"That was—"
"Uchiha Shingen?!"
A burst of startled cries rose from the stands.
Yahiko stood above, the concern in his eyes vanishing in a flash. "As expected."
"Anyone Teacher Jiraiya took a liking to was a genius of the ninja world."
At the end, Yahiko added with a self-deprecating smile, "Except me."
How could he not know that when Jiraiya had chosen to stay behind and teach the three of them, his main target had always been Nagato?
Yahiko and Konan had merely come along with the package.
But Yahiko did not dislike that feeling.
Some people in this world were simply born different.
Talent that stood above all others, intelligence far beyond ordinary people, even eyes capable of glimpsing the future—those things were innate.
He did not possess such gifts, but others did.
Like Nagato, who had silently followed behind him, treating Yahiko's dream as the pursuit of his entire life.
And like Uchiha Shingen, who now emerged from the other side of the arena, spotless from head to toe.
Yugito froze, then immediately realized what had happened. "A Shadow Clone?!"
"Well, that does make things a little less boring."
Uchiha Shingen looked down at Yugito, his eyes brimming with a bearing he had never shown before.
A bearing that should not have belonged to someone like him.
Even Minato, standing at the edge of the arena, was shaken by the Uchiha Shingen before him.
Because in Uchiha Shingen's open eyes burned a battle lust unlike anything Minato had ever seen!
"Shingen actually has a side like this?!"
Minato muttered to himself, countless thoughts racing through his mind.
Those thoughts eventually settled on the moments when Uchiha Shingen had fought Kakashi and inadvertently revealed it.
A completely different side from the ideals he usually spoke of and pursued.
A