The open space behind the shrine was perfect for a little physical interaction.
The Uchiha were getting restless, and their spirits were high.
Someone was already slowly getting to their feet.
"Enough fooling around!"
Fugaku suddenly raised his voice. "Itachi, don't be so willful."
To everyone's surprise, Itachi didn't listen. Instead, he stepped forward with resolve. "Father, I was wrong to insist on attending the clan meeting this time, so I want to earn the right to take part. Besides, Akashi seems to have some kind of misunderstanding about me. If I win, I hope I can find out why."
"If you lose?" Akashi asked.
"I won't attend another clan meeting until I become a jonin."
Akashi considered it, then smiled mischievously. "No need for that. Just wear cat-ear hair clips when you go out for a month. No, a week will do."
Itachi frowned, completely baffled.
What kind of punishment was that? Was it some kind of special interest of Akashi's?
But it didn't seem like a big deal to him.
Itachi immediately agreed. "All right."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the crowd around them erupted into chatter.
Even the older jonin, who knew Fugaku's personality well, joined in and egged them on. "Let's see how far the Uchiha's talented youngsters have come."
After everyone urged him on, Fugaku finally gave in.
"Thank you, Father." With his father's approval, Itachi smiled, his eyes shining.
Most ninja believed in the power of strength, and the Uchiha Clan especially so.
Only the strong earned respect. That was an ironclad rule.
So Itachi thought Akashi always brushed him off because he underestimated his strength—or didn't consider him worth noticing at all. He didn't show his disappointment, but it had left a knot in his heart.
This challenge was not only a chance to earn the right to attend the clan meeting, but also a way to prove himself.
Akashi's reasons were much simpler.
He just wanted to beat Itachi up.
?
The crowd ushered the two young Uchiha ninja to the open space behind the shrine, then formed a huge circle to watch the spar with keen interest.
To keep things fair, Shisui Uchiha would serve as the referee.
He hadn't said a word while the clan members argued, and his presence had gone largely unnoticed. But the moment he stepped forward, everyone's attention turned to him, with more than a few looking on in admiration and envy.
Shisui had once been Akashi's teammate, and he was a respected senior to Itachi. He knew both of them well.
He was also an upright person, someone the whole clan trusted.
"Begin!"
At his command, Akashi charged forward.
Itachi reacted swiftly and rushed ahead as well.
Moving at tremendous speed, both of them swung their arms and lowered their bodies, pulling kunai from their ninja pouches and hurling them at each other. They collided with a spray of sparks like scattered pearls.
Akashi followed up by throwing a dense flurry of shuriken, pelting Itachi like raindrops.
The Sharingan activated in an instant!
His vision sharpened several times over, and time itself seemed to slow. He could even see Itachi's movements. Shuriken sealed off his paths from every angle.
But Itachi threw a rain of shuriken too.
A crisp metallic clatter rang through the air. Every shuriken was intercepted with pinpoint accuracy and sent flying in all directions.
Their moves were almost identical. Neither had the advantage.
Akashi wasn't surprised. It was only natural for Itachi Uchiha to be this strong. He abruptly halted his charge, stepped backward, and formed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fire—"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Itachi had started a step later, but finished his seals first.
His hand seals are faster than mine?
Akashi was a little surprised. He barely finished his seals before the fireball erupted from Itachi's mouth.
In a real battle, a difference in speed could be fatal. Luckily, Itachi hadn't yet reached the terrifying speed of six hand seals per second.
The two Great Fireballs collided, bursting into a dazzling spray of sparks.
The flames roared with such heat that the air seared, drying out the cheeks of everyone nearby.
Akashi was at a slight disadvantage, but he didn't mind. He smiled. "You're really good with ninjutsu. Let's see you try another one!"
With that, his fingers flew through the seals.
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
Itachi didn't grow proud at the praise. He continued to face off against Akashi, using the same Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. The fireballs traced graceful arcs through the air as they shot forward.
The flames from both sides plunged toward the ground, still hissing with heat, and Akashi formed hand seals again.
There was no pause between their ninjutsu.
One blazing fireball after another came hurtling in, and Itachi hurried to counter them.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!
Boom!
