261. You Poor Soul

"That was a pretty good move. I definitely felt that one."

Izuna sincerely praises Tatsuya.

"You have put some effort into your training. I am impressed!" Izuna pats Tatsuya's shoulder.

He transfers some of his chakra to Tatsuya.

"Let's keep going. Your Taijutsu and Ninjutsu skills are excellent, as for genjutsu, let's not talk about that. Now! Fight me like your life depends on it. In a life and death battle, the opponent won't sit idly and watch you complete your jutsu like an idiot."

Shoom…

Izuna has a stern expression. He riles up his chakra.

Rumble… rumble…

The ground trembles beneath him and web-like cracks appear on it.

"That's what I was waiting for?"

Tatsuya takes the initiative and makes the first move.

Whoosh…

He takes out a kunai and aims it for Izuna's blind spot.

"Too bad for you, I don't have a blind spot."

Izuna turns around and blocks the kunai with one of his own.

Swoosh…

Izuna performs a roundhouse kick to attack Tatsuya.

Whoosh…

Tatsuya leaps on top of Izuna's kick and dodges it. He gathers some chakra in his fist and aims a punch at his face.

Bam…

Izuna blocks Tatsuya's fist with his palm, easily dispelling the chakra.

Bzzz…

Tatsuya releases some purple lightning to free his hand from Izuna's grip.

Aww…

Izuna waves his hand to shake the numbing sensation.

Whoosh… whoosh…

Tatsuya rapidly performs body flicker around Izuna, leaving multiple afterimages around him.

Izuna silently stares at multiple afterimages hovering around him.

"Is that a move from Shisui's book?"

Izuna raises an eyebrow.

"Too bad! It's quite easy to counter if you know the right technique."

Izuna slams his palm on the ground.

'Artic Release: Life Reaping Spears"

Shoom…

The surrounding temperature drops instantly and ice crystals start to rain.

Swish… swish… swish…

Numerous ice spears with cold glint erupt from the ground. They pierce through all of Tatsuya's afterimages and shadow clones.

Haah…

Izuna makes a Ram hand sign.

Sizzle…

The spears turn into blue flames and incinerate the clones and afterimages to dust.

Bleurgh…

The real Tatsuya pukes out a mouthful of blood as the flaming blue spear pierces through his gut.

"As I said, it's too easy to counter. Any wide-area jutsu will make a quick work of them. It's only useful against a large number of enemies."

Izuna shakes his head.

"I have avoided your vitals, if I was an enemy, you would be dead by now."

Tatsuya has a downcast expression as the flaming spear burns through his body.

"But! I will give a full score for the attempt." Izuna nods slightly.

Tatsuya lifts his head and smirks.

"Got you!"

Whoosh…

Tatsuya's body vanishes into an afterimage.

"Huh?! What?!"

Swoosh…

He instantly reappears behind Izuna.

"Chidori: Raikiri Blade"

Tatsuya stretches his palm and forms a lightning blade. He aims the blade for Izuna's heart.

Swirl… Shiing…

Izuna's eye pattern changes and he activates his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Amenominakanushi"

Swoosh…

Time slows down around Izuna. He turns around and faces Tatsuya, who has an incredulous look on his face.

"That was a pretty close call."

Izuna slightly raises his hand to attack Tatsuya. But before he could attack Tatsuya,

Whoosh…

Tatsuya disappears from his place and appears at some distance from him.

"What?! Again?!"

Izuna has a slightly confused expression on his face.

'What was that now?! I should have absolute control over space and time in this area, so he shouldn't be able to use any Space-Time ability but he still somehow blinked from his position.'

Izuna waves his hand and dispels the Space-Time field around him.

He slowly walks towards Tatsuya, who is huffing for breath.

"What was that last move of yours? It felt like a space-time Ninjutsu but there weren't any space fluctuations."

"Eh?! That… that's the Mangekyo ability of my right eye."

Tatsuya explains.

"While using this ability, I can create space remnants of myself in another dimension. These remnants are invisible to the eyes and even Sasuke san's Rinnegan can't detect them.

These space remnants can bypass the restrictions of space locking and can move freely through space. I can also instantly swap positions with them. When I do so, my body will return to its previous state present during the initial use of this technique though my chakra will be drained in the process.

