Chapter 45: Dan vs. Shisui

A crescent moon hung in the night sky, its cold light illuminating the tranquil forest of the Uchiha clan and making the surface of the Naka River shimmer.

Kakashi didn't have much trouble sneaking near the Naka Shrine, as most of the Uchiha ninjas were attending the clan meeting. The real challenge was how to infiltrate the secret room in the shrine without being detected and eavesdrop on the Uchiha clan meeting. This task was almost impossible.

As Kakashi hid in a tree, unsure of what to do, he suddenly noticed two familiar figures walking out of the shrine, one after the other. It was Uchiha Dan and Uchiha Shisui.

Soon after, other Uchiha clan members also poured out of the shrine, more than fifty of them gathering in the open space outside the shrine.

Had the clan meeting ended so soon?

Kakashi's first thought was that he had arrived late and missed the meeting. But he quickly realized that things might not be as he thought.

The Uchiha clan members spread out, forming a circle, leaving only Dan and Shisui standing several meters apart in the open space.

What were they doing?

A duel?

Kakashi was a bit confused, but he also realized that his mission had become much easier.

So, Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan, and carefully concealed his presence while observing the situation below.

In the open space, Izumi carefully made her way through the crowd to Itachi's side.

"Izumi, don't be distracted. You must watch the upcoming battle with your Sharingan. It will be very beneficial for you," Itachi advised seriously. His eyes had already transformed into the shape of three tomoe.

In Itachi's view, the battle between Shisui and his uncle Dan would be the pinnacle of the Uchiha clan.

Who was the current number one in the clan? This battle would reveal the answer.

On the side, Mikoto looked worriedly at Dan's back, then turned her head and glared resentfully at Fugaku:

"Why didn't you stop Dan? Does he have a chance of defeating Shisui?"

"Don't worry, I'll step in at the critical moment. I won't let Dan get hurt. And, don't underestimate your little brother," Fugaku promised his wife, his words tinged with a hint of helplessness.

His wife was gentle, beautiful, and virtuous, but why was she such a hopeless brother-con?

At this moment, Shisui asked in the center of the open space, "Can we start now?"

"Let's go," Dan replied indifferently.

Both of them knew what the other was aiming for, so there was no unnecessary chatter.

They went straight to the fight.

Shisui started off with his usual technique, releasing a genjutsu attack on Dan, just like he did against the radicals.

If Dan also fell under the genjutsu, the fight would end immediately.

Dan was worried about collapsing the secret room, so he pretended to invite Shisui to fight outside. If he made such a big fuss and then was instantly defeated by Shisui's genjutsu, he would undoubtedly become a laughingstock.

He would lose all face and have no place in the clan.

Dan naturally knew what Shisui was thinking, but he wouldn't let the latter have his way.

Facing the genjutsu, three tomoe suddenly appeared in Dan's black pupils, as red as blood, resisting the eye power attack from Shisui. He stood firm, not falling.

Oh?

Seeing this, Shisui was somewhat surprised. His genjutsu was imbued with the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The surrounding clan members were even more impressed with Dan. Many of them had just been doubting whether Dan had the Sharingan. Now, just by the fact that Dan could resist Shisui's genjutsu, it was clear that his eye power was already above that of the radicals.

"Is it because of his powerful body that he has increased resistance to genjutsu?" Fugaku mused.

Ninjas with strong bodies, due to their vigorous vitality and the unimpeded flow of chakra in their bodies, were to some extent not afraid of genjutsu. The Senju clan was the most typical example.

The Uchiha, relying on the Sharingan's genjutsu, made a name for themselves on the battlefield as being invincible in one-on-one fights, but that was after their arch-rival, the Senju clan, had perished.

Fugaku guessed correctly, but only part of it.

Dan's muscular body indeed provided resistance to genjutsu, but his own eye power and mastery of genjutsu were also very important.

Dan's Sharingan was different from other Uchihas, as it awakened in a state of extreme happiness.

