Clan Tournament (1)

The morning sun ran nearly parallel to the village, casting colorful rays over the treetops and spilling them across the streets.

The rows of glass on the wooden houses reflected the summer sunlight, while in the distance, white mist between the dense forests and hills gradually dissipated with the breeze.

A great clan?

This concept received a violent shock in the young mind of Shimura Danzō; his inherent impressions were shattered as ruthlessly as ice by reality.

Crossing the towering gatehouse of the Uchiha compound, the bustling scene before his eyes felt like a nation unto itself.

White walls were plastered everywhere with the Uchiha Gunbai family crest, and the streets were crowded with Uchiha clansmen, all sporting identical black hair and robes, walking toward the training grounds with laughter and chatter.

The only clan that could be considered more prosperous than the Shimura Clan was the Sarutobi Clan.

Even so, the Shimura Clan was still a great clan of note within the Land of Fire.

Even after the formation of the village, the compounds of the various clans within Konoha were not open to outsiders; the secrecy surrounding these grounds remained as mysterious as it had been during the era when various ninja clans stood side-by-side amidst the chaos of war.

Clutching the invitation in his hand, he was finally able to catch a glimpse of the grandeur of a great clan of the Land of Fire, and the sight did not disappoint him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, walking in front, pulled his own clansman along obliviously, the two of them chatting and laughing as they surveyed the Uchiha compound, before suddenly running up to a stall selling cotton candy.

"Hmph!"

A disdainful snort escaped Danzō's tightly pursed lips; he hadn't expected the thick-browed, big-eyed Hiruzen to actually learn from Rikusei and start buying things for girls.

He recognized the girl holding Hiruzen's hand—it was Biwako. The Shimura and Sarutobi families had been on good terms for generations, and he knew everyone of his generation, regardless of gender.

As they passed a street corner, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a beautiful purple-haired figure.

Purple hair was far too unique among the black-haired Uchiha clan; he didn't need to think twice to know who it was.

"Why is Naori there? Shouldn't she be at the training grounds preparing right now?" Danzō asked hesitantly toward the two people in front of him, who were holding their cotton candy.

"Take another look at the sign hanging on the corner shop." Hiruzen, who had been observing his surroundings, handed him the extra cotton candy he had bought and explained.

It was a dango shop.

Danzō took the cotton candy, bit into it, and nodded as he looked around; so this was the gourmet street.

"Where are Rikusei and Kagami?"

"Danzō-kun, you were daydreaming just now. You didn't see Kagami-kun grab Rikusei-kun by the hand and drag him out of the dango shop, looking absolutely furious." Biwako and Hiruzen exchanged a smile before describing the scene vividly, one after the other.

Danzō sighed speechlessly. Looking at the passing crowds, he didn't know what to say—whether to complain about Kagami dragging Rikusei away, or Naori chasing after them with a box of dango.

"Sigh, Kagami didn't need to be in such a rush."

Rikusei, whose right hand was being pulled tightly, glanced at the sauce on the corner of the girl's mouth beside him and struggled to pull out a tissue with his remaining left hand to pass to her.

"It's not that I'm in a rush; it's that the Hokage and the Clan Head have arrived too."

Kagami, who had run all the way from the training grounds, explained with somewhat uneven breath.

"That makes sense. The only one who could make the teacher change his plans is the Hokage."

Being dragged along, Rikusei tapped Kagami's palm to signal that he could let go; the training grounds were already within reach.

On the high platforms within the training grounds sat the clansmen who had come to watch and the invited ninjas. As Rikusei followed Kagami into the arena passage, he immediately spotted Hashirama and Madara, who were hiding in the crowd in plain clothes with their hairstyles changed.

Relying on the visual enhancement provided by his Sharingan, Rikusei counted the dense crowd on the high platforms from the shadows; it was nearly half the number of people present at a Full Clan Assembly.

It seemed that in an era without any special entertainment, intense events like the Clan Tournament were still quite popular.

