The quiet exchange between the two girls came to an end.
The true contest—a battle of eyes and genjutsu—officially began.
Uchiha Fūi herself hadn't expected that, after learning not long ago that Uchiha Mikoto would be participating in this exam, the pent-up frustration she'd suppressed for years would trigger the awakening of her single-tomoe Sharingan—
only for it to be immediately outpaced by Mikoto's.
And judging by Mikoto's words, her Sharingan hadn't awakened any later than Fūi's.
Jealousy burned fiercely.
Eyes that seemed to contain raging flames collided with Mikoto's calm gaze—
"Demonic Illusion: Gaze of Hypnosis!"
"Mikoto: Demonic Illusion: Gaze of Hypnosis!"
Ocular power and chakra crashed into each other, attacking the opponent's consciousness directly. To outsiders, it looked like the two girls were simply staring deeply into each other's eyes.
But true experts—genjutsu specialists like Yūhi Shinku, Uchiha jōnin Uchiha Keishin, the well-versed Orochimaru, and other seasoned jōnin—recognized it instantly.
This was a genjutsu duel.
Inside the exam hall, the surrounding scenery began to warp wildly. Colors shifted nonstop, figures stretched and shrank, as if one had eaten some questionable wild mushrooms.
Only the figures of Mikoto and Fūi remained stable, untouched by distortion.
"You can't beat me, Mikoto," Fūi said, glaring with her Sharingan.
"Why do this, Fūi?" Mikoto replied with a bitter smile. "We're both Uchiha. Fighting each other here will only make us a joke."
"Heh—"
Fūi sneered, completely ignoring Mikoto's words, and began recounting her own misery.
"You're the granddaughter of an Uchiha elder. You've enjoyed the best treatment the clan has to offer since birth. And what about us?!"
The warped space split in two. The distorted environment around Fūi surged forward, pressing heavily toward Mikoto's side.
"I had to prove myself again and again just to get the resources I wanted—just to become someone worthy of admiration!"
"And you—"
"All you have to do is say you're Uchiha Kenshi's granddaughter, and everything is handed to you!"
"Ninjutsu. Wealth. Status."
"You had everything from the very beginning!"
For the first time, Mikoto showed none of her usual young-lady pride. Unconsciously, she adopted Baixing's trademark calm expression.
"But I worked hard too," she said softly. "You just didn't see it."
"Heh. Worked hard?"
With a lift of her hand, Fūi manifested another scene within the genjutsu.
What appeared was a chaotic smear of colors—like oil paint splashed across a wall—where the silhouettes of proctors leaned casually against the room's edges. Then, as if struck by some unseen force, the chaos cracked open, forming a window.
Inside that window—
Was Mikoto's childhood.
She had been pretty from a young age, and with her high status, many adults had ulterior motives, subtly encouraging other children to approach her.
From the very beginning, Mikoto had been the center of attention within the clan.
Next came scenes of Mikoto at the Ninja Academy. An Uchiha boy confessed to her at the school gate. Mikoto rejected him—firmly—and even scolded him for being childish.
And yet, the boy didn't resent her. Instead, he declared he wouldn't give up.
That scene was something Fūi had witnessed just days after being defeated by Mikoto in sparring two years ago.
At first, Fūi believed Mikoto must have worked incredibly hard.
But seeing Mikoto's popularity—
She grew jealous.
Both born Uchiha.
Why was it that you could go to the academy, become someone adored by everyone?
And I—
Could only stay in the clan's specialized training grounds.
No one cared about her looks. No one talked about romance. No "fun daily life."
It was all fake.
All she had was endless, numbing training—and punishment from elders for even the slightest slack.
"Two years ago, I was twelve. I'd already been in the Police Force for a year," Fūi continued, her expression growing unhinged as she moved within arm's length of Mikoto.
"I thought if I worked hard enough, I'd earn the elders' recognition. The admiration of my peers."
"There was nothing."
"Nothing at all!"
"No matter how hard I trained, the elders said my level was 'ordinary'—not even noteworthy within the clan! Let alone compared to you, the academy's so-called genius!"
"And all because—"
"Two years ago."
"I lost to you."
"You won—and my life was over!"
The black, spiky-haired girl clutched her head.
"I could've become a fairly young, fairly outstanding chūnin…"
"But do you know what my captain told me when I applied?"
Mikoto frowned. "What did he say?"
Fūi lifted her Sharingan—now with an additional tomoe in her left eye.
"He said… I wasn't even as good as you, when you were still a genin."
"That becoming a chūnin would be far too much for me."
"Where am I inferior to you?!"
In an instant, ocular power and chakra surged like an avalanche toward Mikoto. The warped environment threatened to swallow the last of Mikoto's struggling resistance.
"Fūi."
"Everyone's life has always been in their own hands—"
"Lies!"
Whoooosh—
Mikoto's vision wavered. Compared to her, Fūi's face twisted with triumph and madness.
"You're just losing, that's why you're saying this!"
"I'm finally going to beat you—finally—!"
In that moment, images flashed before Mikoto's eyes—
Nono.
Dai.
And Baixing, standing behind her.
Her pupils spun rapidly as her resolve solidified.
"I—"
"I won't betray my comrades' faith and fall here!"
The genjutsu space around Mikoto suddenly stabilized. Her strong, resolute voice rang clearly in Fūi's stunned ears.
"This world is full of unfairness."
"Is my talent really that good?"
Mikoto's eyes changed—
From a single tomoe to a pair of double-tomoe Sharingan.
"My talent is terrible."
"At the very least, I don't think I can compare to my teacher—Baixing."
Seeing those eyes, Fūi's face drained of color. But when she heard Mikoto's words, mockery surfaced again.
"What? Now you're praising your genin teacher to prove your own talent?!"
"Surpassing a mere genin—what's so impressive about that!"
Mikoto shook her head.
"That's not what I said."
"I said—I'm inferior to him."
Fūi froze.
Had she misheard?
"Sensei Baixing isn't from the Uchiha clan. He's not from any ninja clan at all," Mikoto continued calmly.
"He grew up in an orphanage. And yet, through his own talent, he's developed many interesting jutsu."
"Even if—"
"Those jutsu aren't especially powerful or practical."
"They're still things many ninja could never achieve."
"And what does that tell you?"
"Don't you understand yet?"
Mikoto looked earnestly at the now-calm, resigned girl.
"Birth only determines our starting point."
"It does not decide our destination."
Fūi seemed to finally grasp something.
"Until the very end, no one knows who the real genius is."
"Fūi," Mikoto said gently, "whether you understand me or not—compared to so many people in this world, in this village…"
"Your starting point is already something many would envy and resent."
"So—"
Mikoto reached out, placing her hand atop the black, spiky-haired girl's head, gently patting it.
"Let's work hard together."
"And become the geniuses who stand at the end."
"Alright?"
Boom—boom—boom!
The illusionary space shattered.
In just a few seconds of real time, Uchiha Fūi's face was filled with exhaustion. Mikoto looked slightly better—but—
Their eyes made Uchiha Keishin suck in a sharp breath.
—Two pairs of double-tomoe Sharingan!
Whether eleven years old with double tomoe, or fourteen years old with double tomoe—
Both were rare geniuses within the Uchiha clan.
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