Chapter 04: Shifting Calamity to the East, Awakening Visual Power
Editor's Notes:
Chakra is the life energy circulating inside living beings. The stronger the chakra, the more powerful the ninja.
Uchiha Tianxiong returned home and shut himself in his room. Impatiently, he opened the book that Uchiha Tunan had given him. The key points of the theory lessons were all summarized neatly inside. Normally, Tianxiong barely paid attention in theory classes, but this book made everything clear.
He ran his fingers over the coarse pages and muttered, "This paper quality is garbage… feels like it'll fall apart if I sneeze."
Flipping through, he noticed two pages stuck together. With a sigh, he licked his finger and carefully peeled them apart, continuing to scan the text.
Meanwhile, Tunan also returned home and went straight to the kitchen. He lifted the lid of a pot containing a clear liquid and turned on the stove. As the liquid heated and began evaporating slowly, Tunan stared blankly at it.
"In this weather, it'd take three days to evaporate naturally," he muttered. "But that's way too slow. Needs a little push."
He turned off the stove, scrubbed the pot clean, filled it again with fresh water, and placed it back on the heat. Then he opened the fridge and picked out some vegetables and edible weeds to prepare his dinner. The last few days, his meals had been little more than these humble greens.
The next morning, Tianxiong woke up with a splitting headache.
"Didn't get enough sleep? Or maybe staying up late reading this theory book messed me up…"
After a moment of thought, he decided to sleep a bit longer. Missing a day of training wasn't the end of the world—especially since there wasn't much new material for the graduates anyway.
In the evening, he dragged his weary body to the clan's northern training ground. He'd promised that little imp he'd train together today. Uchihas never break their promises.
"Cough, cough…" Tianxiong sat on the grass, scanning the area in confusion.
"That little imp still isn't here. Maybe the teacher kept him late for a lesson."
At the clan's northwest training grounds, Uchiha Zhewu had been training hard since noon. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him and stopped, turning sharply.
He saw Tunan standing there, looking lost.
"Little imp, what are you doing here?" Zhewu asked coldly.
Tunan flinched at the harsh tone. "I'm looking for Tianxiong-san."
"He's not here. Scram."
Tunan turned to leave, but a faint "tsk" escaped his lips.
Zhewu heard it loud and clear. "Hey, little imp, want to die?"
Tunan trembled, voice shaking. "Why so aggressive? Since you can't beat Tianxiong-san, you're taking it out on me?"
Zhewu sneered, looking down at him. "You think I can't beat him? Tianxiong-san told me you only ace theory exams. In real fights? You're nothing."
"He said that to you?"
"Humph!" Tunan snorted, clearly annoyed, and sprinted away.
Zhewu's face darkened.
Back at the northern training ground, Tianxiong finished his warm-up exercises but felt his whole body aching and weak.
"Looks like I'm sick. Maybe staying up late caught up with me."
"Tianxiong-san!" Tunan's voice called as he ran over.
A brief smile flickered on Tianxiong's face before he masked it with a cool glare. "You're late."
"I went to the wrong training ground earlier. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Tunan bowed respectfully.
Suddenly, a kunai whistled through the air and lodged itself into the ground before Tianxiong.
"Who's there?" Tianxiong shouted, eyes scanning the trees.
"Tianxiong-kun, I usually avoid dealing with you. But that doesn't mean you can provoke me."
Perched arrogantly on a branch, Zhewu looked down at Tianxiong with blatant contempt.
"Let's duel. Show me how much you've improved."
Zhewu jumped down and lunged with his kunai.
"Damn!" Tianxiong cursed under his breath, raising a kunai to block.
Clang!
The impact forced Tianxiong back a few steps before he steadied himself.
"If I wasn't sick, you wouldn't be this cocky."
Sweat dripped from his brow as he glared up at Zhewu.
Swish, swish, swish! Kunai clashed midair, their trajectories shifting unexpectedly, throwing off Zhewu's rhythm.
Ding, ding, ding! But Tianxiong froze at what he saw next.
Zhewu's defense was flawless, blocking every strike.
"I haven't even activated my Sharingan yet. You're just trash to me."
He revealed his single-tomoe Sharingan, smirking victoriously, then glanced at Tunan, who stood frozen with worry and disbelief.
Tianxiong caught Tunan's expression and felt a desperate pit open in his chest.
"I'm not trash! Sharingan, so what?" Tianxiong roared as his eyes flashed blood-red, a single tomoe spinning rapidly. He formed hand signs.
