In the Uchiha clan's territory, in an open space with few people, Uchiha Itachi and Fang Yuan stood several dozen meters apart, exuding an imposing aura. It was hard to imagine that this was the aura of two six-year-old children.
"Fang Yuan, Quan talked to me about you. Your experience is admirable. I want to know your views on life, the village, and the Uchiha. Please, this is very important to me."
Itachi formed a seal of opposition towards Fang Yuan. This was a gesture of mutual recognition between ninjas and also the greatest respect.
"Other people's opinions are always just opinions. What matters is how you make your own decisions. And that you won't regret it after making your decision."
Fang Yuan looked at Itachi deeply and made a sign of opposition in return. The two of them were ready to strike as soon as Fang Yuan completed the seal.
Uchiha Itachi moved instantly. A kunai slipped out from his sleeve, and after performing a knife flower in his hand, Itachi used a body-flash technique to rush towards Fang Yuan.
On the opposite side, Fang Yuan made the same move, attacking instantly.
Ding~
With a clang, the two kunai collided at high speed, and red sparks burst out in front of them in the dark night. Itachi was quick-witted and agile. The moment the kunai was caught, he twisted his waist, grabbed another kunai from his waist with his left hand, and stabbed Fang Yuan's right shoulder from the side. He had originally aimed for the neck but held back.
"It's not a good habit to be soft on the enemy during a battle."
Fang Yuan casually pulled away the kunai that was blocking his face and blocked the attack with his backhand. The two kunai collided again. Then Fang Yuan dodged Itachi's thrust by moving sideways, grabbed Itachi's wrist with his other hand, and twisted it violently. Itachi retreated in pain, and Fang Yuan took advantage of the situation to kick him straight ahead.
Uchiha Itachi was kicked hard in the chest. Fang Yuan moved so quickly that even the Sharingan couldn't predict his move. Normally, one would start to panic when at a disadvantage in physical techniques, but Itachi, being the top genius of the Uchiha clan, handled the situation with professional skill. He tried to bend his body to reduce the impact and, with the force of the kick, flipped backward to avoid Fang Yuan's pursuit. At the same time, he threw several shurikens at Fang Yuan.
Itachi also formed hand seals in the air.
"Fire Style - Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"
A ball of fire suddenly enveloped the thrown shuriken, and the shuriken created several whirlpools of fire as it spun, attacking Fang Yuan from dozens of different blind spots in the air.
"Have shuriken been added to Fire Release?"
Fang Yuan looked at the whirlwind of fire coming toward him and walked forward leisurely. When the first fire swirl arrived in front of him, Fang Yuan's kunai tip accurately pierced into the hollow center of the shuriken, causing it to hover.
Then Fang Yuan casually swung his hand, and the hovering shuriken collided at a tricky angle and smashed down all the attacks in the air. However, just when Fang Yuan's shuriken hit the last one, he noticed something unusual. The shuriken suddenly changed direction and flew straight toward him at an extremely fast speed. Fang Yuan's eyes narrowed.
A black crow suddenly emerged from the last shuriken, and its sharp beak poked toward Fang Yuan's eyes. At the critical moment, Fang Yuan stretched out his hand, grabbed the crow's neck, and broke it. The black crow feathers scattered all over the ground.
At this moment, Fang Yuan suddenly felt a burning sensation from behind. Uchiha Itachi had arrived behind him at some point, and a huge fireball that had been accumulating for a long time burst out.
Water Escape — Water Formation Wall! ! !
Fang Yuan did not dodge. A torrent of water several meters high rushed out from his body, blocking Uchiha Itachi's fire escape from behind him. However, at this moment, the dead crow in Fang Yuan's hand suddenly opened its eyes again, and its red Sharingan looked straight at Fang Yuan.
"Genjutsu has no effect on me, Itachi."
Fang Yuan said calmly, staring at the crow openly. The sound of Uchiha Itachi's long silence seemed to be heard in the air. Suddenly, the crow turned into feathers that scattered all over the sky and disappeared. Among the flying black feathers, Fang Yuan discovered that every piece had been madly cast with illusions by Itachi. Fang Yuan keenly sensed a hint of danger among them. However, for Fang Yuan, with his five hundred years of combat experience and inner-circle perception, these illusions were even more boring than a badly rated movie.
"The illusion has no effect on him? Then what about this..."
From the corner covered by countless black feathers, Uchiha Itachi's murmur was heard.
"Drink!"
The next moment, Fang Yuan felt a sense of alarm in his heart. A huge water prison technique instantly enveloped him. At this moment, the flying crow feathers in front of Fang Yuan gathered together and quickly turned into an incarnation of Uchiha Itachi, expanding suddenly.
Boom!
The water prison was blown more than ten meters away by the impact of the explosion. At this time, three clones of Itachi appeared and formed a triangle to form seals towards the water prison in the center.
"Fire Style — Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Three fire dragons flew, showing their fangs and claws in the air, twisting and crashing into the water prison. The center of the water prison merged into a huge fireball and exploded at a low altitude. It was like a sun being shattered!
"It's over."
Itachi said calmly. One of his clones walked toward the broken, egg-shell-like fireball and cut it in the middle with kunai like a cake. But the next moment, Uchiha Itachi was dumbfounded. There was no one inside!
"Yes, it's over. Earth Style — Decapitation Technique!"
Fang Yuan's voice suddenly appeared below Uchiha Itachi's real body. He was startled, and before he could react, Fang Yuan dragged him into the ground with great force. Just as Itachi was about to use the substitution jutsu, a shadow of the instant body jutsu flashed by his side and a kunai was pressed against his neck.
"You lose, Uchiha Itachi."
Itachi dropped his hand that was forming a seal and allowed himself to be dragged into the ground by the decapitation technique, leaving only his head on the surface. He didn't say anything else, just nodded, acknowledging Fang Yuan's victory.
The outcome of this battle was completely determined when Fang Yuan became completely immune to his illusions. Compared to other methods, Fang Yuan was not inferior to Itachi at all, and he could even accurately find his true form. Not only that, the escape from the water prison was so amazing that even Itachi was amazed and admitted that he had been fooled.
"I lost, but I won't be hostile to you anymore. You don't have to answer my questions."
Itachi said calmly. He slowly twisted and crawled out of the ground, and Fang Yuan reached out and pulled him up. After Itachi came up, he made a sign of reconciliation towards Fang Yuan, then turned around dejectedly and was about to leave.
"Wait!"
Fang Yuan called out to him. Itachi paused and tilted his head slightly.
"The meaning of life is to live. Only by living can everything be possible. Whether it is a human, Konoha, or Uchiha. Only by surviving first can there be a future."
"Only by surviving first can we have a future..."
"Thanks."
Uchiha Itachi did not look back, but his body trembled, as if these words had a great impact on him. After a long while, he shook his stiff body, waved towards Fang Yuan, and disappeared into the dense forest.