Secret Moon Sword!

That night's clash with Kakashi was a perfect example.

Several times, Uchiha Shingen had tried to find an opening to use genjutsu, but Kakashi had deliberately avoided his gaze. During their close-quarters fight, the two had barely made eye contact at all.

Kakashi could avoid looking into his eyes, but he absolutely couldn't afford to look away from his sword!

Uchiha Shingen parted his lips slightly, glanced at the Kotetsu in his hand, then at Setsuna Uchiha. After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "You sneaky old geezer!"

Setsuna Uchiha seemed rather pleased by that. "Want to learn? I'll teach you!"

"Sure!"

Outside Konoha, in the Forest of Death.

Night had deepened, and dew clung to the leaves.

The birds and beasts that had been active during the day had disappeared. Only the insects hiding in the shadows began to poke their heads out, only to scurry back beneath the dead leaves the next instant, as if startled.

Rustle—!

Uchiha Shingen pushed the wheelchair back to the spot where his Shadow Clone had trained during the day.

The space around them was much wider than before. Many giant trees had been completely cut down, and the ground was riddled with pits of various sizes.

These were all traces of training.

Setsuna Uchiha nodded with satisfaction, acknowledging the effort his disciple had put in.

He might seem careless on the surface, but in private, he trained like crazy.

People like that could be annoying, but when one of them was your disciple, they were downright lovable.

"Enough chit-chat."

"Since you want to learn, I won't take this technique to my grave. How much you can learn, though, depends on your talent."

Setsuna Uchiha casually tossed a wooden sword to Uchiha Shingen. Once he saw him catch it, he continued, "I've trained in many ninjutsu techniques over the course of my life, but the one I'm proudest of is a school of swordsmanship called the Hazy Moon Secret Sword."

"According to the clan's classification, it should be called Nintaijutsu, but I prefer to call it the Illusion Sword Technique."

With that, Setsuna Uchiha crooked a finger, a cruel grin spreading across his face.

"Come on. You'll understand once you feel it firsthand."

"Are you just looking for an excuse to beat me up?!"

Uchiha Shingen was at least ninety percent sure that was exactly what the old geezer had in mind.

But he was also itching to learn the Illusion Sword Technique. It combined swordsmanship and genjutsu, looked unassuming, and was viciously effective in battle. Most importantly, it seemed like a perfect fit for him.

After hesitating for a moment, he gripped the wooden sword tightly and charged at Setsuna Uchiha, holding nothing back!

Anyone who saw this might have thought Uchiha Shingen was beating up an old man.

But Uchiha Shingen knew that the man sitting in the wheelchair was no frail old man nearing the end of his days. He was a ferocious tiger in a tomb, fangs hidden and killing intent concealed!

His sword was aimed to kill!

Bang—!

Uchiha Shingen stomped through the floor beneath his feet and used the recoil to bring his sword crashing down from above!

His training over this period hadn't been enough to raise his Taijutsu to Level 4, but his physique had grown noticeably stronger.

The force behind this strike was completely different from before. Even with a wooden sword, it could smash rock to pieces!

To his surprise, Setsuna Uchiha's sword came faster than he expected, and at a more treacherous angle. Like a venomous snake, it slipped through the opening in his movements and jabbed straight at his face!

This is bad!

Uchiha Shingen's breath caught in his throat, but then he saw the wooden sword pass straight through before his eyes, leaving him completely unharmed.

"Genjutsu?!"

By the time Uchiha Shingen realized it, it was already too late.

The next instant, Setsuna Uchiha knocked the wooden sword from his hands.

Smack—!

A sharp twang rang out around them. The wooden sword spun through the air a few times before landing in the grass nearby.

"Ichiwa!"

At the sound of his name, Uchiha Shingen looked toward Setsuna Uchiha.

The other man was still standing right where he had been, holding the wooden sword loosely. Even the smile on his face hadn't changed.

Recalling what had happened just moments ago, Uchiha Shingen couldn't help licking his lips.

"Again!"

He picked up the wooden sword nearby and charged at Setsuna Uchiha once more.

It was the same downward strike, with the same fierce momentum. Setsuna Uchiha saw through it again and thrust at the opening just as before.

But this time, Uchiha Shingen had activated his Sharingan—and saw a completely different world.

In that instant, Setsuna Uchiha hadn't struck just once. He had struck three times, four times, ten times...

Uchiha Shingen saw countless wooden swords slashing at him from every direction!

I fell for it again?!

Uchiha Shingen saw through the trick, but there was no time left to react.

The pace of close-quarters combat was far faster than a long-range exchange of moves, and there was far less room for error.

Often, the moment you realized you had fallen for a trick, the fight was already over.

Bang—!

Amid countless illusions, the one real wooden sword jabbed Uchiha Shingen squarely in the chest, sending him flying several meters.

"Cough, cough, cough—!"

Uchiha Shingen managed to steady himself, his chest aching fiercely. He couldn't help coughing, but his eyes remained fixed on the wooden sword in Setsuna Uchiha's hands.

At first, he had only thought Setsuna Uchiha's swordsmanship was underhanded. Now, he saw that it was just plain infuriating.

When most people fought a shinobi from the Uchiha Clan, their first priority was defending against the Uchiha's all-pervasive ocular jutsu.

Setsuna Uchiha's swordsmanship was a trap designed to exploit that way of thinking.

But once an opponent figured this out and focused their attention on the sword, the Uchiha's ocular jutsu would teach them a lesson instead.

Wasn't this just a mix-up in a fighting game?

Guess wrong in a game, and you lost. But in a shinobi battle, one bad call meant death.

But I love this infuriating stuff!

Feeling the pain in his chest, Uchiha Shingen grew more and more excited.

During his training with Jiraiya, he had focused more on ninjutsu—or, more specifically, ninjutsu involving elemental transformations. What he had learned from Fugaku Uchiha, meanwhile, was mostly genjutsu and commonly used ninjutsu.

Now that Setsuna Uchiha's Hazy Moon Secret Sword could make up for his shortcomings in close combat, Uchiha Shingen's strength would undergo a qualitative transformation.

His skill set would have almost no blind spots. He would be every bit as capable as the clan's veteran Jonin.

"Good!"

Setsuna Uchiha rolled his wrists from his wheelchair, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"Again!"

Uchiha Shingen said nothing. After catching his breath a little, he charged at Setsuna Uchiha again.

This time, he kept his eyes wide open, trying to follow Setsuna Uchiha's movements. But he still fell for the trick and was easily sent flying.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

That night, Uchiha Shingen spent the hours charging in, falling for genjutsu, and being knocked back.

By the time dawn was near, he was sprawled on the ground, exhausted, with not a shred of strength left in him.

But what excited him was that he had already begun to grasp the Hazy Moon Secret Sword's principles. He was confident he could master it perfectly in a month at most.

Just then, Setsuna Uchiha suddenly slapped his forehead, pulled a scroll from his clothes, and tossed it beside Uchiha Shingen. Then he said with a hint of apology, "Look at my memory. I'd already prepared the Hazy Moon Secret Sword training scroll. I forgot to give it to you last night."

"..."

"You mean I didn't have to get beaten up all night?!"