(Next day)
Kaida was about to leave for the hospital when an Uchiha ninja came to their house.
"The clan head is asking if you are ready for the spar. He has already arranged everything for that."
'Shit, I forgot about that once again,' Kaida thought.
"Yes, just give me a second. I have something important to take care of," Kaida said and went inside his room. He came out in a minute after creating a shadow clone to tell Mitsuru that he would be a little late for the lesson.
He had forgotten to inform her, and today she was going to teach him something important. He didn't want her to wait for him, so he sent his shadow clone to inform her.
"Where are you going, Kaida?" Hae asked, coming out of the kitchen. She had only heard about Fugaku calling him.
"Aunt, do you remember that when we were living at the clan head's house, Itachi and I decided to have a little spar but were unable to do that because of all the things happening?"
Hae nodded her head.
"The clan head yesterday asked if I was ready for that spar now, and I agreed to that, so he has made some arrangements for the spar," Kaida said.
"Oh! Then wait for a second. I also want to see that. I was just going to get bored sitting in the house for now. Your spar would be entertaining to watch," Hae said with a smile and went to her room to change her clothes. She was sure that Mikoto would be present there as well, so she could also have a chat with her friend.
After some time, she came out of the house completely ready as if she was going for a social event. Kaida didn't say anything about that and just turned to the ninja and said, "Let's go."
The ninja nodded, and they slowly made their way toward one of the training areas reserved specifically for the Jonins of the Uchiha clan. They had modified it with many platforms for spars and jutsu practice, mainly fire-related ones, while still leaving ample space for a forest area if someone wanted that type of environment for training.
They followed the ninja to one of the sparring platforms, where they could see Fugaku sitting with Mikoto and some of the elders of the clan. Seeing them, Kaida could tell that, even though they were old, they were still very powerful and could easily take on a Jonin in a one-on-one fight, though an elite Jonin might be a completely different story.
It was simple nature that while getting old a ninja could not retain their peak strength, but still being at the level of Jonin at the age of 70 and above was in itself a symbol of their strength at their peak.
But then Kaida remembered Hiruzen, who was still an upper Kage-level ninja even though he was so old.
'No doubt he got the title of God of Shinobi after Hashirama Senju,' Kaida thought.
"Hi Mikoto, I knew you would be here," Hae said as she went to where Mikoto was sitting. She was a little away from the crowd as Fugaku and the elders were discussing something. Kaida could also see Shisui sitting near them, and they were talking to him from time to time.
Shisui was looking at Kaida with a smile on his face. Then Kaida looked at the other corner of the sparring area where Itachi was standing, leaning on the wall. The air was blowing his hair, and his eyes were closed.
'I don't know why the hell Naruto was the main character; this guy has everything he needs to be a main character. Just look at him, looking all cool and handsome without even trying… tch,' Kaida thought as he could see some of the kunoichi stealing glances at the area, and he naturally thought they were looking toward Itachi.
Seeing everyone had arrived, an elder stood up and said, "Today both of you are going to have a spar, and we are also using this opportunity to judge the future potential of our clan. But since Itachi is one year older than you and quite powerful, a simple spar will not be fair. So, we have made some changes. According to Shisui, who knows both of you, Kaida has better Kenjutsu and Itachi has better Genjutsu abilities. Only these two are allowed in the spar; no use of any other jutsu. Any doubts?" the elder said.
'Me, better than Itachi in Kenjutsu? Like hell this is true,' Kaida thought but didn't say it out loud as everything would become clear in a minute or two anyway.
"No, sir," Kaida said while Itachi stood straight and just nodded his head. Seeing everyone was ready, the elder went back. Only Kaida and Itachi remained on the platform.
...
"Are you ready?" Itachi asked, his voice calm and composed.
Kaida nodded, his gaze unwavering. "Let's begin."
Without another word, they sprang into action. Kaida closed the distance quickly, his sword flashing in a swift horizontal slash aimed at Itachi's midsection. Itachi parried smoothly, their blades clashing with a metallic ring.
Kaida pressed the attack, his movements fluid and relentless. He aimed a series of precise strikes at Itachi, each one intended to test his opponent's defence and speed. Itachi countered each blow with practiced ease, his eyes never leaving Kaida's.
Kaida could swear that even though both of them didn't have their Sharingan active, Itachi was somehow fighting like he was using Sharingan. He countered each of his blows like he was able to see them beforehand, like he could predict Kaida's next move.
Then, Itachi made his move. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he cast a minor Genjutsu. For a split second, Kaida saw Itachi's sword coming down in a vertical slash. Reacting instinctively, Kaida moved to block, but the real strike came from the side. Itachi's blade grazed Kaida's arm, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Impressive," Kaida muttered, stepping back to reassess. He had to be more cautious about Itachi's illusions.
