The combination of the Sharingan's powers gave Renka an absolute information advantage in battle.
He was in no hurry to attack, instead using exquisite footwork and basic Uchiha Style Taijutsu to constantly neutralize and wear down his opponent's offensive.
Yuzuki Ryu was unable to land a hit for a long time. Instead, the high-intensity onslaught consumed a large amount of his physical strength and Chakra. His breathing began to quicken, and sweat appeared on his forehead.
In contrast, Uchiha Renka's breathing remained steady, his expression calm, and he even had enough energy to use his Sharingan to carefully observe the opponent's flaws.
"Damn it... the Sharingan..."
Yuzuki Ryu felt anxious. He felt as if he were punching a slippery mirror; every strike hit empty air or was easily diverted.
The opponent's eyes seemed to see through everything he did.
Finally, after a heavy punch that missed with great force, Yuzuki Ryu's body experienced a momentary lag due to overexertion.
Now!
The Three Tomoe in Uchiha Renka's eyes spun rapidly. The opportunity he had been waiting for appeared. He no longer defended passively; his figure advanced like a ghost, instantly closing in on Yuzuki Ryu's wide-open chest and abdomen.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Several shuriken wrapped in blazing flames were fired from extremely tricky angles, sealing off most of Yuzuki Ryu's space to evade.
At the same time, Renka himself delivered a swift palm strike, cutting directly at the opening under the opponent's ribs exposed by the punch.
Yuzuki Ryu's pupils shrank. In his haste, he could only barely turn sideways, using his arm covered in Lightning Release Chakra to block the palm strike while attempting to use the Substitution Jutsu to avoid the Phoenix Fire.
"Bang!"
"Sizzle!"
The palm strike collided with the Lightning Release arm, producing a muffled sound.
Although Yuzuki Ryu blocked the hit, his side was still grazed by the edge of a flaming shuriken, leaving a scorch mark and bringing sharp pain.
His Substitution Jutsu had just been activated, and the substitution log hadn't fully formed before it was kicked apart by Renka, who had anticipated it.
Immediately after, Renka followed like a shadow, delivering a simple and clean leg sweep that accurately struck Yuzuki Ryu's unstable ankle.
"Argh!"
Yuzuki Ryu groaned, lost his balance, and stumbled backward.
Meanwhile, the tip of Uchiha Renka's Kunai had silently stopped an inch before his throat. The cold sensation made Yuzuki Ryu's movements instantly freeze.
The match is decided!
The whole place was silent at first, then erupted into heated discussion and exclamations of wonder.
"He won! Uchiha Renka won!"
"So fast! He hardly used any big moves, winning just with the Sharingan's insight and Taijutsu!"
"Ryu is a Jonin! To be suppressed so completely..."
"The Sharingan... is terrifying!"
"Is this the strength of the Uchiha? It truly lives up to its reputation!"
On the stage, Uchiha Renka slowly retracted his Kunai, and the Three Tomoe in his eyes also slowly stopped spinning, returning to their normal black.
He breathed slightly, but his expression was calm as he reached out a hand to Yuzuki Ryu, who was lying on the ground.
Yuzuki Ryu looked at the hand in front of him. A flash of unwillingness and frustration crossed his face, but it was mostly respect.
The opponent won fair and square; he was indeed stronger than himself.
He took Renka's hand and used the leverage to stand up.
The two stood facing each other and simultaneously formed the Seal of Reconciliation.
"Thank you for the match."
Uchiha Renka said.
"Hmph, you won. The Sharingan... impressive."
Although Yuzuki Ryu lost, he was a good sport and patted the dust off his clothes.
"Next time there's a chance, let's fight again!"
"Anytime," Renka nodded.
Watching this scene, Young Ai sighed from the sidelines.
"That kid Renka has good strength and character. It seems you Uchiha will soon make a name for yourselves in Kumogakure."
Uchiha Shao Yu looked at the steady Renka on the stage, and the gazes of the surrounding Kumogakure Ninjas—a mix of amazement, wariness, and a hint of awe—and Sho U nodded slightly in his heart.
He had instructed Renka and Rice Fire to participate in this competition to let the people of the Hidden Cloud Village, a place that values strength above all, recognize the power of the Uchiha Clan. This way, the Uchiha would integrate better into the Village.
This is a good start.
