The Will of Fire Is Weeping!

"Brother! Go for it!" Uchiha Sasuke immediately shouted.

Before he could finish speaking, Uchiha Itachi launched his attack.

The initial encounter was a pure test of Taijutsu.

He could hear his brother cheering him on very clearly, but even if Sasuke hadn't shouted, he would have made his move anyway.

Hatake Kakashi is a seasoned Jonin, skilled in various forms of combat. He is steady in both mind and hand, and also patient. Uchiha Itachi couldn't find any openings in his defenses.

He had already activated his Sharingan, but Hatake Kakashi didn't even look at him. Instead, he watched his movements by observing the shadow Kakashi cast on the ground after the sun shone down.

There's nothing more to say.

Uchiha Itachi's Body Flicker Technique was quite good. He learned it from Shisui in his early years. Although he didn't learn Shisui's Shadow Clone Body Flicker Technique, he had his own methods.

Like Shisui, Uchiha Itachi was also skilled in Genjutsu.

[Is it the same technique as Uchiha Shisui?]

Hatake Kakashi lowered his body slightly as he watched Itachi closing in from all directions.

Earth and lightning are the Chakra Nature Transformation he primarily uses.

His father was the same.

The Hatake Swordsmanship —that doesn't exist.

However, the Hatake Style Ninjutsu fighting style does exist.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. From the moment Uchiha Sasuke shouted from the stage, less than a breath later, Hatake Kakashi was already being pounced on by a group of Itachi.

Each weasel's movements were different, but they all thrust their short swords at the perfect distance and timing.

Uchiha Itachi's true form was mixed in with the others, and the short sword he held made almost no sound as it sliced through the air.

But this tentative thrust had a worse effect than he had hoped, hitting a dog's nose instead.

A rising Earth-Style Wall separated Hatake Kakashi from him.

In the stands, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, nodded approvingly.

He could actually be considered half of Hatake Kakashi's mentor. He, along with Namikaze Minato, put a lot of effort into helping Hatake Kakashi Sharingan.

His grandson, Konohamaru, became Hatake Kakashi's subordinate after graduating from school.

This is a fairly standard practice of passing down knowledge from one generation to the next.

In the field, the earthen walls were built very quickly, and their strength and scale were also very solid.

The Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, shaped like a square, instantly raised a Taiseki, protecting Hatake Kakashi very well.

From the row of lifelike dog heads with different expressions on the stone wall, it's clear that Hatake Kakashi had mastered this technique to an instinctive level.

At the same time, it also revealed Uchiha Itachi's true form.

Only one weasel was repelled, while the others ignored the barrier and squeezed inside.

These are all Genjutsu clones.

What's remarkable is that this is clearly a skill that can be used in group battles, since viewers can see it not only from Hatake Kakashi.

However, Hatake Kakashi's Earth Release technique was not over yet.

Because the ground has changed color.

[The speed at which the Ninjutsu is released is very fast, even faster than before...]

Uchiha Itachi lightly leaped away, and the spot where he had just been standing had already turned into a swamp.

[The concentration of Chakra is also much higher than before.]

Once again, it landed on solid ground, and Kakashi Hatake Kakashi's Chakra was clearly reflected in Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan.

As fellow Jonin Council teammates, Uchiha Itachi was no stranger to Hatake Kakashi, whose senior had never been able to unleash such a massive amount of Chakra before.

It seemed to fill his field of vision.

Centered on the location of the Earth-Style Wall, Chakra is "surging"!

If viewed from the perspective of Chakra insight, the swamp appears to be spreading at an extremely rapid pace, leaving no blind spots.

This is the fighting style of someone with Chakra.

"You've kept it well hidden, Kakashi- senpai," Uchiha Itachi sighed, already raising his hand.

Boom!

The sound of an explosion came from the Earth-Style Wall; it was Explosive Tag.

The swamp didn't slow down; after the flying debris and dust, only a crater remained—it hadn't been blasted through; the crater was too thick.

Although it was somewhat expected, Uchiha Itachi was still a little disappointed.

He probably guessed Hatake Kakashi's fighting style.

Uchiha Itachi possessed solid fundamentals, was proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, had an outstanding mind, and was agile. He was a traditional skill-based ninja, which was his strength.

His weaknesses include low explosive power and a lack of powerful long-range attacks.

The Sharingan can amplify one's strengths in fundamental skills, but to compensate for this weakness, one must attain the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, at that point, he will have issues with sustained power.

In other words, without Kakashi Hatake's chakra and the Mangekyo Sharingan Hatake Kakashi, Chakra Uchiha Itachi couldn't use his area-of-effect attacks.

Uchiha Itachi looked at the swampy mud surging on the ground, where a ball of Chakra was quietly approaching him, mixed in with the Chakra of Ninjutsu activation.

Uchiha Itachi's heart skipped a beat. Pretending not to notice, under the "coercion" of the Swamp Technique, he feigned jumping up again, landing towards his opponent as if unaware.

Chapter 49 The Will of Fire is weeping!

The Sharingan is indeed a very convenient cheat code.

Uchiha Itachi was a person who was both talented and willing to work hard; he honed his Sharingan to a high level.

However, the Sharingan and the Byakugan are ultimately on different levels in terms of insight.

The Sharingan can see Chakra, but it doesn't possess the physical perception of the Byakugan; at most, it can only judge the quantity of Chakra color.

Uchiha Itachi couldn't be certain that this was Hatake Kakashi's true form, but since he was already there, he decided to give it a try.

It's a mutual test.

Everyone can test the waters, everyone can act out a role.

Uchiha Itachi seemed oblivious to the trap beneath his feet, and simply fell down, his back to the ground.

The rolling mud suddenly parted, and Hatake Kakashi rushed out, accompanied by the unique sound of Chidori.

