flap wildly. Many imagined themselves in the fight, thinking about how they would counter the attacks.
At the same time, the Wind-Riding Sword Technique was laid bare before the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, unraveled thread by thread.
Using the force of the clash to spin around, Yashiro kept his blade moving without pause.
"Second Form: Claw Claw - Shinatsuhiko Wind!"
Four even more condensed wind blades appeared out of nowhere. Like the talons of a giant bird, they crossed and sealed off every route Fugaku could take to evade.
But Fugaku, whose strength had reached Kage Level, had no need to meet them head-on.
The Three Tomoe turned as his feet shifted nimbly. At the last possible moment, he slipped through a deadly gap in the crossing blades.
His sword returned to its scabbard in an instant. Then, in less than the blink of an eye, his figure blurred as he used the Body Flicker Technique with practiced ease to close the distance and press toward Yashiro again.
"Clang!"
A deafening clash of metal erupted!
Fugaku's sword suddenly changed course, his steady stance transforming into an explosive attack.
A slash in the style of Iai flashed like a bolt of lightning, aimed straight at Yashiro's centerline.
"He's strong, but not as strong as Young Lord Ren!"
Yashiro's pupils contracted. His Three Tomoe spun wildly, tracking every shift in Fugaku's Chakra.
He gripped the hilt with both hands and leaped into the air, pouring all his Chakra into the blade. It gathered into a violently spinning storm of deep blue-green wind.
"Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm!"
A vortex formed from five wind blades crashed down from above, ripping up an entire section of ground below. Soil and stone were swept high into the air by its raging force.
Fugaku's sword became a ray of dawn. Roaring flames clung to the blade as he charged upward against the oncoming force, thrusting into the storm's weakest point.
The second burst of Jian Yue Yan followed, condensing into an even more destructive mass of red Chakra that erupted like magma, tearing the raging wall of wind apart from within.
Sparks and chaotic currents collided fiercely in the air, then vanished, blooming into a tragic beauty like a cherry tree in full flower. They scattered moments later as a shockwave carrying the stench of scorched earth.
The two figures crossed amid the explosion's aftershock.
In that split second, Yashiro gave an almost imperceptible flick of his wrist. The tip of his blade quivered as the three thrusts of Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree slashed down like an eagle's talons.
Fugaku seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He swung his sword backward in the purest form of Iai, the blade seeming to sever even the light itself.
When the final sword ring faded from the air, the two stood back-to-back, more than ten meters apart.
Yashiro bent one knee and supported himself with his sword tip as he panted heavily.
A large patch of his sleeve was scorched black, wisps of smoke still rising from its edges.
Fugaku's expression remained unchanged, his breathing as steady as before.
As he sheathed his sword, he subtly turned his wrist and slipped several dark scraps of cloth, cut from his hem by the wind blades, into his sleeve without anyone noticing.
With a clink, the sword slid into its scabbard.
Fugaku raised his eyes to Yashiro, a flash of admiration in them.
"As expected of the Wind-Riding Sword Technique created by our clan brother, Ren. He's given the clan another worthy tradition to study."
The watching Uchiha broke into laughter as one.
Even in the Shinobi World, Ma Huateng couldn't hold a candle to the Uchiha!
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