It was still fairly early. On an ordinary day, Konoha might still have been bustling at this hour, with shouts drifting over from afar, proclaiming its prosperity.
Unfortunately...
After everything that had happened last night, few people could still feel safe staying home. Even the survivors were quiet, lending the enormous village an air of desolation.
In the woods.
Uchiha Hui stared at Uchiha Fugaku, utterly puzzled. He had no idea how a simple meal had turned into an impending sparring match.
Honestly, he did not want to fight. Not only did he want to avoid exposing his strength, but he had only just integrated his original body's combat instincts and power. He still seemed unable to fully bring out its chunin-level strength.
"Hui! Come at me with everything you've got. After all this time, surely you haven't just been talking about changing the Uchiha while neglecting your own training!"
Uchiha Fugaku fixed Uchiha Hui with a serious gaze.
He wanted to test how his younger brother's strength had changed. The Night of the Nine-Tails had done more than damage the village. More changes might follow, and only with the strength to protect himself could Hui navigate the treacherous uncertainty ahead.
"There's no need, is there? We just ate. Maybe we could walk a little more to help digest our food, instead of... shit!"
Uchiha Hui refused outright, but before he could finish, a glint shot straight into his field of vision. It flew toward his face and reached him in an instant.
He deftly dodged it.
He shot a questioning look at Uchiha Fugaku, who had just attacked him.
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
Uchiha Hui demanded loudly.
Had he not reacted quickly, that kunai would have buried itself in his face. Ninja were hardly durable creatures. Aside from a handful of freaks, most could easily be killed with a kunai!
"I told you, show me what you can really do. Otherwise, I won't hold back!"
Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes.
He had certainly held back on that throw, but Uchiha Hui's reaction still exceeded his expectations. Based on what he knew of Hui's strength, dodging it should have left him scrambling. Instead, he had avoided it with remarkable ease.
Whoosh!
The moment Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking, Uchiha Hui caught sight of a figure charging toward him.
A fierce rush of wind instantly swept toward his chest.
Thud!
Uchiha Hui crossed his arms in front of him, blocking Uchiha Fugaku's attack. Heavy force slammed into his arms, driving him back two steps with some difficulty.
"You asked for this!"
Even Uchiha Hui had his limits. He had intended to avoid fighting if possible, but this "older brother" of his was being far too aggressive. Fine, then. He wanted to test his strength anyway.
Even if he was clearly no match for Fugaku!
Tap, tap, tap!
Uchiha Hui sprang into motion, his sudden burst of speed giving Uchiha Fugaku another pleasant surprise.
Clang!
In the next instant.
The two figures collided.
Uchiha Fugaku was not particularly tall, probably around 175 centimeters, while Uchiha Hui had a clear height advantage at just over 180. Yet in this contest of strength, Fugaku seemed to have the upper hand.
Uchiha Hui gritted his teeth.
Sparks kept flying from the kunai in his hand.
Yet Fugaku's expression remained calm, as though Hui's attacks had neither rattled him nor put him under pressure.
"I told you to use everything you've got. If this is all you can do, I'll have to question whether you've been training hard all these years!"
Uchiha Fugaku swept his kunai forcefully, driving Uchiha Hui back, then immediately pursued him, thrusting his knee hard toward Hui's abdomen.
Naturally, he had not used Ninjutsu.
Uchiha Hui was only a chunin, essentially a lightweight when it came to Ninjutsu, while Fugaku was a powerful elite Jonin. Using Ninjutsu as well would have been outright bullying.
His goal was not to give Uchiha Hui a beating.
He wanted to see just how much potential his changed younger brother possessed!
Boom!
Uchiha Hui stayed calm. Suppressing the urge to draw a bone sword and shove it into Fugaku's endlessly chattering mouth, he began forming hand seals as he flew backward. The instant he landed, he sharply raised his head and spat forward.
A fireball over three meters in diameter surged from his mouth.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The instant Uchiha Hui attacked, he heard Uchiha Fugaku's voice. Clearly, Fugaku had launched his own Ninjutsu the moment Hui did—and had even chosen the exact same technique!
Boom!
The two masses of searing flame collided.
Neither seemed able to overpower the other. The flames rapidly dispersed amid a tremendous blast of air, and the surrounding trees bent away from the collision as though struck by a hurricane.
As for the ground.
A blackened patch remained, with scattered flames still burning.
Uchiha Fugaku looked toward the spot where Uchiha Hui had been.
However.
He could not see Hui, who should still have been standing there.
He seemed to have lost track of Uchiha Hui.
"Heh!"
Uchiha Fugaku gave a faint chuckle, the corner of his mouth unconsciously lifting.
The next second.
Rustle!
