Qingyu's Sharingan

Seeing the single-tomoe Sharingan emerge in Qingyu's eyes, Obito froze.

"Sha... Sharingan?!"

He pushed his yellow goggles up in disbelief and rubbed his eyes, confirming he hadn't seen wrong.

In those scarlet pupils of Qingyu's, there was clearly the pattern unique to the Sharingan!

"How is this possible... I've never seen him in the clan before!"

Obito was utterly confused.

The Uchiha all lived in the same district, and since they saw each other constantly, everyone was quite familiar with one another.

Rin Nohara glanced at Obito and whispered an explanation:

"You were late when Qingyu introduced himself earlier. He said he lives with Lady Tsunade and seems to have a deep connection to the Senju clan."

"Senju?"

Obito furrowed his brows, struggling to search his little brain for relevant information.

"Isn't that ancient history from years ago?"

He pondered carefully, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Wait... I think my grandma told me once about some big rumor back in the day, saying that members of the Senju and Uchiha had joined together or something..."

Obito scratched his head; those were just stories his grandma told him as bedtime chatter, and he had been so drowsy at the time that he hadn't remembered many details.

"Forget it, whatever."

Obito shook his head.

He was a pure-blooded Uchiha who hadn't even awakened his Sharingan yet, so how could a half-blood like Qingyu have already unlocked it?

While Obito was lost in thought, Qingyu and Kakashi had already taken their stances.

Qingyu was purely following Kakashi's lead; he didn't really know swordsmanship, having only a slight understanding of it.

His reliance in challenging Kakashi was the Sharingan.

Qingyu had been born with the Sharingan on the day he came into the world, a fact that had left his parents in awe.

Qingyu guessed that the combination of the Senju's Yang release and the Uchiha's Yin release was what caused him to be born with the Sharingan.

The Sharingan, huh...

Kakashi mused to himself.

He remembered that the Sharingan could not only significantly enhance dynamic vision but also possessed abilities like "copying" and "hypnosis"!

Come to think of it, this was his first time fighting a ninja who had awakened the Sharingan.

Although it was only a single-tomoe, the Sharingan's dynamic vision was enough to capture many details of movement that ordinary people couldn't perceive.

He couldn't attack rashly.

Kakashi made up his mind, gripped the branch in his hand, and maintained a defensive posture.

Seeing his caution, Qingyu didn't stand on ceremony and struck first.

The branch sliced through the air, slashing diagonally toward Kakashi.

The movement... was very clumsy.

Kakashi easily dodged to the side, his brows knitting slightly.

It felt as if the person holding the sword rarely touched one; even the basic way of exerting force was somewhat awkward.

Strange.

Even with the Sharingan activated, his taijutsu and swordsmanship shouldn't be this unrefined.

Kakashi didn't rush to counterattack; he wanted to observe a bit more.

Qingyu lunged with another strike.

This time was slightly better than before, but it was still full of openings.

Kakashi parried Qingyu's branch aside.

The two of them exchanged blows back and forth for several rounds like this.

Considering that Qingyu hadn't really learned swordsmanship, Kakashi chose a conservative style of play.

Gradually, Kakashi noticed something wrong.

Qingyu's movements were becoming proficient at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The awkwardness from his first strike was rapidly fading away.

Although he was still far from being a true master of swordsmanship, the scale of this progress was truly astonishing.

Kakashi couldn't help but increase his speed, the branch in his hand swinging with greater ferocity.

However, Qingyu's pair of Sharingan spun rapidly, clearly capturing every single one of Kakashi's movements.

Even though Kakashi was not using his full strength, such intensity should not be something a beginner to swordsmanship could parry.

"Qingyu, how long have you practiced swordsmanship before?" Kakashi finally couldn't help but ask.

"I haven't practiced at all," Qingyu answered straightforwardly. "I just think swordsmanship is quite interesting."

Kakashi's movements paused slightly.

He hadn't practiced?

That meant this was Qingyu's first time ever touching a sword?

Kakashi looked at Qingyu's pair of scarlet Sharingan, and an indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.

Is this the true power of the Sharingan?

Or is it that Qingyu's talent for swordsmanship is simply that high?

Regardless of which it was, it was astonishing.

After all, he had never seen anyone capable of awakening the Sharingan at the age of six.

However, there was no time for Qingyu to continue carefully observing Kakashi's movements, as new traits arrived immediately!

[Detected collectible trait: Swordsmanship Foundation]

[E-rank trait: Swordsmanship Foundation]

[Effect: Your swordsmanship fundamentals are increased by 10%.]

Qingyu's eyebrows arched slightly.

He felt the branch in his hand suddenly become much lighter, and the movements that were previously somewhat clumsy suddenly became much smoother.

The details of the swordsmanship he had just observed through the Sharingan seemed to become his body's instinct at this moment.

In Kakashi's eyes, however, it was a different scene.

Qingyu's learning speed had suddenly surged once more.

At first, he could only defend passively, but now he could occasionally land a few decent counterattacks.

This guy... is this really his first time holding a sword?

Obito watched from the side, dumbfounded, and couldn't help but tug on Rin Nohara's sleeve.

"Rin, why is Qingyu able to trade blows back and forth with Kakashi? Even though that guy is annoying, his swordsmanship is truly impressive."

Rin Nohara wasn't too sure either, and she said hesitantly, "Perhaps... Qingyu's Sharingan is playing a role?"

"Hmph!"

As soon as Obito heard this, he immediately perked up.

"Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll definitely be stronger than Qingyu!"

In the arena, the sparring continued.

However, the scales of victory were ultimately tilting.

Even with the support of the Sharingan and the bonus from the trait, the experience Kakashi had accumulated from practicing sword since childhood was not so easily matched.

Not to mention that Kakashi himself was a genius among geniuses.

Swish.

Kakashi's branch tapped against Qingyu's wrist.

The branch in Qingyu's hand slipped away, falling to the ground and bouncing twice.

"I lost," Qingyu said calmly. "Kakashi, you really are amazing."

Kakashi, however, shook his head with a wry smile and picked up the branch Qingyu had dropped.

"How long have I been practicing, and this is your first time touching a sword..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already obvious.

If Qingyu were given the same amount of time, the outcome would be hard to predict.

Obito stood to the side with his arms crossed, looking unconvinced.

"Hmph, I just haven't exerted my full power yet. Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll be a swordsmanship genius too!"

Kakashi glanced at him.

He didn't know how many times a day Obito said that, and he was already tired of hearing it.

Therefore, he said indifferently, "Whether you can even awaken the Sharingan is still a question mark."

"What did you say?!"

Obito felt his anger flare up instantly, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

That detestable Hatake brat!

That naturally evil Hatake brat!

Wait, that's not quite how the saying goes for the Hatake clan...

Obito's internal vocabulary was a bit muddled, but he still glared fiercely at Kakashi.

Then, he cast a glance at Qingyu.

Qingyu's eyes had already returned to their normal black, and he was currently wiping his hands with a handkerchief.

A brat connected to the Senju clan must be evil too!

Obito thought silently to himself, mentally categorizing Qingyu into the "detestable genius" camp as well.