The battle was over, and Uchiha Akira had successfully secured a spot to participate in the Chunin Exam in the Hidden Cloud Village.
The Uchiha group made their way back to the clan grounds, with the grandfather in particularly high spirits.
In just half a month, Akira had mastered Shisui's renowned S-rank technique. His future was truly limitless.
The old man was even more thrilled than when he himself had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!
Shisui also mentioned that in the days ahead, he would continue to train Akira as much as possible, pushing his strength to an even higher level.
This would help Konoha better intimidate the other ninja villages!
As they returned to the Uchiha clan grounds, they happened to see Sasuke with a backpack, heading to the Ninja Academy.
It was still early, as the battle had taken place at dawn and had ended quickly, so they were back fairly early.
"Brother, Akira, Shisui, where have you all been?" Sasuke paused, surprised to see them back already.
"Sasuke, we just went to watch Akira's match against Inuzuka Hana. They were competing for a spot to take the Chunin Exam in the Hidden Cloud Village. Akira won," Itachi, ever the doting older brother, explained with a smile.
"You… you're already preparing for the Chunin Exam?" Sasuke looked at Akira in shock.
They had always been playmates, and Akira had always seemed unresponsive to training, no matter how hard he worked at it.
But suddenly, he had emerged as a prodigy, and his growth was terrifying.
Sasuke had been thinking about how to catch up with him, but now it seemed the gap between them was only growing wider!
"Sasuke, your talent surpasses mine. One day, the world will be yours," Akira encouraged him, seeing the disheartened look on Sasuke's face.
"Really? My talent is greater than yours? But I…" Sasuke wanted to believe him, knowing Akira wasn't the type to lie, but it still seemed unbelievable.
Even though he was still just a student, Sasuke had heard of Akira's growing reputation as a genius.
"Absolutely!" Akira nodded seriously.
Indeed, when it came to talent, who in the ninja world could surpass the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' own son?
Even Asura, the other son of the Sage, was far behind in terms of pure talent, wasn't he?
"Ah, it's getting late—I need to get to school!" Sasuke wanted to chat more, but realizing the time, he hurried off.
"Sasuke has quite a bit of talent himself," Shisui remarked as he watched Sasuke run off.
"But compared to Akira, it's still far behind," Itachi said, shaking his head and glancing at Akira.
"No, what I said earlier was true. Sasuke's talent surpasses everyone's; it's the best in the entire ninja world!" Akira emphasized when he heard Itachi's words.
Itachi looked at Akira in surprise.
He had thought Akira was just trying to comfort Sasuke earlier, but now it seemed that he genuinely believed it?
This made Itachi curious.
In just a few months, Akira had grown from an ordinary boy to someone with two-tomoe Sharingan, even mastering Shisui's signature technique…
Akira's talent was unprecedented in the history of the Uchiha clan.
And yet, Akira claimed that Sasuke's talent was even greater than his? That it could even be called the best in the ninja world?
What did it mean to have the best talent in the ninja world?
It meant that, as long as Sasuke didn't die prematurely, he would eventually become the strongest ninja in the world!
Could that really be possible?
Throughout history, only the legendary First Hokage and Uchiha Madara had ever been considered for such a title.
"Akira, have you seen something that the rest of us haven't?" the grandfather asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Shisui and the others also looked at Akira, eager to know what led him to this belief.
But faced with their questioning gazes, Akira chose not to explain further.
After all, he was still struggling to survive the upcoming Uchiha massacre.
As for Indra and the events of the Fourth Great Ninja War, he certainly wasn't going to reveal anything that might cause even more trouble for himself!
Seeing that Akira wasn't going to explain, no one pressed him.
They just kept this matter in the back of their minds.
"Shisui-sensei, we still have more than a month left—should we take on a few more missions?" Akira suggested as they returned to the Uchiha clan grounds, thinking about how he could use the remaining time to train.
Yes, training alone wouldn't cut it. He needed to complete missions to earn money, which he could then use to fuel his life simulations.
That was probably the best way for him to grow stronger.
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 84 at patreon.com/Emik01.