"Oh? Awakening already," Zhewu muttered, eyes narrowing as Tianxiong prepared the Great Fireball.
The corners of Zhewu's mouth twitched into a grin as he too formed hand signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Both shouted simultaneously.
But just as the flames ignited, Tianxiong's body betrayed him—a sudden burst of agony seized his heart, his chakra flow stopped dead.
Boom!
Zhewu's massive fireball blotted out Tianxiong's vision.
Damn it!
Tianxiong tried to dodge, but his heart felt like it was being gnawed by a thousand ants. The world spun, and darkness swallowed him.
The fireball hit something—there was a heavy thud on the ground.
"Substitution jutsu? Where is he?" Zhewu frowned, eyes darting over the burning scorch.
No sign of Tianxiong.
Suddenly, the scent of burning flesh hit Zhewu like a gut punch.
"Murder!" Tunan screamed, sprinting toward the clan.
"How could he die so easily?" Zhewu couldn't believe it.
He knew Tianxiong's strength well. Without Sharingan, it was fifty-fifty who would win. Today, Tianxiong had awakened his Sharingan. How was this possible?
Was Tianxiong just weak today? Or did Zhewu make a mistake?
No, he thought bitterly. Probably Tianxiong fumbled the hand signs and forgot to dodge. Only explanation.
Remembering the ANBU's ruthless reputation and the clan's strict code, Zhewu trembled.
"This cannot get out. I'll be finished if it does."
He glared at Tunan, who was rushing to the clan, and charged after him, kunai ready.
Tunan felt power surge through him and narrowed his eyes. The familiar sensation—the Sharingan—awakened.
His eyes turned blood-red, a tomoe spinning slowly.
"This little imp moves fast," Zhewu muttered, scowling.
Tunan neared the clan gates, but Zhewu wasn't about to let him escape. His Sharingan spun rapidly as he formed hand signs on the run.
Tunan sensed the attack, his hands flickered as he too formed signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" they both shouted.
Zhewu caught a glimpse of the single-tomoe Sharingan in Tunan's eyes. The fireball Tunan released nearly rivaled his own.
What!?
Boom!
The fireballs collided, engulfing the area in flames.
Suddenly, multiple kunai shot through the fire toward Zhewu.
The kunai collided midair, shifting trajectories and confusing Zhewu.
"Damn, is this little imp really using Tianxiong's technique—and better at it?"
Zhewu couldn't dodge and raised his kunai to block, but a hidden kunai slashed his thigh.
"I'm hit… How is this possible? Who is this skilled?"
Despite the pain, Zhewu stared at Tunan standing atop a branch, calm and unbothered.
Tunan looked down and said coldly, "Zhewu-san, I never imagined you'd be so afraid of Tianxiong-san catching up that you'd kill him. He was like a brother to me. Now that I've awakened the Sharingan, I'll avenge him myself."
Tunan leveled his kunai at Zhewu.
Zhewu, still panting, replied coldly, "Even if I killed Tianxiong, only clan elders can judge me. To me, you're still a nobody."
Tunan's eyes gleamed as he raised his kunai higher. "I'm just a first-year, no match for you. But Tianxiong-san means everything to me. I'll give everything—even my life—to avenge him."
The tomoe in Tunan's eyes spun faster as he lunged.
Ding, ding, ding…
Zhewu's injured leg slowed him down. He barely held his ground as Tunan's strikes landed.
Retreating a few steps, Zhewu saw white mist rise—and suddenly three Tunans appeared, charging from all directions.
"Clone jutsu? Which one's real?"
Zhewu's Sharingan spun as he searched.
"Not this one… wait, shadow on the ground… someone's above!"
Looking up, he saw a figure leaping into the air, hands already forming signs rapidly.
"So this was his plan: distract me with clones, then finish me with a Great Fireball."
"Little imp, your tricks are naive," Zhewu sneered, forming his own hand signs faster.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball… uh—"
Puff!
A kunai plunged deep into Zhewu's abdomen.
"You…"
Zhewu's eyes widened in shock as he knelt, glaring up at Tunan.
"Enough." A deep voice rang out.
The Uchiha clan's Great Elder and several clan members surrounded them.
The Great Elder noticed Tunan's spinning Sharingan and gave a slight nod of approval.
"What happened?"
Tunan's face shifted suddenly—from confusion to alarm, grief, and rage.
Finally, as if finding a lifeline, tears welled in his eyes.
"Tianxiong-san."
Then, he collapsed.