Taking the Stage

Lightning Style: Earth Flash!

Amid the thick fog, blinding arcs of lightning raced across the damp ground, darting straight toward the spot where Uchiha Shin stood.

The counterattack began.

"Kid..." Uchiha Shin grunted. Chakra surged beneath his feet, and he sprang into the air with a quick flicker, easily avoiding the lightning from Earth Flash.

While he was still airborne, a second wave of attacks descended—Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.

Dozens of blazing fireballs rained down like fluttering phoenix flower seeds, sealing off every escape route from a variety of tricky angles.

"Trying to show off in front of an expert."

Uchiha Shin adjusted his posture effortlessly in midair and formed hand seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

As if to prove that experience trumped youth, the veteran Uchiha had deliberately chosen an element countered by Fire Release.

A fierce gale burst from his mouth, scattering most of the phoenix flames and amplifying the power of the remaining fire. He followed up with another attack:

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."

With the wind fanning the flames, three streams of blazing white fire split apart like sentient flame dragons, lunging from different directions!

Facing this combination of jutsu, Uchiha Xiu remained calm. He had seen through the opponent's combination of techniques, which incorporated shape transformation, and chakra surged through his body.

—Far more immense than his outward appearance suggested.

—At least five cards.

I need to make a stunning impression and earn a voice in the clan, but I can't shock everyone or disrupt my plans.

He didn't choose to meet the attack head-on. Instead, he retreated at high speed.

No matter how old the trick, it still worked: Earth Style Wall.

"Boom!"

The jutsu collided, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.

Before the dust could spread, Uchiha Xiu vanished, burrowing underground.

"Not stupid. He didn't blindly trade attacks with me. He knows how to use a jutsu to create cover."

Uchiha Shin landed, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning as he tried to see through the dust and underground.

He could sense that Uchiha Xiu was moving quickly, but the boy had cleverly concealed his exact path.

Just then, a low shout rang out from within the dust:

"Lightning Style: Four Pillar Bind!"

A Shadow Clone?

It was a jutsu designed to restrict movement, its strength lying in its ability to bind and paralyze.

Poof!

Uchiha Shin, standing at the center of the lightning pillars, turned into a log.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Several shuriken with Explosive Tags attached flew out of the fog, aimed precisely at the places where Uchiha Shin might be hiding.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Explosive Tags detonated one after another, flames and shock waves echoing through the arena.

This entire sequence of offense and defense had unfolded in just a few short seconds.

Flames burst, lightning crackled, water surged, and earth shattered. Dust and mist swirled together.

The commotion had already alerted half of the Uchiha Clan Compound!

The first to arrive were members of the Konoha Military Police Force. An Uchiha jonin and two chunin had been patrolling nearby, and they quickly leaped onto the tall wall surrounding the training ground.

When they saw the fierce battle within, they all looked stunned.

"Is that... Elder Shin and Xiu?"

"What a fierce fight. Tch, the scale of those jutsu clashes..."

"That kid Xiu can actually fight Elder Shin to a standstill? Elder Shin is a senior expert in all five elements! He awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan twenty years ago!"

More figures soon arrived.

Jonin from all over the Uchiha Clan Compound rushed over as soon as they heard the commotion. The clan head, Fugaku, watched the scene with a composed expression, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly turning as he carefully observed every detail.

A flash of green, and Body Flicker Shisui appeared beside Fugaku.

Two Mangekyo Sharingan wielders had appeared!

Both had kept their abilities hidden from everyone. They truly possessed Kage Level strength...

"Shisui, what do you think?" Fugaku asked gravely.

Shisui had also activated his Sharingan. He watched intently from above for a while, then spoke with admiration and a hint of surprise:

"Xiu has... improved incredibly fast."

"His pure Taijutsu is powerful."

Ignoring the crowd of onlookers, the clash of jutsu in the arena shifted to close-quarters combat.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Uchiha Shin swung his kunai, fighting against the air.

Were it not for the sparks that occasionally flashed and the ringing of metal against metal, the Uchiha with two tomoe might have thought the elder was putting on a solo gymnastics performance.

Of course, in a way, that impression was correct!

