"Fire Style – Great Fireball Technique!"
Uchiha Haru and Uchiha Itachi formed hand seals simultaneously and unleashed their ninjutsu.
Two streams of roaring flames shot out from their mouths, forming massive fireballs that collided in the air. The blast scattered flaming embers into the sky, the sheer heat of it all palpable even from a distance.
Itachi sprang backward, leaping through the air while forming new hand seals mid-flight. Haru, meanwhile, remained rooted in place, a shuriken at the ready in his hand.
But behind Itachi—unseen and silent—a charred, dried-out tree trunk twisted to life, animated by Haru's chakra. It slithered and reached, creeping towards Itachi's exposed back.
Itachi didn't flinch. He continued weaving seals, apparently unaware of the approaching threat.
"Fire Style: Great Flame Ball!"
A torrent of blazing fire surged from his mouth, growing in size and intensity as it barreled toward Haru. The chakra-fueled flames swelled until they became a rolling sphere of destructive heat.
Just as the tree trunk's sharpened end pierced Itachi's body—
Poof!
The body exploded into a swirl of black feathers—no blood, no scream, just a cloud of crows dispersing into the wind.
A Shadow Clone!
Haru's eyes narrowed. "Uchiha Itachi… Clever."
Haru had used misdirection—flashing a shuriken to draw attention while hiding the real attack with the animated trunk. But Itachi had anticipated it, leaving a clone in his place without anyone noticing, and completed his technique without fail.
He's not just a genius of Konoha. He's the Uchiha Clan's most loyal son.
"Wood Style: Tree World Wall!"
In response to the incoming fireball, Haru quickly formed hand seals. From the earth in front of him, thick trunks shot up, locking together to form a dense wooden barricade.
The flaming sphere hit.
BOOM!
An explosion thundered across the battlefield, sending a scorching shockwave in every direction. Earth, stone, and broken branches were swept up into the air. Ash and smoke filled the sky, casting the area in gray shadows. The massive wooden wall began to crack and blacken from the heat, but it held.
Haru stood behind it, unscathed but wary.
That attack came from a clone. Itachi's real body is still hiding somewhere… watching. Waiting.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Suddenly, slicing through the haze, came the faint sound of whistling steel—barely audible to any ordinary shinobi. But to Haru, whose Sharingan eyes picked up even the subtlest motion, it was enough.
Three shuriken cut through the gray smog toward him. Haru dodged to the side in a flash, then retaliated by flinging his own shuriken into the direction they had come from.
But…
Nothing.
No sound of metal against bark.
No impact.
Just silence.
Itachi remained hidden—silent, invisible in the chaos.
From deep in the shadows, another kunai flew out, this one trailing a glowing paper tag. A detonation tag.
It was followed by a flurry of fire-style techniques, launched from unknown angles. Each time Haru defended with Wood Style, each time the attacks missed their mark, but they kept him reacting—off balance.
The enemy is hidden, I'm exposed. A dangerous position.
"Wood Release: Advent of the Tree World!"
Haru's hands formed rapid seals.
Again, trees erupted from the ground. Roots tore through soil. Branches twisted skyward. In mere moments, the ruins of the Uchiha Clan's settlement had transformed into a vast, living forest.
Now, Haru controlled the battlefield.
Now, nothing within the trees could move without him knowing.
Including Itachi.
Including the others—those who were watching but had yet to act.
Haru smirked coldly. You think I didn't notice?
He knew the forest would draw attention.
Danzo's Root operatives.
The masked man—Uchiha Obito, still pretending to be Madara.
Of course they were here.
Danzo never wanted any Uchiha to survive. And now, one among them had awakened Wood Release, the legendary kekkei genkai once thought exclusive to the First Hokage. If Danzo saw Haru as a threat before, now he'd view him as a target that must be eliminated at all costs.
And Itachi…
A thirteen-year-old with Kage-level power.
Terrifying didn't even begin to describe it.
If given time, if allowed to grow, his potential was unimaginable.
Danzo would never allow that.
And Obito?
He had his own plans. Itachi was strong—so strong that Obito wanted him as part of the Akatsuki. But Itachi was elusive, unreadable, unfathomable. Even with Obito's countless backup plans, he didn't trust Itachi fully.
Still, he needed to see more. How deep did Itachi's strength run? Could he be controlled?
And then there was Haru.
A boy wielding the powers of the Otsutsuki and the Senju, standing shoulder to shoulder with one of the strongest prodigies in Uchiha history.
Obito was intrigued.
His organization lacked members.
If Haru could be turned—if he could be recruited—it would change everything.
But with Danzo nearby, with Root agents lurking, the masked man knew he wouldn't be able to seize both Itachi and Haru at once.
A pity.
Haru wasn't surprised by any of this. As a transmigrator, he understood the politics of the Leaf far too well.
Cooperation? Please.
Everyone was just using each other.
No one wanted allies—only tools.
And so, no one helped either side. Danzo was waiting to strike the winner. Obito was watching for the right recruit. All of them sat back, waiting for the other to make the first move.
But for Haru, the outcome was already clear.
Even if he defeated Itachi, he wouldn't escape Obito and Danzo.
This simulation was doomed to fail.
And that was fine.
He didn't come here to win.
He came to fight.
He had just awakened Wood Release—just reached the Kage level. He needed this battle. He needed Itachi's strength to hone his own.
As for what came next?
It's just a simulation. Let it burn.
The trees creaked and groaned, the leaves whispering with the voice of Haru's chakra.
And then—
From within the living forest, Uchiha Itachi stepped into view.
No more hiding.
No more waiting.
The real fight was about to begin.
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This Week Bonus Chapter - 150 Power stones