HSU: Ch. 315

Whether in the past, present, or future, Madara was probably the most arrogant man in the entire shinobi world.

Just standing there, he gave off a strong vibe of: "I just love seeing you want to kill me but not having the guts because you're scared I'll kill you instead."

And now, as he sat down, within a ten-meter radius, no one wanted to get close, except for a bunch of Uchiha.

Although he usually stayed within the Uchiha compound and rarely went out, he did occasionally take a stroll. This gave the Uchiha clan plenty of chances to get to know this legendary clan head, who was said to represent the pinnacle of the Uchiha.

Everyone's conclusion: Madara was absurdly tsundere.

The classic type, he might have something good to say, but the moment he opened his mouth, it turned into sarcasm.

Getting him to say something nice was harder than killing him.

Still, no one minded. In fact, they found it kind of endearing.

It was a traditional thing.

All in all, thanks to his natural "everyone get the hell away from me" aura, the area around him in the spectator stands was completely filled with Uchiha, no outsiders at all.

Every Uchiha who arrived first greeted him respectfully.

Madara didn't change his posture, but he still gave a grunt of acknowledgment, "Mm."

The only exception was when Fugaku greeted him.

No "Mm," just a heavy snort.

As for the seats beside him, Sasuke was on his left, and Yosuke was on his right.

For ninja kids, ninja games were a must during childhood. It wasn't optional.

And now, they got to watch real ninja battles.

All the ninjas with kids brought them along, which made the stands a bit noisy.

But most of the kids had clustered around Madara.

The adults respected him, but the kids were split into two camps.

The well-behaved kids were afraid of him, because he didn't like well-behaved kids. When he saw them, his face turned sour.

On the contrary, he was nicer to the rowdy ones. The more mischievous the kid, the better his mood. So the rowdy ones weren't afraid of him.

To be honest, even for other Uchiha, sitting next to Madara was stressful, but kids didn't care about that.

As for the adults, many secretly hoped that their child would catch the clan leader's eye and get some mentorship. Yosuke's special treatment made a lot of clan members jealous, and they wished their own kids could be that lucky.

But right now, Madara wasn't even thinking in that direction.

As for the Uchiha clan, yes, he did have a much higher tolerance for them compared to outsiders, after all, he used to be the leader of the clan. And his deceased loved ones all genuinely believed he could protect their people.

To the Uchiha of the Warring States period, protecting the clan leader only one method: beat everyone so hard that no one dared to even speak against them. That was how the clan would be safe.

But the existence of Hashirama made that dream impossible. So they settled for second best, team up with the Senju and beat everyone else into submission.

The Uchiha, deep down, had always looked down on anyone who wasn't a Senju.

Time, however, had mellowed the clan's arrogance. Now they were much more normal.

But time didn't mellow Madara.

From beginning to now, his core beliefs had never changed. His path to achieving them had just been... rocky.

At first, he wanted to protect his loved ones, but, as everyone knew, they all died.

So then it became protecting the clan, but, as everyone knew, the clan stopped understanding him.

And his only friend, Hashirama, put the village above all else.

With no family, no understanding clan, and no friend who shared his vision, Madara was left with no one to protect.

But Madara lived by the motto: "Screw sleep, let's go nuts."

He'd always been the type to create problems if there weren't any, or manufacture difficulties to overcome. So he adjusted his goal again, based on reality.

Achieve world peace.

Because he realized that just dealing with ninjas wasn't enough, he had to deal with everyone.

Although he no longer believed in people, wiping out all humanity wasn't a real solution either, that would defeat the purpose. That was when he read about the "Eye of the Moon" on the stone tablet, and naturally, it caught his eye.

It was perfect, like someone giving you a pillow when you were dozing off.

Look! No need to kill everyone, and everyone got to play in their own personal dream world.

World peace, perfectly achieved!

Too perfect! Too beautiful! Just his style!

World peace, clan protected, and even his only friend could have his dreams fulfilled in that illusion.

A dream, literally "dreaming your dream," how poetic.

If anything went wrong, it was that he underestimated how long it would take to gain Hashirama's power, and Hashirama died a bit too early.

But no matter, that was what Edo Tensei was for, right?

He'd already made plans. For the vessel of his Rinnegan, he'd raise and prepare one, just like he did with Obito back in the day. When the time was right, he'd control the vessel and use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.

That way, the eyes were restored, his best friend and his most hated enemy both came back to life, truly something to celebrate.

Before Tobirama got pinned to a tree again, Madara would absolutely give him a good beating first. That was non-negotiable.