'That was great, just like the one I read from that book, but I had not tried it till now. Well, no time is better than now,' Kaida thought.
He focused and used his own Genjutsu to create a feint. He made it appear as though he was going for a high slash, but in reality, his sword was aimed low. Itachi saw through the illusion just in time, deflecting the true attack with a swift parry.
The exchange continued, each combatant using a blend of Kenjutsu and Genjutsu to outmaneuver the other. Kaida's swordsmanship was truly great, his strikes fast and precise. Itachi, however, countered with an elegant economy of motion, his Genjutsu creating openings where none should exist.
Kaida's blade sang through the air in a wide arc, aiming for Itachi's shoulder. Itachi cast another Genjutsu, making Kaida see the attack as a straightforward thrust. Kaida adjusted too late, his sword missing its mark as Itachi sidestepped and delivered a swift counterstrike. Kaida barely managed to block, their swords locking together in a test of strength.
"You're good, Kaida," Itachi said, his eyes glinting with respect. "But you rely too much on direct attacks."
Kaida smirked, breaking the lock and spinning away. "And you rely too much on illusions."
Saying that, Kaida activated his Sharingan. In his red eyes, three tomoe emerged and started rotating. But his opponent was also an Uchiha and quite a talented one at that. Itachi also activated his Sharingan too, now both had three tomoe rotating in their eyes.
'Well, Sharingan should help me in falling for any more Genjutsu a little, right?' Kaida thought, but before he could think anything else...
They clashed again, their swords moving in a deadly dance. Kaida focused his chakra, heightening his senses to detect the subtle changes in Itachi's Genjutsu. With the help of his Sharingan, he saw through the next illusion—a feint aimed at his left side—and countered with a swift upward slash. Itachi was forced to leap back, the tip of Kaida's sword narrowly missing him.
The tide of the battle began to shift. Kaida's relentless offense and keen perception started to put Itachi on the defensive. He pushed harder, his attacks becoming faster and more unpredictable. Itachi, for the first time, found himself having to fully concentrate to keep up.
Especially since he had to make sure he didn't use anything deadly. Yes, he was holding back a lot because from a young age he was trained to kill, so he had to be careful not to use any lethal move against Kaida. Not that he was underestimating his opponent, but being a ninja doesn't mean being the most powerful; that is what a warrior or samurai does.
A ninja is someone who can efficiently and swiftly kill their opponent in the most optimal way. The opponent's strength may be higher, but they will still die to a well-trained ninja, and Itachi was already one.
Since Itachi was holding back a little in most of his main moves, Kaida and Itachi were evenly matched in the fight. Though Kaida had taken some hits, he was able to heal them by following yang chakra in his body with the help of his Sharingan.
The exchange of slashes and strikes continued for a whole ten minutes
. Kaida was learning a lot from Itachi, but Itachi was also surprised by how efficient and precise Kaida's Kenjutsu was at such a young age, especially his defense. Kaida was able to block most of his attacks at the last second even when he was getting fooled by the Genjutsu.
None of them used any major Genjutsu for two reasons: it would be pointless as both of them could come out of many Genjutsu easily, and in such close-range fights, the precious seconds it would take to cast any major Genjutsu would be enough for the enemy to end the fight.
But Itachi had one more thing that Kaida didn't have—experience. Itachi had already fought many people and done many missions. He constantly fought many Jonin arranged by Fugaku, so his battle strength and battle IQ were higher than Kaida's. Due to this, the wounds Kaida was getting in the spar were much more frequent than what Itachi was getting.
After ten minutes, Itachi cast the most powerful Genjutsu he could in that short amount of time and then appeared behind Kaida. But for Kaida, Itachi was still standing in front of him. Itachi suppressed all of his killing and battle intent and swiftly moved his sword near Kaida's neck.
If there was any killing intent in that strike, Kaida would have blocked it like he had done many times. So Itachi took advantage of the fact that it was just a spar and removed any intent behind his strike. Even though it sounded simple, it was one of the most difficult things to do for a ninja.
With the sword on Kaida's neck, Itachi stood behind Kaida, and Kaida came out of the Genjutsu.
'Well, I never thought I would win against him anyway,' Kaida thought. He looked toward the audience, but their expressions were not what he was expecting.
…
(A.N: Hey guys, this is one of the longest chapters I have written, and that's because even while I was writing it, I got more interested in it than usual. I gave my all in this chapter. Please do tell me if you liked it or not! ^~^)