I Lost

A ripple emanated from Shisui's Sharingan, and Hayato felt his entire field of vision sway uncontrollably.

He seemed to fall into a trance, faintly hearing Shisui's voice drift toward him.

"Hayato, you were careless."

Before the words had even faded, Hayato, whose hands had been hanging at his sides, suddenly raised them, his ninja blade already slashing downward.

Shisui was startled and hurriedly swung his short sword to parry.

As steel clashed against steel, their eyes locked.

"Shisui, did you forget? I possess the Sharingan as well."

Hayato's tone was flat. His goal had merely been to lure Shisui in, though he hadn't expected Body Flicker Shisui to truly live up to his name.

His reaction speed was incredible.

He wondered just how fast Namikaze Minato, known as the Yellow Flash, had been in his prime.

Hearing this, Shisui's pupils trembled; he had indeed been careless.

Hayato ignored Shisui's self-reflection, his movements growing increasingly rapid.

He wanted to know if, both being Three-Tomoe users, there was still a massive gap in power between them.

Swinging his blade with force, he drove Shisui back before quickly raising his hands to weave signs.

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" X2

At the same moment, Shisui unleashed his own jutsu.

Two massive fireballs tore through the air, colliding with a thunderous roar in the center of the arena.

BOOM—

Heat waves rolled outward. Hayato stared calmly ahead, his cheeks flushed by the scorching temperature.

The orange-red flames bathed the surroundings in a crimson glow, leaving the watching clansmen stunned.

Standing on the sidelines, Seiichi gripped his hands tightly. Is this the power of the Three-Tomoe?

Yashiro and the other elders exchanged glances, seeing pleasant surprise on each other's faces. A genius!

Beyond Shisui, the Uchiha clan had produced yet another prodigy.

Taijutsu might be fought to a draw by relying on the Sharingan, but the power of ninjutsu required more than just practice.

Judging by the destructive force of the jutsu before them, Hayato's mastery of Fire Style nature transformation was already on par with Shisui's.

Fugaku watched Hayato, thinking to himself, Has he reached this level already?

Clang!

Hayato held his ninja blade horizontally, blocking a strike from the side, then twisted his wrist. The sound of grinding metal rang out as sparks flew.

This time, the corners of Hayato's mouth curled upward; he was beginning to grasp the rhythm of Shisui's movements.

Hayato sidestepped a follow-up strike from Shisui, then moved forward instead of retreating, pivoting his feet to appear directly behind him.

Shisui's expression shifted, and he prepared to activate the Body Flicker Technique.

Too late.

Hayato's blade was already pressed against Shisui's neck.

The entire arena fell silent.

The clansmen, still reeling from the collision of the two Great Fireballs, couldn't believe their eyes. In that single, fleeting moment—

The long-renowned genius Shisui had actually lost?

"...I lost."

Shisui felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Although it was just a casual spar and he hadn't used his full strength, the Hayato before him had been a clansman who hadn't even awakened his eyes half a month ago. Yet, now, he was capable of parrying his attacks.

The resources available to the two of them were completely unequal.

Hearing this, Hayato sheathed his blade. Seeing that Shisui wasn't dwelling on the outcome of the match, he said softly, "Let's fight again next time."

With that, Hayato turned and walked toward the crowd.

He knew Shisui hadn't gone all out, but he had roughly gauged his opponent's strength.

Indeed, it was quite impressive.

However, he wasn't bad either. During this period, thanks to the rewards from the Bitter Fruit entry, his strength had grown far beyond this.

Still, this was enough.

At the very least, it was enough for Fugaku, Yashiro, and the other high-ranking members of the clan to take his strength seriously.

Ignoring the gazes directed at him, Hayato crossed his arms and closed his eyes, replaying the battle in his mind. Next time, he would need to face Shisui with an even more dominant posture.

The trials continued, but aside from Hayato and Shisui, none of the other clansmen had reached the Three-Tomoe level.

The outcome of the matches remained largely consistent, and the clansmen who had sparred with Shisui all turned their gazes toward Hayato.

Having faced Shisui head-on, they now understood that Hayato's previous victory had not been a matter of luck or Shisui holding back.

After all the matches concluded, Fugaku and several clan elders confirmed the individual strength of the clansmen present, and Yashiro took the lead in explaining the timing and techniques for triggering genjutsu with the Sharingan.

Once the training session ended, Fugaku called Hayato aside.

"Clan Head," Hayato addressed him calmly.

Fugaku looked at Hayato, ignoring his detached attitude, and spoke only after a long silence: "Hayato, keep up the good work."

Hm?

Hayato looked at Fugaku in confusion. What was the meaning of this?

"From now on, I will train you personally. The future is in your hands, and the hope of the Uchiha rests upon you."

"Go back now."

Though puzzled, Hayato nodded and turned to leave, a thoughtful glint flickering in his eyes.

It seemed that the Experience Card had brought about a significant change in Fugaku.

At Hayato's home.

Hayato sat upright on the floor, his hands resting at his sides.

"My chakra levels are decent, but this body is far from its prime."

At fourteen, he was not yet fully developed by the standards of his past life.

Although many became jonin at a young age, most relied on innate talent; only the Senju and Uzumaki clans possessed truly formidable chakra reserves.

Possessing the foundation of a Sage Body, Hayato felt the terror of Senju Hashirama all the more.

If my chakra continues to grow, perhaps I should look into whether I can cultivate senjutsu. Hayato thought of the most unique ability from the original story.

Senjutsu, also known as Sage Power, was the force created by drawing natural energy from the surroundings and balancing it with one's own physical and spiritual energy. Any ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu performed using this power could be classified as senjutsu.

Its destructive power was several to over a dozen times greater than in a normal state, and it also granted superior sensory capabilities.

As for pinning his hopes on the Bitter Fruit Entry System, Hayato felt that might not be the best choice.

Although the entry rewards dropped by the system were based on an individual's existing abilities, currently, Jiraiya was the only living person in the entire ninja world who knew senjutsu.

In truth, Senju Hashirama's senjutsu would be the best.

After all, not to mention the restrictions of Jiraiya's Mount Myoboku senjutsu, the Great Toad, which had existed since the era of the Sage of Six Paths, would never allow a descendant of Indra to learn it.

As for the matter of fusing Hashirama's cells.

Hayato shook his head; the risk was too great. He did not know medical ninjutsu, and if a severe rejection reaction occurred, what then?

He might not even have the chance to remain human.

Orochimaru's experiments were based on Hashirama's cells, yet Yamato was the only one who had truly survived.

As for Danzo's arm, that was merely a mass of dead flesh, serving at most to provide chakra for the Sharingan embedded within it.