The Clan Tournament (2)

One move to decide the winner sounded like a joke between children.

But when it actually happened before their eyes, nobody in the audience was surprised. After all, they were all ninja.

Only an overwhelming gap in strength could make that possible.

The quiet audience was filled with eager gazes. "His" disciple was about to make the final appearance.

As Rikusei walked to the center of the field, he felt that the way people on the viewing platform looked at him was rather strange.

"Good luck! Little Naori, don't go easy on your darling grandson!!!"

The familiar voice of someone determined to spoil her grandson came from afar. Rikusei looked at his delighted Grandmother, who was clearly taking the other side, and felt a headache coming on.

Well, there you go.

Danzo and Hiruzen were there too, fortunately looking at him with encouraging expressions.

A girl he didn't recognize stood beside Hiruzen, blinking curiously at him.

There was no time to think. The girl before him asked gently, "Are you ready?"

Naori smiled lightly and, to the audience's surprise, handed Rikusei the other short sword at her waist. "Just treat it like an ordinary training session."

"Mm."

Rikusei drew the short sword, gripping it tightly, and met the girl's clear gaze.

"Clang, clang!"

The short sword deflected every Shuriken that came flying toward him. Before the sparks from the clash of metal in front of Naori had even faded, the boy's wind-fast figure followed close behind.

Sparks from the blades clashing shone especially brightly in the Training Ground, shrouded in the shadow of dark clouds.

Her slender fingers tightened around the hilt, the knuckles turning pale as she steadied its slight tremor. Naori's bright eyes fixed on the boy before her, waiting for an opening.

They had trained like this countless times.

Will he use the Sharingan next? The girl thought, lowering her shoulders to gather strength and steady her mind.

The black Tomoe turned slowly in Rikusei's crimson eyes. To him, the flow of the world seemed to slow.

He clenched the short sword, focused his chakra in his feet, and charged at the girl, who was ready for him.

A slightly warm summer breeze mingled with flashes of cold steel. Naori shifted her ninja sandals slightly to steady her footing, her delicate toes resting quietly inside their black uppers. She calmly met the attacks, which came as suddenly as a downpour.

Squinting against the fierce sword intent, she let the gale created by their high-speed Body Flicker Technique blow her hair loose. The flames of battle, kindled in her heart, burned fiercely.

The intense pressure of the fight wrapped tightly around her. Among her peers, only Rikusei could let her fully savor the thrill of battle.

That was also why she had been willing to lend him her short sword.

The blade in the girl's hands flashed like a gale. As Rikusei sped up, she did too. They met speed with speed, sparks and the clashing of blades echoing across the entire Training Ground.

"Whoa..." Biwako held up her cotton candy and stared blankly at Hiruzen beside her. "Is Naori-chan usually this strong? She's even got the upper hand against the Sharingan."

"No, this is the first time we've seen it too." Danzo managed to stay calm. He glanced at Hiruzen, whose attention had already been drawn completely into the fight, and answered on his behalf.

The two in the field continued to clash.

The Uchiha on the viewing platform who had activated their Sharingan finally understood. While the Single Tomoe Sharingan improved their perceptiveness, if an opponent moved fast enough, its ability to observe would inevitably be greatly hindered.

Some had activated the Single Tomoe Sharingan and were trying to put themselves in the fighters' shoes as they watched the flashes of blades.

No good. They could only see afterimages.

Chakra began flowing along their tenketsu toward their eyes. With the Double Tomoe Sharingan, they could finally make out the two fighters in the field.

Only the Uchiha who had activated a Three-Tomoe Sharingan in one eye or a Double Tomoe in one eye could see their movements clearly. They exchanged startled looks with their fellow clan members, who had also activated their Sharingan to watch.

Did that mean their swordsmanship had reached a level that required a Three-Tomoe Sharingan to follow?

At their age, they were truly impressive.

They stared in surprise at Kaku, who wore a calm expression, then asked in a trembling voice, "Are these the disciples he trained to face the Clan Head?"

Naori gritted her teeth, forcing herself to endure the trembling in her arm muscles and tendons. She gripped the short sword tightly and continued her assault, drawing on all the chakra in her body to unleash her full strength.

She didn't want to prove anything in this Clan Tournament. She could clearly sense that Rikusei had always held back during their training.

With so many people watching this time, she wanted to see his true strength for herself.

Now, the arm gripping the hilt, gradually losing all feeling, had already given her the answer.

