The two girls' whispered conversation ended.
The moment their eyes met again,
the true Sharingan battle began.
Uchiha Kayo had never imagined this.
She'd awakened her single-tomoe Sharingan recently—years of frustration erupting into power the moment she heard Mikoto would join this year's exam.
Yet the girl she'd obsessed over for years—
Had already overtaken her.
And judging by Mikoto's words, she hadn't awakened much earlier either.
Jealousy flared.
Her eyes burned like wildfire as she locked gazes with Mikoto's calm ones.
"Demonic Illusion · Hypnosis Eye!"
Mikoto answered without hesitation.
"Demonic Illusion · Hypnosis Eye!"
Their pupil power and chakra clashed, colliding directly against each other's consciousness.
Outsiders saw only two girls staring deeply at each other—almost romantically.
But genjutsu masters like Yūhi Jinchūriki, Uchiha Keijin, and even Orochimaru immediately recognized it:
A Sharingan illusion duel.
Inside the illusion domain, the classroom twisted and warped—colors flickering, people shrinking and stretching as if they'd eaten poisonous mushrooms—
Only Mikoto and Kayo remained sharp and unmoving.
"You can't beat me, Mikoto," Kayo said sharply, Sharingan spinning.
"There's no need for this, Kayo," Mikoto sighed.
"We're both Uchiha. Fighting each other in the exam only makes us look foolish."
Kayo sneered.
Her voice turned cold.
"You're the elder's granddaughter. You've always had everything."
The illusion environment distorted—Kayo's side pressing in aggressively on Mikoto's.
"To be acknowledged, I had to claw for every scrap.
I had to prove myself to get resources—prove myself to matter!"
"You…"
"Just had to say your lineage. That alone gave you everything."
"Ninjutsu. Wealth. Position."
"The world was handed to you."
For once, Mikoto didn't act like a pampered princess.
Without realizing it, she had begun imitating Kaito's expressionless calm.
"I've worked hard too… You just never saw it."
"Hard work?"
Kayo's illusion warped, revealing vivid scenes like windows into memories.
Scene 1 — Little Mikoto
A beautiful child surrounded by adults' admiration.
Other children pushed toward her by their parents, hoping to curry favor.
Scene 2 — Academy Mikoto
Teenage Mikoto being confessed to at the school gates.
Rejecting the boy bluntly—calling him childish.
The boy simply promised he wouldn't give up.
Kayo had witnessed it at the time.
That was when she first felt jealousy burst inside her.
Same Uchiha blood.
Same clan.
Why is your life so easy?
Why must mine be only discipline, punishment, and training?
Her days had been filled with harsh drills, emotionless peers, and elders who scolded her for the slightest mistake.
There was no romance, no fun Academy life, no freedom.
Only training.
Only pressure.
"Two years ago, when I was twelve," Kayo continued bitterly,
"I'd been in the Police Force for a year. I thought I'd finally be recognized."
"But no."
"Nothing."
"My 'hard work'—just average in the elders' eyes."
"And no one in the clan gave a damn."
"Then there was you.
The prodigy of the Academy.
The girl everyone adored."
"All because—"
"I lost to you…"
"You ruined my life that day."
Kayo grabbed her hair, face twisting.
"I could have been a promising young chūnin by now…"
"But do you know what my captain said when I applied for the rank?"
Mikoto frowned.
"…What did he say?"
Kayo raised her Sharingan—now with two tomoe spinning in her left eye.
"He said I wasn't even as good as you—a genin back then.
That I wasn't fit to be a chūnin."
"So tell me, Mikoto—where am I inferior to you?!"
Her pupil power surged violently, crushing down on Mikoto like a tidal wave.
Her illusion field almost overwhelmed Mikoto's.
"Mikoto…"
"Life isn't determined by others—"
"Stop lying!"
Kayo's voice cracked.
"You say that only because you're losing!"
"I'm finally… finally going to defeat you!"
Just then—
Mikoto saw flashes.
Nonō.
Duy.
And Kaito… standing behind her.
Her heart steadied.
Her Sharingan spun faster.
"I…"
"I won't betray the faith my teammates placed in me!"
Her illusion domain stabilized instantly—Kayo froze.
Mikoto's voice resonated clearly in her mind:
"This world is unfair."
"Do you think my talent is amazing?"
Her Sharingan evolved before Kayo's eyes—
Two tomoe.
Both eyes.
"My talent is poor."
"I don't think I'm anywhere near my teacher, Kaito."
Kayo blinked.
Mockery rose to her lips reflexively.
"Trying to flatter your genin teacher to prove your 'humble talent'? Pathetic—"
Mikoto shook her head gently.
"No.
I mean it literally."
"Kaito-sensei isn't Uchiha.
He's not even from a shinobi clan."
"An orphan with nothing—
but he still created unique jutsu through sheer talent."
"Their power or practicality doesn't matter."
"What matters is—he did something many shinobi never can."
Kayo fell silent.
Mikoto continued softly:
"You still don't understand?"
"Birth decides our starting point."
"But never our destination."
Kayo's eyes widened slightly.
As if the words pierced through her illusion.
"No one knows who the real 'genius' will be—
until the very end."
"And Kayo… compared to much of the world, and much of this village—your starting point is something others envy deeply."
Mikoto reached out and gently placed a hand on Kayo's head.
"Let's work hard together…
and become geniuses who stand at the end."
"Okay?"
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK
The illusion shattered.
Both girls slumped slightly—exhausted.
Kayo looked worse, drained and pale.
Mikoto seemed steadier… but only by a little.
Yet—
Uchiha Keijin, watching from the monitors, sucked in a breath.
—Two pairs of Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Whether eleven years old or fourteen—
Both were rare prodigies within the Uchiha clan.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
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