Over the years, every time he made a major breakthrough in his fitness regimen, he would feel joy from the bottom of his heart, and his eye power would increase accordingly.

Now, Dan's eye power had far surpassed that of a regular three-tomoe Sharingan, it just hadn't reached the threshold of the Mangekyou yet.

Moreover, the Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique, which Dan had spent ten years developing, was the best proof of his high proficiency in genjutsu.

Combining body techniques with genjutsu.

In the entire ninja world, only he could do it.

Therefore, facing Shisui's powerful genjutsu, Dan took it head-on.

Then, he took a step forward and calmly said to Shisui, "If you have any other tricks, use them all."

"You... aren't you going to use a weapon?" Shisui suddenly asked.

"There's no need," Dan replied. His body was his best weapon.

"Then I won't hold back."

Saying this, Shisui picked up his short sword, held it across his chest, and slowly drew it from its sheath.

The blade, under the cold moonlight, emitted a faint chill, clearly a sharp weapon capable of cutting through hair.

With a swish, as Shisui's fingers lightly stroked the blade, orange flames danced and attached themselves to the blade, turning the short sword into a blade of fire.

Uchiha Style: Flame Sword.

The next second, Shisui activated his Body Flicker Technique, moving at high speed in a Z-shaped path, appearing at Dan's side and stabbing at him with his sword.

Dan was not like the useless radicals.

His Sharingan spun rapidly, successfully capturing Shisui's movements, then his arm tensed up, hard as steel, and swung out.

Clang!

Sparks flew as metal clashed. Shisui was knocked back several meters, a flash of surprise crossing his face, but he quickly steadied himself and launched another series of attacks at Dan.

Clang, clang, clang.

Dan still stood in place, using only his two hands to easily block Shisui's attacks from all angles.

Around the two of them, more than fifty pairs of Sharingan were wide open, watching

the battle without blinking, everyone holding their breath.

Shisui's Uchiha Style Sword Technique was a type of ninjutsu.

In the past, the Second Raikage of Kumogakure developed the Lightning Release Body Flicker Technique. The Third Raikage used this technique to single-handedly fight the Eight-Tails and battle thousands of Iwagakure ninjas for three days and nights. The Fourth Raikage used this technique to rival Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash.

It could be said to be unparalleled in the ninja world.

The emergence of ninjutsu naturally inspired many people to imitate it.

Shisui, the genius boy of the Uchiha clan, was one of them.

He combined Fire Release with swordsmanship, attaching Fire Release chakra to his sword to burn his enemies. Later, he further added Wind Release chakra to make his sword even sharper.

Only Uchiha, who had mastered Fire Release to the point of perfection, could master this sword technique.

The power was so strong that it could easily cut through enemy kunai and ninja swords, let alone flesh and blood.

With the Uchiha Style Sword Technique, Shisui was invincible on the battlefield.

Until he met Dan.

Shisui had learned from Itachi that Dan's body was very strong, so he used his Flame Sword right from the start, but he didn't expect—

Dan still resisted with his body.

However, was it really ineffective?

Not necessarily.

Shisui noticed that there were several charred marks on Dan's two arms, all left by his sword.

In other words, his sword technique could hurt Dan.

So, what he needed to do next was to increase the intensity of his sword technique and completely break through Dan's defense.

Thinking of this, Shisui pretended to attack from the front, but in a flash, he appeared behind Dan.

Taking advantage of the moment when the other party hadn't reacted, he raised his short sword with both hands and launched a powerful diagonal slash in mid-air.

A huge semi-circular blade of fire immediately attacked Dan's back.

Uchiha Style: Gale Sword.

This was Shisui's strongest sword technique, and he believed that Dan could no longer resist it with his body.

Sensing the danger coming from behind, Dan took a deep breath and tensed his body in an instant.

With the rapid expansion of his muscles, his shirt was torn apart with a "rip", turning into pieces of cloth and revealing his broad and muscular back, which looked like a devil's face.