His plan remained flawless, no problems at all.

From now on, there would be no more tragedy in this world.

Oh wait, except for Tobirama. Everyone else would have happy endings in their dreams. Their dreams would all be comedies.

Tobirama's dreams, though, those would definitely be tragedies.

That damn Tobirama only deserved nightmares!

But he still deserved a proper end.

Even if he was that damn Tobirama, he was once someone who strove toward the same dream. That deserved acknowledgment.

As for Madara himself, he only sought not to have a proper end.

Suddenly, a cheer erupted from the stadium. It came from the Sarutobi faction's ninjas.

His gaze dropped slightly toward the arena.

Kakashi had appeared in full battle attire. He looked almost exactly like Sakumo back in the day. Except for one thing, he wasn't carrying a short blade on his back.

"Hm?" Madara raised an eyebrow. He noticed something about Kakashi's eyes... And he wasn't the only one who noticed.

Masashi and Shisui saw it too.

"Kakashi's eye?"

"Yeah, he took it out. I suppose he wants to fight Itachi purely as 'the son of the White Fang.'"

That actually made sense. On the surface, this battle was to determine whether the Sharingan would be returned now or only after Kakashi's death. If it became a Sharingan-vs-Sharingan duel, no matter who won, rumors would spread that Kakashi had always been power-hungry for the Sharingan's abilities.

That wouldn't align with Kakashi's values, and it wouldn't benefit the Sarutobi faction either.

"But… won't that weaken Kakashi's strength?" Shisui asked.

The Kakashi he was familiar with had long been known as "the hero with the Sharingan," not "the White Fang's son."

But in practical terms, beyond the unique powers of the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Sharingan hadn't really provided him with much of an edge in a long time. And using Mangekyō techniques made him a "glass cannon."

"No, it'll make him stronger," Masashi replied.

The old Kakashi needed the Sharingan's insight to safely execute Chidori, but that was when he was twelve and his body hadn't matured, he needed an external aid.

Now? Not anymore.

Without the burden of maintaining the Sharingan, he could finally show his true strength. Most importantly, he wouldn't need to alter his combat style just because the eye was gone.

Sakumo was famous for his blade, Earth Release techniques, high-speed movement, and lightning-fast swordplay.

Kakashi's combat core had always been Earth Release and Chidori.

At its core, Chidori was a fast blade, a fusion of lightning style and instantaneous movement.

Only lower-ranking ninjas ever focused on how many jutsu he'd copied. That copying skill mainly served to let him master every chakra nature. Now, he was a full-spectrum ninja, with a much wider tactical toolbox.

And as for the biggest complaint, his stamina, or rather, his chakra reserves... Without the constant burden of maintaining the Mangekyō Sharingan for over a decade, his chakra now easily exceeded even that of his teacher.

"This version of Kakashi… might just be his true form," Masashi concluded. "Looks like this match is on."

"Now that you say that, I'm actually looking forward to it," Shisui grinned.

Sparring between comrades should be evenly matched, that was what made it worth watching.

He had been worried Kakashi might get seriously hurt. He swore that before Masashi began training Itachi, the kid's skillset was still fairly normal.

Now? Itachi had been so thoroughly twisted by Masashi that he barely recognized him.

But if Kakashi was bringing the heat too, then everything would be just fine.

"Oh, Itachi's here too!"

Someone in the Uchiha family seating area suddenly shouted.

In an instant, dozens, maybe hundreds, of Sharingan eyes snapped to look in the same direction.

Itachi had appeared from the other entrance, also clad in full gear.

He was carrying a short blade on his back.

"That look, isn't that the outfit you used to like?" Shisui said, a little jealous. "He used to be lazy about it. Why's he imitating you and not me?"

"Caught up in appearances, huh?" Masashi gave him a sidelong glance. "And that blade's useless anyway. Who knows what Itachi's thinking."

After Kakashi's original blade broke, he never replaced it.

Once you had a decent chakra pool, unless it was a Six Paths-level tool, melee weapons just weren't as useful as ninjutsu.

Once Masashi developed his own Sage Mode-style armor, he never bought another blade again.

Waste of money.

By now, Itachi and Kakashi had walked within arm's reach of each other in the arena.

"Kakashi-senpai, you've removed the Sharingan?" Itachi asked as he looked at his opponent. "That's the right choice, just what I'd expect from you."

"Itachi, you'd better not underestimate me," Kakashi replied. "Just bring out your full strength today."

Looking at Itachi standing so close, he felt... It felt good.

Like someone who had been carrying a heavy burden for so long suddenly dropping all the weight.

