Qingyu's Sharingan

Seeing the One-Tomoe Sharingan appear in Qingyu's eyes, Obito froze.

"Shar... Sharingan?!"

He incredulously pushed up his yellow goggles and rubbed his eyes, making sure he hadn't seen wrong.

There was no mistaking the pattern in Qingyu's scarlet eyes. It was the Sharingan!

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

Obito was baffled.

The Uchiha all lived in the same district. They saw one another all the time and knew each other fairly well.

Rin Nohara glanced at Obito and quietly explained, "When Qingyu introduced himself earlier, you were late. He said he lived with Lady Tsunade and seemed to have close ties to the Senju Clan."

"Senju?"

Obito furrowed his brow, searching his mind for anything related.

"Wasn't that ancient history? The clan disbanded years ago."

He thought it over carefully, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Wait... I think my grandma once told me there was a huge scandal back then. Something about a Senju and an Uchiha clan member getting together..."

Obito scratched his head. His grandma had told those stories as bedtime tales, and he'd been so sleepy at the time that he hadn't remembered many details.

"Never mind. Forget it."

Obito shook his head.

He was a pure-blooded Uchiha and still hadn't awakened the Sharingan. How had a mixed-blood like Qingyu awakened it?

While Obito was pondering this, Qingyu and Kakashi had already taken their stances.

Qingyu was simply copying Kakashi. He didn't know much about swordsmanship, only a little about it.

His confidence in challenging Kakashi came entirely from his Sharingan.

Qingyu had been born with the Sharingan. His parents had been astonished when they saw it on the day he was born.

Qingyu guessed that it was the result of the Senju's Yang Release power combining with the Uchiha's Yin Release power.

"Sharingan, huh..."

Kakashi mused to himself.

He remembered that the Sharingan could greatly enhance one's dynamic vision and even grant abilities such as "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 One-Tomoe Sharingan, its enhanced dynamic vision was enough to catch many details in a person's movements that ordinary people couldn't perceive.

He couldn't rush into an attack.

Kakashi made up his mind, gripped the branch in his hand, and held his defensive stance.

Seeing how cautious he was, Qingyu didn't hesitate and made the first move.

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

His movements... were very clumsy.

Kakashi easily sidestepped the strike, his brows drawing together slightly.

It felt as though someone who rarely held a sword had picked one up. Even his basic technique for generating force was awkward.

Strange.

He had awakened the Sharingan. His taijutsu and swordsmanship shouldn't be this clumsy.

Kakashi didn't counterattack right away. He wanted to observe a little longer.

Qingyu thrust at him again.

This time, it was slightly better, but his technique still had plenty of openings.

Kakashi knocked Qingyu's branch aside.

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

Since Qingyu hadn't learned much swordsmanship, Kakashi chose to fight cautiously.

Gradually, Kakashi realized something was off.

Qingyu's movements were becoming more polished right before his eyes.

The clumsiness of his first strike was quickly fading.

He was still a long way from being a true master swordsman, but the speed of his progress was astonishing.

Kakashi couldn't help speeding up, swinging his branch with greater force.

But Qingyu's Sharingan spun rapidly, clearly capturing every one of Kakashi's movements.

Even though Kakashi wasn't going all out, Qingyu shouldn't have been able to handle this level of intensity if he had only just taken up swordsmanship.

"Qingyu, how long have you been practicing swordsmanship?"

Kakashi finally couldn't help asking.

"I haven't practiced at all," Qingyu answered without hesitation. "I just think swordsmanship is interesting."

Kakashi's movements faltered slightly.

He hadn't practiced?

So this was Qingyu's first time trying swordsmanship?

Kakashi looked into Qingyu's scarlet Sharingan, a feeling he couldn't quite describe rising within him.

Was this the true power of the Sharingan?

Or was Qingyu simply talented at swordsmanship?

Either way, it was astonishing.

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

But before Qingyu could continue studying Kakashi's movements, a new trait arrived!

[Collectible trait detected: Swordsmanship Foundation]

[E-rank trait: Swordsmanship Foundation]

[Effect: Your swordsmanship foundation improves by 10%.]

Qingyu's eyebrows lifted slightly.

The branch in his hand suddenly seemed much lighter. His movements, which had still felt somewhat awkward, now came more naturally.

The swordsmanship details he had just observed through the Sharingan seemed to have become instinctive.

In Kakashi's eyes, though, the scene looked different.

Qingyu's learning speed suddenly surged again.

At first, he could only defend himself passively. Now he could occasionally launch a few counterattacks that actually looked like swordsmanship.

Was this guy... really holding a sword for the first time?

Obito gaped at the sight. He couldn't help tugging on Rin Nohara's sleeve.

"Rin, how come Qingyu can keep up with Kakashi? That guy may be annoying, but he really is good at swordsmanship."

Rin Nohara wasn't sure either. She hesitated before replying, "Maybe... Qingyu's Sharingan is helping him?"

"Hmph!"

Obito immediately perked up at that.

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

The spar continued.

But the balance of victory was inevitably tipping to one side.

Even with the Sharingan and the boost from his trait, Qingyu couldn't easily catch up to the experience Kakashi had gained from practicing swordsmanship since childhood.

Besides, Kakashi was a genius among geniuses.

Swish.

Kakashi's branch tapped Qingyu on the wrist.

The branch slipped from Qingyu's hand, hit the ground, and bounced twice.

"I lost."

Qingyu said it calmly.

"You really are amazing, Kakashi."

Kakashi gave a wry smile and picked up the branch Qingyu had dropped.

"I've been practicing for so long, and this was your first time trying swordsmanship..."

He didn't finish, but his meaning was clear.

Give Qingyu the same amount of time, and it would be hard to say who would win.

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

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

Kakashi glanced at him.

Obito said that so many times a day that Kakashi was tired of hearing it.

So he replied flatly, "Whether you can even awaken the Sharingan is still up in the air."

"What did you say?!"

Obito instantly flared up, veins throbbing on his forehead.

That rotten little brat from the Hatake Clan!

That naturally evil little brat from the Hatake Clan!

No, that wasn't how people talked about the Hatake Clan...

The words in Obito's head were getting jumbled, but he still glared fiercely at Kakashi.

Then he looked at Qingyu.

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

That brat with ties to the Senju Clan had to be evil too!

Obito silently thought to himself, adding Qingyu to the ranks of "hateful geniuses."