Uchiha Kiyoshi looked at Uchiha Kō, a hint of gravity in his eyes. He knew Uchiha Kō might have some skill, but he had never expected him to dare challenge a Jonin like himself in front of everyone.
The other great clans suddenly stopped rushing to enter the village. Watching a fight was far more fun, so they cleared the area in the middle for the two of them.
Ding! The host is about to fight a Uchiha Jonin. Settling previous rewards in advance.
Ding! The host led the Senju troops without suffering a single casualty. Reward: Jonin Chakra and 500 points.
Ding! The host changed the Land of Whirlpools plot. Reward: Jonin combat skills and 2,000 points.
Ding! The host changed the Uzumaki Nagato plot. Reward: mastery of Fire Release ninjutsu, doubling the power of Fire Release ninjutsu and removing the need for Hand Seals, plus 5,000 points.
Points balance: A tidy fortune. Achievement completed. Reward: A-rank ninjutsu, Sand Burial (mastered).
As the system's voice faded, each reward fused with Uchiha Kō. A moment later, he came back to his senses.
The corners of his mouth lifted. He had initially planned to win through a trick, but it looked like he no longer needed to.
When Uchiha Kiyoshi saw his opponent form the Seal of Confrontation, he quickly formed it himself. The Uchiha Clan might be arrogant, but they respected anyone who challenged them, regardless of whether that person could defeat them.
"Uchiha Kō, you're the junior here, so you can make the first move." Uchiha Kiyoshi held a Kunai in a defensive stance. Everyone knew that shinobi were all about high offense and low defense.
Uchiha Kō smiled faintly, then formed the Hand Seals for the standard Great Fireball Technique. Uchiha Kiyoshi smiled faintly too. He planned to teach Uchiha Kō a lesson with the same ninjutsu.
But then his expression suddenly changed. The kid had formed only three Hand Seals—how was he already releasing the ninjutsu?!
He'd formed only two Hand Seals! Uchiha Kiyoshi hurriedly used the Substitution Technique to evade the attack, then fixed his eyes on Uchiha Kō. If he'd been any slower to react, he would have become the first shinobi ever killed by the Great Fireball Technique!
This kid... Uchiha Kiyoshi's thoughts stirred.
Uchiha Kō smiled slightly. As expected, the Great Fireball Technique couldn't kill anyone. Even with the fake Hand Seals, he hadn't managed to burn Uchiha Kiyoshi to death.
What Uchiha Kiyoshi didn't know was that, in his eyes, Uchiha Kō had already become a formidable enemy. He couldn't tell whether Uchiha Kō had improved the Great Fireball Technique or could use ninjutsu without Hand Seals.
Uchiha Kiyoshi would much rather it be the former. Looking back over the entire Warring States Period, only Madara Uchiha and Senju Hashirama had managed the latter. If Uchiha Kō had done it, then he...
Before he could think any further, Uchiha Kō leaped into the air, spun around, and sent three enormous Phoenix Sage Fireballs hurtling toward Uchiha Kiyoshi.
Uchiha Kiyoshi's eyes widened. They're huge! What's going on? This kid...
He used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge, but the Phoenix Sage Fire still burned part of his clothes.
After feeling the force of Uchiha Kō's two ninjutsu attacks, Uchiha Kiyoshi realized he absolutely couldn't beat him with ninjutsu.
So he pulled out a Shuriken and threw it at Uchiha Kō. Uchiha Kō drew his sword.
Clang, clang, clang, clang! He knocked the Shuriken back. But when Uchiha Kō looked toward where Uchiha Kiyoshi had been, he found that he had disappeared!
Uchiha Kō was still momentarily stunned when his body moved on its own. He raised his sword to block. Clang!
His Jonin combat skills had become muscle memory, making him raise his sword to parry.
At the clang, Uchiha Kiyoshi stared in disbelief. This guy's combat skills and instincts were already on par with his own.
Once Uchiha Kō recovered, he chose not to form Hand Seals this time. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Uchiha Kiyoshi hurriedly retreated, but the Great Fireball's heat still singed his skin. He saw it clearly: Uchiha Kō hadn't formed any Hand Seals. This was a genius!
But the Uchiha Clan didn't rely only on swordsmanship and Fire Release!
Uchiha Kiyoshi's eyes turned red, and his Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared. The other Uchiha drew in sharp breaths. Three tomoe—Senior Kiyoshi was getting serious.
"Kō, that's enough. I acknowledge your strength. If we keep fighting, the consequences may get out of hand." Uchiha Kiyoshi spoke earnestly. He had already acknowledged Uchiha Kō's strength.
But Uchiha Kō wanted more than that. "Senior Kiyoshi, don't hold back." As he spoke, he drew on his Yin Release Chakra, and his eyes transformed into a Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
The other Uchiha's expressions changed. Jonin skills, Fire Release, and a Two-Tomoe Sharingan—this didn't mean Uchiha Kō was weak. It meant his talent was monstrous.
Everyone knew that an Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan could attain Jonin-level strength using the Sharingan alone.
Since Uchiha Kō already had Jonin-level strength with two tomoe, that meant once he awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he could overpower Jonin—even contend with Kage Level powerhouses!
Uchiha Kiyoshi felt a desire to nurture this talent. No matter how much Uchiha Kō resented the Uchiha Clan, he was still one of them.
So he decided to end the fight with a genjutsu. Genjutsu: Sharingan! He would use the Sharingan's own genjutsu. Three tomoe against two—this would be a piece of cake.
Just as he thought he had Uchiha Kō under control, Uchiha Kō flashed to the side, then knocked Uchiha Kiyoshi down with a sweeping kick. Uchiha Kiyoshi's eyes widened, and his Sharingan reverted to ordinary black eyes.
"H-How is this possible? Weren't you supposed to..." Uchiha Kiyoshi struggled to his feet. He had thought victory was assured, and had just been about to brag.
Who could have guessed Uchiha Kō would cut him off before he could finish, kicking him to the ground?
"Oh? Wasn't I supposed to fall under your genjutsu? Doesn't genjutsu depend on one's state of mind? I have my clanmates to thank for 'looking after' me all these years. It's made my mind remarkably calm." Uchiha Kō finished with a slight smile.
Uchiha Kiyoshi fell silent. He knew Uchiha Kō was right. Then a hand reached out toward him. Uchiha Kiyoshi looked up and saw Uchiha Kō. He opened his mouth to say something.
Uchiha Kō shook his head. "Let's form the Seal of Reconciliation." Then he said no more and simply watched Uchiha Kiyoshi.
Uchiha Kiyoshi nodded. After they formed the Seal of Reconciliation, Uchiha Kō pulled him to his feet. Uchiha Kiyoshi thanked him, then returned to the group, no longer acting as arrogant as he had at the start.
Instead, he looked at Uchiha Kō with admiration. He studied Uchiha Kō's features closely, then furrowed his brows. He felt like he had seen him somewhere before.
For some reason, his vision blurred. It was as if he saw the clan leader from the Warring States Period, carrying a scythe and bearing a Gunbai on his back.
Boom! His scalp tingled. How could this guy look so much like Lord Madara?!
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