Sparring with the Patriarch

After Uchiha Yusuke finished his hand seals, the flames he exhaled underwent a qualitative change, turning a deep, crimson red.

This technique was a Fire Release performed by Yusuke channeling the power of Ryujin Jakka within his body; the intensity of the flames was far greater than ordinary fire, swallowing Uchiha Fugaku's Great Fireball Technique in the blink of an eye and instantly engulfing him.

"Father!" Itachi, who was watching from the sidelines, exclaimed.

However, he quickly set his mind at ease, as he saw Uchiha Fugaku, having been swallowed by the flames, turn into a wooden log with a 'poof' before the log was reduced to ash within the fire.

Clearly, Uchiha Fugaku had used the Substitution Technique in time to evade the attack of Yusuke's flames.

Yusuke also quickly retracted his flames and suddenly crossed his arms in a defensive posture to his side, just in time to block a fierce whip kick from the suddenly appearing Uchiha Fugaku.

Because Uchiha Fugaku's whip kick was packed with power, Yusuke was forced to take several steps back from the impact.

Having seized the upper hand, Uchiha Fugaku pressed the advantage and launched a series of fierce attacks.

Neither of them used weapons, instead engaging in a bout of pure taijutsu offense and defense. The speed of their exchange was extremely fast, and every strike was heavy and powerful; it was clear that both were masters of taijutsu.

Once a ninja reaches a certain level, their taijutsu is never weak.

Without sufficient physical fitness and reaction speed, one cannot cope with the ever-changing methods of various types of ninjas.

The Uchiha Clan possesses the Sharingan, which can greatly increase dynamic vision, and the clansmen place special emphasis on taijutsu training; otherwise, their bodies would never be able to adapt to the visual discrepancies caused by the Sharingan's dynamic vision.

After the two traded blows for a while, they had roughly tested each other's taijutsu capabilities.

During the exchange, Yusuke noticed that the annoyance Uchiha Fugaku had shown toward him at the beginning seemed to have vanished from his face, replaced more by a sense of appreciation, though the fast-paced nature of the fight left no room for Yusuke to dwell on it.

Suddenly, Uchiha Fugaku changed his tactics, leaping into the air and kicking down heavily toward Yusuke.

Yusuke raised his arms to block, and Uchiha Fugaku used the force of that kick to leap upward and backward, simultaneously performing hand seals to cast a ninjutsu.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!" Uchiha Fugaku spat out a dozen flames from his mouth, and with a wave of his right hand, a dozen high-speed rotating shuriken flew into these flames, then shot rapidly toward Yusuke, shrouded in fire.

Facing the incoming Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson, Yusuke quickly formed hand seals, and a purple, glass-like barrier appeared before him.

"Flame Release: Single Purple Flame Array!"

As the dozen shuriken wrapped in flames struck the purple barrier in front of Yusuke, a violent cloud of black smoke rose up, and after a 'hissing' sound like a hot iron being plunged into cold water, they completely vanished. It was clear they had been burned to nothing by the high-temperature purple flames, leaving not even a trace behind.

This 'Flame Release: Single Purple Flame Array' was a ninjutsu Yusuke had researched based on the 'Four Purple Flame Array' provided by Orochimaru; Yusuke had taught this technique to Orochimaru, but Orochimaru had never been able to perform it.

The reason was that Orochimaru could not independently complete the nature transformation from 'Fire Release' to 'Flame Release', whereas Yusuke could transform fire into flame by utilizing the power of his Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka.

Uchiha Fugaku was a man of wide experience and, seeing that this purple barrier was not easily broken, he circled around to the side to launch an attack on Yusuke. This time, Uchiha Fugaku held a kunai in his hand, and a single thrust pierced directly through Yusuke's chest.

But Uchiha Fugaku realized that this strike did not feel like it had hit a solid body, and he immediately understood that his opponent had avoided the attack through some method.

The Yusuke before him gradually split into individual crows covered in crimson flames, and these crows flapped their wings in unison, pouncing toward Uchiha Fugaku.

Uchiha Fugaku retreated while waving his kunai to drive the crows away.

However, when the kunai struck the crows, Uchiha Fugaku discovered that they also lacked substance, yet the wide sleeves of his kimono were ignited by the flames clinging to the crows' bodies.

Uchiha Fugaku waved his kunai to cut away the burning sleeve. At the same time, his rich combat experience allowed him to immediately realize that these were not ordinary clones, but clones that combined genjutsu and elemental chakra.

"A fine Uchiha Yusuke indeed; let me see what other tricks you can pull." Uchiha Fugaku praised him inwardly, but his face remained calm. He quickly formed hand seals, and the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes slowly rotated.

"Body Bind Technique!"

Suddenly, dozens of iron spikes appeared, pinning the flying crows in the air, and all the crows pinned by these spikes became instantly motionless.

Gradually, the crows vanished, and Yusuke's figure slowly appeared. However, Yusuke was now also pinned by several iron spikes, and he appeared unable to move an inch.

"To use genjutsu to defeat genjutsu, you are truly worthy of being the clan head. I had thought the 'Fire Illusion Crow Technique' was nearly unbreakable, yet it was countered so easily," the immobilized Yusuke said to Uchiha Fugaku.

