After about twenty exchanges,
Mikami Yuu finally caught an opening in Kurenai's movements. He disarmed her barehanded, forced her to drop her kunai, then followed up with a few punches and kicks to end the spar.
Afterward, Mikami Yuu thought for a moment, pointed out the flaws in Kurenai's taijutsu, and advised her to play to her strengths while shoring up her weaknesses. If possible, she could try light weighted training to raise her physical limits a bit. Heavy weights, though, might affect her growth—if she ended up not developing properly, that would be a problem.
And yes… he meant her height.
Also,
Mikami Yuu didn't forget to add, "Kurenai, your genjutsu talent is good. You should still focus your development on that. Taijutsu can stay your secondary path. Maybe try combining the two and developing some kind of gen-taijutsu."
Sure, Kurenai's "genjutsu talent" didn't mean much in front of Itachi—but the problem was that Mangekyō-era Uchiha Itachi was practically at the top of illusion techniques in the entire ninja world. With Kurenai's talent, if she developed it properly, she should at least be able to contend with three-tomoe Uchiha in that field.
And that would already be more than enough to crush plenty of ninja with poor resistance to genjutsu.
"I understand."
Kurenai, breathing hard, stepped away from Mikami Yuu and went to the side to rest.
Then Rin took the field.
Even though she was his teammate,
Mikami Yuu had to admit that Rin's taijutsu was noticeably worse than Kurenai's. Whether in strength or technique, she was lacking.
Technique could be improved through more practice.
As for strength… if there were enough time, Rin could theoretically follow Sakura's route: Yin Seal plus super strength, which would boost her combat power dramatically. But that build had a long development cycle—two or three years minimum—and he was worried that before it even bore fruit, the Kannabi Bridge battle would already have happened.
"One step at a time. Yin Seal isn't something you can learn that easily. In a few days, I'll find a chance to teach Rin Water Clone and Wild Water Wave first—that'll at least give her some kiting and survival tools…"
"Water Formation Wall can wait. I haven't even mastered it myself yet…"
"I wonder if I can teach her a transformation with traits attached. Might be worth testing…"
Substitution was out of the question. Even if it could be taught, Mikami Yuu had no intention of passing that one on. Having one person use it like this was already enough.
The last to step up was Asuma.
"Come on, Yuu! I'm not going to lose so easily this time!"
Before his words had even fully landed, Asuma drove his foot down and shot forward, his right fist carrying the sound of wind as it punched straight toward Mikami Yuu's face.
Mikami Yuu raised an arm to block. Forearm and fist collided with a heavy thud. He stepped back half a pace to bleed off the force, then shot out his left hand to grab Asuma's wrist. Asuma dropped his elbow to knock the grab away and, with his other hand, pulled a kunai from his tool pouch and slashed in a diagonal arc!
Clang!
Mikami Yuu drew the short blade from his back and caught the kunai's edge with the metal ring at the base of the hilt.
Sparks flew.
Just as the two of them were tangled up in close combat and their movements were getting faster and faster, Mikami Yuu caught a flicker of movement from the corner of his eye. He abruptly forced Asuma back with a burst of strength, then used Substitution to retreat, his gaze snapping toward a thicket not far away.
"Who's there? Come out!"
"Huh? Someone?"
Asuma, Kurenai, and Rin all turned warily toward the shaded patch of trees.
After a brief silence,
the shadows shifted, and a small figure stepped out looking slightly embarrassed.
He looked to be seven or eight years old, a little younger than Mikami Yuu and the others. He had slightly wavy black hair, wore a dark-blue short-sleeved clan shirt, and carried a short sword on his back just like Mikami Yuu. His bright black eyes held a trace of sheepishness at being caught.
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to spy on you. I just happened to be passing by, heard the fighting here, and wanted to watch and learn a little."
"An Uchiha?" Asuma frowned, recognizing the fan crest on the boy's sleeve.
"Yes. My name is Uchiha Shisui. I haven't become a ninja yet."
When the boy gave his name, Mikami Yuu's eyes shifted slightly.
As expected.
So it really was the one with Kotoamatsukami.
He knew Shisui and Obito's generation weren't that far apart in age, but he'd never seen him at the Ninja Academy before. He didn't know whether Shisui had simply never enrolled, or if there was some other reason.
—Among clan children, there really were some who never attended the Academy and instead followed the family's own training route, like future Hyūga Hanabi. In fact, in the eyes of some great clans, only the children with little potential—the ones they didn't care what happened to—got sent to the Ninja Academy.
So seeing Shisui here now was a little unexpected.
Still…
This was a gold mine of a character.
Compared to Obito, who only knew Great Fireball, Shisui might be younger, but as a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, he very likely knew more jutsu than Obito did. And he also had excellent genjutsu. If Mikami Yuu could "learn" a trick or two from him, that would be nothing but good.
His romance list didn't even have a single genjutsu-type target yet.
Just as Shisui gave a slight bow and looked like he was about to leave,
Mikami Yuu spoke up at just the right time:
"If you came here to 'watch and learn,' then just watching isn't enough. Want to train with us?"
Shisui paused and looked at Mikami Yuu, then at Asuma and the others nearby. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "That… wouldn't really be appropriate, would it? You're all in the middle of practice…"
"It's fine. It's just sparring. We're all comrades from Konoha—no need to be so stiff about it."
"Asuma, what do you think?"
"…"
Asuma was a little annoyed that his spar had been interrupted, but in front of an Uchiha, he stayed in sync with Mikami Yuu. Besides, he was curious about the strength of a young Uchiha. So he nodded and stepped to the side.
"Go ahead."
"Then…"
Shisui licked his lips, stopped refusing, and put a hand on the sword hilt at his back. His eyes grew serious.
"Then please guide me, senpai."
"Alright. Come."
Mikami Yuu steadied his breathing and took up his stance.
Shisui also drew his short blade.
The moment the sword was in his hand, Shisui's whole aura changed. The shy look vanished, replaced by a sharp, cutting presence. His body dipped slightly, like a predator ready to spring. After a brief standoff, he stepped forward—
Whoosh!
With no wasted motion, Shisui's figure turned into a black blur, crossing the dozen meters between them in an instant! He was so fast he left an afterimage behind. While moving, he had already brought the short blade into his hand, thrusting a viciously angled flash of steel straight toward Mikami Yuu's ribs like a striking viper!
"So fast!"
Rin and Kurenai both gasped.
Mikami Yuu's pupils narrowed. Relying on the instincts he'd honed through days of sparring with Kakashi, he twisted his wrist and swung his short blade up diagonally with precision—
CLANG—!!
A clear metallic crash exploded outward, sparks bursting between the two short blades!
The sheer force transmitted through the blade made Mikami Yuu genuinely surprised.
"This guy… how is he this strong?"