"How are you both doing, Shisui, Kakashi?" Mutsuki asked.
"I'm ready to fight anytime," Shisui quickly replied, with a faint smile on his face.
"I'm fine now, we can start the battle," Kakashi said calmly, nodding. With timely treatment and enough rest time, he had fully recovered by now.
"Great, let's get started then," Mutsuki said with a smile, letting Shisui and Kakashi move to the battlefield to prepare for the fight.
Seeing Kakashi's calm demeanor, Mutsuki silently mourned for Kakashi for a split second.
Since Shisui had already defeated Obito under Kakashi's observation, Kakashi had gained a rough understanding of Shisui's strength and tactics.
But this wasn't necessarily a good thing for Kakashi; instead, it might lead him to misjudge Shisui's abilities.
Because Shisui has always disliked instant kills; he uses only as much strength as necessary to defeat his opponents. If Shisui had used his Sharingan, Obito would have been ensnared in his Genjutsu long ago, but Shisui never resorted to it.
Furthermore, Shisui's age is quite deceptive. Kakashi would never have anticipated that someone two years younger than them, like Shisui, could hold back in a fight against Obito.
Of course, even if Kakashi had not underestimated Shisui's strength, he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat him. Normally, Shisui and Kakashi are evenly matched in overall strength, but with Shisui using the Sharingan, the situation changes.
Following Konoha's customs for sparring, they both initiated the Seal of Confrontation.
"If we're the same age, I am indeed inferior to him," Kakashi thinks to himself as he observes Shisui's serious expression.
Although he can't turn back time to fight Shisui two years ago, Kakashi now realizes that Obito's current strength surpasses his own at the age of six, and since Shisui defeated the current Obito, it indirectly indicates that Shisui is indeed more of a genius than Kakashi previously thought.
However, Kakashi is still confident in this battle. He feels that Obito's potential loss isn't entirely due to lack of strength but rather because of poor combat skills. Although he has trained less in the past two years, he hasn't slackened in completing missions, and his combat experience is quite extensive.
"Let the battle begin!" Once both assumed their stances, Mutsuki declared the start of the fight.
Kakashi immediately drew the White Fang dagger from his back and swung it towards Shisui.
Clang!
Shisui used the Breathing Technique to enhance his physical abilities, swiftly drawing out the dagger Mutsuki gave him and blocked Kakashi's swing with the White Fang dagger.
Kakashi's expression remained unchanged as his hand moved swiftly, the sharp blade continuously aiming at various vital points on Shisui's body.
Shisui felt immense pressure from Kakashi's incredibly swift swordsmanship, leaving several scratches on his clothes.
Realizing the formidable nature of Kakashi's close combat swordsmanship, Shisui immediately created distance using the Body Flicker Jutsu and then rapidly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Shisui opened his mouth and spat out a large amount of flames, which eventually coalesced into a three-meter-wide fireball hurtling rapidly towards Kakashi.
Facing the fiercely burning Great Fireball, Kakashi chose not to confront it head-on but instead threw a smoke bomb and swiftly dodged aside.
The moment Kakashi threw the smoke bomb, Shisui immediately hurled a large number of shuriken towards the edge of the smoke.
Boom!
The fireball plunged into the smoke, hitting the ground and triggering an explosion. Simultaneously, the shuriken, speeding through the air, all dashed into the edge of the smoke.
Without the sound of metal collision, the smoke dispersed, revealing some charred ground and a multitude of shuriken scattered around, but no sign of Kakashi.
Shisui's expression turned pensive. He leaped onto a tree, hiding and creating shadow clones in the branches. From there, he observed the movements in the northern direction, where he had thrown the shuriken moments ago.
Whoosh!
As expected, Kakashi suddenly appeared behind a large tree in the direction Shisui was observing, hurling a plethora of shuriken.
Shisui also threw shuriken to intercept the incoming ones, simultaneously causing several shuriken to dart towards Kakashi from a highly unpredictable angle through shuriken collisions.
Clang!
Kakashi dodged some shuriken while knocking down others, but just as he successfully neutralized the shuriken, Shisui had already thrust a kunai towards him.
"Kakashi Senpai, the fight is over," Shisui said.
"The fight indeed is over, but the winner is me," another Kakashi emerged from a nearby tree, brandishing a kunai at Shisui's vital points.
"You should be more cautious of enemies who have already disappeared," Kakashi calmly reminded.
"Kakashi Senpai, you make a good point."
Just when Kakashi thought he had won, Shisui stepped out from behind the tree, using the Body Flicker Jutsu to appear beside Kakashi, holding a kunai against him.
"It seems I've won after all," Shisui said with a faint smile.
"You are indeed cautious. As a student, you're already excellent, but you need to be even more cautious," Kakashi, held at kunai-point, said calmly.
The next moment, a hand suddenly emerged from the ground where Shisui stood, pulling him beneath the surface, leaving only his head above ground.
"If you were a bit more cautious, perhaps there would have been hope for you to win, but this time it's my victory," Kakashi, appearing next to Shisui, declared his triumph.
