Uchiha Shisui Appears

"Wow, wow, wow. Impressive~"

Uchiha Kei gave a mocking laugh, his hands flashing through seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball three meters in diameter appeared instantly, blocking the two of them and stopping every incoming jutsu.

"Such a huge Fireball!"

"Can a child who isn't even ten do that?"

"You've got to be kidding..."

The Anbu members felt the heat rolling around them, their mouths going dry.

Naruto, standing beside Uchiha Kei, was stunned too.

He had known Uchiha Kei since they were little. They were close enough to share the same pants.

But everything that had happened over the past two days...

had made his friend seem like a complete stranger.

"Ding! Received shock from Uzumaki Naruto. Shock Value +99."

"Ding! Received shock from Longmen Hubu. Shock Value +99."

"Ding! Received shock from Tianxia Menzhong. Shock Value +99."

"Ding!..."

As Shock Value poured in, Uchiha Kei wore a sincere smile.

Turns out, shock was pretty easy to come by.

A shadow suddenly appeared behind Uzumaki Naruto, a black Kunai materializing in its hand.

"Clang!"

A crisp ring sounded. Without even turning around, Uchiha Kei tossed a Kunai that struck the one in the shadow's hand.

The shadow staggered from the impact, then stumbled backward.

"You're nothing but a clown. Move again, and you die!"

Uchiha Kei turned his head and fixed the shadow with a cold stare.

The shadow was a battle-hardened veteran, but the moment their eyes met, a chill ran through him.

For a moment, the scene fell into a standoff.

The Anbu members were wary and uncertain, afraid to make a move.

Uchiha Kei was focused on understanding what it felt like to use a jutsu for the first time.

First was Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. With the chakra of a Genin, it didn't consume much—only about ten percent of his reserves.

Fireball Jutsu was a C-rank jutsu. Roughly ten C-rank jutsu used as much chakra as one B-rank jutsu.

Next was the speed at which he formed hand seals.

Uchiha Itachi, the fastest hand-seal user in the original story, could form six seals in a second. Right now, Kei could manage at most three.

And that was after two years of practicing the Fireball hand seals every single day.

The difference was honestly huge.

Finally, there was the speed at which chakra flowed through his body. It was far too slow.

Why could Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara cast jutsu just by opening their mouths?

To put it simply, jutsu were attacks released by combining chakra with changes in one's nature transformations.

Hand seals helped chakra gather faster and promoted those nature transformations.

Once chakra could circulate at top speed and its nature could be changed at will, casting jutsu just by opening one's mouth would no longer be a dream!

Uchiha Kei was a long way from that, too.

"We can't drag this out. Someone from the village will be here soon."

The Anbu member wearing the Fox Mask gritted his teeth and began forming hand seals again.

The others followed suit, their hands flashing through seals as surging chakra burst forth.

"Heaven Sword Technique: Slash!"

With a furious shout, the shadow charged forward, now wielding a Ninja Blade. Its sharp edge glinted as it sped toward them.

"Hey! How can I let Kei fight alone?"

Naruto's face was set with resolve as he threw Kunai one after another.

The black Kunai whistled through the air, fierce and sharp!

The shadow was startled, assuming Naruto was hiding his true strength just like Uchiha Kei, and dodged instinctively.

But...

Every Kunai Naruto threw went wide and clattered across the ground.

The shadow: "..."

The Anbu: "..."

Uchiha Kei: "..."

The cooler the Kunai had looked as they left his hand, the more embarrassed Naruto felt now.

"Guess I'll have to handle this myself."

Uchiha Kei activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his blood-red eyes fixed on the Anbu members.

"Sha... Sharingan!"

The Anbu members tensed, their movements stiffening.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was famous throughout the Shinobi World. Its reputation was beyond legendary.

Its powerful perception and unparalleled genjutsu!

That was the power of the Sharingan!

Uchiha Kei seized his chance. His figure blurred, and in a flash, he appeared in front of the Fox Mask.

"What?!"

The Fox Mask was startled. He hadn't expected Kei to be so fast, and instinctively tried to retreat.

"Look into my eyes."

Uchiha Kei's voice seemed almost magical. The Fox Mask found himself looking into Kei's eyes against his will.

The Three Tomoe turned slowly, captivating and unsettling.

The Fox Mask's eyes went vacant, and the Kunai clenched in his hand drooped.

"Watch out! Don't look into his eyes! Beware of genjutsu!"

The leader shouted and hurled several Explosive Tags at Uchiha Kei.

"Boom!"

The explosion sent up a cloud of dust that swallowed Uchiha Kei.

The remaining Anbu quickly leaped away, watching the dusty area cautiously.

As the dust cleared, Uchiha Kei was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?"

The remaining Anbu were startled and hurriedly looked around.

"Hey, are you looking for me?"

Uchiha Kei's voice came from behind the leader.

At the same time, a Kunai was pressed stealthily against his throat.

"Ding! Received shock from Longmen Hubu. Shock Value +99."

Everyone understood the principle of capturing the leader first, but putting it into practice was clearly not so easy.

For Uchiha Kei, with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it wasn't that difficult.

If circumstances allowed, he would have liked to get in more practice.

Unfortunately, neither his stamina nor his chakra could hold out much longer.

To avoid letting the fight drag on until something went wrong, he had no choice but to end it.

"Attack! Don't hesitate!"

The leader was shocked, but the belief that the mission came first was ingrained in him.

The others struggled with their decision.

"If you want to attack, go ahead."

Uchiha Kei smiled and pressed the Kunai slightly harder, drawing a faint line of blood.

"I said attack! Do you want to become the next White Fang of Konoha?"

The leader screamed at them.

The others' hesitation vanished, and they charged at Uchiha Kei without a moment's hesitation.

"Didn't scare them..."

Uchiha Kei felt a little disappointed, but he wasn't too worried.

At worst, he and Naruto could run.

If you couldn't win, you didn't stand around fighting to the death. What was he, an idiot?

Just as Uchiha Kei was preparing to take at least one of them down with him, a nimble figure appeared.

"Whoosh!"

The figure landed, then vanished in an instant, reappearing behind one of the Anbu.

"Thud."

With a swift, clean strike to the head with a Ninja Blade, the Anbu member's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

The figure vanished and reappeared again and again.

Each time he appeared, another Anbu member fell unconscious.

Only after the last Anbu had fallen did the figure slowly sheath his Ninja Blade and turn around.

Looking at the handsome face, Uchiha Kei broke into a smile.

"Shisui."

"Kei."