How Will You Teach Me a Lesson?

"Clang."

With a crisp sound, Setsuna Uchiha used his kunai to parry the katana that had been thrust at him from behind.

"Did you think you could confuse me and launch a sneak attack just by leaving a Shadow Clone in the Earth Prison?" Setsuna Uchiha asked with a look of disdain, acting as if everything were under his control.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet." Setsuna Uchiha formed hand seals with his free hand, and an earthen dragon erupted from beneath the feet of Shisui, its massive jaws snapping toward him.

"Poof."

That Shisui transformed into a puff of white smoke under the dragon's bite.

"Another Shadow Clone?" Setsuna Uchiha began to scan his surroundings with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, searching for Shisui's figure.

"Phantom Body Flicker Technique." Five Shisuis suddenly flashed into existence around Setsuna Uchiha, surrounding him, their katanas slashing downward toward him.

"Genjutsu? Shadow Clones? Or..." The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Setsuna's eyes spun wildly, yet he could not discern which one was Shisui's true body.

"Poof." After being struck by Shisui, Setsuna Uchiha transformed into white smoke and dissipated; this, too, had been a Shadow Clone.

Although the attack Shisui had meticulously planned had missed, his face betrayed no emotion.

"Vigilant old man." As the other four phantom images of Shisui vanished, his real body stood in place, baiting Setsuna to reveal himself and strike.

"Not hiding anymore? Are you going to face me head-on now?"

As he spoke, Setsuna Uchiha's figure emerged from the soil nearby, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan locking firmly onto Shisui.

"I heard that Elder Setsuna was skilled in swordsmanship in his youth; I would like to see it for myself." Shisui tossed his own katana to Setsuna Uchiha and caught another one handed to him by Itachi.

"I don't like sneak attacks from the shadows either, so come."

Once he gripped the blade, Setsuna's aura changed drastically.

If he had previously given the impression of a cunning old fox, he now seemed to have merged with the blade in his hand, his mere presence radiating killing intent.

"Here I come." Before Shisui had even finished speaking, his body had already arrived at Setsuna Uchiha's side in an instant.

"Screech, screech..." Two katanas of the same style intertwined, the blades grinding against each other to produce a harsh, grating sound.

Setsuna Uchiha was surprised that the strength behind Shisui's swing was on par with his own, while Shisui was equally astonished that his opponent could so easily parry a full-speed strike.

Seeing this, Shisui did not remain in the deadlock; he nimbly dodged to the left, pulled Setsuna's blade downward, flipped his wrist to reverse the direction of his own edge, and then exerted force with both arms to thrust upward, the sharp blade slicing toward Setsuna's shoulder and elbow.

Even Setsuna Uchiha could not help but praise such swordsmanship: "Your sword skills are excellent. At your age, I was nowhere near your level, but this is where it ends."

As he spoke, Setsuna Uchiha jerked his arms upward, gripping the hilt with both hands, and actually blocked Shisui's attack with the back of his blade.

Seeing this, Shisui did not panic. He continued to exert force with one hand while rapidly forming seals with the other.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."

Setsuna Uchiha retreated rapidly as Shisui performed the jutsu, narrowly avoiding the massive fireball spat out by Shisui.

"To be able to combine swordsmanship and ninjutsu to this extent at your age—in the last hundred years, aside from Madara and Izuna, I fear there isn't a third clansman with such talent."

Having sparred to this point, the look in Setsuna Uchiha's eyes no longer held contempt or disdain; instead, it was filled with growing admiration.

"How about it? Are you interested in joining our Hawk Faction? I will personally groom you as my successor and even help you awaken the legendary ocular powers of our Uchiha clan."

A Three-Tomoe Sharingan at eight years old, combined with such immense talent for cultivation—at least within the Uchiha clan, no one possessed greater potential than Shisui.

"Old ghost Setsuna, what do you mean by this? Trying to poach my people right in front of me?"

Uchiha Tenwa, who had been watching from the sidelines, could not help but reprimand the other elder for trying to steal his protégé.

"Shisui is the only choice for a successor here as well, so don't waste your breath, old ghost Setsuna."

Two faction elders were actually competing for a junior, both promising him the position of successor; this was a first in the history of the Uchiha.

"How will we know if we don't try? Perhaps Shisui has long grown tired of the preaching from your Dove Faction." Setsuna Uchiha did not give up; he was now determined to win Shisui over.

"Stop arguing, both of you." Seeing that the duel could no longer continue, Shisui Uchiha interrupted their dispute with a sigh.

He then made a shocking declaration: "Whether it is the Dove Faction or the Hawk Faction, I have no interest in either."

Uchiha Tenwa: "???"

Setsuna Uchiha: "???"

"Kid, aren't you being a bit too arrogant?"

Setsuna Uchiha, still hoping to recruit Shisui, felt indignant but did not let it show in his words.

In his view, he just needed to get him to join his side first.

"If one isn't arrogant, can they even be called a young man?"

Facing Setsuna Uchiha's persuasion, Shisui remained unmoved.

"Starting today, neither the Hawk Faction nor the Dove Faction has any reason to exist. From now on, aside from the Clan Head, I am the one who calls the shots!"

The scene fell into a deathly silence; aside from Fugaku Uchiha and Itachi, everyone present was stunned by Shisui's utter disregard for them.

"You! I take back what I said earlier. It seems I must teach you an unforgettable lesson today."

This time, Setsuna Uchiha would no longer tolerate it; he intended to properly discipline this arrogant brat.

Furthermore, the other Dove Faction elders fell into a collective silence, equally displeased by Shisui's remarks.

"You intend to teach me a lesson?" Shisui asked with a light, airy tone, and even Setsuna Uchiha could hear the disdain hidden within his words.

Just as Setsuna Uchiha was preparing to unleash his full power, he suddenly heard Shisui's voice coming from behind him once again.

"How exactly do you plan to teach me?" It turned out that another Shisui had already appeared behind Setsuna, yet he hadn't sensed it in the slightest.

"Trying to confuse this old man with a Shadow Clone? You're still too green!" Setsuna Uchiha thrust his katana backward into the body of the Shisui behind him; whether it was the real body or a clone, he would strike it down first regardless.

However, the scene Setsuna Uchiha had imagined did not occur. Instead, he saw the Shisui behind him grab the blade with one hand, while the other hand pulled the hilt right out of Setsuna's grip.

"Is this what gives you such confidence? In my eyes, it isn't worth mentioning."

Facing the bizarre Shisui before him, Setsuna wanted to counterattack, only to discover that his body was completely unable to move.

"It's not a Shadow Clone, and it's not a genjutsu—so what on earth is it?" the other elders watching the battle asked in astonishment, only to find that there was no response from their surroundings; the clansmen beside them stood frozen in place as if they had been turned to stone, not moving an inch.

"My body... I can't move either..."

Aside from the family of Fugaku Uchiha, everyone present discovered that they couldn't even open their mouths to speak.

Suddenly, everyone felt the space around them fading at a rapid pace, and the surrounding scenery began to shatter one piece after another.

When? We fell into a genjutsu without even realizing it...

The Uchiha elders, unable to speak, could only exchange thoughts through their eyes, all while feeling a sense of lethal terror permeating their entire bodies.

However, this suffocating sensation did not last long. Once the surrounding environment had completely vanished, what greeted their eyes was a giant eye that filled the entire sky.

That crimson pupil, along with the strange, slowly rotating pattern within it, spoke volumes about the identity of the one who possessed it.

"That is the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"

This was the only thought remaining in the minds of everyone present.