Basic Knowledge for Duelists

Hearing Uchiha Shou say, "I've been waiting for you here for a long time..."

Natsuhiko was speechless.

You've only been standing there for less than ten seconds, right?

If this counts as a long time, I have already begun to worry about your married life.

Uchiha Shou didn't see the reaction he wanted from Natsuhiko's face, feeling a pang of disappointment that he quickly masked with a cold smirk.

But he had considered this possibility, so he had prepared plan B.

He smirked coldly.

"It seems you also anticipated my appearance. Well done. You truly deserve to be the one who narrowly defeated me with the tavern's barriers yesterday."

Sure enough, he came because of yesterday's matter...

Natsuhiko sighed helplessly.

"Yesterday was just a minor dispute between players. Why are you still dwelling on it, Officer?"

"How about I give you three card packs, and we forget about it?"

"Which theme card packs—wait!"

Uchiha Shou was almost led astray by Natsuhiko but quickly caught on and said earnestly:

"I've forgotten about that incident long ago. Today, I specifically came to spar with you."

"Regardless, I lost to you yesterday."

"If I can't win it back, it will damage the reputation of our Uchiha clan."

Reputation?

Natsuhiko looked puzzled.

If this is how you maintain your reputation, it's no wonder the reputation of the Uchiha clan is declining.

Natsuhiko scratched his head and said:

"Let's just forget about it. You also said that I had a home advantage. It wouldn't be fair to win like that."

"As for the reputation of the Uchiha clan, no one else knows about it anyway..."

"I know it in my heart!"

Uchiha Shou said slowly and emphatically after listening to his arguments.

"..."

Seeing this, Natsuhiko knew that this guy in front of him wasn't someone who could be easily dismissed with three card packs.

So he sighed and said slowly:

"I understand."

Then he added with some hesitation:

"How about ten card packs..."

"I've already said it's not about the card packs!"

Uchiha Shou, who had been severe, instantly broke character.

Can we stop talking about the Ninja Cards?

But he quickly realised his lapse and coughed lightly:

"Anyway, even if you don't agree, I won't give up easily."

Natsuhiko looked serious.

Even the strategy of giving card packs didn't work; it seemed this guy had made up his mind.

"In that case, I'll spar with you reluctantly."

In the end, Natsuhiko reluctantly agrees to Uchiha Shou's unreasonable request.

After all, there would be troublemakers in the tavern in the future as well.

If he appeared too weak now, it would only lead to endless trouble.

Uchiha Shou was delighted to hear this but was about to speak when Natsuhiko interrupted him.

"Don't be too happy too soon." Natsuhiko raised his palm. "Let's make it clear beforehand. As long as we spar, you won't bother me anymore, right? I don't have time for these petty disputes."

"After I defeat you, your brother will come for revenge."

"After I defeat your brother, your father will come."

"Then your grandfather, clan leader, elder guardians..."

"Finally, tell me that your ancestor Uchiha Madara hasn't died yet..."

Uchiha Shou's face turned darker and darker as he heard this. Finally, he couldn't help interrupting:

"What kind of novels do you usually read? Never mind that. Here, you don't have a home advantage, so that I won't lose to you intentionally."

"Even if I lose to you, it's my own business. I'll just train harder and challenge you when I'm confident enough."

"So as long as you don't intentionally lose, no one will disturb you for a long time."

What's with the repeated challenges?

Although Natsuhiko wasn't entirely satisfied with his response, he reluctantly accepted it, nodding:

"This space is too small for both of us to fight. Let's find another place first."

...

After a while, the two arrived at a secluded small forest nearby, its dense foliage and the sound of rustling leaves under their feet creating an atmosphere of anticipation for the impending duel.

"Let's do it here," Uchiha Shou stopped.

Natsuhiko looked around and glanced at a big tree in the distance before nodding.

Uchiha Shou said proudly:

"Let's be clear: I'm completely different from yesterday. Without your home advantage, if you don't take me seriously, you'll be defeated immediately."

