The air in Training Ground 40 was alive with tension. The moon slowly peeking out behind the clouds, casting silver streaks on the clearing where Shisui stood, relaxed, a gentle smile tugging his lips. Opposite him, Itachi and Enji readied themselves, their stances sharp and focused.
"The rules are simple," Shisui said, twirling a kunai lazily before slipping it back into his pouch. "No tools, no destructive ninjutsu. Little Sasuke is watching ,we don't want any dangerous things thrown around."
Itachi gave a respectful nod. Enji rolled his shoulders, his strong arms in front, his legs slightly bent, ready to explode with power.
"Let's begin." The moment Shisui whispered, his figure rushed forward.
Enji glanced at Itachi, who nodded and rushed forward to meet him. Itachi stayed behind,watching, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Shisui sent a straight jab at Enji's ribs which he swatted away with ease and send a straight fist of his own towards Shisui.
Shisui blocked the fist with his forearms, his lips twitching at the unexpected strength behind the blow.
Enji kept the pressure with a flurry of rapid strikes, but Shisui blocked and countered them with ease.
Seeing that Enji had such speed and strength, Shisui too stopped holding back, and increased his speed easily matching Enji.
Sasuke watched from afar, as Enji's and Shisui's arms blurred, the thuds of impact echoing across the training ground.
' Too fast, i can't see anything! This guy and Nii san are only genins, and this strong?' The young Sasuke thought dumbfounded.
The exchanges between Enji and Shisui were getting more heated and rapid, but Itachi still waited, searching for the perfect moment, to land a critical strike.
Enji seeing his each strike perfectly blocked, decided to change his tactics.
Instead of punches and kicks, he started to look for a chance to hold Shisui in place, giving the perfect oppertunity for Itachi to strike.
Shisui send a kick to Enji's ribs, expecting him to dodge it, but to his surprise Enji tanked the kick and clamped his legs under his armpit.
He then swung his legs towards Shisui's other leg, trying to sweep him off balance.
Shisui, already a experienced veteran, saw through it instantly.
He instantly jumped, while midair twisted his body, using his free leg to kick towards Enji's face.
But as soon as Shisui jumped, Enji released the hold on Shisui legs and ducked down.
Shisui, while midair, saw Itachi arrive at the perfect time,with a perfectly timed kick towards his belly.
Shisui immediately crossed his hands in front to block the kick, and was sent flying.
He twisted in midair, and landed gracefully on his feet.
" That was nice teamwork, good job guys. Now let's step up the difficulty a bit. What do you guys say?"
Itachi and Enji nodded seriously.
The moonlight that had bathed the training ground in silver dimmed suddenly as a veil of clouds drifted across the sky. For a moment the clearing was swallowed in gloom - until two crimson orbs flared to life. Shisui's Sharingan pierced through the darkness, glowing like embers in the silhouette of his frame, sharp and unblinking, like a predator waiting to strike.
Seeing the silhouette of Shisui with the red glowing sharingan Enji immediately lowered his gaze, towards Shisui's shoulder, not looking directly at the eyes.
' Man, the red glowing eyes in the dark is truly unsettling. Tsk! Now I have to avoid looking at his eyes.'
He now understood how troublesome it was to fight an Uchiha.
"I'm coming"
Shisui warned as his Body Flicker left behind three flickering afterimages. Itachi's eyes tried to track them, but all he could see was three identical figures.
One of them rushed towards Itachi, while the other two were already upon Enji. Enji barely raised his arm in time, blocking a heavy strike to his ribs.
"Fast!" Enji muttered, countering with a straight punch that passed through an afterimage. The real Shisui was already two steps aside, his palm aimed at Itachi's neck.
Itachi somehow blocked the palm and was sent sliding back.
' These are not clones, but afterimages!. He is using body flicker in a fight? That too with such ease and accuracy . Even though his Sharingan helps him react to such a fast speed, preventing tunnel vision, his body still has to bear the strain. He has truly perfected this jutsu. No wonder he's known as Shisui the teleporter.'
Enji tried sensing for the original Shisui, but found his chakra alternating between the afterimage clones at insane speed.
He had no time to think anymore as Shisui was getting faster.
Shisui flickered behind Enji, kicking towards his neck. Enji suddenly felt some disturbance in his chakra, his enhanced senses alerting him instantly.
He pulsed his chakra, to find the kick aimed at his neck had shifted downwards, lower than he expected.
' Genjutsu too?'
Enji steeled himself for the blow, but Itachi arrived at the perfect time,with a slap, sending the kick sideways, narrowly dodging Enji. Both of them flickered back, gaining some distance from Shisui.
" Good reaction Enji kun,detecting the Genjutsu. And Itachi, good support." Shisui praised with a gentle smile.
Enji calmed down, gathering his focus, the surroundings slowed down, every movement in the training ground not escaping his senses.
He lowered his gaze, not looking at the striking red Sharingan, and saw Shisui's finger twitch.
