Chapter 91: Ambush (Part 3)
"Dance of the Crescent Moon? No... that's not right!"
Uchiha Yuu's eyes widened slightly in shock as three identical figures of Uchiha Kei suddenly appeared.
This technique—the Dance of the Crescent Moon—was infamous throughout Konoha!
The Dance of the Crescent Moon, a signature of the Leaf-Style Kenjutsu, was an ultimate technique created by the Second Hokage himself—an art capable of finishing an opponent with a single lethal strike.
Its power didn't lie purely in destruction—
But in the split-second confusion it created, overwhelming even those with Sharingan.
The Sharingan could usually distinguish clones from the real body, yes—
But even it struggled to make the perfect reaction in the heat of close-quarters combat.
Back in his prime, the Second Hokage must have used this technique to slay many Uchiha...
And that was exactly why Yuu's mind spun.
Was Uchiha Kei... already siding completely with the Hokage faction?
Otherwise, how could he possibly have learned such a blade technique?!
But even with all these doubts flashing through his mind, Yuu's instincts remained razor-sharp.
In the very instant of contact, he realized—
He'd been tricked!
This wasn't the true Dance of the Crescent Moon at all.
The clones Kei created weren't semi-solid shadow clones that could deal real damage.
They were nothing but simple illusions—basic clone technique.
The moment Yuu clashed with one, the clone dissolved into smoke, and he immediately spotted the real Uchiha Kei.
This move had never been intended to defeat him outright—
Its purpose was to create just the slightest hesitation at the most critical moment.
And that single heartbeat of confusion was enough to decide life and death!
Kei had planned it from the start.
He knew full well that a veteran like Yuu would have ways to deal with such tricks—
But now that Kei had closed the distance, the one at a disadvantage was him!
With a low snort, Kei's blade flared with chakra once more—
At the same time, his left hand burst into dazzling, crackling light.
Pure, concentrated lightning chakra gathered in his palm, filling the air with a deep, menacing hum.
Seeing this, Yuu's expression darkened.
He recognized that deadly glow immediately—
But even so, he stayed calm.
As Kei's thunderous palm closed in, Yuu made his move—
With a sharp twist of his body, he caught Kei's left wrist and prepared to snap it with sheer force.
Simultaneously, his other hand drove a kunai toward Kei's abdomen, while his eyes began to shimmer—
Prepping a genjutsu attack to shatter Kei's mind.
However—
The moment their gazes locked, Yuu's spirit wavered.
Just for an instant.
But it was enough.
With a sharp jerk, Kei ripped his hand free.
Then, using Shunshin (Body Flicker Technique), he vanished in a flash of speed—
Even though Yuu recovered instantly, he could already feel it:
The deadly presence of a blade slicing toward him from behind!
Yuu wasn't weak either—
In that hair's-breadth instant, he too unleashed a desperate Shunshin to dodge—
But even so, he couldn't completely avoid it.
A few sharp gashes opened across his body, blood staining his clothes.
"You..."
Yuu gasped for breath as he finally pulled away to a safe distance.
Staring at Kei, disbelief filled his eyes.
"That's impossible! You awakened it so recently—how can your genjutsu be that fast and that powerful?!"
"Hmph. Frog in a well."
Kei sneered coldly, offering no explanation.
He had no intention of wasting precious time answering the pquestions of the defeated.
It was rare for two Uchiha to rely heavily on genjutsu during a fight—
especially when they were evenly matched.
The Sharingan's resistance to illusions was simply too strong.
Even Uchiha Yuu, when planning to use genjutsu, only considered it after assuming Uchiha Kei would already be overwhelmed.
But what he didn't expect—
Was that Kei moved even faster than him!
In truth, Kei had been waiting for this exact moment.
His Sharingan was stronger than Yuu's, and that difference was enough to let Kei slip in a decisive strike.
The fight was grueling and draining, yes—But Kei needed it:
To protect his newly awakened eyes, to test his evolving abilities.
And now?
He had a rough gauge of his own limits.
Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Taking a deep breath, Kei quickly formed hand seals—
With Yuu already wounded, now was the time to keep pressing the attack!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
In an instant, a giant sphere of flames roared forth.
Almost simultaneously, Kei used Shunshin once again, flashing behind Yuu with his ninjatō sparking a fierce blue light.
Yuu reacted quickly despite his wounds—
His injuries were minor to him.
He immediately began forming hand seals for a counterattack—
But halfway through, he abruptly canceled the technique!
Because he realized:
Just like before, Kei wasn't aiming to damage him directly—
He was manipulating his judgment.
"Damn brat!" Yuu cursed inwardly,
Backing off at a sharp angle while thinking quickly:
If he can learn my methods, I'll just have to turn his tricks against him. But I need to be cautious… there's something odd about his eyes.
With that thought, Yuu suddenly twisted and hurled a kunai at impossible speed.
Kei easily deflected it—
Feeling a twinge of surprise, and then amusement.
He understood Yuu's intentions immediately.
But so what?
Kei wasn't copying Yuu mindlessly—
He was adapting, using borrowed techniques, layered with his own improvised counters.
No matter how skilled Yuu was, he couldn't fully adapt so quickly.
The battle raged on—
It almost felt as if their roles had been reversed.
The longer it dragged out, the more off-balance Yuu became.
Meanwhile, Kei grew even more aggressive with each exchange!
Ever since returning to Konoha, Kei had undergone intense strengthening and retraining.
And unlike on the battlefield, he wasn't struggling to ration his chakra anymore.
He was fighting at full strength—
Without fear.
All this time, he had cautiously assessed his limits.
But now—
He realized he had underestimated himself.
"Hmm?"
Kei's brow furrowed slightly.
A feedback pulse from a scouting clone he had left near the Konoha Police Headquarters came through—
Warning him:
The police force had sensed the disturbance and were already mobilizing troops this way!
This annoyed Kei.
He had finally found the perfect opponent to polish his fundamentals,
But it seemed his sparring match was about to be cut short.
"Tch. Guess that's enough for now." Kei sighed inwardly.
"I thought I had at least ten minutes. Looks like I still underestimated the Uchiha's reaction speed."
Just then—
"Getting distracted at a time like this?"
Yuu's voice sneered from behind him.
"You deserve to die, brat!"
A kunai stabbed toward him with wild, reckless ferocity.
But in the very next instant—
The crazed expression on Yuu's face froze.
The kunai passed straight through Kei's body—
An afterimage.
And behind him—
Steel pierced through his back.
"I told you,"
Kei's voice echoed coldly from behind him.
"You're boring. And arrogant."
Kei's figure shimmered into full clarity—
Both his eyes now gleaming with a strange, three-pronged rhombus pattern.