I've wanted to beat this kid up for a long time

Behind the shrine lay an open clearing, a perfect spot for some physical exchange.

The restless Uchiha were in high spirits.

Some had already begun to rise slowly to their feet.

"Nonsense!"

However, Fugaku suddenly raised his voice, "Itachi, do not be willful."

Unexpectedly, Itachi Uchiha did not obey; instead, he stepped forward with firm resolve: "Father, it was my fault for insisting on attending the clan meeting this time, so I wish to earn this qualification. Furthermore, Brother Akashi seems to have some misunderstanding regarding me. If I win, I hope to learn the reason why."

"And if you lose?" Akashi countered.

"I will not attend clan meetings again until I become a Jonin."

Akashi thought for a moment, then smiled with a mischievous glint in his eyes: "That won't be necessary. Just wear cat-ear hair accessories whenever you go out—no, wait, for one week will do."

Itachi frowned, deeply puzzled.

What kind of punishment was that? Could this be some peculiar hobby of Brother Akashi's?

Still, to him, it was nothing of consequence.

Itachi agreed immediately: "Very well."

The moment the words left his lips, the crowd nearby erupted into a clamor.

The older generation of Jonin, who knew Fugaku's temperament well, joined in the agitation: "Let us see just how far the talented juniors of the Uchiha have grown."

Under such encouragement, Fugaku inevitably compromised.

"Thank you, Father." Having received consent, Itachi revealed a smile, his eyes shining brightly.

Ninjas generally believe in strength, and the Uchiha clan is especially so.

Only the strong earn respect; this is an ironclad rule.

Therefore, Itachi believed that Akashi's constant indifference toward him was because his own strength was being looked down upon, or perhaps he simply hadn't caught his eye. Though he showed no disappointment on the surface, a knot had formed in his heart.

Challenging Akashi this time was not only to secure the qualification for the clan meeting but also to prove himself.

Akashi's intentions, however, were quite simple.

He just wanted to beat him up.

The crowd surrounded the two young Uchiha ninjas, forming a massive circle in the clearing behind the shrine, watching the sparring match with great interest.

To ensure fairness, Shisui was appointed as the referee.

He had remained silent while the clansmen argued, his presence seemingly negligible, but the moment he stepped forward, he drew everyone's gaze—many filled with envy and admiration.

Shisui had once been teammates with Akashi and was also a senior whom Itachi respected; he understood both of them well.

Moreover, being a man of integrity, he was capable of commanding the crowd's respect.

"Begin!"

At his command, Akashi charged forward.

Itachi's reactions were sharp, and he too sprang into motion.

Moving at high speed, both men swung their arms, lowered their centers of gravity, and drew kunai from their ninja pouches, firing them at each other with a whoosh, sparks flying like scattered jewels upon impact.

Immediately following, Akashi unleashed a dense barrage of shuriken, raining them down like a storm.

His Sharingan activated in an instant!

His visual acuity sharpened several times over; the passage of time seemed to slow, and he could even track Itachi's movement trajectory, the shuriken sealing off his path from every angle.

However, Itachi threw his own rain of shuriken in return.

A crisp metallic ringing echoed through the air as every single shuriken was intercepted with pinpoint accuracy, deflected in all directions.

Almost identical techniques, evenly matched.

Akashi was not surprised; as Itachi Uchiha, possessing such strength was only natural. He immediately halted his sprint, stepped back, and formed hand seals with both hands.

"Fire Style: Great Fire—"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Coming from behind to take the lead, Itachi had been a step slower, yet he finished his seals first.

His seal speed is faster than mine?

Akashi felt a slight shock; he had barely finished his own seals when the fireball from across the way was already unleashed.

In a real battle, a gap in speed is fatal. Fortunately, the current Itachi had not yet reached the terrifying speed of six seals per second.

The two Great Fireballs collided, bursting into brilliant sparks.

The flames were scorching, baking the air and leaving the onlookers feeling their cheeks grow dry.

Though Akashi was slightly suppressed, he didn't mind, laughing, "Your ninjutsu is truly excellent. Let's try another one!"

After speaking, his fingers flew in a blur.

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Itachi did not grow arrogant from the praise and continued to stand his ground against Akashi. With the same Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, fireballs traced elegant arcs as they were spat out.

The flames from both sides dove into the ground, still hissing and steaming with heat, while Akashi formed hand seals once more.

There was not a single pause between the ninjutsu.

Blazing fireballs struck one after another, forcing Itachi to respond in a hurry.

Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!

Boom!

