The quiet whispering between the two girls ended.
Now—
the real battle began.
A battle of eyes and genjutsu.
Uchiha Kaedei had never expected this outcome.
After hearing that Uchiha Mikoto would participate in this exam, Kaedei had been so overwhelmed with excitement and resentment that the pressure she'd carried for years finally awakened her single-tomoe Sharingan.
Yet now—
Mikoto had surpassed her.
And judging from what she said earlier, Mikoto's Sharingan might not even have awakened later than her own.
Jealousy burned in Kaedei's eyes like raging flames.
Her gaze clashed against Mikoto's calm stare.
"Demonic Illusion: Hypnosis Eye!"
Mikoto responded instantly.
"Demonic Illusion: Hypnosis Eye!"
Their ocular power and chakra collided, attacking each other's consciousness.
To outsiders, the two girls simply appeared to be staring deeply at one another.
But to experienced shinobi—
like Yūhi Shinku, Uchiha Keishin, Orochimaru, and the other veteran jōnin—
it was obvious.
This was a genjutsu duel.
Inside the Illusion
The environment warped violently.
Colors twisted.
Figures around them grew large and small like hallucinations from poisonous mushrooms.
Only one thing remained unchanged—
The figure standing before each of them.
Mikoto.
Kaedei.
"You can't beat me, Mikoto," Kaedei said through clenched teeth.
"Why do this, Kaedei?" Mikoto sighed softly.
"We're both Uchiha."
"Fighting like this in the exam hall will only make us look ridiculous."
"Heh."
Kaedei ignored her completely.
She began pouring out the resentment she had carried for years.
"You're the granddaughter of an Uchiha elder."
"You've enjoyed the best treatment in the clan since birth."
"And what about people like us?!"
The distorted environment split in half.
Kaedei's side of the illusion began pressing toward Mikoto's side.
"I have to prove myself just to get the resources I want!"
"I have to fight for every bit of recognition!"
"And you?"
"You just say you're Uchiha Kenshi's granddaughter and everything falls into your lap!"
"Ninjutsu."
"Wealth."
"Status."
"You had everything from the beginning!"
For once, Mikoto didn't respond with her usual noble arrogance.
Without realizing it, she had begun copying Bai Xing's calm expression.
"I've worked hard too."
"You just didn't see it."
"Hard work?"
Kaedei sneered.
With a wave of her hand, a new scene appeared in the illusion.
Like a window opening through layers of chaotic paint.
Inside the window—
A clear memory.
It showed Mikoto as a child.
Even as a little girl, she was beautiful.
With her status and talent, many adults encouraged their children to get close to her.
From childhood onward—
Mikoto had always been surrounded by admiration.
Then the scene changed.
Mikoto at the Ninja Academy.
A young Uchiha boy confessed to her at the school gate.
She rejected him and called him childish.
But the boy didn't give up.
He declared he would keep trying.
Kaedei had seen that scene just a few days after being defeated by Mikoto two years ago.
At first she thought Mikoto must have worked incredibly hard.
But when she saw how popular Mikoto was—
Jealousy consumed her.
They were both Uchiha.
So why—
Why could Mikoto go to the Ninja Academy?
Why could she experience friendships, confessions, laughter?
While Kaedei…
Was stuck in the clan's harsh internal training system.
No romance.
No cheerful daily life.
Just endless drills.
Punishment whenever she slowed down.
A numb, exhausting existence.
"Two years ago," Kaedei said quietly.
"I was twelve."
"I had already spent a year in the Konoha Police Force."
"I thought that if I worked hard enough…"
"I would gain recognition from my elders."
"And admiration from my peers."
She stepped closer to Mikoto, her face twisted.
"But I got nothing."
"Nothing at all!"
"No matter how hard I worked, the elders said my ability was ordinary!"
"Not even close to the clan's top ranks!"
"Especially compared to the genius academy student Mikoto!"
"And all because…"
"Two years ago."
"I lost to you."
"You didn't just win that match."
"You ruined my life!"
Kaedei clutched her hair wildly.
"I could have become a young, promising chūnin."
"Do you know what my captain told me when I applied?"
Mikoto frowned.
"What did he say?"
Kaedei raised her Sharingan.
Another tomoe appeared in one eye.
"He said…"
"If I couldn't even defeat a genin like you…"
"Then becoming a chūnin would be too difficult."
"Tell me!"
"How am I inferior to you?!"
Her chakra and ocular power surged like a tsunami.
The distorted world began swallowing Mikoto's shrinking illusion space.
"Mikoto."
"Everyone's life…"
"Is in their own hands."
"Liar!"
Kaedei shouted.
Wind howled through the illusion world.
Mikoto's vision blurred.
Kaedei's twisted grin filled her sight.
"You're saying that because you're about to lose!"
"I finally get to beat you!"
"I finally—"
At that moment—
Mikoto saw flashes of faces in her mind.
Nono.
Dai.
And standing behind them—
Bai Xing.
Her eyes spun rapidly.
Her resolve hardened.
"I…"
"I will not betray my teammates' faith and fall here!"
Suddenly—
Mikoto's illusion world stabilized.
Her clear voice rang beside Kaedei.
"There are many unfair things in this world."
"Is my talent really that great?"
The tomoe in her eyes changed.
Her Sharingan evolved into two tomoe.
"My talent isn't that amazing."
"At least…"
"I don't think I'm better than my teacher, Bai Xing."
Kaedei stared at those eyes in despair.
Then she laughed mockingly.
"What, praising your genin teacher now?"
"Trying to prove your own talent?"
"What's impressive about surpassing a genin?"
Mikoto shook her head.
"That's not what I meant."
"I meant…"
"I'm not as good as him."
Kaedei fell silent.
She had misunderstood.
"Teacher Bai Xing wasn't born into the Uchiha clan."
"He's not even from a ninja family."
"He grew up in an orphanage."
"Yet he still used his own talent to create many interesting jutsu."
"Even if they're not especially powerful…"
"Most ninja still couldn't do that."
"So what?" Kaedei muttered.
"You still don't understand?"
Mikoto looked at her seriously.
"Birth only determines our starting point."
"It doesn't decide our destination."
Kaedei's expression slowly changed.
"Until the end…"
"No one knows who the true genius will be."
"Kaedei."
"No matter whether you understand my words or not."
Mikoto's voice softened.
"Compared to many people in this world—even in this village…"
"Your starting point is already something others envy."
"So…"
Mikoto raised her hand and gently placed it on Kaedei's head.
She patted it softly.
"Let's both work hard."
"And become the geniuses who stand at the end."
"Okay?"
BOOM!
The illusion shattered.
Only a few seconds had passed in the real world.
In the exam hall—
Kaedei's face was filled with exhaustion.
Mikoto looked only slightly better.
But their eyes—
Made Uchiha Keishin gasp in shock.
Two pairs of two-tomoe Sharingan.
Whether it was:
an 11-year-old with two tomoe, or
a 14-year-old with two tomoe
Both were considered rare geniuses within the Uchiha clan.
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