Most of the various ninja clans invited to watch were also of the younger generation.

After all, during the chaotic war era, the families had slaughtered each other over various commissions. Although they were all in the same village now, it was inevitably awkward for enemies to meet, so sending the younger generation who hadn't experienced the war was a good solution.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Kaku stood up abruptly from his chair, glanced at the Gunbai leaning against the empty seat beside him, and looked calmly at Madara, who was hidden in the crowd.

Amidst the attention of all, he spoke loudly, offering polite words of thanks to the clansmen and the distinguished guests for coming, and announced the entry of the contestants.

"There are more participants than there are people at the academy." Danzō, sitting quietly in the spectator area, counted the number of people in the center of the arena and said softly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen carefully observed the Uchiha who had finished their collective appearance and retreated back into the competition passage, saying to the two standing in the center of the field: "It's starting."

The Uchiha in the arena began their contest, unleashing taijutsu and shuriken to their hearts' content until one side was defeated.

"No ninjutsu or genjutsu." After a few rounds of competition, Hiruzen, having noticed something, said softly: "Are they trying to determine the winner through a tournament-style bracket?"

Baru, having successfully defended the ring, waved his right hand to the cheers, his eyes full of fighting spirit as he looked toward the dim passage.

Don't be impatient.

Rikusei, it will be your turn after the Clan Academy matches are finished.

The tournament structure had placed them last; naturally, this was the result of Kaku and Setsuna deliberately manipulating the matches.

Everyone in the passage knew it well, and the reason they had no complaints was simple: they couldn't win.

As the tournament progressed, every Uchiha who entered the ring sparked anticipation. As it reached its climax, the more intense battles would surely bring them an even more stimulating visual impact.

And that was exactly the case.

After Baru, who had successfully defended the ring ten times, was defeated by Naka, the silent arena erupted into shouts.

Following that, when Naka, who had been defending the ring, was knocked down by Kagami, the fanatical roar reached its peak.

The Uchiha in the Clan Academy now pinned all their hopes on Rai; despite his usually gentle and frail appearance, he was not one to drop the ball at a critical moment.

Rai, carrying those boundless expectations, ultimately fell at the hands of Kagami.

No one blamed him, for they could all see that Kagami's strength in the match was staggering, simply incomparable to how he had been back at the Clan Academy.

In the corridor, Naori offered a sweet smile to the boy beside her, gently stroked the short blade at her waist, and stepped into the arena under the sunlight.

The purple-haired girl raised a hand to shield her eyes from the dazzling sun, looking toward the cheering audience with an unruffled expression.

"Hey, Second Granduncle, I bet little Naori will take down Kagami in three moves," Chiri said, fanning herself as she spoke to the distracted old man beside her.

"Mm, sounds about right," Second Granduncle replied sluggishly, lifting his sleepy eyelids.

Danzo glanced curiously at Uchiha Granny, who was drawing conclusions in such a familiar tone; judging by their attire, they didn't look like ninjas at all.

Shifting his gaze to the center of the arena, he thought to himself that there was no way Kagami could be defeated in three moves, having experienced his strength firsthand at the Ninja Academy.

The sun gradually climbed to its zenith, the scorching heat inevitably making people feel restless, yet countless spectators looked forward to the spectacular scene about to unfold.

"One move."

Madara, his long hair obscuring his right eye, whispered to Hashirama.

Just as he had predicted, a loud blast erupted as dust rose from the ground; the short blade in Naori's right hand was held steadily against Kagami's chin, her purple hair fluttering wildly in the wind like silk.

A cold sweat trickled down his temple, and the heart-stopping sensation made Kagami powerlessly aware of the point where the blade touched him; his skin crawled, as if any careless movement in the next second would result in him being sliced down by that cold, gleaming short blade.

The bone-chilling cold vanished with the sound of the blade sliding back into its sheath, and Kagami, having performed the Reconciliation Seal, let out a long sigh of relief and walked out of the arena with a light heart.