The crimson light shattered upon impact at the interface, the immense power exploding and kicking up a cloud of dust. As streams of flame danced and wisps of fire drifted into the sky, both boys seemed to be bathed in a sea of mist and fire, causing the surrounding temperature to rise significantly.

After several exchanges of ninjutsu, Itachi had not fallen behind in the slightest.

"As expected of Itachi." Akashi couldn't help but sigh.

His own talent was already quite good, placing him as a mid-tier genius within the clan, but facing a top-tier prodigy like Itachi Uchiha, he still felt a considerable gap.

The kid is only seven years old, for heaven's sake!

If he didn't beat him up a few more times now, it would be hard to do so in the future.

The onlookers also noticed the clues and began to whisper among themselves.

"Hey, Itachi Uchiha's strength doesn't look like a genin's at all."

"Just based on that hand seal speed and shuriken technique, I couldn't compare when I was a genin."

"Is Akashi Uchiha going to lose?"

"It's possible."

"..."

Fugaku watched his son with gratification, his eyes revealing deep joy and... worry.

It was true that he was impressive, but with such high consumption, was his chakra enough?

He couldn't help but frown.

As it turned out, his concern was not without reason.

When the dust cleared, Itachi knew that his chakra was running low.

No matter how powerful one's talent was, a young body ultimately had limited chakra; the continuous release of Fire Style ninjutsu was an unusually heavy drain.

Before he knew it, his breathing had become ragged.

Itachi maintained his calm thinking, fully utilizing his battle IQ: Since I've consumed so much, he should also be... hm?

Looking at Akashi, who had appeared after the smoke dissipated, Itachi was dumbfounded, his head full of question marks.

Akashi was calm and composed, as if casting all those ninjutsu had been as effortless as passing gas, showing no signs of exhaustion at all.

Are you kidding me?!

Is the difference in chakra volume between a chunin and a genin really that vast?

It wasn't just Itachi; the surrounding clansmen were also shocked.

Akashi shrugged.

Others naturally couldn't understand, because this was his "cheat code"!

Itachi was a genius, that was true.

But here, talent wasn't worth much.

The world of Naruto was all about bloodlines and cheat codes.

The closer one was to the Sage of Six Paths, the more noble the bloodline, and often the stronger the power—some could even span a thousand years of history just by inheriting power.

As an Uchiha, Akashi had received his fair share of benefits.

For example, the Sharingan.

Although it wasn't exactly rare, it was still much better than starting with a blank slate.

And besides the Sharingan, there was a mysterious object sealed within his body. At first, it was only the size of a seed, but later it took root and sprouted, and now it had grown into a sapling.

The function of this sapling was miraculous.

It could heal wounds, restore stamina, and provide chakra.

It was practically like having a miniature Tailed Beast hidden inside him!

I'm clearly an Uchiha, so how do I have a low-spec version of the Senju physique?

Akashi couldn't figure it out, so he eventually gave up on thinking and reached a conclusion.

Isn't this just a cheat code?

A standard item for any transmigrator; what's so strange about that!

Just as Akashi was preparing to reach the pinnacle of his life, he discovered another minor issue.

Behind the seedling, there was something else.

It was the ethereal phantom of a woman with her hands held out in a cupping gesture.

Kaguya Otsutsuki!

That was right, there was no mistaking it; it was the figure of Kaguya Otsutsuki, and with a faint reaction of chakra, it was alive!

Could it be that Kaguya had left a seed inside his body?

No matter how one thought about it, it should have been the other way around.

Connecting the two, it was easy to guess one thing.

The God Tree.

Does that mean I've become a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki? The terrifying conjecture flashed through his mind, only to be quickly dismissed. Compared to that theory, interpreting it as a built-in cheat code was far more reasonable.

Regardless of what it was or where it came from, at the very least, it would allow him to last longer in battle.

Comparing three minutes to two hours.

Who wouldn't prefer to last a little longer?

After all, only with chakra can one do whatever one pleases.

For instance, right now, Itachi Uchiha was already exhausted, while he had only just begun to get excited.

Akashi smiled faintly and suddenly lunged forward.

Itachi could see the movements, but his body's reaction was half a beat slow. He threw a kunai and reached out to block; every movement was textbook standard, yet they were all perfectly dismantled and then precisely countered.

In an instant, Akashi had circled behind him.

He raised his foot toward that shapely backside and delivered a fierce, forceful kick.

Thwack!

Itachi was sent flying several meters by the heavy blow.

Face to the ground, rear to the sky.