When Yusuke spoke, Shisui didn't take it as a joke for a moment. He immediately increased the output of his ocular power and began strengthening Susanoo.
The skeletal body of Susanoo first grew a layer of tissue resembling muscles. Its face was no longer a skull, either; it had grown the face of a Crow Tengu.
Once its body had finished growing, armor formed over Susanoo's exterior, and two enormous tengu wings sprouted from its back.
Shisui's Susanoo had now grown to its third form!
But the intense drain on his Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power left blood leaking from both eyes, which were now webbed with blood vessels. Clearly, he had reached the limit of what he could use.
Shisui's chest heaved. After this string of high-intensity battles, he had little Chakra or stamina left.
Uchiha Fugaku, watching from outside the arena, was on tenterhooks. Seeing Shisui squander the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan like this pained him, but more importantly, two clan prodigies were engaged in a pointless fight inside the Training Ground. The slightest misstep could lead to unthinkable consequences.
"As expected of someone who can manifest Susanoo with just one eye. Shisui's ocular power really is astonishing. With an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan, he can bring Susanoo to this level." Looking at the now-larger Susanoo, which had gained muscles and armor, Yusuke silently praised him.
Once Susanoo was ready, Shisui decided to strike first.
Before this match began, he had never imagined that Yusuke would be this powerful—powerful enough to force him to use Susanoo's third form.
The armor on Susanoo's chest slowly opened, revealing an enormous emerald-green Tomoe inside. Susanoo reached into its chest with its left hand and pulled out the Tomoe.
"Senior Yusuke, let's settle this with one final move!" Shisui panted.
Yusuke, too, was frantically drawing Yin Release Chakra from the Nine-Tails inside his Cursed Seal. The Yin Release Chakra he had replenished not long ago was already gone, and the Nine-Tails, which had only just regained some of its size, had shrunk back to its juvenile form.
Seeing the two of them poised to attack, all the spectators fell silent. The entire Training Ground was quiet.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the moment the winner would be decided!
"Yasaka Magatama!"
"Ennetsu Jigoku!"
The emerald-green Chakra around Shisui's Susanoo erupted. The Tomoe in its hand instantly grew larger and began spinning at high speed, flying toward Yusuke with a powerful gust of wind.
Anyone hit by that attack would be pulverized.
Yusuke's normally placid eyes suddenly sharpened. He swept Ryujin Jakka out with his right hand, sending a slash of crimson-gold flames across the arena.
As the flames swept through the air, fireballs broke away one after another from their fiery trail.
Each fireball instantly transformed into a pillar of flame a hundred meters tall. In the end, eight enormous crimson-gold pillars formed and quickly closed in around Shisui's Susanoo.
Seeing the power of their attacks, Uchiha Fugaku immediately ordered the Sealing Squad to reinforce the seals around the Training Ground. At the same time, he was so worried that he silently prayed neither of them would come to harm.
When the emerald-green Yasaka Magatama collided with Yusuke's crimson-gold pillars of flame, the scene Shisui had imagined—his attack breaking through the pillars and continuing toward Yusuke—never came to pass. Instead, like a stone sinking into the sea, the Yasaka Magatama vanished completely inside the flames.
"What!"
Seeing the Yasaka Magatama turn to ash inside the pillars, Shisui stared in disbelief and cried out.
But he quickly realized the fight wasn't over. The eight pillars of flame, each a hundred meters tall, were already right in front of him. He had to defend himself first.
Shisui rapidly formed Hand Seals, and Susanoo made the same seals along with him.
"Bankotsu Gobo!"
Hundreds and thousands of enormous bones extended outward from Susanoo's body. They rapidly grew together into six huge bone walls.
A hideous Crow Tengu skull was embedded in the center of each wall. The six walls ultimately formed a regular hexagon, sheltering both Susanoo and Shisui inside.
Shisui had just completed the most powerful defensive ninjutsu he knew when the eight towering crimson-gold pillars of flame surrounded him, Susanoo, and the bone walls he had just summoned.
The pillars suddenly exploded, transforming into a sea of crimson-gold flames. Under the scorching heat, the bone walls and Susanoo began to melt at a visible rate.
"Yusuke, please show mercy!"
Uchiha Fugaku shouted from outside the arena. He couldn't just stand by and watch Shisui, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, die at Yusuke's hands.
Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's plea, Yusuke sighed and decided to spare Shisui.
He could sense that Shisui's presence in the sea of flames had grown extremely faint. Shisui was desperately clinging on, burning through his Chakra and ocular power. Even so, Yusuke judged that he wouldn't last more than a few breaths.
Yusuke used the Body Flicker Technique to appear above Susanoo's head, preparing to withdraw the flames.
Yusuke stood atop the massive Susanoo, holding a tachi engulfed in blazing fire. The fiery trail from its tip formed a gigantic crimson-gold halo behind him. Framed by the surrounding sea of crimson-gold flames, he looked like a god of fire!
Everyone in the Training Ground, shinobi and civilians alike, was awed by Yusuke's astonishing presence.
Yusuke pointed Ryujin Jakka straight down and plunged it into Susanoo's head. Susanoo let out a furious roar.