He hadn't felt this way in ages.

To be able to develop a jutsu like Chidori as a chunin, besides his deep understanding of chakra and ninja theory, it was also because of his naturally abundant chakra reserves.

In fact, Kakashi had more chakra than most people since childhood.

And Chidori was a jutsu that consumed a lot of chakra.

Now, his left eye had been replaced with a normal one. Finally, he could see with both eyes again. It felt much better than he expected.

Years of living with only one Sharingan eye had trained his dynamic vision to a high level. He also became very skilled at using limited visual range to avoid blind spots.

Now, just a little chakra refining, and his body was already overflowing with chakra, and all of it stayed in his body instead of being constantly drained to support the Sharingan. This was an incredibly comfortable state for him.

It had been years, but now he could finally free up most of his chakra again.

"Please don't be so impatient," Itachi said, sensing Kakashi's fighting spirit. He felt underestimated.

That fired him up as well.

After all, this was the man who became a jonin at the age of 12, a record that no one in the history of Konoha had broken since the official ranking system for ninjas was established.

There may have been political elements involved in that promotion, but Kakashi's brilliance was beyond question.

Even political decisions required someone worthy.

The two stared at each other from where they stood. Itachi had not activated his Sharingan yet. He needed to manage his chakra carefully. The three-tomoe Sharingan had high chakra consumption too, and against an evenly matched opponent, not a single drop could be wasted.

Because he had already decided, he was going to win.

Even if that meant his father would lose the opportunity to propose Masashi as a candidate for the next Hokage... But if he didn't win, Masashi would never let it go.

Itachi glanced up at the stands and saw all those red and white eyes, and smiled.

How could those people not push Masashi to become Hokage? Forget it, he always pretended to be an ostrich about this kind of thing, acting content and pretending it didn't matter. Honestly, it was kind of funny.

Kakashi followed Itachi's gaze.

And of course, he was met with a sea of Sharingan.

Looking at that crowd in the stands, like a cave full of bats, Kakashi's face stiffened. Luckily, he was wearing a mask, so no one could see it clearly.

He composed himself and calmly waited for the referee. Even if it was mostly ceremonial, the village had still assigned one.

And this referee...

"You two really are a pair of troublesome brats!"

With that greeting, the referee finally arrived, reeking of alcohol.

"Whoa! It's Lady Tsunade!"

"Ah! She looked at me! I'm going to die!"

The atmosphere in the stadium instantly exploded.

The woman in the green robe stepped into the arena, used to the reactions from the crowd. After all, she had directly or indirectly healed so many of them. But if it weren't for this damn match, she would've been happily drinking at a bar right now.

Then maybe hit up a casino for a round or two.

Muzo had gone back already. She didn't try to stop him. Edo Tensei had long been considered a desecration of the dead, not just from a moral perspective, but practically speaking too. It wasn't true resurrection, it was dragging the dead back as weapons. Him going back was a good thing.

Her grandfather and granduncle were still around, and she had been spending more time with them recently.

With their comfort, Tsunade's mindset had shifted a bit. But still, mood was one thing, hobbies were another.

To ask her to give up drinking and gambling? Not happening.

"You two remember, this is just a sparring match. Don't cause me any trouble," she said to Kakashi and Itachi.

"Yes," the two replied respectfully. After all, she was a true Konoha princess.

"Good. Then begin," Tsunade said and stepped aside.

But she kept her eyes firmly on the two. Her fear of blood didn't stop her from keeping watch. As long as no blood was spilled, she was still a top-tier, battle-seasoned Kage-level ninja.

If things got out of hand, smashing the ground would settle them quickly enough.

Kakashi and Itachi looked at each other one more time before turning around and walking a few paces apart, maintaining a respectful distance.

Itachi drew his short sword.

Kakashi's hands remained empty.

In the stands, the audience quieted. Their attention shifted back to the two combatants. Then they noticed, these two just seemed to be staring at each other.

And they kept staring... Good thing the audience today was all composed of ninjas. If this had been the Chunin Exams with regular civilians watching, someone would've started complaining by now.

But to think that ninjas didn't grumble? Big mistake.

Sitting among a group of kids, Madara grew more and more annoyed as he watched Itachi.

Coward! Get in there already!

"Sasuke," he suddenly said, "Tell your brother to hurry up."

"Huh?" Sasuke, who had been guessing whether this was one of those high-level mental simulations between experts, was startled by the outburst. Realizing that his cranky ancestor was dissatisfied with his brother, he quickly tried to recover, "My brother and Kakashi must be playing that mental chess."

