Jie Uchiha enjoyed the peace for a moment before looking at Itachi, who was spacing out beside him.
"Itachi, how is the work at the Police Force treating you?" he asked with a smile.
Startled from his thoughts, Itachi pondered for a moment before smiling back. "It's quite good. Protecting the villagers alongside our clansmen and seeing their genuine gratitude towards the Uchiha... it fills my heart with a sense of purpose."
Seeing Itachi's earnest expression, Jie knew his brother wasn't just telling him what he wanted to hear.
"Itachi, it's wonderful that you think that way. The village belongs to the Uchiha, but it also belongs to everyone. When the villagers can live safely and comfortably under our clan's protection, that is the true essence of the Will of Fire."
Jie smiled, imparting his own customized interpretation of the Will of Fire to his younger brother. It didn't matter if it was objectively right or wrong; as long as it worked and changed Itachi's mindset, it was enough.
Itachi nodded, falling into deep thought.
After a long while, he looked up at his brother. "Then, Brother Jie, why are there still wars in the ninja world? Wouldn't it be better if everyone just peacefully protected their own villages?"
Jie thought about it for a second and replied calmly, "Perhaps it is because they do not understand the true essence of the Will of Fire."
'Nonsense,' Jie thought inwardly. 'If the other villages understood the Will of Fire, what would be the point of the Will of Stone, the Will of Sand, or the Will of Lightning?'
"I understand now, Brother!"
After mulling over Jie's words for another moment, Itachi suddenly stood up, a look of profound realization crossing his face. "The reason wars break out in the ninja world is exactly because the other villages don't understand the Will of Fire! If we could just enforce the Will of Fire upon the other villages, wouldn't wars cease to exist? If everyone could understand each other, if everyone protected what they loved most, and everyone understood the Will of Fire... then the ninja world would become a paradise!"
Hearing Itachi's grand ambitions, Jie froze on the spot.
'Did Itachi's revelation have even half a cent's worth of connection to what I just said? Is this the so-called comprehension ability of a genius?' For a moment, Jie's mind was filled with bewilderment.
"Ahem!" Jie coughed lightly, quickly adopting an expression of righteous certainty. "Exactly. That is exactly it. Itachi, you have finally grasped the true meaning of the Will of Fire!"
Even though Jie hadn't mapped out his next steps, if Itachi himself wanted to rule the ninja world, Jie certainly wasn't going to object. Why did Itachi want to conquer it? Well, to spread the Will of Fire to the other hidden villages, you obviously had to beat them into submission first before teaching them. And to beat the other villages into submission, the absolute most crucial requirement was overwhelming strength.
Thinking of Itachi's current two-tomoe Sharingan, a brilliant smile spread across Jie's face.
'Oh, my foolish little brother, let your older brother pave your path to world domination.' "Itachi, it seems like we haven't sparred in quite a while," Jie said. "Let your brother test your strength."
"Right now?" Itachi blinked, taken aback, before nodding in agreement. "Then I'll be in your care, Brother." He turned his head to the sidelines. "Izumi, and you two brats, step back. Be careful not to get caught in the crossfire."
After shooing the non-combatants far away, the two brothers stood facing each other.
"You make the first move, Itachi," Jie said calmly.
In terms of raw power, the gap between Itachi and himself was still vast. Rather than a spar, this was going to be a mentoring session.
"Here I come, then." Itachi didn't decline the handicap; he knew full well that the disparity between him and his brother was like the difference between heaven and earth.
"Sharingan, open!"
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Striking first, Itachi instantly activated his Sharingan. Against Jie, he couldn't afford to hold back even a fraction of his strength.
"Your hand seals are as fast as ever, Itachi." Watching the blur of his brother's hands, Jie couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Even as twins, Itachi's speed was clearly a cut above his own—perhaps the edge of pure, innate talent.
"Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!"
Since it was a spar, Jie naturally wasn't going to just stand there. His hands rapidly wove a seal, and a defensive C-rank water barrier erupted from the ground before him.
Hiss! The volley of Phoenix Sage fireballs was instantly extinguished the moment they slammed into the wall of water. Once the flames died out, the water wall dissolved, leaving behind a series of puddles on the ground.
"Lightning Release: Ground Current!"
The instant the water wall collapsed, Jie deliberately formed a few slower hand seals, leaving Itachi a narrow window to react. Taking advantage of the waterlogged ground, arcs of lightning spread outward at a speed far beyond Itachi's expectations.
He leapt into the air without hesitation, launching a barrage of shuriken to pin Jie down and prevent any follow-up attack.
Jie's eyes lit up at the swift counterattack, and he gave his brother a thumbs-up.
"Excellent response. You've grown quite a lot these past few years, Itachi. But how will you defend against this next move?"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Jie calmly formed another sequence of hand seals, drew in a deep breath, then exhaled with force. A powerful gale erupted from his mouth, and the sheer pressure instantly reversed the shuriken's trajectory, sending them hurtling back toward Itachi.
Seeing his own weapons hurtling back at him, Itachi remained completely unfazed. Mid-air, his hands blurred through another rapid sequence of seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A B-rank jutsu, it required the user to knead chakra in the throat before unleashing a veritable tide of flames. In the hands of Madara Uchiha, it became a true sea of fire. Naturally, Itachi's current chakra reserves were nowhere near Madara's—but even so, the flames he unleashed still spread across an impressive twenty-meter radius.
Furthermore, the fire fed eagerly on the wind Jie had just generated, exponentially amplifying the jutsu's terrifying destructive power. The sheer heat caused the surrounding grass and trees to wither and crisp in an instant.
"Using the elemental interaction between Wind and Fire—turning my jutsu into fuel for your own…" Jie smiled. "That's exactly your combat style, Itachi."
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
With just three hand seals, the A-rank water jutsu took form. A raging torrent surged forward, swallowing the roaring flames of the Great Fire Annihilation in an instant and leaving a miniature lake in its wake.
'The timing is about right. It's time to put on a show,' Jie thought to himself.
"Itachi, let's see how you handle the power of this next move!" Jie called out with a grin.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Combination Ninjutsu: Blazing Fire Bullet!"
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