The Uchiha training ground.
The black Tomoe spun wildly in Rikusei's eyes, and the Sharingan's power of perception was pushed to its limits.
Although Uchiha Madara had reduced his Taijutsu to Rikusei's level, his years of combat experience made him far from easy to fend off.
Rikusei clenched his fist, suppressing the numb ache in his arm, and stared straight ahead.
Although he was the one attacking, his short arms and legs often made his assaults futile.
Chakra gathered beneath his feet as he lunged forward with the Body Flicker Technique. The clash of their arms sent a gust of wind that stirred Madara's right eye, hidden beneath his long hair.
Ignoring those icy eyes, Rikusei fought down the shudder running through him beneath Madara's killing intent and suddenly twisted to kick at his head.
The fierce impacts of arms and legs echoed through the woods, sending flocks of birds into the air.
Rikusei relentlessly pressed his evasive opponent, thinking, As long as I can force him out of the circle, I win!
Chakra flowed through his cells and along his pathways, filling his limbs with strength.
Clash.
A fierce clash.
He even used the strength he had held back during his fight with Toka.
After their bodies collided, Rikusei forced himself to endure the pain and kept attacking. But against Madara's watertight defense, he couldn't help feeling discouraged.
He knew it well.
Taijutsu and experience alone wouldn't be enough to win. His only chance was to catch Madara off guard, disrupt his composure, and find an opening.
Looking at his right fist, trapped in Madara's grip, Rikusei curled his lips into a smile and asked softly, "Who won the dance competition a few days ago, Teacher or Lord Hashirama?"
Madara yanked the clenched fist toward himself. As the force pulled the boy helplessly into the air, he replied calmly, "Obviously, I won."
"No. The Uchiha and Senju both lost. In the end, the Dance King was from the Sarutobi Clan."
Madara didn't answer. He had no time to waste, either. He swept a leg across, his swift kick slamming into the boy's stomach.
With a "bang," smoke gradually dispersed, and a wooden post slowly dropped to the ground.
A flurry of punches came from behind. Madara spun around and swiftly blocked them all with a punch of his own. The boy's frantic attacks revealed an opening.
Following through on the opening, Madara's clenched right fist shot mercilessly toward the boy's face.
His powerful punch struck the boy's face. Blood from the bridge of his nose smeared across Madara's clenched knuckles.
A smile.
Madara's pupils contracted. He knew his student well—something was wrong. He'd fallen for it.
The wooden post was the real one.
With both arms wrapped tightly around him, Rikusei pressed forward, pinning Madara's shoulders. His legs clamped around Madara's back, binding his upper body and leaving him unable to move.
Their faces drew close, and their eyes met. Madara sensed fists rushing toward him from behind.
The clone's Sharingan spun as he smiled, certain of victory.
"You're still too green, kid," Madara said, smiling.
"Not a chance!" the clone shouted.
He slammed his head into Uchiha Madara. The impact shook his face, sending the blood streaming from it flying through the air.
Madara deftly dodged the headbutt, bending his long legs before pushing off hard and leaping into the air to evade Rikusei's attack from below. Then he began to spin.
The clone clung tightly to Madara, keeping pressure on his waist.
"That's it."
Seeing things go as he'd expected, Madara murmured as he felt his body pinned down.
"Bang!" The two of them crashed to the ground together, still locked in their hold. Cracks spread outward through the earth.
As the dust settled, Rikusei sprinted toward the figure in the smoke and attacked.
His right fist was blocked.
Uchiha Madara looked at him quietly and said, "You win."
Rikusei's arm was held up. At Madara's words, he looked down and saw that both his feet were already outside the circle. He had won this time.
"Real and fake, a good tactic. You can dispel the clone now," Uchiha Madara commented on their fight.
"Teacher's still better." Rikusei smiled wryly as he formed hand seals, and the clone vanished in a puff of smoke.
Beside the pit that had just been smashed into the ground, smoke rose from the scattered stones. Rikusei quickly walked out and said, "If you'd activated your Sharingan, Teacher, you definitely wouldn't have been fooled by those little tricks."
