Genius vs. Genius

Toru stood straight in the breeze, still wearing his white clothes and the black coat bearing the Uchiha crest.

A year had passed since they last stood opposite each other in this training ground, making one reflect on the passage of time.

With their teacher absent, Toru asked Kurenai, who stood at the edge of the training ground, to act as the referee.

Amidst the anticipation of the onlookers, Kurenai spoke the words that signaled the start of the match: "Both sides, perform the Seal of Confrontation. Begin."

Toru and Kakashi performed the Seal of Confrontation quite naturally.

Kakashi made the first move, which seemed to confirm what they had said earlier: Kakashi was the challenger.

Kakashi pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, lunged toward Toru, and struck with his hand raised.

Toru ducked to avoid the kunai, then lifted a leg to sweep out a fierce attack that forced Kakashi back.

Because he had just come from class, Toru hadn't even brought his ninja tool pouch and was forced to fight empty-handed.

Kakashi noticed this and threw the kunai from his own hand toward Toru.

The kunai flew deliberately slowly; Toru caught it steadily and offered a word of thanks.

Kakashi said, "I don't want to win by taking advantage of you. I will win fair and square."

Toru chuckled and said, "Win? It seems you have misunderstood something again. That word is something that must be earned through combat."

Toru was in a good mood, so he spoke a bit more than usual.

"Do you know? Fighting is a joy to me, even more so than hunting or playing the shamisen."

"The shamisen makes me feel serene and profound, and hunting allows me to relieve stress and relax my body and mind, but only fighting can bring me direct happiness."

"Kakashi, let us enjoy this battle together!"

Kakashi gripped the kunai in his hand and replied, "Exactly my intention."

The two closed the distance again, rapidly exchanging blows with their kunai. The collision of metal against metal sparked with a crisp, rhythmic ringing.

The fluid, continuous assault from the pair left the onlookers dumbfounded.

"Is this really a fight between people our age?" Many harbored this very question in their hearts.

"This is what a genius is. This is a battle between genius and genius," Might Guy sighed, feeling slightly unwilling.

Might Guy would envy geniuses, but he would never give up on himself because of it. On the contrary, he would turn this envy for geniuses into doubled requirements for himself.

"Training after school today will be doubled. I will definitely catch up to them." Might Guy clenched his fists and swore silently; his palms were already covered in scars from training.

Obito was left stunned by the dazzling battle before his eyes, forced to admit inwardly that the strength of these two was truly formidable.

It is worth mentioning Toru's first defeated opponent, Gekko Hayate; he coughed lightly and sighed to himself, "It is no shame to lose to either of these two."

There was also Sarutobi Asuma, Toru's half-rival, who thought somewhat dejectedly, "I originally thought the gap between me and them wasn't that big, but I never expected..."

Indeed, the current strength of Toru and Kakashi had completely crushed all their peers in Konoha.

Only Toru could be mentioned in the same breath as Kakashi, and only Kakashi could be mentioned in the same breath as Toru.

On the sidelines, two young girls silently cheered for the geniuses they admired—one girl named Yuhi Kurenai, the other named Nohara Rin.

Back on the field, Kakashi and Toru clashed several times in a short span, with neither gaining a clear advantage.

Kakashi's kunai slashed toward Toru's waist. Toru's expression remained unchanged as he avoided the strike, then circled to Kakashi's side, swinging his kunai toward the vital point of Kakashi's neck.

Kakashi hurriedly raised his kunai, intending to block the blow.

Clang!

Because the target was a vital point, Kakashi dared not be careless and applied extra force to deflect the strike.

He never expected that this move by Toru was merely a feint.

Toru had only let his kunai collide slightly with Kakashi's, causing Kakashi's weapon to lose its balance and tilt outward for a moment.

Toru capitalized on this tiny opening.

Toru immediately rotated his kunai and slashed downward; this sudden shift caught Kakashi off guard.

Clang!

With another clang, Kakashi was forced to retreat repeatedly.

It was only in the nick of time that Kakashi had used the arm guard on his arm to protect his chest and block the strike.

Had it not been for the hard arm guard on Kakashi's arm, that last blow would likely have drawn blood.

Nohara Rin was extremely worried and cried out anxiously, "Kakashi!"

Kakashi looked toward Nohara Rin on the sidelines, waved his hand to reassure her, and then turned his gaze back to Toru.

"Why aren't you using your full strength?"

Toru understood very well why Kakashi asked this.

It was because Toru had not used his cursed energy from start to finish.

And when they first fought, it was precisely by using cursed energy that Toru had defeated Kakashi.

Therefore, Kakashi could clearly understand that Toru still had a trump card.

Toru smiled slightly and said, "Hahahaha, you saw through me."

"Why not use full strength? Because this is a fair battle between ninjas."

Kakashi did not understand why Toru felt his trump card was unfair or not part of being a ninja.

But since Toru said so, it meant he wasn't looking down on him.

Having received this answer, Kakashi felt settled.

He said, "Very well, then let's continue."

Toru replied, "Good."

The battle continued.

Kakashi threw the kunai in his hand; this time, it was fast and accurate, aimed straight at Toru's forehead.

Toru raised his hand to deflect the strike with his kunai, while Kakashi took the opportunity to start weaving hand signs.

Kakashi realized that even though Toru was not using his full strength, he still found it difficult to gain the upper hand in taijutsu.

However, Kakashi believed that while taijutsu was Toru's specialty, ninjutsu was different.

In Kakashi's view, back when they were at the Ninja Academy, his mastery of ninjutsu had been stronger than Toru's.

During their first fight, Kakashi had relied on his diverse ninjutsu to hold the upper hand for a time.

Therefore, quite naturally, as this battle reached a stalemate, Kakashi thought of ninjutsu.

Kakashi had successfully promoted to Chunin this year, and his ninjutsu mastery had improved once more.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Kakashi wove hand signs and exhaled a gust of wild wind.

The wind sent sand and stones flying across the training ground, and most of the spectators watching from the sidelines were blinded for a moment.

Toru raised his hand to cover his face to minimize the impact of the Great Breakthrough, while simultaneously gathering chakra at his feet to prevent himself from being blown away.

Kakashi pressed his advantage, throwing several shuriken to seal off all directions around Toru.

Enhanced by the gale, the shuriken were incredibly fierce; even Toru dared not slacken in the slightest.

Toru swung his kunai repeatedly, dodging and blocking, barely preventing the blades from piercing his body.

Seeing that he had gained the upper hand, Kakashi pressed the attack immediately.

Just as the effect of the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough began to wane and the shuriken were all deflected by Toru, Kakashi had already lunged in front of him, not intending to give Toru a moment to catch his breath.

At that exact moment, Toru's hands moved in a rapid blur of hand signs. Kakashi stared at Toru's eyes with full vigilance as he attacked, but he never imagined that this very action would be the trap that ensnared him.