Two-Tomoe Sharingan

On the arena, two children who had just turned ten both brought out their true abilities.

Whether it was the use of ninjutsu or the sparks produced by clashing kunai, none of it could compare to their earlier sparring matches.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Just as Minato was struggling to keep up with Uchiha Ryu's dynamic vision, a massive fireball suddenly burst from his opponent's mouth.

The blazing fireball shot swiftly toward Minato, his enemy, accompanied by cries of surprise from the spectators.

"Bang!!!"

The Minato struck by the fireball suddenly turned into a log.

"Substitution Technique? When did he use it?"

Startled, Uchiha Ryu hurriedly looked around, trying to find Minato.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Minato's voice suddenly came from behind Uchiha Ryu.

Damn!!! Without thinking, Uchiha Ryu hurriedly rolled to the side, trying to evade the ninjutsu that could knock him out of the match.

Even so, the wind pressure from Great Breakthrough still sliced open his arm.

Uchiha Ryu rose while clutching his bloodied arm and reassessed his opponent. So far, Minato had shown far greater strength than he had expected—not only in the way he combined ninjutsu, but also in how accurately he grasped his opponent's thoughts.

If not for the advantage granted by the Sharingan, he would likely have already lost.

"Damn it, I'm a genius of the Uchiha Clan. How could I possibly bow my head to commoner ninja like you?"

A savage look appeared on Uchiha Ryu's unwilling face.

In truth, the Two-Tomoe Sharingan could not only see through movements, but also copy some simple ninjutsu and techniques used by an opponent. However, it consumed too much chakra, so he had not used it before. Yet judging from the ninjutsu his opponent had displayed, Minato only possessed the single wind chakra nature, while he himself had both wind and fire natures.

"So let me see how you'll deal with your own ninjutsu."

Not knowing what Uchiha Ryu was planning, Minato decided to strike first after seeing that his opponent had yet to move.

He threw two kunai from either side, then immediately used "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" again. Propelled by the Wind Release, the two kunai shot toward his opponent at even greater speed.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Uchiha Ryu moved after Minato yet acted first, using the exact same ninjutsu. Not only did he blow away both kunai, he also neutralized Minato's Wind Release.

Minato's brow furrowed slightly.

Was it a coincidence? Or was it because of those eyes?

He was only ten years old, after all. Even if he would become the Fourth Hokage in the future, he still remained wary of unknown things.

Rather than continue attacking, Minato widened the distance between them, hoping to deduce the Sharingan's abilities from the sidelines.

My father once told me that the Sharingan, unique to the Uchiha Clan, was one of Konoha's two great ocular techniques. But he never said what the Sharingan actually did.

Thinking of this, Minato became a little envious of his younger brother. If it were Feng Xun, he would definitely pester their father relentlessly until he learned what the Sharingan could do.

While Minato was still thinking of a way to break through, Uchiha Ryu on the other side of the arena had no intention of giving up this excellent chance to make his opponent hesitate.

In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Ryu rushed before Minato. The sharp kunai reflected a cold gleam as it rapidly filled Minato's vision.

With no time to think, Minato used the Substitution Technique again. But just as he thought he had escaped disaster, Uchiha Ryu suddenly withdrew the kunai that had been aimed at the substitute, swiftly turned around, and brought the blade down. Minato, who had just revealed himself, was wounded for the first time.

Retreating quickly, Minato glanced at the wound on his shoulder and fell silent.

Fortunately, he had reacted in time, so the injury was not too serious. Otherwise, if he had been even a moment slower, his arm might have been crippled.

Though Minato remained calm and composed on the field, Kushina below the arena practically exploded!

With one hand tightly locked around Feng Xun's neck and the other clenched into a fist, she shouted, "What are you doing, pretty boy? Hurry up and attack! If you lose, I'm going to be so embarrassed."

"B-Boss... l-let go of me... I c-can't breathe anymore!" Feng Xun's face reddened as he flailed all four limbs under Kushina's brutal restraint.

Unfortunately, Kushina's eyes held only Minato now. How could she spare any attention for her little underling's cries for help?

Helpless, Feng Xun could only use his Genin-level strength to perform his family's secret technique, the Turtle Breathing Divine Skill—commonly known as holding one's breath.

Feng Xun was equally surprised at the moment. He could not understand why his brother had suddenly fallen into a disadvantage. In his eyes, given Uchiha Ryu's strength, even if Minato could not take on ten opponents at once, he should at least have been able to take on two.

In truth, this was also a misconception born from Feng Xun being a transmigrator. He had severely underestimated the Two-Tomoe Sharingan's capabilities. Or rather, in his view, aside from the Sharingan bearing the name Mangekyo, every other kind of Sharingan was mere trash and cannon fodder.

But that was not the case. While the Three-Tomoe and Two-Tomoe Sharingan might not seem especially powerful, that was only when facing Kage-level or stronger opponents. Against all other ordinary ninja, the Sharingan gave its wielder an absolute natural advantage.

At the center of the arena, Uchiha Ryu sneered at Minato, who was already showing clear signs of inferiority. "Well? This is the advantage brought by bloodlines. So what if your ninjutsu is good? I might as well tell you that all your little tricks are utterly exposed before these eyes of mine."

"Is that so?" Minato stared at his opponent without committing either way. "To be honest, I had already formed a few guesses from our exchange just now. Combined with what you just said, it seems my deduction was correct. Besides granting you dynamic vision, those eyes of yours can also allow you to copy your opponent's ninjutsu and taijutsu, right?"

Uchiha Ryu's eyes widened at those words. He had not expected this child his own age to infer the Sharingan's secret from only a few brief exchanges.

But so what? Among ninja at this level, the Sharingan's secret was invincible. No one could possibly break it.

Uchiha Ryu thought confidently.

Unfortunately, that confidence soon turned into arrogance.

Because Minato moved, yet he failed to see through Minato's actions in time. His opponent was simply too fast. Compared to when they had first fought, even if it was not quite a difference between heaven and earth, his speed had definitely risen by several levels.

"Konoha Taijutsu Style: Konoha Rising Wind!"

As soon as the words fell, Minato, already in front of Uchiha Ryu, lowered his body, then leaped forcefully and drove a vicious kick into his opponent's abdomen.

After Uchiha Ryu's body was sent flying into the air, Minato did not pause. Instead, using the momentum from Konoha Rising Wind, he appeared at his opponent's side.

"Konoha Whirlwind!!!"

P.S.: It was that time again. I didn't know whether everyone enjoyed Old Cat's rambling, but I promised yesterday that I'd talk about Danzo's bandages today. As always, everything below was merely the author's speculation based on the plot holes left by AB.

As everyone knew, Danzo wore bandages at the beginning of the story to conceal the existence of his Sharingan. But whether in the manga's flashbacks or the anime's scenes, we could see that Danzo was already wearing bandages when he joined forces with Hanzo to set up Nagato and the others. That was still ten years before the Uchiha Clan massacre, so why was Danzo wearing bandages back then?

Okay, the answer would be revealed in the next chapter!!!