The two of them sat on a rock to rest. Rikusei took a scroll from his ninja pouch and asked, "Aren't you going to teach me Fire Release?"
"Just train your chakra extraction and your precise chakra control," Uchiha Madara answered, addressing his student's question. After a moment, he added, "Those skills are important on the battlefield. If you control how much chakra you use, you can stay in good shape for longer."
"What about the other nature transformations?"
"The Sharingan can copy them."
Great. That was such a strong argument that Rikusei had no answer.
"But I'd need the Three-Tomoe Sharingan for that. How can you be sure I'll awaken it?" Rikusei looked past the lush green woods toward the nearby clan compound.
Uchiha Madara's expression grew more serious. He studied Rikusei's eyes, then smiled mysteriously. "Maybe you'll awaken the Mangekyo."
"Why?"
Uchiha Madara certainly wasn't going to tell him that he'd awakened the Sharingan in the cemetery without showing much emotion.
With a body so unusual, his path to evolving the Sharingan might be easier than any other clan member's.
"Go to the Clan Academy. Kaku seems to have something to tell you." Uchiha Madara followed his gaze into the distance and ruffled his student's hair.
Watching that familiar face, so much like Izuna's, gradually disappear, Uchiha Madara sat alone on the rock and quietly gazed up at the blue sky.
He was no longer rootless. The drifting cloud, never knowing where it would end up, had finally found a place to call home.
Returning the greetings of his clansmen, Rikusei quickened his pace toward the Clan Academy.
He entered the familiar courtyard, walked down the corridor lined with greenery, and pushed open the door.
The man in a high-collared robe lifted his gaze from the book in his hands and looked at the boy seated on a cushion.
"Your little plan worked."
Kaku, his hair tied in a ponytail, wore a slightly incongruous smile. He tapped the spine of his book, signaling for Rikusei to come closer.
Rikusei wasn't falling for it. Without a word, he scooted his cushion toward the door.
Kids these days were getting harder and harder to fool. A vein popped on Kaku's forehead as he steadied his breathing. Smiling warmly, he asked softly, "How about not going to the Ninja Academy?"
Rikusei moved even farther away.
Now that the cat was out of the bag, Kaku stood and walked across the wooden floor, glaring at him with furrowed brows.
"The school's already built, and all the clans will have to go sooner or later. Shouldn't we Uchiha be the first to lead the way?" Rikusei tilted his little face up, refusing to back down as he argued, "Instead of stopping me from going, why don't you, Great Elder, get yourself a teaching position at the school?"
After years of teaching him, Kaku knew just how extraordinary the boy was. He understood the reasoning, but couldn't bring himself to swallow his pride. So he tested the waters. "How about we ask Setsuna to give it a try?"
Rikusei hurriedly shook his head.
Ever since Izuna's death, Setsuna and Tobirama had been at odds for ages.
Uchiha Kaku also knew it wasn't realistic. The Senju Clan would surely take the Ninja Academy seriously. The person in charge would be either Tobirama or Toka.
Seeing the boy's suggestive look, Kaku helplessly pointed at himself and glanced around. "So I'm the only one who can go?"
"Unless you expect Teacher Madara to go?"
The boy dealt him a fatal blow. Kaku slumped against the floorboards, eyes vacant. "Do you really expect me to spend all day with those loathsome Senju Clan people?"
"If you want Teacher Madara to become Hokage, you can put up with these little inconveniences, Great Elder." Rikusei suppressed a smile and twisted the knife. "What are you going to do about the opposition in the clan?"
"Thump!"
Kaku looked at the boy clutching his head. At last, he'd gotten him, and a smile crept onto his face. He took a letter from the table behind him and said confidently, "I'll handle all that. This is the Uchiha Clan's notice. Make sure you keep it safe."
Rikusei carefully read the dates and enrollment list, then asked softly, "Aren't Rai and the others going?"
"The Hyuga Clan joined the village not long ago, too. Let them stay in the Clan Academy a little longer. They can go next year," Kaku said, remembering the matter.
The air fell into a strange silence. The boy stared at him suspiciously, and Kaku turned away to avoid his gaze.
After a long standoff, he quietly admitted the truth: "They'd embarrass us if they went."
Before you continue