Uchiha Hui appeared on Uchiha Fugaku's right. Pushing off the ground, he held his kunai in a reverse grip and swiftly stabbed toward Fugaku's neck.
He did not believe he could kill this deeply secretive Kage-level powerhouse.
On the contrary, if he failed to take this seriously, he would be the only one getting beaten and injured!
So he held nothing back when he attacked. Aside from Shikotsumyaku, which he could not yet let others discover, he was giving it almost everything he had!
Clang, clang, clang!
The kunai clashed repeatedly, sparks flashing through the quiet night as the two figures wove around each other.
Despite being the weaker fighter.
Uchiha Hui did not take a defensive stance. He kept attacking. In the gathering darkness, his black eyes had turned red at some point, a single small tomoe spinning within that eerie, bewitching color.
That was right.
Despite being a chunin.
Uchiha Hui only had a one-tomoe Sharingan. That was one reason many people considered his chunin rank somewhat dubious.
Uchiha Hui closed in again. This time, he targeted a spot an inch to the left of Uchiha Fugaku's chest. The instant his kunai was blocked, he even used his other hand to reinforce his arm, pressing both hands hard behind the weapon.
The result...
Clang!
Uchiha Fugaku stepped back half a pace, then slashed his other hand sharply in front of him. A second kunai instantly snapped Uchiha Hui's kunai in two.
Uchiha Hui quickly leaped away, his expression betraying an indescribable frustration.
The gap between his strength and Uchiha Fugaku's was still enormous.
Now that he was being forced to fight.
He felt like a mosquito biting an elephant.
It did some damage.
But not much!
So little that even he felt embarrassed.
Whoosh!
A kunai flew straight toward him.
Uchiha Hui seemed unable to dodge in time, standing rooted to the spot as though he had failed to react.
Poof!
Before Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, the struck Uchiha Hui instantly turned into white smoke, leaving a section of tree trunk in his place.
"Take this!"
Slightly surprised, Uchiha Fugaku looked to the side.
He had only just turned his head.
When a foot suddenly filled his vision.
Uchiha Hui was certain his kick had connected. A closer look confirmed it: Uchiha Fugaku had blocked the attack with his arm, and his figure had instantly moved several meters away.
"Hui!"
Uchiha Fugaku smiled. Brushing the footprint off his clothes, he grinned at Uchiha Hui. "You're already very proficient in Ninjutsu, and your taijutsu is excellent as well. You're still a little behind some taijutsu specialists I remember, but this is already quite impressive!"
"Really?!"
Uchiha Hui looked at Uchiha Fugaku, delight showing on his face. "But it looks like I won, doesn't it?"
"Why don't you take another look?"
Uchiha Fugaku did not look at Uchiha Hui in front of him again. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, seemingly inspecting the space behind him from the corner of his eye.
Behind him, Uchiha Hui was holding a kunai against his throat. The sharp blade had even broken the skin slightly.
At Uchiha Fugaku's words, a flicker of confusion crossed Uchiha Hui's eyes.
After using the Substitution Technique.
He had also created a shadow clone. That clone was the one attacking Uchiha Fugaku head-on, while he himself hid in the spot where Fugaku would dodge.
The very spot he now occupied.
And just as he had predicted, Uchiha Fugaku had been forced into that specific position by his tactics, and he had successfully placed his kunai against Fugaku's vital point, holding him hostage.
Still, a Jonin was a Jonin!
Uchiha Hui looked down between them. Uchiha Fugaku also held a kunai in a reverse grip, its point aimed straight at his heart.
He met Uchiha Fugaku's eyes. Three mesmerizing tomoe slowly rotated within that rich blood-red gaze, utterly composed.
"Even like this, I could still make us both go down. You're a Jonin, and I'm a chunin. That doesn't seem like a bad trade."
Uchiha Hui naturally knew Uchiha Fugaku still had plenty of tricks he had not used, but he pretended otherwise as he assessed the situation.
Poof!
"Hui!"
Uchiha Fugaku, who had been confronting him, suddenly turned into white smoke. The next second, his voice came from the shadows of the nearby woods. "That's my little brother! Even an ordinary Elite Chunin might be no match for you!"
Just as I thought...
Uchiha Hui stared at the spot where nothing remained, his Sharingan activated. He had felt things were going far too smoothly. Logically, someone as experienced in combat as Uchiha Fugaku should never have been so easy to corner. He had thought Fugaku had simply slipped up, but now it seemed he was still far too naive!
Poof!
Uchiha Hui also dispelled his shadow clone. The clone still standing opposite him turned into white smoke, while he watched Uchiha Fugaku approach, his face cold and silent.
He had thought he would get to show off and give this "benevolent father" a little surprise from a transmigrator.
Instead, Fugaku had stolen the show!
Damn him!
Before you continue