Chapter 14: The Eve of the Duel
[Sharingan]
[Great Fireball Technique]
[Phoenix Sage Fire Technique]
These three scrolls were the hard-won rewards from Kyosuke's latest trial. It had to be said, the spoils from this dungeon were well worth the effort he had put in.
The Great Fireball and Phoenix Sage Fire scrolls were straightforward; he could use them to upgrade his existing techniques.
What Kyosuke valued most, however, was the item simply named "Sharingan."
He picked it up with anticipation and discovered it was a scroll that could upgrade his "Sharingan" talent itself.
Overjoyed, Kyosuke immediately chose to use it.
Instantly, he felt a cold energy surge through the nerves in his head, finally converging in his eyes.
When he opened them again, two tomoe were slowly spinning in each of his crimson pupils.
Although the chakra consumption had increased, compared to the power boost of upgrading his Sharingan to two tomoe, any cost was worth it.
Now, the Hyuga boy had no hope of winning.
"Hey, hey, Kyosuke, wake up~~~" The next morning, a still-sleeping Kyosuke was woken up by an extremely excited Uchiha Nagisa.
Still groggy, he shot her an annoyed glare before getting up to wash his face. As he did, Nagisa chattered on endlessly.
"Aah, I wonder how many people will come to watch today."
"Are you confident, Kyosuke? I'm betting on you, you know~"
"Hey~ Kyosuke."
"Hey! Why are you ignoring me!"
Kyosuke: "..."
Soon, he finished getting ready and went with Nagisa to the Second Elder's residence.
There, countless clan members were already assembled. Seeing their solemn expressions, an unknowing observer might have thought the Uchiha were about to stage a coup.
When the two saw that even the Great Elder was present, they exchanged a look, and their own lighthearted expressions turned serious.
The Great Elder stood with his hands behind his back. It wasn't until Kyosuke approached that he slowly turned, silently observing him for a moment before finally speaking. "Today, you will show them the might of the Uchiha. Do you understand?"
Kyosuke snapped his heels together and replied loudly, "Yes, sir!"
The Great Elder nodded at him, then turned and left with the other elders.
Nagisa had intended to sneak off to watch the duel, but she was caught by the Second Elder, who grabbed her by the ponytail and dragged her away. Regardless of the outcome, her presence at the duel would be inappropriate.
Kyosuke shot her a look of schadenfreude before turning to face the leader of today's contingent, Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku looked him up and down, nodded in satisfaction, and with a wave of his hand, the entire group, including Kyosuke, vanished from the spot.
Konoha, Training Ground 43.
Although there was still some time before the duel was set to begin, the entire training ground was already surrounded by a massive crowd of spectators.
Because the duel had been arranged in public, word of the Uchiha prodigy's challenge to the Hyuga had spread throughout all of Konoha.
Normally, a place like a training ground would be off-limits to civilians. But for some reason, the Konoha higher-ups had placed no restrictions today, which was why so many villagers had come to watch.
In addition to the civilians, members of the Sarutobi clan, the current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Hatake clan, the Kurama clan, and many others were all in attendance.
Never mind the older generation; more than half of Konoha's future key players were present. Kakashi and Might Guy, who were Kyosuke's age, and those a year older like Ibiki, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, Rin, and Shizune had all been brought by their families to observe.
The reason for such a grand spectacle was that the Uchiha clan had been hyping up Kyosuke to an absurd degree, practically packaging him as the second coming of Uchiha Madara.
While rumors couldn't be fully trusted, anything involving the Uchiha clan was a major affair. And the possibility of a second Madara appearing was something no one could ignore.
Thus, every clan had sent representatives. Smaller clans like the Hatake had simply sent everyone, treating it as a day off. As for the younger generation, they were brought by their elders to learn. There was no greater motivation than seeing a genius of one's own peer group.
Besides the various clans, some of Konoha's top officials were also present.
Orochimaru, as the official witness, was naturally there. Jiraiya had also come, bringing his student, Minato, with him.
"Hey, hey, Orochimaru, if that kid wins, you're not actually going to take him as your student, are you?" Jiraiya asked quietly, nudging his old friend with his shoulder as they stood on a high platform.
"Breaking one's word is not a quality a respectable adult should have," Orochimaru said, his voice growing deeper as he licked his lips with his long tongue. "Besides, I'm quite interested in that child myself. If he can actually win, what's the harm in taking him?"
"But..." Jiraiya frowned and didn't continue, but he was sure Orochimaru understood his meaning.
"Heh heh, are you talking about the Uchiha problem? They're just a bunch of clowns who can't see the bigger picture. Nothing to worry about," Orochimaru said, his gaze shifting to a dark corner in the distance. He smiled cryptically.
There, a group of Anbu Black Ops were carefully surrounding an old man whose head was wrapped in bandages.
In the Hyuga clan's gathering area, two brothers who looked remarkably similar were speaking in hushed tones.
"Brother, it's almost time. Why haven't the Uchiha arrived yet?" The speaker was Hyuga Hizashi, who was only twenty years old this year. The "brother" he was speaking to was, of course, the future clan head, Hyuga Hiashi.
"Be patient. The Uchiha are not ones to be late. They will be here soon," Hiashi replied with a smile, looking at his younger brother.
He then patted the shoulder of the anxious-looking boy standing in front of him, signaling for him to relax.
This boy was Hyuga Ko, the one set to duel Kyosuke. He looked at Hiashi, who had already made a name for himself in the clan, and gave a slightly uneasy smile. For some reason, despite having looked forward to this day, Hyuga Ko was now feeling unexpectedly nervous.
Huff... He took a breath, steeling himself.
He attributed his nervousness to the sheer number of important figures present today. As for his opponent, he had never once taken him seriously. After all, no matter how much of a genius the Uchiha kid was, at only five years old, he could be no match for him.
This sentiment was shared by almost everyone in the crowd. The reason so many had come was not to see who would win, but to see what the Uchiha boy was capable of.
In other words, the real question the bigwigs cared about was just how long he could last against a Chunin—a Chunin from the Hyuga clan, no less.
Just a moment before the scheduled start time, a sudden gust of wind swept across Training Ground 43.
Amidst a swirl of dancing leaves, a group of about twenty ninja suddenly appeared in the center of the field. They wore black combat attire with the Uchiha fan crest on their backs and forehead protectors.
They stood in various poses, some leaning against training posts, others standing atop them.
But one thing about them was identical: their crimson, otherworldly Sharingan, all coldly staring at the crowd.
The handsome young man at the lead took a single step forward and shouted in a booming voice:
"The Uchiha Clan..."
"IS HERE!!!"