"You. Do you want to die?"
Uchiha Yexing's two-tomoe Sharingan glared at Fenghuo with a cold, murderous glint.
Fenghuo raised his delicate but sharp brows, showing no fear. "Try me."
"Arrogant brat!" Yexing's eye twitched before he suddenly hurled a shuriken.
As a Chūnin, Uchiha Yexing's strength far exceeded that of his son, Uchiha Rakuna. The shuriken howled through the air, slicing toward Fenghuo's head like a silver blur.
"He's really trying to kill me!"
In that instant of crisis, Fenghuo's thin but wiry frame sprang into action. The grueling training he'd endured under Might Dai finally bore fruit.
Whoosh—!
The shuriken passed through Fenghuo's head—but struck only an afterimage.
"So fast!"
Yexing's heart skipped a beat. Still, he remained calm, his Sharingan locking onto the real Fenghuo's location in an instant. He lunged forward, a kunai already reversed in his grip.
"You should feel honored, Uchiha Fenghuo. It's not every day a kid gets to face a Chūnin's full power before dying."
Clang!
Two shadows flashed past each other in the air. Steel screeched against steel.
"He blocked it?!"
Shock flickered in Yexing's eyes, and his bloodlust surged.
He spun mid-air and struck again, this time unleashing his full strength. Chakra flooded into his kunai, coating it in a sharp, glowing blue aura—shaped like a blade.
This kunai was specially forged to channel chakra, turning it into a deadly edge capable of slicing even through steel.
"I can't take that head-on. I've only got half my chakra left—and even at full strength, I wouldn't be a match for a Chūnin!"
Fenghuo shifted tactics, dodging nimbly and opting for hit-and-run guerrilla maneuvers.
The ninja pouch strapped to his waist clattered—now was the time to make use of everything in it.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A storm of shuriken rained down like falling petals, hurtling toward Yexing from all angles.
"Is this all you've got?" Yexing sneered, swinging his kunai effortlessly.
The chakra blade cleaved through the projectiles midair with sharp blue arcs.
In the blink of an eye, Fenghuo cast a Genjutsu.
"Fox Heart Technique!"
The illusion aimed to trap Yexing in a shifting maze, draining stamina as the victim wandered endlessly.
But the next moment shocked Fenghuo.
"Wait... the maze?!"
Suddenly, he was inside it—the walls twisted endlessly, impossible to escape.
"Crap!"
He realized it instantly. "With two-tomoe Sharingan, Yexing can reflect Genjutsu! My technique got bounced back!"
Fenghuo slammed his eyes shut, tuning in with his ears instead.
Yexing's lips curled in a cruel smile as he watched Fenghuo standing frozen with closed eyes.
"You really thought illusion would work on me?" he mocked, advancing step by step. "You've forgotten who I am, Uchiha Fenghuo… Forgotten these eyes?"
With a chuckle, he launched a Genjutsu of his own—his Sharingan enhancing the very same Fox Heart illusion, forcing it deeper into Fenghuo's mind.
In the distance, Obito panicked.
"Fenghuo! Wake up! I—I have to help him!"
He lunged forward, but a hand stopped him—Sarutobi Asuma.
"Obito, calm down! It hasn't gone too far yet. He won't kill anyone… Not here, not in the Academy."
"Shouldn't! What if he does?!" Obito shouted, heart pounding. "I won't stand by!"
Memories flooded back—playing with Fenghuo as kids, the meals they'd shared, how Fenghuo had taken care of him and his grandmother. Warm greetings, laughter, kindness…
Something strange awakened in Obito.
A chakra—deep, ancient, personal—stirred inside him, flooding through his mind like fire.
"It's over."
Yexing's foot tapped lightly on the ground—his body blurred.
In a flash, he was behind Fenghuo, kunai poised to slit the boy's throat.
"Stop!!"
Obito's scream echoed across the courtyard—his voice cracked with fury and fear.
The chakra within him surged.
Boom—!
But just as the kunai touched skin, Fenghuo burst into smoke.
"A clone?! No—Shadow Clone?! Impossible!"
Yexing's Sharingan swirled in disbelief.
"I couldn't see through it? That was a Shadow Clone?! A mere Academy student dares mock me with this?!"
Fury twisted his face.
Nearby, Rin, Kurenai, Asuma, and others stared in shock.
Half the screams were for Fenghuo's vanishing—half were for what they saw in Obito.
"Obito… your eyes…" Rin gasped, wide-eyed.
Asuma blinked. "Sharingan? Did he awaken them… because of Fenghuo's 'death'?"
Obito touched his goggles—then slowly took them off.
There, in their place, reflected in the glass—two crimson eyes, each with a single tomoe.
"My… Sharingan?" Obito whispered, stunned.
Then he erupted into cheers.
"Haha! I did it! I awakened my Sharingan! This is it! I'm going to be Hokage!"
He spun and laughed, completely overjoyed.
But Yexing's eyes narrowed.
"You… awakened the Sharingan?"
With a flicker, he was in front of Obito, his eyes locked on the boy's.
"Tell me. Where is Uchiha Fenghuo?"
Obito glared. "As if I'd ever tell you!"
The single tomoe spun defiantly—but quickly faded.
Obito's chakra reserves, weak even among his peers, couldn't sustain the dōjutsu long.
"No!" Obito clenched his fists in frustration.
"Brat! Is that any way to talk to your elders?!" Yexing growled, reaching for Obito.
"Enough!" Asuma stepped forward at last.
"Uncle, this is the Ninja Academy. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Yexing flinched. He clearly recognized Asuma's status.
Still, he held his ground. "This is Uchiha clan business. Outsiders should stay out of it."
Asuma didn't back down.
"The students of this Academy are all shinobi of Konoha. There are no outsiders here, uncle."
High above, on the Academy rooftop, the Third Hokage finally spoke.
"That's enough."
Danzo, beside him, gave a faint smirk.
"Not curious what he would've done next?"
Whether he meant Asuma or Fenghuo, the Hokage didn't care.
"No. It ends here."
Danzo raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "Very well. You are the Hokage."
He gestured with a single hand.
Moments later, a Konoha shinobi appeared on the playground and whispered to Yexing.
The elder Uchiha hesitated, glared at Obito and the others, and finally left the Academy—with his son, Uchiha Rakuna, in tow.