The Sharingan greatly enhanced insight and dynamic vision, allowing its user to copy Taijutsu and ninjutsu. It made close-quarters combat as graceful as gymnastics, made throwing techniques flashy yet practical, greatly strengthened genjutsu, and even improved one's looks...

But the old man was being toyed with!

Uchiha Shin was seething. Several times, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan had only just managed to catch the path of an attack, narrowly saving him from being kicked flying by a Leaf Whirlwind.

Quiet conversations among the clan's jonin drifted to his ears from time to time.

"How does he compare to Itachi? Itachi seems to have gone to take the final Anbu exam today, hasn't he?"

"Their styles are different. Itachi's genjutsu and Shurikenjutsu are more refined, and his talent might be even more astonishing. But Xiu's solid Taijutsu is impressive enough to amaze anyone. He's keeping the elder under control in this close-quarters fight."

"Don't praise Itachi too much. Xiu's still so young; his body hasn't reached its peak. His Taijutsu will only get stronger as he grows."

"Rather than saying Elder Shin is here to teach him... it looks more like they're sparring to test each other."

"..."

Once they entered close combat, Elder Shin switched from offense to defense. He sighed inwardly, his opinion of Uchiha Xiu rising even higher, and stopped underestimating him.

Knowing this battle was meant to help him quickly master high-level jutsu, Uchiha Xiu briefly seized the advantage, then used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat and return to long-range exchanges.

"Looks like ordinary combinations of jutsu won't trouble you. Then try this!"

Elder Shin, who felt no jealousy and was instead pleased, pressed his hands together as his chakra surged violently.

"Combined Ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Flame Flow!"

The ground rose to form an earth dragon as blazing flames wrapped around it. Earth and fire combined into a composite attack that delivered both a powerful charge and scorching heat, its force astonishing.

"Not bad."

His Sharingan working at full power, Uchiha Xiu rapidly analyzed the jutsu's chakra flow and structure.

At the same time.

"I'll try combining earth and fire too."

His Mangekyo-level visual prowess and the deep reserves of his Kage Level chakra gave Uchiha Xiu the confidence to try.

He unleashed the same Earth Dragon Flame Flow, meeting Shin's attack head-on.

"Rumble—!!!"

An explosion more violent than any before rang out across the training ground. Earth and flame intertwined and vanished, while the resulting shock wave cracked the walls of the training hall.

"Good... good!" Uchiha Shin's voice carried a hint of excitement. "Xiu, your talent is far beyond what I expected."

After that, Searing Migraine, Majestic Destroyer Flame, Dragon Flame Song Technique, and a series of other Fire Release jutsu were added to his personal arsenal.

Water Release: Water Formation Wall.

Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion.

Water Release: Water Formation Wall.

Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique.

Earth Release: Earth Flow River.

Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet.

His arsenal of ways to deal with enemies grew at a crazy pace!

Of them all, the one that amazed Uchiha Xiu most was the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique.

He really had no idea which jonin in the clan had managed to copy it during a battle against an Iwagakure expert in the Land of Earth!

It could greatly reduce the weight of objects and increase their speed. It could also lighten the user's own body, allowing them to fly freely through the air.

The ability to hover in place was quite useful.

"You little monster, are you? I'm spent. I'm done, I give up!"

With his clothes in tatters and his strength burned away, Elder Shin shouted his surrender without a hint of shame. He had drained all the chakra in his body, and some of his jutsu had been cast just for the sake of casting them, without regard for their power.

Even so, he had been completely exhausted.

Across from him.

Uchiha Xiu looked completely at ease. At most, the hem of his clothes was a little dirty. It was obvious he hadn't had enough, and he still had plenty of chakra.

"If you want to learn anything else, go to the clan's secret grounds yourself. You have no consideration for an old man's bones."

In Elder Shin's eyes, the techniques most worth an Uchiha jonin's deep study were not only the various Sealing Jutsu, but also the forbidden techniques Izanagi and Izanami.

One was a reality-altering technique that rewrote fate; the other was an endless illusion that determined fate.

As for Wood Release?

The clan had none.

Wood Release was a fleeting Kekkei Genkai, manifested only in Senju Hashirama. It couldn't be copied. The Uchiha's secret collection preserved only a few scrolls about it, personally written by their great ancestor Madara.