As Susanoo's roar rang out, seeming to come from the depths of Hell, its wings, armor, muscles, and bones gradually faded away. At last, Susanoo disappeared from the Training Ground entirely.
At the same time, Ryujin Jakka drew all the flames from the crimson-gold sea into its blade, like a whale sucking in water. The sea of flames, which had been burning fiercely only moments before, vanished in an instant, leaving behind a huge crater in the center of the Training Ground and charred earth below it.
With Susanoo gone, and his stamina, Chakra, and ocular power completely spent, Shisui gave a muffled groan and fell from the air. He no longer had the strength to react and landed flat on his back in the middle of the crater.
Yusuke, who had been standing atop Susanoo's head, descended from the sky and landed in front of Shisui. His Zanpakuto, now out of its Shikai state, slammed into the ground beside Shisui's neck. He looked down at him.
"The outcome is decided!"
Looking at Shisui's bloodshot eyes, which had returned to their ordinary state, Yusuke spoke calmly.
To Yusuke, this had been a pointless fight, one that had served no purpose at all. So he didn't feel happy now. Instead, he was faintly relieved.
"If I hadn't taken the Nine-Tails' Yin Release Chakra first, I might have been the one to lose this fight."
After checking the state of the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal, Yusuke found that using "Ennetsu Jigoku" had completely depleted the Yin Release Chakra inside it. He had drained the Nine-Tails dry once more.
"I've only just started using Ryujin Jakka's abilities, so I probably still haven't brought out its full power. And there are Bankai techniques I can use after that. It looks like I'll have to find a way to build up my Yin Release Chakra reserves as soon as possible." Yusuke mused silently.
Seeing that Yusuke had spared Shisui, Uchiha Fugaku let out a sigh of relief and hurried to the center of the Training Ground to announce the result.
After a moment of silence, the spectators' seats erupted. Today's fight had reached Kage Level, opening everyone's eyes. The audience's response was naturally enthusiastic.
The high heat from Ryujin Jakka had made the air in the Training Ground extremely dry. Many spectators were sweating all over, and some even had hair that had curled slightly, as if it had just been baked.
Shisui lay there in silence, staring blankly at the sky. Two hot tears mixed with blood trickled from his eyes and slowly ran down either side of his face, dripping onto the ground.
Shisui felt he had disappointed the Third Hokage's expectations. He had also lost his chance to gain a stronger voice within the clan and reform it.
After officially declaring Yusuke the winner, Uchiha Fugaku immediately arranged for medical ninja to carry Shisui away for treatment.
In Uchiha Fugaku's heart, Yusuke remained the clan's most important member. After Yusuke, however, came Shisui, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Yusuke, thank you for showing mercy." Uchiha Fugaku looked at him earnestly.
In a battle between shinobi, victory and defeat often came down to life and death. In a fight of that caliber, Yusuke had given Fugaku a great deal of face by holding back and sparing Shisui's life.
Yusuke waved a hand and reminded him, "I'll say it again: Shisui's position is a serious problem. If you can't bring him over to your side, he may become your greatest obstacle in the future."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded. "Don't worry. I'll talk to Shisui again."
Looking at Yusuke, whose clothes were still immaculate and who didn't have a single injury, Uchiha Fugaku looked astonished. "It looks like you won very easily. I can't even begin to gauge your strength anymore."
Yusuke smiled without explaining. But he knew that his victory hadn't come easily. Although he hadn't used his Sharingan, he had already used every means at his disposal, including exhausting all the Nine-Tails' Yin Release Chakra inside the Cursed Seal.
After chatting briefly with Yusuke, Uchiha Fugaku hurried off to the hospital to check on Shisui. Yusuke left the Training Ground beneath the awe-filled gazes of everyone present.
The spectators were also beginning to file out of the stands. Many were still excitedly discussing Yusuke and Shisui's fight. Some of the children who had been there had already picked up bamboo swords or wooden sticks and were imitating Yusuke, calling themselves the "Flame Tachi."
Shisui was powerful, too, but he had lost. Besides, Ryujin Jakka's techniques had been spectacular and unforgettable, making them all the more appealing to children who idolized heroes.
In their private seats, the Third Hokage and Danzo still hadn't left. They looked at each other in silence.
A customary thank-you to everyone for your support! There are 35 days left until the double updates begin!
The Yasaka Magatama Shisui threw out is no joke, so please don't criticize the author. When I looked up this technique on Baidu, I was stunned too...
Here are the author's explanations of two questions readers have raised recently. These are just my personal opinions!
1. The Fourth Hokage is alive, and Naruto was sent to an orphanage.
Reason: The author thinks sending Naruto to an orphanage to conceal his identity is reasonable. After all, the Third Hokage's wife had died, so there were no female relatives suited to care for Naruto. But considering the Fourth Hokage, the Third Hokage wouldn't ignore Naruto's circumstances as he did in the original story. If the Fourth Hokage found out, the Third Hokage really wouldn't have an explanation.
2. Whether Shisui and Itachi live or die
The author has already outlined the coup and clan massacre arc. I can't spoil it yet, so please look forward to it!
Before you continue