The Art of Iaido

In Shisui's squad, there didn't seem to be any such thing as being late.

That was because Shisui would come to their homes and wake them up himself.

It took only five minutes from meeting Shisui to heading out.

"Good vigilance. You've only just become a Chunin, yet you're already this perceptive. On the battlefield, you'd have a good chance of surviving."

Shisui praised him.

"Let's go!"

"Heh."

Baiyu gave a faint smile, rinsed his face with water, then grabbed a piece of bread and prepared to leave.

Interesting!

That was the impression Baiyu made on Shisui.

He didn't seem to show him the same respect as the other clan members did.

But he certainly acted like a member of the Uchiha Clan.

Then he must have awakened his Sharingan!

Shisui carefully recalled the information he'd read about Baiyu, then combined it with his personality to assess his future teammate's abilities.

"Okay."

At that moment, it almost seemed as though Shisui was the subordinate and Baiyu the captain.

As soon as they stepped outside, Baiyu stopped.

"Where are we going?"

Baiyu asked. The captain wasn't leading the way at all—he was hardly doing his job!

Uchiha Shisui was the team captain, so the mission scroll detailing the requirements and specifics ought to be in his hands.

"We're going on a mission. We'll have to wait a bit for the details. You have one more teammate, and I'll explain everything once he gets here."

Shisui said with a smile.

Easygoing!

This talented Uchiha really did have the kind of personality people described.

He was easy to get along with. No wonder the Third Hokage and the Konoha High Command trusted an Uchiha like him.

But Uchiha Shisui underestimated the darkness and greed in human nature.

That was also the main reason Baiyu doubted someone with Shisui's personality could lead the Uchiha to glory.

Led by Shisui, he met the squad's other teammate.

A clever, well-behaved little boy, just over a meter tall.

A Forehead Protector sat on his brow. His black hair fell beside his ears, framing a handsome, delicate face.

There was no denying that every shinobi in the Uchiha Clan was beautiful or handsome, with high intelligence to match.

"Let's introduce ourselves first and get to know one another. I'm Uchiha Shisui, a Jonin, fifteen years old. I like raising crows, and my dream is to write a book about ninjutsu."

Once the three of them had gathered, Shisui spoke first.

The two boys answered with silence. Shisui rubbed his forehead and smiled. "You don't have to be so reserved. We'll be teammates from now on, so of course we should get to know each other. Why don't you go first?"

As he spoke, he pointed at Baiyu.

Baiyu felt a little awkward. He knew this was tradition, so he said quietly, "I'm Uchiha Shiraha, a Chunin, thirteen years old. My dream is to become the strongest in the Shinobi World. What I like is..."

When it came to what he liked, Baiyu hesitated.

Since arriving in this world, he'd spent all his time practicing the Draw-Sword Technique. His once carefree nature had grown more reserved.

At first, he'd been an overexcited kid who wanted to challenge the Hokage. Now he focused on becoming stronger in silence.

Loneliness had accompanied him through five years of training.

He'd had no one by his side...

After a moment of silence, Baiyu unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword and said, "Swords!"

That was right. He liked swords.

At first, he'd simply wanted to obtain his cheat. But as he gradually came to understand the weapon, the time he'd spent with it had made him grow fond of swords.

Shisui's smile didn't falter. He nodded slightly, then turned to the other boy.

"What about you?"

"My name is Uchiha Itachi. I'm a Chunin, ten years old. My favorite food is dango, and my dream is to protect Konoha and the people who are important to the village."

Uchiha Itachi answered. His tone seemed almost copied from Shisui's—just as gentle, though his voice was a little more childish.

"One's a little cold, the other's gentle and shy. I wonder if either of them is putting on an act."

Shisui silently labeled his two subordinates in his mind.

After experiencing the death of his teammate, Uchiha Itachi had completely hidden the pain that had only just begun to take root in his heart. In front of others, he showed only gentleness.

At seven, Uchiha Itachi had already been thinking about the same things as the Hokage.

A precocious genius who'd grown stronger after losing the companion who'd once been by his side every day.

The duality of gain and loss.

Uchiha Itachi wasn't as simple as he appeared.

Baiyu, focused on training, didn't care what others thought. He devoted himself to one thing: drawing his sword.

A person only needed to do one thing well.

"This mission is B-rank. We may encounter enemy shinobi, so it's more dangerous than the missions you took as Genin. We're heading to the Mist Ninja border..."

Shisui took out the mission scroll and explained the assignment to the two of them.

The great nations weren't openly at odds at the moment, but the secret probing between them had never let up.

Ever since becoming a Genin, Baiyu had only done missions around the village. After the Nine-Tails' rampage, the village had taken even greater care to protect its younger generation.

Freshly graduated Genin had almost no chance to leave the village.

Their missions were ordinary D-rank assignments, occasionally reaching C-rank. There might be a fight, but they wouldn't encounter enemy shinobi.

This mission was B-rank.

"Will I finally get the chance to fight shinobi?"

They were going to ambush a Mist Ninja unit!

A battle between shinobi.

He'd been practicing his swordsmanship all along and could feel himself growing stronger, but he'd had no one to compare himself with.

The Chunin Ninja Exams had only tested them within the village.

There had been fifteen people in Baiyu's class, and every one of them had been promoted.

Noticing the change in Baiyu's mood, Shisui paused and gave him a long look.

"We leave now. Let's try to reach the mission site by tomorrow morning!"

On the southern border of the Land of Fire, by the sea.

It was midday, and the weather was hot.

A group of shinobi stopped to rest in the woods, cautiously watching their surroundings.

Their Forehead Protectors showed they were all Mist Ninja.

An assassination squad from the Mist Ninja, known as the Blood Mist, had secretly infiltrated the Land of Fire to gather intelligence.

They were now resting in a forest near the border.

"Ever since the Nine-Tails' rampage in Konoha, the border's been full of holes, and I still have to stand guard!"

A Mist Ninja carrying a huge sword complained bitterly.

"Jūzō! Watch your mouth. Are you questioning the captain's orders?"

Another Mist Ninja demanded, his voice turning cold.

"Hmph..."

Jūzō Biwa rested Kubikiribōchō against a tree trunk, making his displeasure clear.

"What's going on?"

The Mist Ninja captain emerged from the tent, followed by four of his men.

After hearing the subordinate's report, the captain looked at Jūzō Biwa.

"Are you planning to disobey orders?"

"I've been sick of your damn orders since we left the village! We haven't rested once. You've had us rushing all the way here, then you make me stand watch! It's noon already, and you still haven't sent anyone to relieve me. If we're attacked, are you planning to abandon me and take Kubikiribōchō for yourself? If I were going to disobey, I'd have torn you limb from limb by now—Enemy attack!"

Jūzō Biwa knew the captain had been targeting him the whole way. He was about to confront him when, halfway through his tirade, the situation suddenly changed. The words he was about to say were cut short, replaced by two others.

But it was already too late.

The Mist Ninja captain's head suddenly floated into the air in front of him. Even as blood sprayed all over him, Jūzō Biwa remained oblivious.

At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind.

What a fast sword!

Just as the thought flashed through Jūzō Biwa's mind, three figures appeared before him.

Jūzō Biwa looked around at the others and saw that they'd all been caught in a genjutsu.

A trap!

When had it happened?

One of them exclaimed, "Baiyu, your sword was even faster than my Body Flicker Technique!"

The speaker was the squad captain, Uchiha Shisui.

He was addressing Uchiha Shiraha, who was sheathing his sword.

Click.

The blade slid into its sheath. The head hit the ground.

The art of the sword!

It stunned everyone present.