'He's coming'
Enji's mind reacted in a instant, telling him of the trajectory of the strike and he conjured a gaurd in the nick of time to block the strike.
' Shit! My mind can react, but my body can't keep up with it.'
Shisui's afterimages increased to four, as he honed in with precision.
Itachi and Enji could only endure a passive beating as they struggled to keep up with the speed.
Their coordination improved as the fight went on, Enji tanking and blocking the hits, while Itachi used that moment to counterattack until they managed to repel Shisui.
The flurry escalated.
Enji swung with powerful, grounded strikes, forcing Shisui to redirect or slip past them.
Each time Shisui flickered, Enji would throw his body into the path, tanking the blows with gritted teeth.
Itachi circled, precise and calm, his attacks aimed for Shisui's blind spots, riding the openings Enji created.
At one point, Enji caught Shisui's wrist mid-strike, locking him just long enough for Itachi to drive a kick into his side. Shisui spun with the hit, rolling out gracefully. Enji followed with a punch that send Shisui flying into the forest surrounding the ground.
Sasuke, watching from a boulder, clenched his fists in awe. "Enji… he's taking all those hits for Itachi..."
Shisui emerged from the forest ,flickered forward, his image scattering. Enji squinted, deactivating his wieghted seals in a sudden rush of chakra. His speed spiked - he intercepted a blow meant for Itachi, taking it on his shoulder. His counterpunch forced Shisui to actually block.
"Whoa," Shisui chuckled, shaking the sting out of his arm. "Have you been fighting with weights all this time Enji kun? Keeping up with my speed with weights on, that is remarkable."
Enji smirked through the sweat. " You can go even faster, right?And still you're making me work for every breath."
Shisui smiled, not replying.
Itachi stepped in, his expression as calm as ever. "We'll need to tighten our timing, Enji. I'll bait. You cover."
"Got it."
The fight turned into a storm of movement. Both the genins kept close to Shisui preventing him form using body flicker.
Enji intercepted kicks with his forearms, redirecting them just enough for Itachi to exploit.
Shisui slipped past Itachi's blows ,only to find Enji adjusting his stance to close gaps.
Shisui immediately sent a straight jab towards itachi's head. Itachi with incredible agilty bend backwards, dodging the jab, planted his hands on the ground, did a kickup and went for a punch to the throat.
At the same time Enji flickered behind Shisui, sending a low kick towards his legs, trying to prevent his Body flicker, forcing Shisui to break his rhythm.
Finally, Shisui swept low, knocking Itachi to the ground, but Enji's legs slammed into him.
Itachi's and Enji's eyes widened as Shisui's figure burst into puff of smoke.
" Shadow clone! "
Enji turned around to see Shisui emerge from behind the tree where Sasuke sat while Sasuke sat there with his mouth open in surprise, speechless.
Itachi staggered back, chest heaving. He was the first to tire. Enji, though still standing, was drenched in sweat, his body peppered with bruises. His breath came heavy but steady.
Shisui raised a hand. "Enough. That's more than enough."
"When did you switch? " Itachi asked curiously.
"When he was sent flying into the forest." Enji replied after analysing the battle , turning to Shisui for confirmation.
" Yeah, I used the chance to switch," Shisui admitted.
Enji continued " I didn't try sensing the surroundings, since it's only a spar."
" It's better to be always alert to your surroundings, but no need to bother since we are safe inside the village. But be careful when you go out for missions." Shisui, being the senior, advised.
'Ha, the irony, Shisui, your biggest enemy is inside the village ,not outside.' Enji lamented in his mind while Itachi nodded.
Shisui moved forward, his Sharingan dimming, took out bandages and ointments from his pouch and gave some to Enji and Itachi.
While they were bandaging the wounds and applying medicine,Shisui said warmly -
"You two are incredible,
Itachi, you're as sharp as they say. And Enji… I didn't expect this stamina, or this strength. You both are way stronger than any genin.
Itachi you should start training with weapons and also try weight training like Enji."
Then he faced Enji -
"Enji you should not always tank blows using your body. Only try it in dire situations. Your body is very strong and resilient, but it can leave hidden injuries. So be careful.
You should also choose a suitable weapon. "
" Once you both have sufficient mastery of at least 2 weapons, you can expand your jutsu repertoire."
Enji nodded, thanking Shisui for his advice.
Enji then with a mischievous smile, poked Sasuke
" If I hadn't stepped up, someone's brother might have got beaten up, isn't it Sasuke?"
Sasuke crossed his arms, glaring at Enji. "Don't get cocky. Once Nii san has his Sharingan, we'll see who is stronger."
Itachi placed a hand gently on his brother's head, silencing him with a calm smile. Shisui burst into laughter seeing the banter.
They parted ways soon after, the night air cooling their sweat as they walked back toward the village. Sasuke still threw glares at Enji's back, while Shisui and itachi discussed and analysed the fight, seeking areas of improvement.