Watching the continuously shifting situation, Obito felt baffled and couldn't help but comment, "Kakashi is really cunning, using two Shadow Clones as decoys."
Guy scratched his head, feeling that all the flashy moves weren't worth it compared to just going all out with a kick.
Just when Kakashi thought he had won, a sudden change occurred. Shadow Clone Shisui suddenly counterattacked and took down both Kakashi's Shadow Clones with him.
Suddenly, a Shuriken on the ground transformed into Shisui, who swiftly activated his Sharingan and said, "Kakashi Senpai, you're right. A ninja should indeed be cautious, and then even more cautious."
Kakashi instinctively looked at Shisui, directly seeing the blood-red eyes of the Sharingan.
"Sharingan!" Kakashi was deeply shaken, not expecting to see the famed Uchiha Sharingan on Shisui, a student still in the Ninja Academy's previous year.
In the next moment, Kakashi suddenly found himself immobilized by a rapidly growing tree.
Kakashi knew the Ninjutsu that could control plant growth was famous in both Konoha and the ninja world—it was the Wood Release used by the Ninja God, Senju Hashirama.
However, as an Uchiha, Shisui couldn't possibly use Wood Release. Kakashi quickly realized he was under Genjutsu. He tried to dispel it, but Shisui's rapid series of attacks were too fast, and Kakashi soon felt the sharp blades close to his body.
As the Genjutsu ended, Kakashi saw Shisui already standing beside him.
"You fought well, Kakashi Senpai," Shisui said calmly.
Winning against Kakashi was within his expectations. Although he often heard the Academy's sensei comparing him to Kakashi, saying he was the second Kakashi, Shisui didn't believe he would lose to Kakashi. After all, he was Mutsuki's first disciple.
When Kakashi initially used the smoke bomb, Shisui immediately activated his Sharingan to track Kakashi's position, and all subsequent attacks were intentionally set up by Shisui.
After the first wave of clashes, his victory was already certain.
"The Sharingan is indeed scary" Kakashi said with a complex expression.
Before today, he had never lost to someone of the same age, or even to Ninja several years older than him.
But today, he lost twice. Once to Guy, who was the same age as him, and once to Uchiha Shisui, who was two years younger than him.
Losing to Guy, Kakashi was surprised yet felt it was reasonable. After all, Guy was so hardworking, and he had also earned his father's approval.
Losing this battle to Shisui, Kakashi was quite convinced. Shisui's comprehensive strength indeed surpassed his.
"Can I still be considered a genius?" Kakashi asked himself inwardly.
Two years ago, when others called him a genius, Kakashi wouldn't laugh, but he felt it inwardly. Graduating from the Ninja Academy at the age of five with the highest score and becoming a Chunin at six by passing the Chunin exam directly— if that didn't count as genius, then what did?
But can he still be considered a genius now? It's already a new year, and he's almost nine years old.
At nine years old, how much has his strength improved compared to when he was six, and what kind of genius deeds has he accomplished?
None. His raw strength hasn't improved much; it's just that the accumulation of experience makes him always progress. There haven't been any extraordinary deeds beyond ordinary people anymore; he's just a Chunin who's a bit younger.
Perhaps he could have been called a genius before, but now he no longer qualifies to be called one.
Kakashi pondered when he became like this, continuously contemplating until the images in his mind gradually became clear. It was a very dark night, a night tinged with blood. Since that night, there was no response when Kakashi called out again.
"Kakashi, are you feeling unwell?" Mutsuki looked at Kakashi's pale face and asked softly.
Mutsuki's voice pulled Kakashi out of his reverie. After coming back to his senses, Kakashi saw Mutsuki's warm and gentle smile, which eased his mind a bit. Then he shook his head in response.
"I'm fine, just thinking about things," Kakashi said.
Mutsuki smiled and placed his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "If you're tired, you can rest a bit more. Training is important, but taking care of your body is the foundation of training."
Kakashi nodded slightly and then returned to the viewing area to rest.
"Rin-chan, see, I told you Kakashi wouldn't win. Shisui can defeat even me. Dealing with Kakashi is a piece of cake," Obito criticized Kakashi as soon as he arrived at the viewing area.
Kakashi overheard Obito's disparaging remarks.
"Indeed, I may not be able to defeat Shisui, but beating you, an Uchiha without the Sharingan, is quite easy," Kakashi replied bluntly.
Obito's words only fueled Kakashi's motivation to train harder. At least he couldn't afford to lose to Obito.
"Damn you, Kakashi. I'll get the Sharingan sooner or later," Obito retorted upon hearing Kakashi's response.
Kakashi replied with a chuckle.
Obito quickly realized that his previous statement implied he couldn't compete with Kakashi without the Sharingan, so he swiftly changed his tune. "Even without the Sharingan, I can still defeat you."
"Then prove it to me by defeating Guy. That's when you'll truly have the strength to defeat me," Kakashi said calmly, referring to the upcoming battle between Obito and Guy.
"I..." Obito was momentarily speechless, feeling somewhat intimidated by the speed and strength displayed by Guy earlier in the morning.
"Alright, you're both very talented. Obito, you should prepare for the battle," Rin said gently with a smile.
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