A\N: Sorry for taking so much time before updating but I had a crazy couple of weeks of work. Hope you will like that chapter, enjoys.
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"Hey man, did you see the fight between the two kids a week ago, I was out for work at that time," a Konoha civilian asked his friends.
"You mean the revenge of Uchiha Iruma on Uzumaki Akashi!" He responded
"Yeah I saw, It was Epic, my heart was beating so fast, during the fight,"
"The amount of destruction was crazy though, I wonder Who is going to pay for It,"
"Doesn't Matter they are both fucking rich!"
"You seem jealous, didn't make a crazy amount of betting on Iruma?" Another asked
"Yep!" He responded with a Big smile "More than a year of salaries, I love that Uchiha kid, he was so cool,"
"Yep did you see how he casually behind Akashi holding the kunai on his neck," standing up he came behind his friend holding a fork to his neck as he imitated Iruma
"Nah, I win!" He said with a Deep voice that Iruma as a child didn't have,
"I'm gonna marry my daughters to him,"
"You wish!" Another replied as they laughed together.
Discussions debates and analyses of the fight between Akashi and Iruma were on everyone's lips, ninjas and civilians.
Another group was talking loudly as they walked on the street.
"Do you want to go see another fight, Maki Nara is about to fight Meli Uchiha on training ground Seven,"
"They are both so beautiful I wonder Who is going to win, I bet on Meli,"
"Of course, you did the Uchiha have been on a roll lately they win most of their challenge,"
"yeah, but the other clans are not letting themselves go,"
"It's crazy in the village lately everyone seems to be challenging each other with no regard for identity, even kids from the same clans openly challenge each other I Hope it's not going to create trouble,"
One of the friends expressed his worries
"What worries is It going to cause, huh, isn't It how ninjas become stronger, by fighting? If this is going to cause trouble or discord the Hokage Will intervein don't worry,"
"Yeah!" Another chimed in
"This is just a temporary frenzy, it's not going to last."
They continued their discussion until they reached their destination.
The fight between Akashi and Iruma created a situation where challenge became the norm.
Hokage's Office
The third Hokage of Konoha village Hiruzen Sarutobi was seated on his comfortable seat with the Hokage hat on the table.
Homura and Koharu were seated on his right while Danzo was standing in front of him with his usual gloomy expression.
"You are in a bad mood so early in the morning," Hiruzen sighed as lean back.
"And why are you so nonchalant about what's happening, can't you see what the Uchiha are doing, sawing discord throughout the clans and the village," he complained walking toward the Window.s
"Look outside at how many they have influenced, listen! Even from here, you can hear the
Clash of weapons of the ninjas of Konoha fighting each other, how long until this situation changes and becomes resentment, conflict, and full-blown fight, or an opportunity to take revenge on each other."
Silence Seattle in the room at the end of Danzo's rant.
Homura and Koharu on the side looked at each other as they considered his words.
"Like with your clan you mean," he responded.
"You had your clansmen antagonizing them a lot and they responded," Hiruzen response made Danzo frown.
"But they mostly challenge us," Homura interjected
"Vindictive bastards," Koharu cursed forgetting that they were the ones who had started antagonizing the Uchiha and were the reason that the members of their factions were more challenged than the others.
"They didn't challenge my clansmen more than the others,"
Hiruzen remarked and It was the truth as most of the Sarutobi tended to stay neutral even with their leaders the Hokage.
"That's because you're the Hokage,"
"Fighting, challenging each other is how ninjas mature, they have created a good environment for growth, that's why all the clans are pushing their Young to participate in the challenge,"
They remain silent after hearing Hiruzen's reply, the room remains silent as the two men look at each other in a silent confrontation.
"But!" The Hokage was the first to concede
"you aren't completely wrong!" Hiruzen conceded
He knew the situation of the village and knew that things shouldn't stay as they were for too long or they would deteriorate.
"I Will have them tone It down, in fact! Everyone needs to slow down," he said looking at all his comrades with a serious expression.
While the two others averted their eyes in submission Danzo growled a little knowing that he would need to tone it down.
