"Sensei, I don't get it. Are you saying my Sharingan can still get stronger?"
"Then why haven't I ever heard about this before?"
Obito Uchiha was curious. As an Uchiha, how could he know less about the Sharingan than his own teacher? That didn't make sense.
Kazuyama Gekkō glanced at him and shook his head.
"We'll talk about it after today's match. I'll explain everything properly when we're back."
"If you go around claiming to be an Uchiha with that level of understanding, you'll just embarrass yourself."
...
Back in the arena, Shisui Uchiha wielded a short blade, similar to the one Locust used—though more compact.
Mizukurai, on the other hand, used a long metal staff. He was burly enough to handle its weight, or it would've been a struggle to swing it.
Within minutes, they had clashed over a hundred times. No matter how Shisui attacked, Mizukurai calmly defended every strike.
Even Kazuyama had to admit, Mizukurai had serious skill with that staff.
More surprising was the pair of thick sunglasses he wore. The lenses were so dark even Kazuyama couldn't see his eyes.
"Came prepared, huh? Must've known he'd be facing an Uchiha."
As he was thinking that, the tide on the battlefield shifted.
"Water Clone!"
Water surged across the arena, and Mizukurai split into five—four of them clones.
One staff turned into five, swinging at Shisui from every direction.
"It's just clones. I can do that too!"
Shisui's Sharingan spun as he activated his signature technique—Body Flicker.
The clash instantly intensified.
"Mizukurai's too calm. He didn't even flinch at Shisui's Body Flicker?"
"Is he even human?"
"When I sparred with Shisui, I was stunned by that move. Even my Sharingan couldn't follow all of it."
Obito was shocked. This wasn't just speed—every clone could strike. Most people would've been overwhelmed.
But Mizukurai?
His clones and original body moved in perfect sync, creating a seamless offensive and defensive rhythm. Shisui's Body Flicker couldn't break through.
"Stay calm. Those are Water Clones. They're limited—less power than the original, and they can't stray far from him."
"The only edge is that if he uses chakra to regenerate the water quickly enough, the clones won't dissipate even when hit."
Just when it seemed like a stalemate, Mizukurai changed tactics.
His true body leapt high into the air, spinning the staff like a windmill.
Meanwhile, the four clones closed in aggressively, abandoning defense. Even as Shisui's blade cut into them, they didn't retreat.
Water splashed everywhere—but instead of breaking apart, the clones reformed almost instantly with flowing chakra.
"Water Release: Rain of a Thousand Needles!"
From above, Mizukurai unleashed a dense barrage of water senbon, blanketing the entire arena.
Shisui's eyes widened for a moment before he calmed, striking down the clones first, then blinking forward in an attempt to flank Mizukurai midair.
But Mizukurai's elevated position made closing in tricky—Shisui had to neutralize the attack first.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball soared upward, colliding with the downpour of water needles.
Steam exploded in all directions, flooding the arena with thick mist.
Mizukurai didn't flinch. He simply continued pouring chakra into his technique.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Three enormous fire dragons roared upward, cutting through the mist and ignoring the senbon as they lunged at Mizukurai.
The fire-versus-water spectacle had the crowd on their feet—it was leagues beyond the previous taijutsu battle.
"Tsk, tsk. Obito, look at Shisui. Why's your Fire Release so pathetic?"
"Big fireball, little fireball—is that all you've got?"
Kazuyama glanced from Shisui, dominating the field, to his own student and couldn't help voicing his frustration.
Obito opened his mouth to respond—then shut it. After all, he really didn't have anything else.
The white mist marked the peak of the match.
Mizukurai knew it was bad for him, so he acted fast. He pulled out a scroll, dropped it, and stomped on it.
A torrent of water burst forth.
Then he launched his next move.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Using the newly created terrain, a massive water dragon formed quickly and coiled around Mizukurai, acting as a shield.
If Shisui wanted to hit him, he'd have to go through the dragon.
"Damn it..."
Annoyed, Shisui clicked his tongue—but he wasn't giving up.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Three fire dragons roared again, but this time they were clearly smaller.
Kazuyama narrowed his eyes. Shisui was running out of chakra.
He was still a kid. Relying on Body Flicker wasn't too taxing, but launching two high-level Fire Release techniques back to back? That was pushing it.
In the end, the arena's conditions worked against him.
Mizukurai had clearly come prepared—even packing a water-filled scroll. He'd secured the terrain and the elemental advantage.
"Alright, Shisui. That's enough. We concede this one."
"Captain, I haven't lost yet!"
"Yeah, but you won't win either."
Kazuyama had already seen how winded Shisui was. The kid was breathing hard, and continuing would be pointless.
"Lord Daimyō, we concede."
"Shisui, come down."
Shisui glared at the water dragon wrapped around Mizukurai, then angrily sheathed his blade and walked back to Kazuyama.
The Daimyō nodded in satisfaction.
Losing one match was fine. Losing all of them would've been humiliating.