"There's no need to waste too much time dealing with them."
Uchiha Shigure's words carried no arrogance. They were simple truth. He had not even shown his true power before annihilating the senior Uchiha who had ambushed him. To others it would seem terrifying, but to him, it was just… inevitable.
"Oh? You make that sound too easy," a boy with fang-like markings on his cheeks laughed gruffly, a large hound at his side, tail swishing. "Maybe that's because you've only been fighting Genin. But your chakra—your strength—feels closer to a new Chunin's at best. My name's Inuzuka Jagaru. That's Aburame Shima," he nodded to the quiet boy with dark glasses and a pale expression. His kikaichū beetles buzzed faintly beneath his cloak. "And the kunoichi here is Yuhi Kurenai."
"I'm… Shigure," he replied, Sharingan glinting faintly in the shadows. "Better introductions later. There are still two Uchiha left to deal with."
He pivoted, eyes sharpening as shuriken spun through the air with a deadly whine. The two Uchiha Chunin moved in perfect rhythm, a flurry of metal raining down. Their synchronicity was flawless—an execution method honed as only the Uchiha clan could. Several blades came inches from ending Aburame Shima's life.
"Tunneling Fang!" Jagaru shouted. He and his ninken spun together into a spiraling drill, aimed at the two attackers. From above, Kurenai leapt, graceful and precise, hurling shuriken wrapped in explosive tags. Flames flared through the underbrush. Shima raised both arms, insects pouring from beneath his sleeves, forming a black tide across the earth as his voice whispered like a dirge: "Parasitic Insect Technique."
But Shigure already knew the result. Every movement of the enemy was visible to his Sharingan. Both Chunin bore double-tomoe Sharingan as well. Their perception was sharp. They evaded each trap, slipping past the ferocity of the Inuzuka drills, the bombs, and the crawling insects.
Too slow. Too sloppy.
Shigure exhaled. "This style won't work. Let me handle it."
A flicker—and he vanished. The Flying Thunder God's surge stretched reality, and Shigure reappeared five meters before the enemy. With a snap of his wrist, his marked kunai spun toward the Uchiha. One raised his blade and deflected, the strike ringing like steel on steel.
At that instant, the flicker of spacetime carved open again. Shigure appeared above them, twin Rasengan pulsing in each hand, light tearing through shadows.
"Flying Thunder God: Second Stage!"
The enemy hadn't even realized what he'd done. Their Sharingan tracked only a phantom. Then the spheres struck.
"Bang! Bang!"
Both Uchiha were crushed under raw spirals of chakra, bodies breaking into the earth below. They did not rise. Blood stained the ground.
Kurenai gasped, hand over her mouth as nausea threatened to take her. Jagaru froze mid-step, his ninken bristling. Even the stoic Shima recoiled slightly, though his voice came out flat: "Killing… in the exam. You'll be disqualified, perhaps worse."
"We're from Konoha!" Kurenai burst out, trembling. "Did you have to kill them?"
Shigure's gaze was cold. "This has nothing to do with the exam. This was personal. The Uchiha sent them to kill me. Should I simply wait to be slaughtered?"
But the three before him only stiffened, exchanging grim looks. Jagaru set his jaw. "Whatever the reason, you've killed shinobi in the middle of the trials. That's a violation. We have to restrain you."
"You can try," Shigure said flatly. "But you're not my opponents."
The three gathered themselves at once.
"Tunneling Fang!"
"The Art of Parasitic Insects!"
"Tree Binding Illusion!"
But Shigure was already moving, his tomoe spinning, capturing not just their movements but their intent. His lips curved faintly. The last genjutsu had not been cast by Kurenai at all.
It had been by him.
The same jutsu. But his Sharingan amplified it, controlled it, deepened it. Before they even realized, tree roots coiled around Jagaru and Shima's bodies. They froze, trapped inside an illusion crafted sharper than Kurenai could manage. Then Shigure himself emerged from between the illusory branches, kunai sinking into their chests. Their bodies collapsed to their knees and choked blood onto the forest floor.
"No… he copied her jutsu!" Jagaru croaked. "And… stronger…"
"We never should have fought him," Shima rasped, staggering, voice drenched in regret.
Shigure's voice silenced them. "The Jonin I faced earlier? They weren't Chunin. They were all Uchiha Jonin targeting me. What you fought just now were their lesser backup. Everything—down to this entire encounter—was organized to eliminate me. So tell me… would you have let them live?"
They stared at him, realization dawning in horror. Elite Jonin… If his words were true, then Shigure's strength was well past Chunin level. Perhaps even beyond most Jonin.
Shigure didn't wait for comprehension to deepen. He struck both with precise chakra-laced fists, knocking them unconscious where they crouched in pain. "They won't wake until morning." He turned then, eyes falling on the kunoichi clutching a blade with whitening knuckles.
Kurenai froze. She had not joined in the assault. She knew.
"You." His tone softened, just slightly. "Because you didn't attack, I chose not to kill you. But tell me… do you believe I should have let myself be slaughtered instead?"
Her breath stilled. His Byakugan-like, cold-as-steel eyes held her in place. Then, hesitantly: "No… The Uchiha were after you. Anyone would have fought back."
Her honesty was quiet, but it was all Shigure needed. He nodded and moved past her, crouching beside the dead Uchiha. His fingers glowed faintly as he siphoned their remaining bloodline chakra into himself, strengthening the Sharingan further.
Then he came to the rope-bound figure nearby: Yoshida Katsuhira, bruised but alive. "Katsuhira."
The older boy blinked. "Shigure? I didn't expect Violet would send you. Those elite Uchiha… they're really gone, aren't they?" His eyes flicked over the corpses. "Don't worry—I know you didn't start this fight. They pushed you first."
Stepping forward, Shigure cut the ropes binding him. "You're free. I made a promise to Violet. I've kept it."
Katsuhira managed a dry chuckle. "You're not like most Uchiha. This time, I owe you—my whole team does. Watch after Violet, will you? We'll meet again in the preliminaries."
And with that, he vanished in a puff of chakra, disappearing into the distance. A strange retreat. Perhaps something more lurked under his nonchalant grin.
"…Tch." Shigure gathered the required score cards from the fallen before flashing between markers of his kunai, leapfrogging through chakra space toward the Tower of Advent. He had no desire to linger.
Long after he'd gone, the trees stirred again. The place where Katsuhira had vanished erupted in smoke. When it cleared, the boy was gone. In his place stood a black-clad figure. An Anbu uniform. A plain white mask. A short blade strapped to his back.
He knelt, bringing a hand to his chest. "Lord Hokage. Reporting. The Uchiha indeed attacked Shigure. His strength… surpassed all expectations. He countered easily. Your fears have not yet come true. I will continue the mission."
He attached the click-sealed message to a waiting crow's leg. Shadows folded. The birds vanished into the sky.
Soon after, deep within the Hokage's chambers, Sarutobi Hiruzen held the slip of parchment in wrinkled fingers. His pipe smoldered, smoke curling lazily as his eyes narrowed on the words. His brow furrowed in thought.
"The Uchiha clan… They're becoming restless."
Another breath of smoke drifted into the ceiling's shadows.
And he wondered: just how much longer he could keep peace in Konoha before it all fractured.
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