The seeds of the Uchiha are beginning to show their proper sharp edge in this land that worships power.
And the younger generation of the Hidden Cloud also gained a more direct understanding of the Uchiha's strength through such exchanges... One year later.
After the Uchiha Clan joined, the Hidden Cloud Village's overall strength and deterrence improved.
The Uchiha Clan Compound became increasingly complete, and the clansmen gradually adapted to life and pace in the Hidden Cloud, beginning to distinguish themselves in missions and Village affairs.
As an elder, Uchiha Shao Yu's position was stable. Besides handling clan affairs and his own cultivation, he also participated in many high-level Hidden Cloud decisions.
One day, Uchiha Shao Yu was urgently summoned to the Raikage's office.
The atmosphere in the office was completely different from the usual clear weather in the Land of Lightning, appearing exceptionally heavy.
Third Hokage, Ay did not laugh boldly or speak loudly as usual. He sat behind the huge desk, brows locked, his face showing a rare seriousness and depth, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table, making rhythmic muffled sounds.
Seeing Shao Yu enter, he raised his single eye, his gaze sharp.
"Elder Shao Yu, you've come."
The Raikage's voice was much lower than usual. "Sit."
Uchiha Shao Yu sat in the chair opposite the Raikage as instructed.
He noticed that besides the Raikage and himself, there was no one else in the office; even the usual guards and clerks had been dismissed. The air was filled with an oppressive sense of an impending storm.
"Lord Raikage, such an urgent summons must mean there is an important matter."
Shao Yu spoke calmly, already having some guesses in his heart.
For something to make the Raikage so solemn and to summon him, an Uchiha elder, alone, there was likely only one major event in the Ninja World recently that could shake the layout of the Five Great Nations.
"It is indeed a major event, something even I never expected..."
The Third Raikage took a deep breath, leaned forward slightly, his single eye staring intently at Shao Yu, and said.
"Multiple confirmed intelligence reports just received from our agents stationed on the border of the Land of Rain and through special channels."
"The Hidden Rain Village has officially declared war on the three great nations of Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure... simultaneously!"
Despite being mentally prepared, when the four words'simultaneously declared war' were clearly uttered by the Raikage, Uchiha Shao Yu's pupils still contracted slightly.
Hanzou is truly... insane.
Although Konoha and Sunagakure had just experienced a major war and both sides currently have losses, declaring war on three great nations at once—Shao Yu had to say this guy was truly too brave.
But it can't all be blamed on Hanzou.
The Land of Rain's unique geographical location, at the junction of the three great nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind—although there have been no large-scale wars in the past year, small-scale friction has been constant. Whether it's Konoha, Sunagakure, or Iwagakure, they are all fighting for the middle ground to gain an advantage.
In this way, it caused huge losses to the Land of Rain. All kinds of Ninjas come to their side to stir up battles, resulting in the lives of the residents of the Land of Rain being disturbed, often being implicated by both sides of the battle, leading to death.
Raikage Ai snorted coldly, picked up an intelligence scroll, and shook it.
"That old fellow Hanzou finally couldn't hold it in and flipped the table."
He pointed at the Land of Rain sandwiched between the three countries of Fire, Earth, and Wind on the map.
"This place is simply a natural battlefield. The slightest conflict between the three countries, and they choose the Land of Rain as the battlefield at the drop of a hat. In the past year or so, the territory of the Land of Rain has probably been plowed several times. Civilians have suffered countless casualties, and Amegakure is exhausted just from mediating, defending, and cleaning up the mess."
Raikage Ai's tone carried a hint of understanding for Hanzou's situation, but more so disdain for the title of 'Demi-God of the Ninja World'.
"That guy Hanzou is known as a Demi-God. His strength... I hear it's decent; he has some tricks with poison and that sickle. But after being tossed back and forth by three great nations like this, even the Hidden Rain Village has reached its limit."
"It seems he feels that after these years of Amegakure's secret military development and accumulating some resources, along with his own bit of skill, he has the confidence to challenge the three great nations? Hah!"
He spat, a bellicose light burning in his single eye.
"Demi-God of the Ninja World? A loud title indeed. I've wanted to meet him for a long time to see if his poison is more powerful or if my Lightning Release Armor and Hell Stab are tougher!"
Clearly, the Third Raikage was quite dissatisfied with Hanzou's widely known title, his words filled with the intent to challenge.
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808