Shameful! Withdraw from the Ninja Academy!

Uchiha training grounds.

Black tomoe spun wildly within the pupils of Rikusei, the insight of his Sharingan pushed to its absolute limit.

Although Uchiha Madara had suppressed his taijutsu to match Rikusei's level, the combat experience honed over many years was not so easily countered.

Rikusei clenched his fists to suppress the numbness in his arms, his gaze fixed forward without a blink.

Even though he was the aggressor, the disadvantage of his shorter reach often rendered his attacks futile.

Channeling chakra into his feet, he lunged forward with a Body Flicker; the wind pressure generated by the clash of their arms revealed the right eye Madara had kept hidden beneath his long hair.

Ignoring that cold gaze, Rikusei forced his trembling body to endure the suffocating killing intent and suddenly pivoted to kick toward Madara's head.

The sound of limbs colliding violently echoed through the woods, startling flocks of birds into flight.

Rikusei pressed his relentless assault against the dodging Madara, thinking to himself, As long as I can force him out of the circle, it's a victory!

Chakra within his cells flowed through his meridians, flooding his limbs with power.

Collision.

A fierce collision.

He even utilized the hidden strength he had used during his spar with Naori.

After the physical contact, Rikusei endured the pain and continued his offensive, though he couldn't help but feel discouraged when faced with such an airtight defense.

He knew it clearly.

Taijutsu and experience alone would not be enough to win; only by using tricks to disturb his opponent's mind and actively finding a single opening would he have a chance at victory.

Looking at his right fist, which was held fast and unable to move, Rikusei curled his lips and asked softly, "Between you and Lord Hashirama, who won the dance-off a few days ago?"

Pulling the gripped fist toward his body, Madara looked at the boy being dragged into the air, helpless and out of control, and replied indifferently, "It was obviously my victory."

"That's not right. Both the Uchiha and the Senju lost; the Dance King ended up being from the Sarutobi clan."

Madara remained silent, but his body was far from idle; he swept his leg horizontally, the whip-like strike slamming heavily into the boy's abdomen.

With a "bang," the smoke gradually dissipated, and a wooden log fell slowly to the ground.

Fist-wind whistled from behind; Madara turned rapidly and threw a punch to intercept the attack, the boy's frantic assault revealing a flaw.

Following that opening, he clenched his right fist and struck ruthlessly toward the boy's face.

The force-laden punch connected with the boy's face, and blood seeping from the bridge of his nose stained the knuckles of the fist.

It was a smile.

Madara's pupils constricted; knowing his disciple, he realized he had fallen for a trap.

The log was the real body.

His arms were held tightly, his shoulder blades pinned by further pressure, and legs locked firmly around his back; his upper body was bound and unable to move.

As their faces drew close and their eyes met, Madara sensed the rush of fist-wind coming from behind.

The shadow clone spun its Sharingan, wearing a smile of certain victory.

"You're still too green, brat," Madara said, facing the smile.

"Don't count on it!"

The clone shouted loudly.

It slammed its head into Uchiha Madara, the shaking face causing flowing blood to spray into the air.

Madara nimbly controlled his head to dodge the headbutt, his long legs slightly bent as he exerted force downward, leaping into the air to evade Rikusei's attack from below before beginning to rotate.

The clone held onto Madara with a death grip, suppressing the power in his waist.

"That's it."

Seeing the situation unfold as expected, Madara whispered while feeling his body being pinned.

"Bang!" The two, locked in a tight embrace, crashed into the ground, causing cracks to spiderweb across the earth.

Seeing the dust settle, Rikusei sprinted toward the figure in the smoke to attack.

His attacking right fist was intercepted.

Uchiha Madara looked at him quietly and said, "You win."

Rikusei, his arm held in place, looked down at the ground; his feet had landed outside the circle. This time, he had won.

"True and false, a decent tactic. You can dispel the clone now," Uchiha Madara remarked, critiquing the battle just passed.

"You're still the best, Teacher." With a bitter smile, Rikusei formed the seal, and the clone vanished amidst a puff of smoke.

Beside the crater created earlier, Rikusei walked out from the smoke of scattered stones and said, "If you had activated your Sharingan, Teacher, these little tricks certainly wouldn't have fooled you."