"Then guess what I'm thinking when I look at you right now?" Madara shot him a death glare.

In Sasuke's mind, he could almost see the scene where his secret stash of forbidden scrolls had been discovered...

Whoa! So scary!

"Nisan! You got this!" Sasuke immediately shouted out loud.

Before the words even finished echoing, Itachi launched his attack.

He started with a probe using pure taijutsu. He had clearly heard his brother's cheer, but even if Sasuke hadn't shouted, he was already ready to make a move.

Kakashi was a seasoned jonin, skilled in all forms of combat. His heart and hands were steady, and he had no lack of patience. Itachi couldn't find any real openings.

He had already activated his Sharingan, but Kakashi wasn't even looking at him. Instead, Kakashi was using the shadow Itachi cast on the ground, lit by the sun, to watch his movements.

In that case, there was nothing more to say.

Itachi's body flicker technique was not bad. He had studied under Shisui in his early days. Although he didn't master Shisui's signature shadow clone flicker, he had developed his own methods.

Like Shisui, Itachi also excelled at genjutsu.

Kakashi, watching Itachi approach from all directions, crouched slightly in response.

Earth and lightning were his primary chakra nature transformations, same as his father.

There was no such thing as "Hatake Sword Style."

But "Hatake Style" as a ninjutsu-based combat method, that did exist.

All of this happened in a flash. From the moment Sasuke shouted from the stands, not even a full breath had passed before Kakashi was swarmed by multiple Itachis.

Each Itachi moved differently, but all of them stabbed forward with short blades at the perfect distance and timing.

The real Itachi was hidden among them. His short blade cut silently through the air like the rest.

But that probing thrust went even worse than expected, it landed on a dog's nose.

A rising wall separated Kakashi from the assault.

In the stands, Hiruzen nodded with approval. He could be considered a half-master to Kakashi. He, along with Minato, had put a great deal of effort into helping Kakashi master the Sharingan.

And now Konohamaru had become Kakashi's subordinate after graduating from the Academy.

That was a pretty standard example of passing the torch from one generation to the next.

In the arena, the wall rose with impressive speed, strength, and scale.

Formed into a square shape, the earth wall instantly became a large stone structure, shielding Kakashi firmly from harm.

And from the line of lifelike dog heads, each with different expressions, carved into the wall, it was clear that Kakashi had mastered this jutsu down to instinct.

At the same time, this move exposed Itachi's true body.

Because only one of the Itachis was knocked back. The rest, being unaffected by the wall, passed right through, it had all been genjutsu clones.

Impressively, this was a technique that could even be used in group battles. The audience could see through it too, not just Kakashi.

But his earth jutsu didn't stop there. Because the ground had already changed color.

The jutsu release speed is much faster than before…

Itachi leapt back lightly. The spot he had just stood on had turned into a swamp.

The chakra density is also far greater than before.

Landing once more on solid ground, Itachi's Sharingan now clearly reflected the sheer amount of chakra Kakashi was emitting.

As a fellow jonin, Itachi was no stranger to Kakashi. But this kind of chakra output, this volume, was something the Kakashi from before simply couldn't produce.

It was as if his chakra was flooding his entire field of vision.

Centered around the earth wall, the chakra was erupting.

From an ordinary perspective, what others saw was the swamp spreading rapidly outward, leaving no blind spots.

This was the fighting style of someone with abundant chakra.

"You've been hiding deep, haven't you," Itachi muttered, already lifting his hand.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed from the Earth Wall, it was an explosion tag.

The swamp didn't slow down. Bits of stone flew through the smoke, revealing only a crater. It hadn't broken through the wall, it was too thick.

Though he expected this, Itachi still felt a bit disappointed.

He could already more or less guess Kakashi's fighting style.

Itachi's fundamentals were solid, skilled in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. He had a sharp mind, fast reflexes, and fit the mold of a traditional, technique-focused ninja. This was his strength.

But his burst power was low, and he lacked strong long-range attacks. That was his shortcoming.

The Sharingan amplified his strengths in fundamentals, but to cover for his weaknesses, he would need the Mangekyō Sharingan. And once he got it, he'd have endurance issues.

In other words, Itachi simply didn't have as much chakra as Kakashi. Without the Mangekyō, he couldn't play the big-damage area control game. He looked down at the muddy swamp surging across the field. A cluster of chakra was hidden within, silently creeping toward him.

His eyes flickered. Pretending not to notice, he made a show of reacting to the pressure of the swamp technique, leaping into the air again, seemingly unaware as he descended in Kakashi's direction.