You're Just the Side Dish

"Itachi Uchiha, what's the meaning of this? Why did you bring your little brother?"

Nobuo and the others wanted a showdown with Madara Uchiha at his best. Seeing Madara bring his little brother along, adding a burden during their fight, they wondered whether he really thought so little of them.

“I booked this Training Ground to train and play with my little brother in the first place. You're just the supporting cast, so know your place. As for my brother, don't worry about him. He's well behaved and won't interrupt our duel.”

Since he was bringing Sasuke along to play, Madara Uchiha could no longer simply find an empty patch of ground to train on. There were only a handful of safe, fully equipped Training Grounds, and even Madara, the clan leader's son, had to reserve one in advance. So he was telling the truth: his main purpose here was to get Sasuke started on some simple training. Nobuo and the others were merely the side dish.

"You little brat. You really are arrogant!"

Nobuo and the others had already been deeply unhappy with Madara Uchiha, and his words only made them angrier.

"What, you didn't bring anyone else?"

Madara Uchiha first took Sasuke aside. After explaining his dispute with the three boys, he sauntered over to them. As he approached, Sasuke made sure to cheer his Older Brother on in his sweet little voice.

"Hmph. You only beat us yesterday because we let our guard down. Today, we'll show you just how big the gap is between someone who has awakened the Sharingan and someone who hasn't."

Was there anyone who understood the difference between having awakened the Sharingan and not having it better than Madara Uchiha?

"So, how do you want to do this? Another fight?"

Madara Uchiha paid no mind to the three boys' boasting. He only cared about how they intended to compete with him.

"I'll go first. My name is Uchiha Itsuki. I heard you stunned everyone at the Ninja Academy with your shuriken skills. Today, I'd like to see what you can do."

A fair-skinned boy with long hair stepped forward from Nobuo's trio, the first to challenge Madara Uchiha. After discussing things with Uchiha Nobuo and Uchiha Moku yesterday, he had realized that Madara's taijutsu really did seem astonishingly strong. His speed alone was more than they could handle. Since the brat had claimed they could compete in anything, the three had decided to teach him a lesson in their own areas of expertise.

"Just you? You're not going to have them help?"

After Uchiha Itsuki stepped forward, Madara Uchiha even thoughtfully asked about the conditions of their contest. His words made Itsuki's face flush red.

"I'm more than enough to beat you. Cut the chatter. I'm going to humiliate you in front of your little brother!"

At Uchiha Itsuki's words, Madara Uchiha glanced back at Sasuke Uchiha, who was the spitting image of Uchiha Izuna as a child. Make me lose in front of my little brother? You really don't know your limits.

Madara Uchiha left both the event and its rules entirely up to Uchiha Itsuki. Although Madara's terms made his contempt for his opponent abundantly clear, he had defeated all three of them single-handedly yesterday, so Itsuki accepted. In the end, Itsuki devised the following rules.

Five targets would be set up behind each of them, and each would have twenty shuriken. Whoever landed the most shuriken in the targets behind his opponent would win. If they landed the same number, whoever threw them faster would win.

Madara accepted Uchiha Itsuki's rules without conditions. At Uchiha Nobuo's signal to begin, Itsuki's hands danced at his waist, leaving blurred afterimages. Almost simultaneously, he hurled all twenty shuriken. Even Uchiha Nobuo and Uchiha Moku had to use their Sharingan to follow his movements. In their minds, Itsuki was the finest shuriken thrower of the younger generation.

Across from him, Madara Uchiha smiled faintly at the swarm of shuriken hurtling toward him. He casually threw just five of his own. What happened next left Itsuki and the others in disbelief. Amid a series of metallic clashes, Madara's five shuriken knocked away every one of Itsuki's. Even as they deflected Itsuki's shuriken, Madara's five struck the targets behind him with perfect precision—one per target, each dead center.

If Uchiha Itsuki's shuriken were a raging storm, then Madara Uchiha's could only be called a miracle.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Madara Uchiha effortlessly tossed his remaining fifteen shuriken into the targets. Itsuki could easily manage the technique used for those fifteen, and Nobuo and Moku could just about attempt it. But Madara's first five had already crushed any resolve these boys had to challenge him in shuriken throwing.

"You're amazing, Older Brother! You have to teach me that later!"

Watching from the sidelines, Sasuke Uchiha had no idea how astonishing his Older Brother's performance had been. He only knew that his Older Brother had won, so he cheered Madara Uchiha on.

"I lost."

After witnessing Madara Uchiha's skill, Uchiha Itsuki readily admitted defeat. His opponent's abilities were beyond anything he could imagine. No wonder Madara had offered to take on all three of them at once. Now, Itsuki was completely convinced of Madara's mastery of shuriken.

"Itachi, I'd like to challenge you in ninjutsu. Please show me what you can do."

After witnessing Madara Uchiha's shuriken skills, Uchiha Moku spoke to him with a little more respect. His ninjutsu was the best of the three, and since Madara had said he could do anything, he naturally wanted to put that claim to the test.

Uchiha Moku had a highly unusual constitution. He possessed chakra of four natures—water, fire, wind, and earth—allowing him to use ninjutsu of all four. For his challenge to Madara Uchiha, he would defend with ninjutsu while Madara attacked with it. If Madara broke through his defenses, he would admit defeat.

"How about this? Cast your defensive ninjutsu over here, then stand off to the side. Otherwise, I'm really worried you'll get hurt."

Before the contest began, Madara Uchiha casually pointed to an empty patch of ground beside Uchiha Moku, suggesting a change to its format. Previously, Moku would have firmly rejected Madara's proposal. Now, however, he really had lost his nerve, so he promptly accepted the suggestion.