Early in the morning,
Within the Uchiha clan compound,
In the courtyard, two figures were moving rapidly back and forth!
These two were none other than Chiya (Thousand Nights) and the former Uchiha patriarch, Uchiha Fugaku!
Chiya thought,
Although the system's comprehensive evaluation rated him as Kage-level,
He understood clearly that his greatest weakness was his lack of real battle experience!
In the world of shinobi, raw power alone was not enough experience often decided life or death.
If he were to face an opponent of similar strength or even weaker, but with superior combat instincts like Kakashi or Itachi in their ANBU days, he might lose.
So
Chiya had to make up for that shortcoming!
Therefore, he sought out Fugaku as his sparring partner early that morning!
At first, Fugaku did not agree.
Not because he was unwilling,
But because
"You're just a newly promoted chūnin, and you want me, a former clan head and Kage-level veteran of the Third Shinobi War, to spar with you?!"
He had thought Chiya was joking.
"Are you not afraid I might crush you before you can blink?"
However, once their real battle began,
Fugaku was shocked to discover
If he continued to underestimate Chiya,
It might be he who would be killed by mistake!
…
Chiya knew that with the power of the Hashirama Cells flowing through him, his chakra reserves were far greater than Fugaku's!
So, logically, the best way to win would be to force a long ninjutsu exchange, draining Fugaku's chakra before exhausting his own.
But
Since this training was meant to cover his weaknesses,
Chiya chose instead to focus on taijutsu, an area he had never mastered!
The two clashed fiercely in the courtyard, exchanging blows like lightning fists and kicks cutting through the morning mist,
each strike sending shockwaves through the training ground!
Finally, with a heavy collision, both were forced back several meters!
At that moment, Fugaku's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Chiya—
This boy…
Could actually fight evenly against him, a Kage-level Uchiha who once commanded the Military Police Force?!
Even more incredible
While Fugaku was sweating and breathing heavily,
Chiya's breathing was only slightly uneven!
Such monstrous stamina and endurance, it reminded him of the Senju clan's vitality described in the clan's war records!
"Uncle Fugaku!"
"Be careful!"
As Fugaku's mind wavered from shock, Chiya's hands blurred through a familiar motion he summoned a giant Fūma Shuriken, flicked his wrist, and hurled it forward!
The spinning blade cut through the air, speeding at knee-height toward Fugaku!
Seeing this, Fugaku instantly leaned low to evade
But in the next moment, his eyes caught something strange!
In the shadow of the spinning shuriken another one lurked!
Shadow Shuriken Technique!
The two blades were now less than three meters away!
But Fugaku, once a feared jōnin commander during the war, stayed calm.
He planted one hand on the ground, used it to spring upward, and flipped through the air
The twin shurikens sliced past just below him, missing by a hair!
As he landed, Fugaku barely had time to exhale when he noticed the faint smirk on Chiya's lips
And then saw the glint of wire wrapped around Chiya's fingers!
"Wire strings…?"
The realization hit an instant too late
Chiya had attached steel wire to both shurikens, ready to manipulate their trajectory, just like Sasuke once did against Orochimaru's clone in the Forest of Death!
With the movement of Chiya's hands pulling back, the two shurikens instantly split apart, scattering into countless razor-sharp fragments of chakra-hardened metal—like a storm of senbon, raining toward Fugaku in a deadly barrage!
Shu-shu-shu-shu-shu!!
Fugaku's body was pierced through by the onslaught of blades!
The scene looked brutal—blood seemed to spray across the courtyard.
But in the very next second
Bang!
A log riddled with shuriken fragments crashed to the ground.
"Kawarimi no Jutsu…"
"As expected of Uncle Fugaku—able to substitute with a Body Replacement Technique in just an instant."
Chiya smirked.
At that very moment,
Fugaku reappeared behind Chiya, his chakra flaring. He lunged forward with blinding speed, his Sharingan locking onto Chiya's movements.
By now, Fugaku no longer saw Chiya as a mere subordinate.
Against an attack like that just now, most shinobi even elite jōnin would already be lying dead.
But rather than anger, the challenge ignited Fugaku's old Uchiha battle spirit the pride of a clan once feared on every battlefield.
Even if this was only a spar,
Losing to a youth half his age would be utterly humiliating!
As Chiya's back came into range, Fugaku thrust his fist forward with all his strength
But just as he was about to land the blow
Something changed!
The earth beneath him suddenly cracked open
Countless wooden tendrils burst from the ground, coiling around his legs and twisting upward like living snakes!
In seconds, Fugaku's body was completely restrained!
"This is—"
Feeling the chakra-infused vines binding him tighter, Fugaku's expression turned from shock to disbelief!
If his guess was right…
"Mokuton?!"
"Uncle Fugaku," Chiya said calmly, turning around with a faint smile, "you've lost."
"Chiya… how, how can you use Wood Release?!" Fugaku's voice trembled in astonishment.
At that moment, the question of victory meant nothing.
Mokuton…
The very name evoked the image of the God of Shinobi Senju Hashirama, whose Wood Release once reshaped the landscape of nations and subdued the Nine-Tails with ease.
During the Warring States Era, Hashirama's unrivaled Mokuton had brought peace through overwhelming might.
But…
As far as Fugaku knew, Wood Release was a Kekkei Genkai, a Bloodline Limit that could only be inherited through the Senju clan's DNA!
And Chiya Chiya was pure Uchiha blood!
"Uncle Fugaku," Chiya said quietly, "I can't explain how this ability came to me yet… But what I can tell you is this my Mokuton belongs to the Uchiha. It's a power that will serve the clan, not oppose it. It's our treasure."
Hearing Chiya's words, Fugaku's stern expression softened slightly.
He could feel the sincerity in the boy's voice
Chiya truly regarded him as family.
Otherwise, he would never have revealed such a secret power before him.
A faint warmth stirred in Fugaku's chest
This child…
"Uncle Fugaku," Chiya continued, smiling, "if you can't break free from my Mokuton, then it's my win."
"Not necessarily," Fugaku replied, smirking faintly.
The three tomoe in his Sharingan began to spin faster and faster
Until they twisted into a new, more intricate shape.
Mangekyō Sharingan!
Ziiiii
Fugaku's pupils glowed with power.
In the next instant, before Chiya's astonished eyes, the wooden vines that had tightly bound Fugaku suddenly retracted and splintered, as if devoured by an invisible force!
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