At the same time, Uchiha Itachi turned around, opened his mouth, and spat out a Great Fireball.

The Kakkō illuminated Hatake Kakashi's body, making it appear discolored.

This time, Uchiha Itachi didn't Chakra much.

Judging from the rumbling ground around Hatake Kakashi, he had no doubt that Hatake Kakashi was still using Earth Release.

Given that Hatake Kakashi intentionally avoiding eye contact, directly engaging in Taijutsu combat with him is not a cost-effective idea.

Uchiha Itachi's Taijutsu is the weakest of the three disciplines of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, but it has still reached the top level. It is difficult for non- Taijutsu -specialized ninjas to surpass him in terms of overall skills. Unfortunately, among the Taijutsu of this generation, only Guy is more specialized than Kakashi Hatake Kakashi.

Although they are the same type of ninja, Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi each have their own preferences.

However, they were all well-versed in the flexible use of Ninjutsu and possessed a rich reserve of Ninjutsu, making them outstanding ninjas in this Ninjutsu.

Facing the oncoming Great Fireball, Hatake Kakashi Chidori slashed out, transforming into a long sword. Lightning crackled around him, forming a protective layer.

In the original Shippuden Naruto: Shippuden, Hatake Kakashi's use of Chidori seemed limited, but that was because his limited Chakra prevented him from performing too many fancy tricks.

He's well-versed in Chakra Nature Transformation and form transformation; the fact that he could forcibly neutralize Kakuzu's Lightning Release: False Darkness proves his exceptional on-the-spot control.

A burst of lightning sliced through Uchiha Itachi's Great Fireball, Hatake Kakashi's momentum didn't wane as he thrust upwards at Uchiha Itachi.

The lightning passed through Uchiha Itachi's body, but he scattered into a flock of black crows.

This is not Genjutsu, but Uchiha Itachi's most proficient Medium Clone Technique.

He even gave it a special name: the Crow Clone Technique.

The principle is to project one's own Chakra onto the summoned black crows. It consumes less Chakra than Shadow Clone, but is equally difficult to identify. Once the enemy cuts off the Chakra, the clones will turn back into a flock of crows and disperse.

What can disperse can also gather.

Besides that, it has other clever uses.

There were dozens of black crows that had scattered, each with a pair of Sharingan.

Hatake Kakashi finally met the Sharingan.

If Uchiha Shisui's Genjutsu was subtle and gradual, like a gentle rain nourishing the earth, then Uchiha Itachi focused on forceful breakthroughs.

He is a powerful Genjutsu ninja.

Hatake Kakashi froze, forcibly restrained by Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan Genjutsu.

Uchiha Itachi also appeared as a black crow exploded into smoke, pouncing on Hatake Kakashi —he had previously used the Transformation Technique to transform himself into a black crow, perfectly merging into the Crow Clone Technique.

Then, just as he touched Hatake Kakashi, wielding Chidori, exploded into a ball of lightning—this was Lightning Release Shadow Clone.

Lightning easily broke through Uchiha Itachi's Chakra defenses, but Uchiha Itachi reverted to his black crow form amidst the lightning-like light.

This black crow was cooked through.

The other black crows flapped their wings and moved further away from the lightning below, but one of them landed on the ground and transformed back into Uchiha Itachi.

This is his true form.

Not far in front of him, Hatake Kakashi's true form also appeared, his Earth Release still controlling the soil.

In a series of lightning-fast probing exchanges, both of them displayed incredible speed in casting Ninjutsu, demonstrating a high level of skill in using the Clone Technique.

The pace was fast, and everyone reacted quickly, resulting in beautiful plays.

The Leaf Village Jonin in the stands were also thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

This is much more entertaining than the amateurish squabbles during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

However, one person thought differently.

"Too weak." From the stands, Uchiha Madara commented, "The Uchiha Clan is known for its vast Chakra, yet they were suppressed by an unknown nobody. What a disgrace."

Uchiha Sasuke looked at this ancestor and really wanted to defend his brother.

He doesn't have a name or surname; his surname is clearly Hatake and his Hatake Kakashi.

Besides, there's no suppression involved.

"Sasuke, remember not to follow your brother's example." Uchiha Madara directly shut down Uchiha Sasuke's first line of defense. "He's an incompetent person. As Uchiha Clan, and the opponent isn't even Senju Clan, yet his Chakra was inferior. This shows that he either doesn't work hard enough or he simply lacks talent."

After saying that, he looked at Uchiha Yosuke.

"Yosuke, you also need to train your Chakra properly. It would be the worst thing for you to do something so shameful."

Uchiha Yosuke: "???"

Why did the strange old man suddenly get angry?

Was it because he was making too much noise eating potato chips?

Uchiha Yosuke looked at the bag of potato chips in his hand with some reluctance.

He just opened the package, and it's already inedible?

He carefully rolled up the already opened part of the bag, then clipped it with the clip he always carried, and put it away, then began to concentrate on watching Itachi fight.

Uchiha Madara approved of his attitude, thinking that the boy was teachable.

So he spoke more at length, in a measured and organized manner.

"However, you can still learn from his use of the Clone Technique, as well as his unique approach to combining illusion Taijutsu with Genjutsu and Ninjutsu."

"Yeah, yeah, brother's Clone Technique and Genjutsu are amazing." Uchiha Sasuke quickly. Finally, someone had said something nice, so he had to give him more help to keep this ancestor in the game.

Uchiha Madara glanced at him but didn't expose his little scheme.

Because there are indeed many things that Uchiha Itachi could learn from Uchiha Sasuke.

During this time, through teaching the two children, Uchiha Madara had to admit that if he hadn't been carrying out the Eye of the Moon Plan, from the perspective of a teacher, Uchiha Yosuke would have been a more suitable disciple.