"Senju Hashirama! Hurry up and release him already!"
The Uchiha warriors below the dueling platform shouted in outrage. Their clan's Jōnin was trapped in Hashirama's wooden prison, writhing like a fish caught in a barrel. Their eyes, burning red with fury, locked on the Senju patriarch above.
Hashirama frowned. The weight in his expression deepened as the shouts grew louder. He sighed once, placed his hand on the wooden cage, and with a simple pulse of chakra, the wood parted. The instant the barrier opened, he caught the defeated Uchiha Shinji and hurled him toward his comrades.
The Uchiha ninjas weren't ready for that kind of "mercy." Shinji's body smashed into them, knocking several off their feet.
"Damn you!" one of them spat.
"Good… very good."
The voice came from the stands. Uchiha Izuna leapt onto the dueling platform, his expression unreadable and cold. The scarlet pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan whirled to life — three black tomoe twisting into an impossible shape.
"Senju Hashirama… face me." His tone was flat, almost ceremonial, like a priest reading his own funeral rites.
Hashirama's jaw tightened. "Uchiha Izuna. You're Madara's brother. I don't want to fight you."
"Are you underestimating me?" Izuna's voice dropped into a low growl, red light flaring in his eyes.
Hashirama's breath hitched. Beneath that gaze, he could feel the difference. Even with his "Sage's Body," the chakra pouring from Izuna's eyes was ice-cold, heavy, almost hateful in its purity.
The Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't just an upgrade — it was grief carved into the soul.
From the sidelines, Uzumaki Mito nudged the young Amamiya ninja beside her. "Hey, Raizen-kun, why aren't you up there yet? That Izuna guy looks like trouble."
Raizen glanced at her, deadpan. "You're suggesting I interrupt two living legends?"
"You scared?" she teased.
He smirked. "No. I just like living." Then, after a heartbeat, he exhaled. "Still… good publicity, though."
Before Mito could stop him, Amamiya Raizen leapt onto the dueling field.
Her mouth hung open. "…He actually went."
"Raizen?" Hashirama blinked as the younger ninja landed beside him. "What are you doing here?"
"Taking your spot," Raizen said, smiling with the kind of confidence only idiots and reincarnators have. "I've been meaning to test an Uchiha up close."
Hashirama hesitated. Izuna's Sharingan glowed like molten glass, radiating pure hostility. After a moment, Hashirama sighed and stepped down from the ring.
"Be careful," he murmured as he passed.
"I always am," Raizen lied smoothly.
From the sidelines, Mito leaned toward Hashirama, voice tight. "He's going to be fine… right?"
"Raizen's strong," Hashirama said, though his eyes didn't leave the arena. "He'll manage."
Izuna faced the newcomer, eyes narrowing. "Amamiya Raizen. Are you declaring yourself an enemy of the Uchiha Clan?"
Raizen grinned, tilting his head. "Enemy? That sounds dramatic. I'm just here for a friendly match. Don't worry, I won't charge you rent after I bury you."
Izuna's lips curled. "Competition, huh? Then I'll make sure you regret it."
He inhaled sharply, forming rapid hand seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A roaring sphere of flame surged forward, engulfing the stage.
Raizen sighed. "Ah, of course. Classic Uchiha opener." He slammed his palms to the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Stone erupted between them, meeting the inferno head-on. The explosion tore the air apart, flame devouring earth, dust clouding everything.
Through the smoke, Izuna's voice sliced the silence. "Die!"
He burst from the haze, blade flashing in arcs of silver fire. Raizen barely had time to draw a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, intercepting the strike with a sharp clang!
Steel met steel, chakra flared. Izuna pressed forward in a blur, attacks raining like a storm. But every swing met empty air or Raizen's parries — clean, timed, almost predicted.
"Predictive countering?" Izuna hissed. "You're mocking me!"
Raizen's eyes glinted. "Not mocking. Practicing." He flicked another marked kunai. "Let's test something."
The kunai vanished in midair — and so did Raizen.
Izuna's Sharingan spun wildly, tracking. "Teleportation?! No—space-time jutsu!"
"Behind you."
Izuna twisted, slashing instantly. His blade cut through Raizen's form — but the body rippled like mist, vanishing.
"What—?!"
The real Raizen materialized beside him, kunai poised. Izuna turned his Mangekyō to its limit, finally catching the movement.
"I see you now! Fire Style: Fire Dragon Technique!"
He unleashed a dragon-shaped torrent of flame that surged across the ring.
Raizen threw six kunai in a single motion — each gleaming with the Flying Thunder God mark — and disappeared again, reappearing mid-air behind Izuna.
Izuna's Sharingan barely caught the blur before pain lanced through his left arm. Blood spattered the floor.
"How… fast…?" he gasped.
Raizen's tone was half-apology, half-mockery. "Sorry. I've been speedrunning this timeline."
Izuna grit his teeth, forcing chakra through his eyes. "Don't blink, Amamiya!"
The Mangekyō burned bright, his focus locking onto Raizen's motion.
"I've got you!"
He slashed — and Raizen didn't dodge.
The blade cut cleanly through his torso… yet there was no blood.
Izuna froze. "What—?!"
Raizen's form flickered like static, phasing through the attack. His right eye swirled with a distorted pattern — a Mangekyō Sharingan of his own.
"Sorry, Izuna," he said quietly. "But I don't play fair."
"Impossible!" Izuna snarled. "Another Mangekyō—?!"
Before he could finish, Raizen's hand shot out, grabbing his collar and slamming him into the stone. The kunai pressed lightly against Izuna's forehead.
"Checkmate."
The tension snapped like a bowstring. The arena fell silent except for the faint hum of chakra fading.
Raizen exhaled, stood, and brushed the dust off his flak jacket. "Thanks for the warm-up," he muttered, hopping off the platform like it was nothing.
Behind him, Izuna stayed kneeling, breath ragged, his eyes trembling not with anger—but with curiosity.
"Who… exactly are you, Amamiya Raizen?"
...
Read up to 100 chapters ahead and access exclusive novels by joining my Patreon!
patreon.com/Zyxxar