A crescent moon hangs in the night sky.
The cold light shines down, illuminating the quiet forest of the Uchiha compound, and casting a silver glow over the rippling surface of the Nanga River.
Nanhe Shrine.
Kakashi slipped silently into the area near the shrine. It wasn't difficult—most of the Uchiha were gathered inside for the clan assembly.
But the real problem lay ahead.
How could he infiltrate the shrine's secret chamber without being detected? To eavesdrop on the clan's high council without a single Uchiha sensing him was nearly impossible.
This mission was a true nightmare.
Just as Kakashi crouched in the shadows of an old tree, calculating his odds, his visible eye suddenly sharpened.
Two figures emerged from the shrine in succession.
—Uchiha Duan and Uchiha Shisui.
And then, like a tide breaking loose, dozens more Uchiha streamed out, forming a gathering of more than fifty in the shrine's courtyard.
What? The meeting ended already?
Kakashi's first thought was that he had arrived too late. But then he noticed the arrangement.
The clan had formed a wide circle, leaving the center open—where only Duan and Shisui now stood, facing each other with several meters between them.
So this isn't dispersal… it's a duel.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, his instincts screaming that what was about to happen was far more important than any overheard words. He raised his forehead protector, the scarlet Sharingan glinting in the moonlight, and suppressed his chakra until even the surrounding insects would not notice him.
---
Within the circle, Uchiha Izumi carefully slipped closer through the crowd until she stood beside Itachi.
"Quan, don't be distracted." Itachi's voice was calm but firm, his eyes already burning with the triple tomoe of the Sharingan. "In the battle you're about to witness, you must see everything clearly. It will teach you more than a hundred lessons could."
Izumi nodded nervously, eyes wide.
For Itachi, there was no doubt: the fight between Shisui and his uncle Duan would decide the question of who stood at the absolute summit of the Uchiha clan.
---
Not far away, Mikoto stared at her brother's back, her face full of unease. She turned to Fuyue with visible anger.
"Why aren't you stopping him? How can Duan possibly stand against Shisui?"
"Calm yourself." Fuyue's voice was deep, his expression unreadable. "If things go too far, I will intervene. And do not underestimate your brother—he is not as simple as you think."
The patriarch's words carried both reassurance and quiet calculation. Mikoto was gentle, but her blind faith in her brother's fragility irked him. She truly doesn't see what he has become.
---
In the center, Shisui raised his voice. "Shall we begin?"
"Come." Duan's tone was steady, his posture unshaken.
There was no need for more words. Both men understood the other's resolve.
The time for talking is over.
---
Shisui moved first.
With the Sharingan flashing, he unleashed a surge of ocular genjutsu, identical to the one that had crippled Yashiro moments before. If Duan fell prey to illusion immediately, the contest would be over before it began.
Duan had anticipated this.
His black pupils spun into scarlet, three tomoe swirling with controlled menace. Against the pressure of Shisui's gaze, he stood unmoved, like a mountain rooted to the earth.
A murmur spread through the onlookers.
Even Shisui himself tilted his head slightly in surprise. He had layered his kaleidoscope's power into the genjutsu, yet Duan had resisted without faltering.
Fuyue's eyes glinted. So it's true… his physical power shields his chakra flow from disruption. Just as with the Senju of old—when strength of body blunts the edge of illusion.
But it wasn't only brute force. Duan's Sharingan was unorthodox, its growth fueled not by tragedy but by joy and triumph—his years of relentless training and breakthroughs in physical mastery. Combined with the Yin Release–based Phantom Body Technique he had developed over a decade, Duan had become both wall and blade, merging illusion and taijutsu into something new.
---
Shisui frowned slightly. "You… won't even draw a weapon?"
"No need." Duan flexed his hands, his voice calm. "My body is the sharpest weapon I possess."
Shisui exhaled once, then drew his kodachi. The steel gleamed cold under the moon, before flames suddenly erupted along its edge.
Uchiha-ryū: Ken no Engetsu.
The fire-coated blade burned hotter as Shisui charged, his figure splitting into blurs of motion. In a flash, he was at Duan's flank, stabbing with deadly precision.
CLANG.
Duan's bare arm swung like iron, knocking the flaming blade aside. Sparks showered the ground as Shisui was forced back several meters.
Undeterred, Shisui struck again. And again. Each movement faster, more precise, more furious. His blade wove a web of fire and steel.
Yet Duan remained where he stood, turning each strike with nothing but hardened flesh and uncanny timing.
The crowd of Uchihas held their breath as their two brightest warriors clashed.
---
Shisui's swordsmanship, blending fire and wind chakra, was legendary—capable of slicing clean through enemy steel. Against most shinobi, flesh and bone would have parted like paper.
But on Duan's forearms, only blackened scorch marks appeared. His muscle-fortified body absorbed the blows, leaving him standing unbroken.
So it can wound him… but not defeat him, Shisui realized grimly. He poured more chakra into the blade. Flames roared as he blurred behind Duan in an instant, his strongest technique unleashed.
Uchiha-ryū: Bakuen no Tachi!
The half-moon arc of fire screamed down on Duan's exposed back.
But Duan only inhaled deeply, muscles swelling. His shirt tore apart, revealing the grotesque "oni face" formed by his writhing back muscles. As the flaming strike landed—
BOOM.
The fireblade shattered into a rain of sparks, unable to cut deeper than the wall of living flesh. The oni-face twisted, mocking its would-be slayer.
Gasps rose from the clan. Even Shisui's eyes widened in disbelief.
---
Duan moved.
He stepped forward, palm flashing out in a deceptively simple slap.
Shisui instinctively flickered away with his instant body technique—speed is untouchable, the creed of every shinobi who mastered it. Yet as his gaze locked on Duan's hand, his vision blurred.
The palm vibrated at impossible frequencies, trailing illusory afterimages.
Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique.
For a split second, Shisui's senses faltered. His body lagged behind his mind.
Duan's palm was already upon him.
Desperate, Shisui twisted, driving his burning blade toward that looming hand.
SNAP.
Duan's palm clamped down, the "tongue of an ox" swallowing steel. With one contemptuous flex, Shisui's kodachi shattered into fragments that rained to the ground.
The sword that had carved countless enemies was gone—reduced to scrap in a heartbeat.
Shisui's eyes narrowed. He leapt back twenty meters, putting distance between them, chest rising and falling.
Duan did not pursue. He simply stood, his massive frame outlined by moonlight, eyes locked on his opponent.
The battle was not finished. But the balance of power had shifted.