Although Yusuke's expression remained calm, his tone was filled with admiration.

The 'Body Bind Technique' Yusuke was currently under was actually a genjutsu, and the iron spikes pinning him were not physical; only the caster, Uchiha Fugaku, and the target, Yusuke, could see them, while Itachi, watching from the side, only saw Yusuke standing perfectly still.

"Yusuke-kun, you are truly the most outstanding genius of our clan. At such a young age, you have already achieved this level of strength without relying on the Sharingan. Furthermore, in this sparring match, you, known as the 'Flame Tachi', have not once drawn your blade, which suggests you still have strength in reserve," Uchiha Fugaku said.

At this moment, Uchiha Fugaku's expression softened; he was no longer as stern as when they first met, but instead looked at Yusuke with an appreciative gaze.

In Uchiha Fugaku's view, he had already won this spar. Whether Yusuke had refrained from using his blade due to the nature of the match or out of arrogance, he was now firmly under his control and unable to continue the fight.

Moreover, he, Uchiha Fugaku, had kept his greatest trump card hidden and unused!

"I have not taken your conflict with Tatsuya and the others to heart; I only wanted to test your strength just now. I had already estimated your strength to be quite high, but it seems I still underestimated you," Uchiha Fugaku continued.

Watching Uchiha Fugaku speak so freely, Yusuke understood the man's thoughts. His opponent believed he was now unable to resist, and was therefore speaking to him from the position of a victor.

Seeing that Yusuke remained silent, Uchiha Fugaku frowned slightly and said, "Young man, do not harbor resentment because of a single defeat. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in the life of a warrior, and besides, your opponent is the head of the Uchiha Clan!"

"Clan Head, my apologies; I was just wondering if this sparring match is considered over?" Yusuke said.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku actually laughed, a rare occurrence: "And what do you think?"

"If it isn't over, then I might have to draw my blade," Yusuke said, looking at Uchiha Fugaku with a calm expression.

"Reduce all creation to ash!" Ryujin Jakka, Shikai!

Before the words had even faded, Uchiha Fugaku saw a flash of fire in Yusuke's eyes, and a powerful, violent fire-attribute chakra erupted from his entire body, instantly breaking free from the Body Bind Technique.

But what drew Uchiha Fugaku's gaze most was the magnificent, flame-wrapped longsword that had appeared in Yusuke's right hand.

Yusuke swung the Ryujin Jakka in his hand, and the flames on the blade carved a crimson arc through the air, like a magnificent trail of fire.

Seeing this scene, Uchiha Fugaku was not only shocked but couldn't help but sigh, "Truly worthy of being called the 'Flame Tachi'; the younger generation is indeed formidable."

Deactivating his Sharingan, Uchiha Fugaku habitually went to tuck both hands into the wide sleeves of his kimono, only to find his left hand swinging through empty air. It turned out the wide sleeve of his right arm had just been incinerated by the Fire Illusion Crow Technique.

With a wry smile, Uchiha Fugaku sighed again and said, "I didn't expect this, truly, I didn't expect this. By the definition of a sparring match, I suppose I've lost since I've had a sleeve destroyed."

Seeing that Uchiha Fugaku had no intention of continuing the fight, Yusuke retracted his Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka.

Previously, Yusuke hadn't been sure what type of ninja Uchiha Fugaku was, but through this exchange, he realized that Uchiha Fugaku's greatest strength was likely genjutsu.

The Body Bind Technique used just moments ago was not a high-level genjutsu, yet Uchiha Fugaku was able to use it with such mastery that he not only used it to break through the Fire Illusion Crow Technique but also managed to firmly restrain him.

If he hadn't possessed Ryujin Jakka, with his current abilities, he would have been unable to break that technique in a short amount of time.

Of course, the so-called inability to break it wasn't simply about the "technique" itself, but more importantly, it was about the "person" casting it. If Kurenai had cast the same Body Bind Technique, she would likely have struggled to control him even for a split second.

Yusuke shook his head. "You flatter me, Clan Head. In truth, I have already exhausted all my means. I am not arrogant enough to believe that I am currently capable of defeating the head of the Uchiha Clan."

This statement was not Yusuke being modest; he knew that Uchiha Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. If the other party were to use the bizarre and unpredictable abilities of the Mangekyou Sharingan, he truly would be unable to defend against it right now.

Uchiha Fugaku nodded in satisfaction. "Yusuke, this is not the place to talk. Let's go to the reception room and sit down to chat."

He felt very pleased with this young junior, who possessed astonishing talent yet remained calm and composed; even his form of address had become much more intimate.

The three of them arrived at the reception room. Uchiha Fugaku and Yusuke sat opposite each other, while Itachi brought over another cushion and sat beside Uchiha Fugaku.

The sparring match between Yusuke and Uchiha Fugaku had allowed Itachi to witness a battle between high-level ninja for the first time.

Possessing an innate and extremely high combat intelligence, he also felt a sense of yearning.

Just as boys on Earth might have dreams of martial arts heroes or superheroes, most boys in the world of Naruto dreamed of becoming powerful ninja.

Looking at Yusuke's young yet remarkably steady face, Uchiha Fugaku said slowly, "The clan is currently facing various predicaments, and I believe that as a Jonin, you should be able to sense them."