Shisui is Here!

"Hey, nothing bad is going to happen, right?"

At the stairwell of the corridor, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed. Hyuga Isamu, who had witnessed the entire scene, spotted the scattered droplets of blood on the floor at a glance. He grabbed Uchiha Shisui beside him, frowned toward the restroom door, and whispered, "That was truly brutal... Is he also from your Uchiha clan?"

"He is the eldest son of Lord Fugaku, Uchiha Akatsuki." Shisui kept his attention on the movement inside the restroom, but upon hearing an unexpected sound, a smile slowly spread across the corners of his mouth.

"This young master is actually quite interesting." He turned back and waved at Hyuga Isamu. "You go ahead and eat; I have something to attend to, so I'm leaving first."

"You're skipping class again?" Hyuga Isamu sighed helplessly. "We're about to graduate, you know. Have you even considered where you're going?"

In wartime, the Ninja Academy served as a reserve force for the military; they were all destined for the battlefield.

"I've already been assigned to a border squad. What about you?" Shisui stopped in his tracks.

"As expected of Shisui..." Hyuga Isamu muttered, discouraged. "My brother wants me to be a logistics supply officer. It sounds incredibly boring."

"That's a great job, very safe." Shisui smiled and waved his hand. "Give my regards to your brother. I'm off!"

The vertical crease between Hyuga Isamu's brows deepened. "Do you need me to cover for your Shadow Clone again?"

"No need, my chakra is sufficient." Shisui walked down a few steps, then paused and looked back at Hyuga Isamu. "Also, Uchiha Akatsuki isn't brutal."

"He was merely protecting himself."

After my Shadow Clone appeared, it locked eyes with me, nodded, and pushed open the restroom door to walk out.

I, meanwhile, leaped from the windowsill and landed on a tree branch behind the school.

A while later, I saw my Shadow Clone sitting with the tearful Uchiha Aoi at the food stall downstairs, starting to eat. It was holding a skewer of red bean dango to tease the hiccuping little girl, but the attempt backfired; Aoi's crying became so loud that even I could hear it from the third floor.

Damn it!

I rubbed my forehead, deciding that starting tomorrow, I would read books on how to interact with children to improve my emotional intelligence!

After observing for a while longer and confirming that everything was fine, I jumped down from the tree, climbed over the school fence, and escaped into the forest behind the mountain.

Using a Shadow Clone to attend class was a trick I'd learned from Itachi. The Shadow Clone possessed my form and consciousness, as well as half of my chakra; it was more than enough to handle school life.

As for me, I couldn't waste my time listening to lectures, eating, or beating up Kusama Shigeo. I had to find something else to do—preferably something that would further improve my strength through real combat.

There was a war going on out there, after all!

I strolled through the woods, my mind scanning at lightning speed for any usable training grounds, when I suddenly heard the sound of water.

I pushed aside the bushes in front of me, and a lake came into view.

The mirror-like surface of the lake reflected the bright white light of the sun, shimmering but not blinding. The lake merged with the sky, and the deep green shrubs along the bank stretched endlessly to my feet.

A light breeze stirred, and the sheer beauty of nature gradually washed away my restlessness, causing my racing thoughts to slow down.

Walking to the water's edge, I picked up a stone and tried to skip it across the surface.

The first one skipped twice and sank.

The second one skipped once and sank.

The third one went plop and sank immediately. I felt stupid, my face stiffened, and I couldn't help but laugh at myself.

Suddenly, a stone flew from behind me, skipping over the water a dozen times before finally sinking. I looked back to see a boy walking out from behind a tree. He was weighing another stone in his hand, a smile on his lips, and he said to me with full confidence, "Want to compete?"

Facing the sunlight, I saw his face clearly, and my heart skipped a beat.

Short black hair, a black high-collared sweatshirt, a katana on his back, and those clear, smiling eyes—I recognized him almost instantly.

The true genius of the Uchiha clan—Uchiha Shisui!

"It's actually Uchiha Shisui..." I stared at him with wide eyes, my heart racing—partly from excitement, partly from nerves!

