Shaya had told him about Mikoto Uchiha's marriage to Fugaku Uchiha at the time. Back then, he was in a critical phase of cultivation and couldn't return to the village for the wedding. After the Great Chaos War, many complicated traditions of the Ninja World had been abolished. Ninja preferred simplicity these days, so his absence hadn't made much of a difference.
However, he only learned about Mikoto Uchiha's pregnancy after Shiyu Uchiha returned to the village. To this day, he had yet to meet with Fugaku Uchiha, who was still away carrying out a clan assignment. That assignment originally belonged to Mikoto Uchiha—handling the clan's business affairs.
Upon learning about the pregnancy, Fugaku Uchiha volunteered to take over those duties. From that alone, Fugaku didn't give anyone anything to criticize.
As for avoiding strenuous activity during pregnancy, it wasn't a big deal for ninja, especially powerful ones. These women possessed enough strength to protect their unborn child using chakra.
Through the use of Secret Jutsu, they could even nourish the fetus, allowing the child to start receiving benefits while still in the womb—giving them an advantage right from the starting line. Therefore, the offspring of powerful ninja were usually strong themselves. This was especially true for the Senju Clan, known for their mastery of Yang Release—whose fetal-nourishing techniques were considered the most advanced in the Ninja World.
"I'm ready," said the older sister.
"So am I," replied her younger brother.
"Then let's begin." Uchiha Shizhi spoke right after them.
As soon as he finished speaking, Mikoto Uchiha launched the first attack. Truthfully, she currently lacked confidence in defeating Shiyu Uchiha, which is why she decided to take initiative. She also planned to use the ultimate move handed down by her mother, hoping to catch her opponent off guard.
To achieve this goal, Mikoto had deliberately hidden her strength during previous sparring matches with her mother—partly why she had just been disarmed earlier.
Shiyu Uchiha didn't know about Mikoto's current plan, but he was full of confidence in his own abilities, believing subduing her would be effortless.
Therefore, facing her assault, Shiyu chose to remain calm and defensive. He didn't even use his self-created sword technique, merely repelling Mikoto's attack with the Thirteenth Form of Basic Sword Techniques.
After another clash, Shiyu disappeared from sight in a flash. Mikoto showed no sign of panic; her Sharingan simply rotated slightly, locking onto Shiyu charging forward directly ahead.
Then she quickly sidestepped, dodging the attack. Just then, however, Shiyu appeared behind her, slamming the flat side of his tanto against her back.
Mikoto's heart leapt in surprise. She hadn't expected Shiyu to be so fast—to accelerate around her as she dodged. She hastily turned, blocking Shiyu's strike with her tanto.
Their blades met again with a sharp clanging sound.
Within several breaths' time, the two exchanged multiple rounds. Watching nearby, Uchiha Shizhi observed that Shiyu had already reached the level of Man and Blade Unity.
Although she had already come to this conclusion, Uchiha Shizhi still felt delighted.
However, since Shiyu Uchiha hadn't revealed his true strength, Uchiha Shizhi couldn't yet determine exactly how powerful he'd become. After all, Shiyu possessed extremely strong self-control.
At that moment, Mikoto Uchiha felt a bit frustrated. She originally believed her aggressive attack could force Shiyu Uchiha to use the abilities of the Sharingan, but the result didn't go as expected.
Privately, she suspected that Shiyu's sword techniques might have already reached their mother's level. While feeling joy for her younger brother, she also experienced a tinge of disappointment. So she decided to go all-in and take one last desperate gamble.
As Mikoto Uchiha's mindset shifted, Shiyu Uchiha keenly sensed the change in her aura. Sensing the shift, he braced himself, knowing the opponent was about to unleash a powerful move. Without hesitation, he went with the flow and activated his triple-comma Sharingan to guard against Mikoto Uchiha's specialty—Genjutsu—and prevent any unexpected situation.
Just as Shiyu Uchiha activated his Sharingan, both Mikoto Uchiha and Uchiha Shizhi couldn't help but be greatly surprised. Mikoto remained relatively calm, only astonished by Shiyu's formidable dōkuriki; however, Uchiha Shizhi was different. As a powerful warrior possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan, she held an extremely profound understanding and recognition of the Sharingan itself.
When Uchiha Shizhi saw Shiyu Uchiha activate his Sharingan, she immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. Without delay, she quickly activated her own Mangekyo Sharingan and carefully observed Shiyu Uchiha's eyes.
She was certain that Shiyu Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan—the sensation of chakra inherently possessing strong Yin Release attributes was unmistakable.
Yet even more shocking to her was that she also detected a slightly peculiar Yang Release characteristic within Shiyu's chakra. This unusual phenomenon made her deeply curious, and secretly, she decided that after the match ended, she would definitely ask Shiyu Uchiha for clarification.
At this critical moment in the ongoing duel between the two siblings, Mikoto Uchiha, while closing in on Shiyu Uchiha, employed the [Triple Illusion Blade Slash] technique she had developed together under their mother's guidance—an innovative sword style combining blade arts with Genjutsu. First, a triple-comma Sharingan pattern appeared behind her back.
Then, in an instant, her figure split into three. These three figures wove through each other, skillfully utilizing [Genjutsu: Phantom Bloom – Phantom Moon], creating a dizzyingly confusing effect.
The moment Shiyu faced the technique, he immediately saw through its essence. If one looked carefully at this move, they would fall victim to the Sharingan's Genjutsu, causing delayed reaction time before inevitably being struck down; conversely, if one didn't observe it closely during such a crucial moment and attempted direct confrontation against this sword technique, effective defense would still prove impossible, equally leading to death.
In his opinion, the best methods would either be launching wide-area Ninjutsu attacks to cover and overwhelm, or rapidly retreating backward using the Shifting Body Technique to avoid the onslaught directly.
Shiyu Uchiha, having stronger dōkuriki than Mikoto Uchiha, could completely counteract this illusionary tactic and also possessed the ability to attempt locating her real body. Yet he chose not to do so because he refused to let Mikoto dictate the battle's flow, unwilling to act according to her strategy.
He clearly knew that Uchiha Shizhi's sword techniques, refined and evolved over many years, must have already reached a highly perfected state. It would be strange if there weren't any follow-up techniques prepared.
Therefore, Mikoto Uchiha certainly had more advanced offensive techniques to deal with him, and his best response was to disrupt her rhythm.
Of course, deep down, Shiyu Uchiha also had a bit of an urge to show off. As the saying goes, "Fuki without return—like fine silk worn in the dark." He wanted Uchiha Shizhi and the other one to see his accomplishments for themselves.
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