Earlier, in our fight, I intentionally used the Body-Flicker Jutsu as a feint to reveal a 'weakness'. You utilized the 'weakness' to attack and subdue me. But that was part of my plan. I had mixed some of my space remnants with the body flicker image and shadow clones.

Your jutsu did not affect them and I purposely took the hit to bait you. You fell for the bait, but in the end, your guard was still up."

Tatsuya has a wry smile on his face.

"No! That was a clever move. It's just that your opponent was me. Still, your Mangekyo ability is amazing."

"Well! There is a drawback to this technique, swapping position while being critically wounded will destroy the remnant and I can only create four remnants for now. I have yet to master this ability."

Tatsuya scratches his head in embarrassment.

"Hmm… your ability is a mix of Limbo, Substitution, and time-reversal. Also, what was that at the end? I thought I slowed the surrounding time, yet you were able to react on time." Izuna curiously stares at Tatsuya's Mangekyo.

'He possesses Choku-tomoe Sharingan, just like me.'

"That's the ability of my left eye. I don't exactly know how it works, but after activating it I can see a few seconds in the future. It's more like Clairvoyance. Also, it makes me immune to time-based abilities to an extent. I have yet to figure out the full extent of its potential."

Tatsuya helplessly shakes his head.

"…"

Izuna rolls his eyes.

'And here I thought, my Mangekyo abilities were broken. But my son has already surpassed me in this aspect.'

Izuna scrutinizes Tatsuya.

'His chakra reserves are normal. He can be compared to an elite Uzumaki member. Also, he doesn't seem to possess the cockroach-like vitality of Hashirama.

Looks like my boons didn't pass to my offspring. It's fine. Given his natural talent, he will surpass Grandpa Madara in a year or two.'

Izuna nods his head in satisfaction.

"Earlier, I had some reservations regarding your abilities but now I am fully convinced of them."

Izuna dispels the protective barrier set around the training ground.

He gazes at the ruins of the training ground.

"That's quite a mess."

Izuna slams his palm on the ground and fixes it with the wood release.

"Tatsuya, I have training partners for you. They are almost the same age as you. Oh! They are already here."

Whoosh… whoosh…

Shisui and Itachi arrive at the training ground. Izuna's back is facing them, obscuring Tatsuya from their vision.

Swirl…

Adult Sasuke hides his presence or lest they might recognize him.

"Good! You came right on time."

Izuna turns around and nods his head.

'Dad! Won't they suspect my identity?'

Tatsuya whispers to him.

'Everything will be alright! They won't believe me even if I tell the truth.'

Izuna moves aside to reveal Tatsuya.

Shisui and Itachi curiously stare at Tatsuya.

"Nii-san, is that a shadow clone in disguise?"

Shisui inspects Tatsuya who looks exactly like Izuna except for some distinct features.

"No! He is my son, Tatsuya Uchiha." Izuna reveals the truth.

Pfft… Haha…

Shisui and Itachi burst out in laughter.

"Please don't joke around. How can he be your son? He is almost the same age as you."

"…"

Izuna rolls his eyes and helplessly stares at Tatsuya.

'See! I told you.'

Tatsuya and Sasuke are dumbfounded to see this.

'What? What's going on?'

Adult Sasuke questions him from the shadows.

'You don't have to worry about your identity being discovered. I have created an illusion using one of my abilities. Even if they find anything suspicious, they will ignore it as a prank.'

Izuna shrugs his shoulder.

'It's not my fault that I use to prank both of them all the time during my childhood. Ah! Those sweet old days.'

"Never mind!" Shisui and Itachi shake their head.

They can see through every sort of hidden tactics and tricks used by other shinobis, but when it comes to Izuna Nii-san of theirs, they are helpless to do anything.

'He is as mysterious as ever!' Shisui and Itachi reach an agreement and turn to Tatsuya.

'Since he is a clone of Nii-san, we will relieve all of our frustration on him.'

Izuna notices the changes in their facial expression and senses their intention. He silently prays in his heart.

'Oh, my poor son! Father can only pray for your poor soul as your uncles will bully you.'

************

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