Under the movement of Dan's back muscles, the ghost face formed by the muscles seemed to come alive, opening its mouth to devour everything.

The back was the strongest defensive part of Dan's body.

Using his own shield to resist the opponent's spear.

What was the result?

Boom!

The blade of fire fiercely slashed on Dan's back, but he didn't move at all. The ghost back became even more ferocious, silently but arrogantly mocking Shisui.

The fire blade shattered, turning into countless sparks shooting in all directions, finally slowly falling to the ground.

It was like a magnificent fireworks display.

Seeing this, even Shisui was stunned, his face full of disbelief.

And just then, Dan finally made his move.

He, who had been defending in place, seized the opportunity when Shisui was stunned and launched his own attack.

Slap!

He appeared in front of Shisui in a flash and slapped him.

Shisui came back to his senses, not wanting to clash with Dan, and instinctively tried to use the Body Flicker Technique to dodge.

In terms of speed, he was far superior to Dan and could easily avoid the attack.

However, just as he was about to move, he suddenly felt a strange force field around him, as if he was trapped in a quagmire, making his movements sluggish.

What was this?

Shisui was shocked. He had never encountered such a situation before.

Before he could figure out what was going on, Dan's slap had already arrived.

Bang!

Shisui was slapped and flew out, crashing into a tree trunk, and then fell to the ground, unconscious.

The entire Uchiha clan was silent.

The battle was over.

Dan had won.

He had defeated Shisui with just one slap.

The clan members were stunned, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Dan, who was still standing in the open space, looked at his hand and muttered to himself, "It seems that the Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique is indeed effective."

This was the technique he had spent ten years developing, combining body techniques with genjutsu.

By creating a genjutsu field around him, he could slow down the opponent's movements and make his own attacks more effective.

This was the first time he had used it in actual combat, and the effect was better than he had expected.

He looked at Shisui, who was lying on the ground, and sighed.

"Shisui, you are indeed a genius, but you are too young. You still have a lot to learn."

With that, he turned around and walked back to the shrine, leaving the stunned Uchiha clan members behind.

The moon was still hanging in the sky, but the night was no longer peaceful.

The Uchiha clan had a new number one.

As long as he didn't directly confront Dan, Dan wouldn't even be able to touch his clothes.

In the world of ninjutsu, speed is the key.

From the fastest shinobi, Hashirama Senju, to the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze, and now to Shisui, speed was their greatest advantage.

As long as their speed far surpassed their enemies, they could attack and retreat at will, always remaining calm and composed.

They would always be invincible.

However, Shisui, in order to dodge Dan's slap, naturally looked at Dan's palm, but found—

Buzzing.

Dan's large hand was vibrating at a very high frequency, creating afterimages.

Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique.

Shisui was caught off guard, suddenly feeling dizzy and losing control of his body.

If it were an ordinary person, they would undoubtedly be severely injured by Dan's slap after being hit by this technique.

However, Shisui was not an ordinary person.

Compared to the visual genjutsu directly released by the Sharingan, Dan's Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique, which was released through his body, was indeed unpredictable, but its effect was inevitably discounted.

Moreover, Shisui was a master of genjutsu, and he also had the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Therefore, facing the influence of the Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique, he woke up in an instant at the fastest speed.

Then he retreated and raised his short sword, stabbing towards Dan's palm.

Facing Shisui's counterattack, Dan remained calm, and his large hand still swept out, just like the tongue of an old cow, wrapping around the sharp grass and taking away Shisui's short sword.

Crack.

The sword fell into Dan's hand, and like being chewed by a cow's tongue, it was instantly turned into fragments.

Falling from Dan's palm.

This short sword, which had followed Shisui for many years and killed countless enemies, was smashed by Dan like playing with mud.

Shisui was greatly surprised, and immediately abandoned his sword and fled, appearing more than twenty meters away.

Dan didn't chase him, because he knew he couldn't catch up.

The two sides fell into a stalemate again.

...