The Uchiha Shisui before me wasn't much older than I was. Was he also attending the academy and sneaking out?

So, the sunny, popular boy liked to skip class too!

This was Uchiha Shisui's first impression of Uchiha Akatsuki.

A light breeze blew across the lake, ruffling the hair on the child's forehead. His wide eyes were set in a pale, thin face, marked by both bruises and bloodstains, looking as stubborn as a wounded little beast.

He was clearly just a child.

As if drawn to him, he moved closer.

"Want to compete? I can teach you how to skip stones." Shisui walked over, looking very friendly.

Compete with you? I'd lose my dignity along with the match. I frowned and said no.

However, Uchiha Shisui just smiled. The stone in his hand danced, then leaped across the lake like a shooting star. After a long string of skips, it reached almost the opposite bank before sinking, leaving me feeling a bit choked up.

Is this guy showing off?

Looking at this genius ninja who was as idle as I was, a sudden idea formed in my mind.

"Uchiha Shisui, want to spar?" I rubbed my fingers, drawing a bit of chakra to pull four shuriken from my sleeves into my palm, then letting them emerge from my fingertips.

I was just looking for a sparring partner, and here one was, wasn't there?

This is a true genius! The top-tier talent of the Uchiha throughout the generations! A spar with him would definitely be immensely beneficial!

"You know me?" Uchiha Shisui's smile widened a degree, his eyes curving into a friendly, approachable crescent shape.

"I do, my father has mentioned you." This was the truth; Fugaku had once praised Uchiha Shisui's talent to no end. That was why I had been so puzzled at the time—why hadn't he chosen Shisui?

Uchiha Shisui, the undisputed number one expert of the Uchiha, a talent even greater than Itachi. Body Flicker Shisui was a name that commanded awe, his Susanoo had single-handedly taken on Danzo and his Anbu, and a single Kotoamatsukami had rewritten the outcome of the Great Ninja War...

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him. Under the sunlight, Uchiha Shisui tilted his head slightly toward me, his eyes reflecting the shimmer of the lake, looking innocent and pure.

This character, who spanned the entire series and was deified by later generations, looked like nothing more than a truant teenager right now.

"A spar is probably out of the question, but we could play around a bit." He walked over and stood beside me, gesturing with his hand as he asked in confusion, "Young Master Akatsuki, you're in the same grade as me, so why are you so much shorter?"

Damn it, I never heard that Body Flicker Shisui was a sharp-tongued brat!

That sentence hit right where it hurt. My brows furrowed fiercely, anger surged in my heart, and with a flick of my wrists, I launched eight shuriken at once!

Hitting him was impossible, but the momentum was definitely there.

"Huh? What's that noise over there?" The Minato Team had just finished a mission and were passing by the woods behind the Ninja Academy when they suddenly heard a commotion, accompanied by the occasional burst of intense Fire Release chakra.

"Let's go check it out! Let's go!" Obito, always one to join in the excitement, immediately broke away from the group and ran off.

"Hey! Obito!" Rin, afraid he would cause trouble, hurriedly chased after him, turning back to apologize and call for Kakashi, who was trailing at the end, to follow.

Kakashi glanced at their retreating backs and chose to turn and walk away.

He had to go home to rest, go fishing by the river, cook a meal, tidy his room after eating, go for a walk, refine his chakra at night, and finally, go to sleep.

He had no time for unnecessary things, nor did he want to do them.

Clang!

Suddenly, a crisp sound of impact struck his eardrums. Kakashi's footsteps faltered, and he stopped.

Ding! Clang!

Two more sounds followed.

Then, a rapid succession of clashing metal rang out! Accompanied by the hushed exclamations of Obito and Rin, Kakashi lifted his head slightly, his drooping eyes shifting to the left as curiosity stirred in his heart.

Could the ones fighting behind the school be students?

"Hey Kakashi, I heard there's a genius who enrolled at four years old this year, and he's from our Uchiha clan!" Obito's words flashed through his mind. Kakashi closed his eyes, struggled for a moment, then turned his steps to follow Rin and the others, mentally pushing his bedtime back by an hour.

Fine, I'll go take a look.