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Shisui was silent for a long time before finally nodding. "I understand. I'll be careful."
---
Half a month later, at Kagaya's home, Takayuki held a piece of paper, reading it for a moment before smiling with satisfaction. "Top of the class in every subject this semester. Is there anything you want?"
Kagaya shook his head. "Not for now, Father."
Takayuki chuckled lightly. "You said it."
---
Kagaya arrived at the training ground, where Shisui stood up to greet him. "Oh, you're here."
Beside Kagaya was Itachi, dressed in Anbu gear.
Shisui tossed a ninja tool pouch to Kagaya. "You're done with the Ninja Academy's final exams, so now it's time for "my" final exam, haha."
Kagaya nodded seriously. "Right."
The academy's exams were child's play for Kagaya, and Shisui knew it. To truly test Kagaya's progress over the past six months, Shisui decided to conduct his own evaluation.
Shisui flicked his wrist, and four kunai suddenly appeared in his previously empty hand. "Let's start with kunai. This time, I'll use four, and you'll use two. Your task is to completely neutralize my attack."
Kagaya didn't respond verbally. Instead, he mimicked Shisui's motion, and two kunai appeared in his hand—a ninja technique Shisui had taught him long ago.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Shisui's four kunai shot toward Kagaya. To counter four kunai with two, one needed to find a convergence point—where the opponent's kunai intersected—allowing a single kunai to knock down multiple.
But Shisui clearly wasn't giving Kagaya that chance. His four kunai flew without converging, each targeting Kagaya individually.
'If that's the case…'
Swish! Swish!
With no convergence point, Kagaya would have to alter his kunai's trajectory using Shisui's.
Clang! Clang!
Kagaya's two kunai collided with two of Shisui's, and a dazzling scene unfolded. Shisui's two kunai fell to the ground, while Kagaya's, as if borrowing their momentum, instantly changed direction, arcing to intercept Shisui's remaining two kunai.
Shisui smiled and gave Kagaya a thumbs-up. "Next, hand-sign speed and ninjutsu. Use your fastest hand signs and unleash a Fireball Jutsu at Itachi and me."
Kagaya nodded and began forming signs.
Snake–Ram–Monkey–Boar–Horse–Tiger.
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
A fireball, roughly one meter in diameter, surged toward Shisui and Itachi.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu."
Itachi's cool voice rang out, and a water dragon appeared, swiftly extinguishing Kagaya's fireball.
The clash of water and fire produced a cloud of steam. Moments later, Shisui and Itachi emerged from it, with Itachi praising, "Three signs per second. Impressive."
Kagaya scratched his head. "No, I'm still far behind."
Kagaya recalled from his previous life that some claimed Itachi's hand-sign speed was seven signs per second. He wasn't sure if it was true, as he could barely track when Itachi formed signs. But if seven signs per second was real, it was far beyond Kagaya's reach. The difference between three and seven might seem small, but hand-sign speed became exponentially harder to improve at higher levels. Kagaya had tried reaching four signs per second—it was incredibly difficult. He couldn't even fathom seven.
"Now, for the next part…" Shisui began, and all three grew serious. They knew this was the most important test.
"The Body Flicker Technique," Shisui declared.
Indeed, as someone trained by Shisui of the Body Flicker, how could Kagaya not be tested on this?
"I'll observe you closely," Shisui said. "Your goal is to move fast enough to at least make your figure blurry to me."
Shisui's Body Flicker was almost like a Shadow Clone, something Kagaya couldn't replicate yet. This test was purely about speed.
Kagaya gathered chakra in his legs—Body Flicker Technique!
His figure vanished, stirring a faint breeze.
The next instant, Kagaya appeared behind Shisui.
Everyone froze. Shisui stared ahead, stunned—he hadn't been able to track Kagaya's movement!
Itachi turned, staring incredulously at Kagaya behind Shisui. His eyes had transformed into three-tomoe Sharingan. Yes, Kagaya's speed was now so great that only the Sharingan could follow it!
Taking a deep breath, Itachi said, "It seems Kagaya's talent lies here."
Every ninja, even a genius, had techniques they excelled at. Even all-rounders had specific strengths. Take Shisui—his moniker was "Shisui of the Body Flicker," but was speed his greatest asset? No. Shisui's true strength was genjutsu. His Body Flicker was impressive, but genjutsu was his forte.
Or take Itachi. His Body Flicker and Water Release were solid, but were they his best? No. Itachi's strengths were Fire Release and genjutsu, the latter likely influenced by Shisui's teachings, while Fire Release was his natural talent.
Shisui clapped, his two-tomoe Sharingan fading. "That's it. Kagaya's skills in kunai and ninjutsu are decent compared to us, but his Body Flicker—at this age, reaching this level—his talent in this area surpasses mine. It's probably the greatest talent I've ever seen."
Kagaya, however, wasn't focused on Shisui's words. He stared at Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan. "So that's the three-tomoe Sharingan?"
Itachi paused, memories surfacing. He closed his eyes, deactivating the Sharingan, then opened them again, speaking sincerely. "Kagaya, I hope you never awaken these eyes. Though you're pessimistic about the Uchiha and Konoha situation, I still want to resolve this perfectly so that you and Sasuke can live happily without worry in the future. Truly, I never want you or Sasuke to have these eyes."
Kagaya lowered his gaze, silent. What did it take to awaken the Sharingan? To progress from one to three tomoe? Honestly, if possible, Kagaya also hoped he'd never awaken those crimson eyes.
Yes, if possible…
Shisui ruffled Kagaya's hair. "Don't be discouraged. Those eyes aren't suited for you. I believe you can become strong without them."
Kagaya looked up, hesitating before asking, "Senior Shisui, how… how did you awaken yours?"
Shisui shook his head, refusing to answer, but spoke firmly. "I won't let you awaken those eyes."
In that moment, Kagaya suddenly recalled the scene from the original story where Shisui died. No! He wouldn't let that happen. He held out a fist. "Then you'd better keep your word. It's a deal."
Shisui bumped fists with Kagaya, smiling faintly. "It's a deal."