Konoha, inside Tama no Yu.
Uchiha Itachi silently put his clothes back on, covering his exposed shoulder blade.
His small frame concealed a body honed through countless trials.
He had trained in Taijutsu and ninjutsu since he was six, constantly honing himself and forging his body into the sharpest weapon.
Though the Uchiha were not known for Taijutsu, Itachi's Taijutsu had never been a weakness.
Jiraiya, dressed in a red-and-white kimono, followed behind Baiyu as they headed toward the outskirts of the village.
The moment Baiyu had spoken those words, their contest had officially begun.
Baiyu moved at top speed, trying to leave Jiraiya behind from the very first step. But Jiraiya was no slouch, and his Body Flicker Technique was highly practiced. Though the distance between them kept growing, it wasn't by much.
"This kid... I can't see any trace of the Body Flicker Technique... Is he relying entirely on Taijutsu? Has he learned the Eight Inner Gates?"
The astonishment on Jiraiya's face deepened. From Baiyu's words just moments ago, he had caught a glimpse of his personality.
"Proud, just like the Uchiha. He doesn't seem like a bad sort, but I'll have to get to know him better to understand what he's really like."
As they hurried along, Jiraiya observed Baiyu's every move, trying to discern his true character.
In front of outsiders, Baiyu hid some of his chūnibyō tendencies extremely well.
Whenever he killed, though, a wild, unrestrained madness came through—a reckless abandon.
From the moment he was born, he had possessed the qualities of a swordsman.
Fear!
He had lost all fear!
Moving forward without hesitation had become his basic instinct.
Whenever his blood was stirred to the core, Baiyu couldn't hold back the restlessness within him.
Especially when he met a strong opponent!
This time, under Jiraiya's repeated probing, he had finally been unable to resist and decided to test himself against him!
This was his first fight since his great battle with Orochimaru. Baiyu was now completely different from the person he had been back then!
Even in the midst of battle, Baiyu kept that chūnibyō streak buried deep inside.
His blade flashed through the air. He halted, then spun around and drew his sword.
Baiyu, who had been racing forward, suddenly turned around. Jiraiya was caught completely off guard.
"This guy doesn't play by the rules at all!"
Jiraiya hurried to defend himself. The Body Flicker Technique he had just used had brought him right into the path of the blade.
After fighting jōnin many times, Baiyu had grown increasingly accurate at judging the distance covered by the Body Flicker Technique.
Between this test and the aid of the Mind's Eye, he easily picked up on Jiraiya's movements.
Baiyu still hadn't used his Sharingan.
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Jiraiya had excellent battle instincts and had inherited the Third's full range of abilities. Aside from Sage Mode, his other ninjutsu were just as formidable.
As soon as he noticed Baiyu's move, Jiraiya responded, infusing his hair with chakra and turning it into a mass of hard, sharp needles that blocked Baiyu's counterattack.
"Now!"
Baiyu's lips curled. His sudden counterattack had indeed caused Jiraiya some trouble.
It wasn't a serious problem. An ordinary slash couldn't break through the defense of the Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
But that was how an ordinary ninja fought.
Baiyu was a swordsman to his very core, and the first things he had learned were sword techniques meant to kill with a single strike.
So he had developed a habit: find the weak point, then strike a lethal blow.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Draw-Sword Technique!"
His body instantly entered the Thunder Breathing state. A faint current of lightning coursed through him. With his entire body enhanced and chakra amplifying his strength, this strike concentrated almost all his power.
Focus everything into one point, and reach the pinnacle!
The chance to defeat his enemy lay in this single strike!
He seized the initiative with a surprise attack, turning his whole body into the force behind the slash.
The timing, terrain, and circumstances were all in his favor.
The strike went astonishingly smoothly.
The blade pierced through the weakest point in the silver needles of Jiraiya's white hair, cutting through the countless strands in a single stroke.
Jiraiya's defense seemed as flimsy as paper before Uchiha Baiyu's attack.
The white hair on his back was severed at the roots. Just as the blade was about to touch Jiraiya's neck, the air froze for an instant.
Jiraiya felt the cold edge at his back. The moment his ninjutsu defense failed, he had made his decision.
His hair could buy him enough time to use the Substitution Technique.
But to test Baiyu one more time, he had decided to take a risk!
That decision had now left him in a deadly predicament. In that instant, time seemed to stretch on for an eternity.
Uchiha Baiyu didn't follow through. His blade stopped against Jiraiya's neck...
"It's over."
Baiyu's icy voice came from behind him. Only then did Jiraiya realize he was drenched in a cold sweat.
It had been years since he'd experienced anything like this.
The last time had been during his battle with Hanzo the Salamander.
When had the village gained someone this formidable?
At that moment, Jiraiya believed that even while gravely wounded, Orochimaru really could have had his arm severed by this boy.
"If I hadn't let my guard down..."
Jiraiya turned around. He had only made it halfway through his sentence when he stopped.
He hadn't been on a ninja mission in years. He had almost forgotten what battles between ninjas were like.
"You used a wooden sword!"
Baiyu had never intended to actually kill Jiraiya.
This was a warning to stop Jiraiya from testing him again and again.
"Let your guard down?"
Baiyu slowly slid the wooden sword into its sheath, his left thumb resting against the hilt of his Ninja Blade.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki!"
Combining Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki with Thunder Breathing had transformed the technique.
Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki had originally reached about two meters and affected an area of only five meters. With Thunder Breathing's enhancement, its range nearly doubled, and its area of effect expanded even further.
"Since you want to understand me, why not get a more thorough look?"
Baiyu sneered. If that was the case, he would reveal a little more of his strength and let those rotting leaders see for themselves.
What a sword could do!
The results of years of training!
They were on full display before Jiraiya's eyes.
The Konoha High Command, led by the Third, had grown increasingly corrupt and timid.
They were full of distrust toward the outside world.
When he had gone after the Uchiha Police Force, the Anbu monitoring the Uchiha must have known.
He hadn't infiltrated the Uchiha Police Force because he wanted the Third's watchers to see him.
Otherwise, with his abilities, he could have waited until the target was handed over and carried out an assassination in some secluded place. No one would have known who the culprit was.
Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to seize the evidence. Otherwise, Baiyu could have gone straight to the Anbu headquarters. In the end, he'd had to toss out the head of one of the people he'd assassinated along the way, slightly reducing the impact on the village.
The Uchiha hadn't revealed who had died. The villagers all assumed the victim was the Police Force squad leader from the night before.
Three Uchiha clan members had brought him benefits worth tens of thousands.
Baiyu didn't know whether Jiraiya had been acting on the Third's orders, but he knew the Hokage Faction hadn't accepted his approach.
What was going on with Uchiha Itachi?
That was even more deeply shrouded in mystery.
The relationship between the village and the Uchiha seemed fine on the surface, but no one knew what was happening behind the scenes.
So, after sensing Jiraiya's probing, Baiyu had decided to reveal some of his strength and make the village take him seriously.
At first, he'd thought a Special Jōnin was a decent offer. But after Jiraiya had tested him so many times, any excitement had turned into a whole lot of irritation.
This bait had no appeal whatsoever.
Compared with the hundred million from Uchiha Fugaku, it was even less impressive.
At that moment, Baiyu decided to make sure Jiraiya understood just how strong he was—to prove he was powerful enough to speak with the Hokage on equal terms!
Powerful enough to change the course of a battle.
Before you continue