"Sensei, I don't really understand what you mean. Are you saying my Sharingan still has room to improve?"
"But why have I never heard of this before?"
Uchiha Obito was a little curious. After all, as a member of the Uchiha clan, how could his understanding of the Sharingan be worse than his teacher's? That didn't make sense.
Gekko Chizan looked at the curious Uchiha Obito and shook his head, leaving behind a single line:
"We'll talk after today's business is finished. When we get back, I'll explain everything to you properly."
"Otherwise, if you go out later claiming to be an Uchiha, you'll just get laughed at."
...
The scene returned to the arena.
Uchiha Shisui's weapon was a short blade, similar to Hiyakke's, but a bit smaller and lighter.
As for Suirai, his weapon was a long staff that looked metallic. He was simply strong enough—otherwise swinging that thing would be exhausting.
In just a few minutes, the two had already exchanged more than a hundred blows. No matter how Uchiha Shisui attacked—
The other side defended calmly and steadily.
Even Gekko Chizan couldn't help but praise Suirai—his staff work was truly impressive.
And after stepping onto the stage, Suirai even put on a pair of sunglasses. The lenses were so thick that even Gekko Chizan couldn't see his eyes clearly.
"He knew his opponent was from the Uchiha, so he prepared in advance, huh."
Just as he sighed, new changes occurred on the field.
"Water Clone!"
Currents of water surged through the arena, and in an instant Suirai split into five people—four of them water clones.
One long staff became five, smashing toward Uchiha Shisui from every direction.
"It's just clones. I can do that too!"
The Sharingan spun, and Uchiha Shisui started using his signature technique—Phantom Body Flicker.
With both fighters going all-out, the clashes on the field grew even more intense.
"This Suirai is so calm… he doesn't react at all to Shisui's body flicker?"
"Is he even human?"
"When I sparred with Shisui, that body flicker stunned me for half the fight. Even my Sharingan couldn't grasp the trick behind it."
Suirai's composed response left Uchiha Obito utterly shocked.
Normally, facing those clones—each capable of attacking—anyone would be overwhelmed while trying to make sense of the movement.
But Suirai?
His clones and his true body swung their staffs in perfect sync, forming a seamless offensive-defense barrier.
No matter how Shisui's body flicker attacked, he couldn't advance even a single step.
"Relax. Those are water clones. They have a lot of limitations. Clones made from water don't have the full offensive power of the original, and they can't move too far away from their caster."
"The only advantage is that if the caster uses chakra to regenerate the water at the moment of impact, the clones won't collapse immediately."
Just when everyone thought the match was going to end in a stalemate, Suirai suddenly changed tactics.
His true body leapt high into the air, staff spinning like a windmill. The four water clones rushed Shisui from all sides, abandoning their defensive posture. Even when Shisui's short blade slashed into them, they did not retreat.
Water splashed everywhere, but instead of collapsing, the clones regenerated quickly using flowing water.
"Water Style: Thousand Needles of Rain."
From above, Suirai launched a new attack.
Countless water needles fell from the sky—
Blanketing the entire arena.
Shisui's eyes flashed in surprise, but he quickly calmed down. He first pushed back the four clones, then flickered in an attempt to get behind Suirai.
But Suirai was airborne. Shisui would have to endure the attack first if he wanted to approach.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball shot upward, colliding with the falling needles.
In an instant, thick white mist spread across the arena.
Suirai saw this and remained unmoved. He simply increased his output.
"Fire Style! Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
After the fireball came three massive fire dragons. They ignored the water needles entirely and lunged straight at Suirai.
The clash of water and fire sent the spectators into a frenzy.
This was far better than the last match, which was just taijutsu.
"Tsk tsk, Obito, look at Shisui. Why is your Fire Style so pathetic?"
"Other than big fireballs and small fireballs, what else can you do?"
Gekko Chizan looked at Uchiha Shisui pressuring Suirai with fire dragons, then looked at his own disciple. The disappointment welled up in his heart, and he couldn't help complaining out loud.
Uchiha Obito wanted to defend himself, but after looking at the fire dragons, he had nothing to say.
He truly couldn't do anything like that.
...
The appearance of white mist pushed the match toward its climax.
Suirai knew the mist put him at a disadvantage, so he immediately responded. He pulled a scroll from his chest, tossed it onto the ground, and stomped on it.
A torrent of water burst from the scroll.
He immediately used a new jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
With the new water source, the water dragon formed quickly. Under Suirai's control, it wrapped around him protectively.
If Uchiha Shisui wanted to attack him, he would have to destroy the water dragon first.
"Tch…"
Shisui clicked his tongue when his attack was interrupted. He noticed the water dragon forming, clearly annoyed.
But he didn't intend to give up.
"Fire Style! Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
The three fire dragons roared forward again—but this time, they were noticeably smaller.
Seeing this, Gekko Chizan understood. Shisui was running low on chakra.
He was still just a kid. Relying on body flicker alone was fine, but using two large-scale Fire Style jutsu back-to-back was too taxing.
In the end, the arena was restricting his advantages.
Meanwhile the opponent had prepared extensively—even bringing a scroll with a huge water supply. Clearly, he came ready.
Terrain, chakra—Suirai already had the upper hand.
"Enough, Shisui. We concede."
"Captain, I haven't lost yet!"
"Mm, but you also can't win."
Gekko Chizan could clearly see Shisui's exhaustion. The kid was already panting.
Pushing further would accomplish nothing.
"Honorable Daimyō-sama, we concede this match."
"Shisui, come down."
Uchiha Shisui gave one last look at Suirai wrapped inside the water dragon, then angrily sheathed his short blade and walked toward Gekko Chizan.
The daimyō nodded in satisfaction.
Losing one match was fine. Losing them all would've been embarrassing.