"Even though the Uchiha created that situation for their children it trickled down and ended up benefiting all of Konoha they should be rewarded,"
With that, the subject was closed.
Using his experience and diplomacy, the Hokage was able to capitalize on the opportunity that presented itself to him. With the help of the clan heads, he was able to stabilize the enthusiasm of their youth and foster a good and healthy competitive system.
Later when he learns about that a helpless sigh escapes Akashi, as he wasn't sure that It would be a good thing for him and his family.
***
The sun was illuminating the massive estate of the elder Mikami of the Uchiha clan. It wasn't overly big, but it wasn't small either. It was big enough to contain many ponds containing rare fishes, many big traditional houses for some of the servants living here, big and beautiful gardens, very luxurious vegetation, and private training grounds.
Other than the residence of the clan head of the Uchiha there may not be a better residence than this one.
In one of the particular training grounds explosion caused by powerful ninjutsu and clashes of weapons resounded creating sounds contrasting with the beautiful song of the wildfire and yet most of said wildlife seems unaffected by all that.
Amid all that the elder of the Uchiha hawk faction Mikami was lazily seated on a reclining chair sipping his warm tea, his eyes were fixed on the two youths fighting fiercely on the training ground one with long red hair while the other with short dark hair.
But one thing that they both had in common was their blazing sharingan.
"Bang,"
After a final clash, Akashi with his fist coated with chakra sent Iruma violently crashing to the ground.
After a few seconds, he forced his tired and injured body to get up.
"Another failure dammit! This honestly getting unfair at this point," Iruma said with a depressed sigh.
His grandfather had let him bask in the glory and pleasure of being the one to defeat the red demon, for a while revealing everywhere he went he was looked at with some kind of reverence and envy by his peers who often challenged him to take his place.
But it didn't last long as even though he was the object of adoration outside he knew the truth, Akashi, his cousin a half Uchiha and half Uzumaki still much stronger than him, and the fight that just ended proved it,
"Since when have the ninja world been fair second cousin" Akashi replied as he helped Iruma as they walked toward the old man who was looking at them with his usual impassible expression.
"Hmph, true, it must be what all those civilians feel when they fight against a Uchiha," he said in a self-deprecating way.
"The gap is hard to bridge!"
"So are you going to abandon!?" the old Mikami asked as they arrived at his level
"Of course not grandfather, thank Grandma Mia!" Iruma said as his old caretaker a confident elder Mikami helped him sit down and started to clean and apply some ointment on the injured of the two young men.
"I'm going to continue to get stronger and I will surpass him and become the strongest in Konoha,"
"You talk like I'm going to stay stagnant and I'm not really from Konoha so the one that you need to surpass to be the strongest in Konoha is Minato," Akashi corrected nonchalantly, it was his way of subtly warning them of how much potential Minato had even though he was sure they already knew it.
"The protege of Jiraya and the Hokage, yes honestly that kid is a threat," Mikami acquiesced.
"The flying Raijin seriously, I wonder how that technique was even created it's frightening even for me, plus he seems to be trying to improve it,"
"It's nice that you can come here more openly kid, it's nice to have you here, you are just like your father, it's like having him home again," Grandma Mia said
"Really Grandfather said that I don't look like him,"
"Physically maybe, but your mind works the same,"
Akashi realized that they had understood he was giving them information about Minato, even though he was sure that it wouldn't have much impact, it is how much of a genius the yellow kid was, and not just because of the flying thunder god technique.
"I guess, as long as they think I'm only here for revenge, I can be more free,"
He remembered how Iruma had turned the table of the fight in just a split second. During the fight, he had used his Sharingan only to predict his attack pattern, and only in the last seconds of the fight did he use a faint to catch under an illusion that lasted only a second before he broke free of it.
An illusion that confused his senses and made him see a clone as the real Akashi.
It's that mistake of a split second in that high-intensity exchange that made the difference, it's because it's such a simple trick that it worked so well, that it could've probably worked even of he had his Sharingan activated.
In fact, it worked so well that all the ninjas present at that time started to wonder if they would fall for it, after the fight Iruma Uchiha not only became Akashi's rival but also became a very high-ranked ninja in the eyes of the important dignitaries of Konoha.