Going Home

Uchiha Itachi slashed his katana toward Uchiha Izuna. Although he held back most of his strength, he could not stop the blade from falling.

His katana struck Uchiha Izuna, but instead of the sound of flesh being sliced as expected, there was a metallic clang.

Clang! Sparks flew everywhere!

Uchiha Itachi's pupils constricted. He stared at his younger brother in disbelief. Was this really the same coward who used to hide and cry whenever he was bullied?

Furthermore, how had he trained his body to be impervious to blades?

"Itachi, did you skip breakfast? Did you learn your swordsmanship from a housewife? Tsk tsk, weak and pathetic!" Uchiha Izuna's voice reached Uchiha Itachi's ears.

At this moment, both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui were stunned! Only Uchiha Izuna felt a surge of joy; it turned out that hitting himself ten times actually counted!

Ding, warning, warning. Host loophole detected. Host loophole detected. After this battle, the system will modify the settings of Indomitable Body to patch the vulnerability where self-inflicted attacks count toward activation.

Uchiha Izuna's face fell. You damn system, it was your own bug that you didn't notice, so what's wrong with me using it!

Besides, you're stifling your host's creativity.

System: "...After the bug is patched, the host will be compensated with the Uchiha Gunbai."

The system's voice made Uchiha Izuna's eyes light up. The Uchiha Gunbai is good, the Uchiha Gunbai is great!

However, Uchiha Itachi was not provoked by those words. Instead, he withdrew his katana and created some distance. In the heat of battle, his intelligence soared to an astonishing level.

That previous strike was merely a probe, and the results were now clear: Uchiha Izuna's physical constitution was incredibly high, to the point of being impervious to blades.

Facing such an enemy, Itachi knew clearly that taijutsu was completely useless—or rather, his taijutsu was insufficient to pose any threat to Uchiha Izuna's body.

He had encountered such situations before, but in the end, he would always be the victor!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Uchiha Itachi performed the hand seals: Rat-Tiger-Dog-Ox-Rabbit-Tiger. After finishing the seals, he habitually tilted his head back and took a deep breath.

Finally, he exhaled, and a massive fireball erupted from his mouth. In the pitch-black night, it acted like a spotlight, illuminating the expressions on all three of their faces.

Shisui (worried), Itachi (serious), Zhan (sneering).

The Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique rushed toward Uchiha Izuna, stirring up a powerful gust of wind.

Uchiha Izuna's long hair began to flutter, blown back by the heatwave!

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Uchiha Izuna leaped four meters into the air. While airborne, he rapidly performed the seals: Rat-Tiger-Dog-Ox-Rabbit-Tiger.

His speed in forming the seals was far faster than Uchiha Itachi's. With a flick of his hands, he spat out five fireballs that surged toward Uchiha Itachi and his Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.

Uchiha Itachi's expression changed, for even the smallest of those five fireballs was the same size as his own Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.

When he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, he could even see molten lava churning within the surface of the fireballs.

Uchiha Itachi's Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique collided with the first fireball of Uchiha Izuna's Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Boom!

The two collided violently and dissipated in the air. Uchiha Itachi immediately stopped channeling chakra; with the fireball gone, there was no point in continuing to breathe fire.

Uchiha Itachi looked at the four massive Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique projectiles in the sky that were blocking his retreat, his expression grave.

But the fireballs would not wait for Uchiha Itachi; they crashed directly toward him and the space behind him.

Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth. It seemed he had no choice but to use that move!

His gaze turned resolute, and a surge of red chakra erupted from his body, spreading outward as a crimson skeletal Susanoo encased Uchiha Itachi.

"Susanoo!" Uchiha Itachi's left eye bled!

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The fireballs created by Uchiha Izuna's Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique rained down on Uchiha Itachi, who had activated his Susanoo in an instant.

Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth, bracing himself against Uchiha Izuna's ninjutsu.

Although the Susanoo blocked Uchiha Izuna's assault, it left him drenched in cold sweat, and a metallic, bloody taste rose in his throat.

He swallowed it back down. Once the dust settled, Uchiha Itachi's figure slowly emerged, a red skeleton surrounding his entire body.

It radiated a terrifying aura, and Uchiha Itachi's eyes had now transformed into the pattern of the Mangekyō, staring fixedly at Uchiha Izuna.

Confirming that Uchiha Izuna was not continuing his attack, he retracted the Susanoo and closed his left eye.

A searing pain and soreness made his entire body tremble, but how could such a small movement escape Uchiha Izuna's observation?

Uchiha Izuna was speechless. This guy really is a glutton for punishment just to save face.

"Itachi, let's end it here. You've lost." Uchiha Shisui arrived in front of Uchiha Itachi via Body Flicker.

Uchiha Itachi wanted to refuse, but the fireball that had felt like a miniature sun left him unable to speak. At the same time, he looked at his younger brother with a complex gaze.

In Uchiha Shisui's view, this battle was merely a sparring match between geniuses of the Uchiha clan; there was no need to resort to the offensive capabilities of the Mangekyō.

Moreover, Uchiha Shisui admitted that his own attainments in ninjutsu and taijutsu were not superior to Uchiha Izuna's.

"Are we done?" Uchiha Izuna laughed, feeling as though he hadn't even warmed up yet.

Uchiha Shisui nodded: "You won this battle. Even if I were to face you, I wouldn't be any better than Itachi in terms of ninjutsu and taijutsu."

"You could say that your strength is currently the greatest in the Uchiha clan!" Uchiha Shisui looked at Uchiha Izuna with a complex expression.

Uchiha Izuna shook his head: "Whether I'm the greatest or not doesn't matter. What matters is conserving our energy; tomorrow, you need to go report the situation to Danzo, Brother Shisui."

He turned to leave, but suddenly paused, speaking a sentence loud enough for all three of them to hear.

Then, ignoring the reactions of Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, he headed toward home.

In his memory, only his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, would never mind that he was a burden, and she would prepare delicious food in different ways every day just to make him happy.

Oh, right, there was also his foolish little brother Sasuke Uchiha; most of Sasuke Uchiha's ninjutsu had been taught to him personally by Uchiha Izuna.

Because Uchiha Itachi was often carrying out missions in the Anbu, the days he could rest in a year could be counted on two hands, leaving him truly no time to play ninja games with his younger brother.

Coupled with his mission as a double agent, he was even more distressed.

Therefore, Uchiha Izuna, the idler of the family, took on the heavy responsibility of teaching his younger brother.

At this moment, a mechanical voice rang out.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for defeating Uchiha Itachi in the spar, crushing the arrogance in his heart, and leaving an impression on him."

"Reward: Uchiha Gunbai +1, Warring States Red Armor set. Please continue to work hard."