"Oh, then let's get started quickly. I still have to go back to open the tavern," Natsuhiko said unenthusiastically.

"..."

Veins popped on Uchiha Shou's forehead.

He couldn't get angry; this was just Natsuhiko's tactic.

He comforted himself and then smiled calmly: "Alright, let's make it quick. When you're ready, you can attack directly."

"In that case, I won't hold back."

As Natsuhiko distanced himself, he pondered how to deal with this meaningless battle.

Intelligence is a ninja's lifeblood.

He didn't intend to expose too much of his abilities for such a trivial matter.

However, being too lenient might not accomplish the task.

So why not use this guy to test that tactic?

After Natsuhiko had finished his mental calculation and had backed up enough, he stopped and looked at the opponent.

Seeing this, Uchiha Shou knew the duel was about to begin. With a face full of fighting spirit, he said:

"Let me see the true power of a sealing jutsu ninja."

"As you wish."

With that, Natsuhiko stretched out his left hand, and with his right hand, he brushed against the wristguard on his left hand.

A series of rune-style symbols appeared on it, followed by an explosion of white smoke.

After the smoke cleared, a strange device appeared on Natsuhiko's wrist.

Uchiha Shou, who had been on guard, suddenly had a bad feeling.

Because he felt that the thing looked somewhat familiar?

Could it be...

Just as the tension was reaching its peak, Natsuhiko drew five cards from the strange device, revealing a surprise that no one, not even Uchiha Shou, could have anticipated.

Uchiha Shou realised this bad feeling had come true.

Duel Disk!

As the duel was about to reach its climax, a familiar figure suddenly appeared, rushing towards Uchiha Shou. The story ends with this unexpected twist, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

Uchiha Shou knew what it was because there were models of dual disks displayed in the tavern. It was said to be a portable ninja gaming machine that would be released in the future.

At first glance, he thought this thing looked cool, and he had already planned to buy one as soon as it was released, so he was familiar with it.

However, even though he liked Duel Disks, seeing this thing appear on Natsuhiko's wrist during the battle still made him somewhat annoyed.

"Wait a minute! When I said spar, I didn't mean Ninja Cards!"

How long does he want to drag out this ninja card gag?

"Not to mention, I don't even have a Duel Disk or a deck!"

Natsuhiko chuckled.

"Foolish guy, carrying a Duel Disk and a deck with you is basic knowledge for duelists!"

"What world's knowledge is that!" Uchiha Shou retorted sharply.

"Since you don't even have a deck, I'll go first and draw a card!"

Natsuhiko drew a card from the Duel Disk and glanced at it, then smiled.

"It seems even the ancestors of the Uchiha clan can't overlook your foolishness."

"First, I'll set a card face-down, and then..."

He held up a card with his right hand.

"Resilience, Invincibility, Supremacy, Shattering, Crushing, Cheers!"

"Come forth, the lone legend, the Shura of the Ninja World — Uchiha Madara!"

"What?!"

In Uchiha Shou's astonished gaze, Natsuhiko slammed the card onto the Duel Disk.

The next moment, a sea of fire erupted from nowhere, instantly engulfing the entire forest!

Even the still-confused Uchiha Shou quickly realised that something was wrong.

The flames in front of him seemed to have no temperature at all!

So he tentatively reached his hand into the flames and found it unharmed.

Projection Technique!

He quickly realised this possibility.

Besides the Ninja Cards and the tavern skins, projection techniques could also be used for actual combat.

After losing to Natsuhiko yesterday, Uchiha Shou naturally investigated Natsuhiko's background and learned about the Projection Technique.

But before he could think further, he heard Natsuhiko lightly say from the other end of the sea of fire:

"Direct attack."

As soon as he finished speaking, a path was torn through the sea of fire, and it began to dissipate into the void.

A familiar figure was rushing towards him at high speed…

(End of this Chapter)

Chapters 92 and 93 are up on Patreon.

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