The wind howled through the valley, as if cheering on the deathmatch that was about to unfold.
Uchiha Naoki wasted no time. With his Sharingan activated, the advantage was entirely his. He charged forward, the speed of an Anbu member elevated to a new level by his ability to read Kenji's movements in advance.
Kenji and his clone attacked in unison. One high, one low, one from the left, one from the right—a perfect pincer attack. But to the Sharingan, they were just slow, predictable movements.
Naoki dodged under the clone's kick while simultaneously using the back of his hand to swat away the real Kenji's kunai. He moved with a fluid precision, accurate down to the centimeter. Kenji's every action seemed to be laid bare in the palm of his hand.
"It's useless, Kageyama," Naoki said, his tone filled with the confidence of a superior. "These eyes see through everything. You don't stand a chance."
He took a step back, his hands flying through seals. The complex hand signs were performed at a dizzying speed.
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!)
A massive fireball, the signature of the Uchiha clan, erupted from Naoki's mouth. Its tremendous heat distorted the air around it. The flames illuminated the entire valley, turning the dancing shadows into demons.
Kenji's clone had no time to dodge; it was swallowed by the flames and vanished in a puff of white smoke. The real Kenji had to use all his speed, rolling behind a large boulder. The heat was still intense against his back.
This was the power of a Kekkei Genkai. A C-rank jutsu, but with the talent of an Uchiha, it carried the power of a B-rank technique. Kenji knew he couldn't win a battle of attrition.
I have to create a situation he can't predict.
Kenji peeked out from behind the boulder. Naoki was already there, as if he knew exactly where and when Kenji would appear. A devastating kick from Naoki forced Kenji to throw up his arms to block. The impact sent him flying several meters.
"You see?" Naoki approached, his expression as amused as a cat playing with a mouse. "You're just an ordinary man, relying on cheap tricks. I was born with real power."
Kenji coughed, but there was no fear in his eyes. Only intense focus. He glanced quickly across the battlefield, his brain analyzing at the speed of a machine. The wind. The rocks. The remaining tripwires.
He got to his feet and charged Naoki again. Naoki smirked, preparing for another round of torture. He foresaw Kenji's punch, foresaw his line of movement.
But there was one thing he didn't see.
As Kenji rushed forward, his foot lightly stepped on a tripwire he had intentionally placed there. The wire wasn't connected to a trap. It was connected to another kunai hidden in a rock crevice. The pull from Kenji's foot sent the kunai flying out, aimed not at Naoki, but at a rock above him.
CLANG!
The kunai struck the rock and ricocheted at a completely unexpected angle, flying towards Naoki.
Naoki's Sharingan could predict Kenji's movements, but it couldn't calculate the ricochet trajectory of an inanimate object in such a chaotic, windy environment. He was forced to lean back to dodge.
And that was the thousandth-of-a-second opening Kenji needed.
As soon as Naoki had dodged the stray kunai, Kenji was right in front of him. He didn't throw a punch. He channeled the last of his chakra, a minuscule amount but compressed to its absolute limit, into the tip of the kunai in his hand.
Chakra Nagashi! (Chakra Flow!)
The tip of the kunai glowed with a faint blue light. It was no longer a blunt weapon, but a sharp scalpel.
The attack was too close, too fast, and too unexpected. The Sharingan saw it, but Naoki's body couldn't react perfectly. He only had time to slightly turn his torso.
SLASH!
The chakra blade didn't pierce Naoki's heart. It sliced a deep gash across his right arm, severing tendons and muscle.
"AAAAA!" Naoki screamed in pain, the kunai in his hand clattering to the ground. He clutched his bloody arm and staggered back, his crimson eyes glaring at Kenji with hatred and disbelief.
Kenji stood there, panting. He had won. With willpower, calculation, and experience.
"Why, Naoki?" Kenji growled, approaching the traitor. "Why would you do it? The Uchiha clan and the Leaf Village... we are comrades."
Naoki laughed, a crazed sound. "Comrades? You call being suspected, monitored, and pushed to the fringe 'comrades'? The Leaf only sees us as tools! They fear our power! They fear these eyes!"
He looked up at Kenji, the hatred in his eyes hotter than any Fire Style. "I did this for my clan! To show the Leaf that without the Uchiha, they are nothing but insects. When the Stone Village wins, the Uchiha's position will be re-established. I am doing this for a real future for my clan!"
"By betraying and murdering your own villagers?" Kenji spat. "That is not the path of a shinobi!"
"What do you know!" Naoki roared. He looked at Kenji with a final, defiant glare. "You may have won against me, but you have already lost."
Kenji frowned. "What do you mean?"
Naoki didn't answer. He just looked up at the top of the cliff behind Kenji and smiled.
Kenji felt it before he heard it. A multitude of powerful chakra signatures suddenly appeared. On the ridges of the canyon, dozens of figures of Hidden Stone ninja emerged, standing silhouetted against the sunset.
Leading them was a tall Jounin in an iron mask.
Karasu had called for reinforcements beforehand. He had prepared an escape route for himself, or a shared grave for them both.
Kenji had won the duel. But he had fallen into an even bigger trap. He was surrounded, exhausted, and facing an entire platoon.