As the two sat on a rock to rest, Rikusei pulled a scroll from his ninja pouch and asked, "Won't you give me some pointers on Fire Style?"

"Isn't it enough to train your chakra refinement and precise control?" Uchiha Madara answered his disciple's question, then thought for a moment and added, "These are very important on the battlefield. Controlling your chakra output allows you to maintain a steady state."

"What about other elemental styles?"

"The Sharingan can copy techniques."

Very well, this reason was powerful enough to leave Rikusei speechless.

"But that requires the Three-Tomoe, doesn't it? How can Teacher be so certain that I will be able to awaken it?" Gazing past the lush, dense forest, Rikusei looked toward the clan compound not far away and asked.

Uchiha Madara's expression turned more solemn; he stared intently into the boy's eyes and smiled mysteriously. "Perhaps you might even awaken the Mangekyo."

"Why?"

Uchiha Madara, of course, would not say that it was because he had seen Rikusei awaken the Sharingan at the graveyard without much emotional fluctuation.

With such a unique constitution, the path of evolution for his Sharingan might be simpler than that of any other clansman.

"Hurry to the clan school; Kaku seems to have something to say to you." Uchiha Madara followed his gaze toward the distance and patted his disciple's hair as he spoke.

Watching the face that bore a slight resemblance to Izuna slowly walk away, Uchiha Madara sat alone on a rock, quietly gazing at the azure sky.

He was no longer rootless; the drifting white cloud had finally found its ideal dwelling place.

Responding to the greetings of his clansmen, Rikusei couldn't help but quicken his pace toward the clan school.

He walked into the familiar courtyard, passed through the corridor filled with greenery, and pushed open the door.

The man in the High-Collar Robe inside the room shifted his gaze from the book in his hands and looked up at the boy kneeling on the cushion.

"Your little plan has succeeded."

Kaku, wearing a ponytail, revealed a somewhat discordant smile and tapped the spine of the book, signaling him to sit closer.

Rikusei was not about to fall for it; he moved his cushion toward the door without changing his expression.

Children these days are getting harder and harder to trick, Kaku thought, a vein throbbing on his forehead. He calmed his breathing and said with a beaming, gentle voice, "How about you don't go to the Ninja Academy?"

At this, Rikusei moved even further away from him.

With the truth finally revealed, Kaku stood up and paced across the wooden floor, looking at him with a grim expression and furrowed brows.

"The school has already been built, and every clan will have to attend sooner or later. Shouldn't we Uchiha take the lead?" Rikusei tilted his small face up, refusing to back down, and retorted, "Instead of blocking me from going, why doesn't the Great Elder seek a teaching position at the school?"

After years of teaching him, Kaku knew the monstrous talent of the boy before him. He understood the logic, but he couldn't bring himself to lose face, so he tentatively suggested, "Should I let Setsuna try?"

Rikusei shook his head hurriedly.

Because of Izuna's death, the animosity between Setsuna and Tobirama had been going on for quite some time.

Uchiha Kaku also felt it was unrealistic; the Ninja Academy was certainly valued by the Senju Clan, and the person in charge would be either Tobirama or Toka.

Looking at the boy's suggestive gaze, Kaku helplessly pointed at himself and looked around the room. "I'm the only one who can go?"

"Are you suggesting Teacher Madara should go instead?"

The boy delivered a fatal blow. Kaku leaned powerlessly against the floor, his eyes dull as he muttered, "Do you really want me to spend every day with those annoying people from the Senju Clan?"

"For the sake of Teacher Madara becoming Hokage, Great Elder, please just endure these minor issues." Rikusei suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth and added, "How will you handle the opposition within the clan?"

"Thump!"

Kaku looked at the boy clutching his head and finally managed to land a hit, a smile appearing on his face. He picked up a letter from the table behind him and said confidently, "I will handle those matters myself. This is the Uchiha Clan's notification letter; keep it safe."

Rikusei read the date and the enrollment list on the paper carefully and asked softly, "Are Rai and the others not going?"

"The Hyuga Clan joined the village not long ago. Let them stay in the clan school a bit longer and go in the next intake," Kaku said, as if remembering something.

The air fell into an eerie silence. The boy stared at him with suspicious eyes, and Kaku turned his head to avoid his gaze.

After a standoff, he whispered the truth: "It would be embarrassing if they went."