The red light shattered against the boundary between them. The tremendous force exploded, kicking up a cloud of dust. Flames whirled wildly, and thin strands of fire drifted into the sky. The two seemed to be bathing in a sea of flame and smoke, and the temperature around them rose considerably.
After several exchanges of ninjutsu, Itachi still hadn't fallen behind in the slightest.
"Impressive, Itachi," Akashi couldn't help saying.
He was talented himself, somewhere around the middle of the pack among the clan's gifted youngsters. But facing a top-tier genius like Itachi Uchiha, he could still feel the considerable gap between them.
The kid was only seven!
If I don't beat him up a few times while I can, it'll be hard to do it later.
The people around them had noticed too, and began murmuring among themselves.
"Hey, Itachi Uchiha's strength doesn't seem like that of a Genin at all."
"With hand-seal speed and shurikenjutsu like that, I couldn't compare when I was a Genin."
"Is Uchiha Akashi going to lose?"
"Maybe."
"..."
Fugaku watched his son with pride, his eyes shining with deep happiness—and worry.
He was impressive, no doubt. But with this much effort, did he have enough chakra?
Fugaku couldn't help frowning.
It turned out his worry wasn't unfounded.
As the dust cleared, Itachi realized he was running out of chakra.
No matter how great his talent, a young body could only hold so much chakra. Repeatedly using Fire Release ninjutsu took an enormous toll.
Before he knew it, his breathing had grown labored.
Itachi kept his thoughts calm and made full use of his battle sense. "If I've used this much, he must have used a lot too... Hm?"
When he saw Akashi emerge from the thinning smoke, Itachi was dumbfounded, question marks filling his mind.
Akashi looked completely at ease. After using all that ninjutsu, he seemed no more tired than if he'd farted.
You've got to be kidding!
Could there really be such a huge difference in chakra between a Chunin and a Genin?
It wasn't just Itachi. The clan members around them were shocked too.
Akashi shrugged.
Of course, nobody else could understand. It was because he had a "cheat"!
Itachi was a genius, no doubt.
But around here, geniuses were a dime a dozen.
The world of Naruto was all about bloodlines and cheats.
The closer you were to the Six Paths lineage, the nobler your bloodline tended to be, and the stronger you usually became. Sometimes you could even pass down cheats across a thousand years through pure nonsense.
As an Uchiha, Akashi had received a few perks himself.
For example, the Sharingan.
It wasn't all that rare, but it was still much better than starting with nothing.
And besides the Sharingan, there was also a mysterious object sealed inside him. At first, it had been no bigger than a seed. Then it had taken root and sprouted, and now it had grown into a Seedling.
The Seedling had some incredible abilities.
It could heal wounds, restore stamina, and provide chakra.
It was practically like having a small Tailed Beast hidden inside him!
How was it that I was an Uchiha but had a low-budget version of the Senju physique?
Akashi had no idea. In the end, he gave up trying to figure it out and reached one conclusion.
This was obviously a cheat!
Every transmigrator needed one. What was so strange about that?
Just as Akashi was getting ready to rise to the top, he noticed one tiny little problem.
There was something behind the Seedling too.
A hazy apparition of a woman, her hands cupped as if holding something.
Kaguya Otsutsuki!
There was no mistaking it. It was definitely Kaguya Otsutsuki's figure, and there was even a faint chakra reaction. She was alive!
Could Kaguya have left a seed inside me?
If anything, it should be the other way around.
Putting the two together made it easy to guess what it was.
The God Tree.
Did that mean I'd become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki? The chilling thought flashed through his mind, then was quickly dismissed. It made more sense to think of it as a built-in cheat.
Whatever it was, wherever it came from, at least it let him last longer in a fight.
Three minutes or two hours.
Who didn't like things lasting a little longer?
After all, with chakra, you could do whatever you wanted.
Like right now. Itachi Uchiha was already exhausted, while Akashi was only just getting excited.
Akashi smiled faintly, then suddenly burst into action.
Itachi could see him move, but his body reacted half a beat too late. He threw a kunai and raised his hand to block. Every move was textbook, yet Akashi dismantled them perfectly and countered each one with precision.
In moments, Akashi had circled behind him.
He lifted his foot toward Itachi's pert little backside and gave it a hard kick.
Smack!
Itachi was sent flying several meters by the powerful kick.
Face down, rear end up.
Before you continue