The ache in her arm was nothing compared to the exhilaration of the fight.

Rikusei frowned, enduring the pain and pressure as well. He saw the girl's attack falter for an instant.

Their blades crossed and twisted together. He slid his blade straight up, caught the hilt, and knocked the short sword from her hand. It plunged straight into the dirt.

The short sword fell from her grip. Naori's bright eyes narrowed slightly. That had been her own move—she hadn't expected him to learn it.

Her damp purple bangs fell loosely across her forehead, lending her a carefree air. Reassurance filled her lively eyes as she said softly, "You win."

Her gentle voice drifted across the entire Training Ground on the summer breeze. The dark clouds that had hidden the sun happened to part, and bright sunlight fell on them.

Rikusei steadied his aching arm, shifted the sunlit short sword to his other hand, and slowly slid it back into the sheath at the girl's waist. Pointing to his turning Tomoe, he said, "If I didn't have these eyes, you'd be the winner."

His sincere words made Naori smile. She knew the boy meant it. Smiling, she wiped the short sword clean after pulling it from the dirt, then slid it into the sheath at her waist.

Basking in the glory that belonged to them, she quietly took the boy's right hand, and together they enjoyed the cheers meant for them.

"Ow!"

His right hand was suddenly caught in her soft, jade-like grasp. The ache and her cool softness hit him all at once, but Rikusei kept a straight face and gritted his back teeth as he enjoyed the Little Beauty's kindness.

"..." Kagami, standing stunned in the passageway, forced himself to regain his composure and asked the three beside him, "Have you ever seen them like this?"

"No!"

The three at the front of the line answered in unison, their voices trembling slightly.

After the long, unending cheers finally died down, Kaku watched the unexpected little Gunbai leave, then stood and addressed everyone present. "Starting today, the Uchiha Clan Academy is disbanded!"

The announcement caused an even bigger stir than the fight. Noise erupted, but Kaku's powerful chakra presence soon quieted the audience.

That was right.

This fight had already shown them that the Ninja Academy really did provide better instruction than the Clan Academy.

Of course, there were two exceptions. Kagami's ability to defeat Rai and Naka, both among the Clan Academy's top students, had already proved that.

"We don't have anywhere to study anymore?!"

Baru, whose mouth had been hanging open in disbelief at the string of astonishing events, couldn't believe it.

"Isn't that great? Now we can completely avoid the dangerous life of a ninja!" Rai lowered his voice and shot a glance at the purple-haired girl sitting on a stool, applying ointment to Rikusei while he applied some to her.

"The Uchiha Clan's new generation will join the Ninja Academy, where they'll be divided into new classes."

Kaku's voice rang out again, shattering Rai's fantasy completely.

In the dim surroundings, Naka gave him a sympathetic look. This was the fate of their generation of Uchiha.

On the viewing platform, the crowd gradually dispersed.

The God of Shinobi smiled and said to the Uchiha Clan Head beside him, "You did well, Madara."

"Idiot! What's there to be happy about? Didn't you disband the Senju Clan too?" The smile in Madara's uncovered right eye vanished, replaced by the same calm expression as in his left.

"I'm sorry."

Hashirama suddenly drooped his head and apologized with complete sincerity.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Madara was about to drag Hashirama away when Tobirama appeared with the Body Flicker Technique and interrupted him. "Elder Brother, Madara, what are you doing here? Come help me get ready to welcome Clan Head Ashina and the delegation from the Land of Whirlpools. They'll be here tomorrow."

"Tobirama, you'll have more work to do in a moment." Hashirama stood up, looking a little embarrassed.

"I heard what Kaku just said. Besides, it's already on record at the office, so I knew about it. We can just expand the intake by one class." Tobirama's silver-white hair glinted in the sunlight, and his confident words reached the two men.

"Break time is over."

Hashirama met Madara's gaze, then spoke with a pained expression.

"Ow, that hurts."

In the infirmary, Naori had taken off her jacket, exposing her pale, rosy arm. She trembled like a wounded fawn, her bright eyes misted over with tears.

Rikusei gave her an exasperated look. Holding a cotton swab coated in ointment, he gently dabbed it over the swollen area and said softly, "Bear with it. I'll take you out for something good to eat afterward."

The cool ointment couldn't extinguish the burning pain in her arm. Instead, Rikusei's gentle words were like kindling, reigniting a strange flame in her heart just after the battle had gone out.