Guy's Eight Gates could not be maintained for long, and his speed gradually slowed.
Shisui keenly sensed Guy's decline and used Body Flicker again, intending to turn the disadvantage around.
"Double Flash!"
Two Shadow Clones appeared swiftly, and all three figures charged at Guy together.
Guy identified Shisui's real body and pulled out his nunchaku again, intending to force his way past the Shadow Clones and head straight for the real body.
"Something's wrong... This feeling!"
Guy had an almost terrifying instinct for danger. He turned to look at one of the Shadow Clones and sensed that Shisui had switched places with it at some point.
Shisui was startled. Guy had noticed so quickly!
Still, Shisui swiftly appeared in the position of another Shadow Clone and kicked Guy hard.
"Take this!"
Just as Shisui's kick landed on Guy, Guy flung the nunchaku from his hand, smashing it heavily into Shisui's chest.
The two fell backward at the same time, hitting the ground with a thud.
Guy immediately withdrew from the Eight Gates, while Shisui was not much better off, baring his teeth in pain.
Kakashi and Itachi were also locked in a fierce clanging exchange. Although Itachi could only parry defensively, Kakashi could not gain the upper hand on him for the moment.
"Alright, let's end it here."
Seeing that Guy had fought to his heart's content, Kakashi flashed away from Itachi and slowly sheathed White Fang.
At that, Itachi put the two kunai in his hands back into his ninja tool pouch.
"Then let's call it a draw," Kakashi said with a smile. "Winning or losing doesn't matter. What's important is that everyone had fun."
Itachi shook his head. "Captain, you held back. I saw your astonishing Lightning Release during previous missions, but you didn't use it."
"Well, no matter how powerful it is, it has to hit someone first. You and Shisui are so nimble that you'd be long gone by the time I finished my hand signs."
Kakashi smiled and patted Itachi on the shoulder. They had all merely been having fun. Not only had he held back, but the three of them had not revealed their trump cards either.
For example, Shisui's Mangekyo, Itachi's nearly terrifying genjutsu, and Guy had only opened four of the Eight Gates.
After all, they were colleagues, not mortal enemies. There was no need to fight desperately. It would be bad if someone got hurt by accident.
The fastest way for men to build friendship was to fight. After this spar, not only had Kakashi and Shisui become closer, but Guy had also acknowledged Shisui and Itachi.
"Come spar with me often!" Guy waved reluctantly as he watched Shisui and Itachi depart.
Kakashi put on his forehead protector and rolled his one visible eye hard.
Hokage's Office.
The Third Hokage had witnessed the entire spar through the Telescope Technique, and for a moment, his heart surged with emotion.
"Good! Young people should have spirit. When the youth are strong, Konoha is strong!"
"These young people will be the backbone of Konoha in the future!"
The Third Hokage smiled. "Kakashi truly understood my intentions. In just one day, he has formed a friendship with Shisui Uchiha. Perhaps I can consider involving him in dealing with the Uchiha Clan..."
As Kakashi's standing in the Third Hokage's mind rose, the Third Hokage decided to carefully cultivate this junior from his own line and let him take part in decisions concerning major village affairs.
Of course, he would only participate. He would have no voting rights.
The scene returned to the training ground. Guy grabbed Kakashi and shook him wildly. "Ah, Kakashi! This is youth!"
"Today's battle was utterly satisfying. I think I performed exceptionally well, so I shall reward myself by doing a thousand laps around Konoha on my hands!"
"Join me, Kakashi!" Guy stared at Kakashi with blazing eyes.
Kakashi stretched and lazily walked away. "No. After that much exercise today, I'm going to lie in bed and read for a while."
Over the following days, Kakashi and Shisui's relationship rapidly grew closer. Even Kakashi himself had not expected them to become such good friends so quickly.
Their personalities suited each other well, and they shared similar views in many areas. Along with their mutual little brother, Itachi, they became good friends before long.
Thus, Kakashi's thoughts shifted from whether he should change the plot for Shisui's sake to how changing the plot would benefit what came next...
Kakashi enjoyed the warm time he spent with Shisui and Itachi. In the oppressive environment of the ANBU, the three of them could offer one another some comfort.
But Kakashi knew that the day the Uchiha Clan attempted a coup was not far off. Everything beautiful before him might soon vanish without a trace.
Hokage's Office.
The Third Hokage looked at Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi kneeling before him and lightly tapped the desk with his pipe.
"The Uchiha Clan's gatherings have been growing more frequent, and they have been making constant moves in secret..."
"The Uchiha Clan seems to have developed an irreconcilable conflict with the village. How do you think these conflicts should be resolved? I want to hear your opinions."
Kakashi said, "Lord Third, I believe the deep resentment between the Uchiha Clan and the village stems from their isolation by the villagers."
"I believe there are two reasons for this situation."
"First, the Uchiha Clan has sole responsibility for Konoha's Police Force. To be honest, it is a thankless and exhausting job. The slightest mistake gets endlessly magnified in the villagers' eyes."
"Heh." The Third Hokage smiled. "Interesting. Go on, Kakashi."
"Second is the issue of population movement. The Uchiha Clan lives together in one area and cannot maintain everyday contact with other villagers. This makes it easy for them to become disconnected from the village, deepening people's prejudice against their clan and making misunderstandings between them increasingly severe."
There was one more reason: Konoha's leaders were unwilling to let the Uchiha Clan enter the core circle of power. Many important departments restricted the Uchiha Clan from joining.
The Uchiha Clan had founded Konoha alongside clans such as the Senju, Sarutobi, and Shimura, yet they had now been kicked out of the core circle. Who could stand such treatment?
However, Kakashi did not voice this final and most important reason, because everyone understood it perfectly well.
If the leaders were unwilling to do something and you brought it up, wouldn't that put them in an awkward position?
The Third Hokage nodded thoughtfully. He had always wanted to resolve the Uchiha Clan issue peacefully.
He could think of every reason Kakashi had raised today, and he had also thought of solutions, such as dispersing the Uchiha Clan so they could integrate into Konoha.
For instance, opening some departments to the Uchiha Clan to a certain extent, or giving Fugaku Uchiha a certain degree of political influence.
But he could not persuade Danzo, Koharu, and Homura.
Once someone had held power for a long time, who would willingly give up a share for no reason?
Before you continue