To Sarutobi Shin'nosuke, it felt like Shiyu Uchiha was simply using his superior skills to crush him completely. The frustrating part was that Shiyu gave him absolutely no chance to fight back.
Because of Shin'nosuke's initial misjudgment, he hadn't even had time to form hand seals and execute the Trio-body Jutsu, which left him at a disadvantage with no hope of turning things around. So he resolved to take a risk and attempt the Clone Jutsu.
However, the outcome was obvious. Having already guessed at Shin'nosuke's intentions, Shiyu Uchiha seized the moment when Shin'nosuke attempted this risky move and smashed a fist straight into his nose, making his eyes water. Unfortunately, before he could continue his assault, their instructor stopped him.
Then the teacher announced to everyone, "This duel is won by student Shiyu Uchiha. Both parties must now sign the Seal of Reconciliation."
Immediately, several students began applauding enthusiastically—after all, they were at an age where they easily got excited about such things. Among them, Shun Mizutani and Taki Tachibana were particularly enthusiastic.
Once the excited students quieted down, the teacher continued, "Student Sarutobi Shin'nosuke, your strength lies in the Trio-body Jutsu. Instead of starting off by playing to your strengths, you opted to fight Uchiha head-on in close combat. That only left you overwhelmed, unable to even land a single opening to use your Trio-body Jutsu. You never truly displayed your real abilities. Now do you understand where you lost?"
Although the teacher recognized that Shiyu Uchiha hadn't actually used his full strength yet, as an educator, he naturally needed to encourage the defeated student, especially considering who his father was—the Hokage himself. If the boy completely lost confidence, the Hokage would surely get involved.
While he personally disliked Sarutobi Shin'nosuke, he couldn't let that show; after all, he still had to earn a living.
Moreover, more importantly, he had no idea just how powerful Shiyu Uchiha really was. Otherwise, he would have offered much gentler advice.
From that day on, Sarutobi Shin'nosuke made it a habit to challenge Shiyu Uchiha now and then—sometimes every few days, other times once every couple of weeks. He tried over a dozen times, each one nearly successful, yet that tiny margin meant ultimate failure—he would never succeed.
With the Second Great Ninja War drawing near, village administrative duties had recently increased dramatically. This left Hiruzen Sarutobi with no spare time to attend to his eldest son, and Shin'nosuke didn't dare raise the issue with his father either.
However, with the upcoming internal school examination approaching soon, his Hokage father was certain to make time to inquire about it. Shin'nosuke had no idea how to explain to his father that he had been defeated by Uchiha. What he wanted most was his father's recognition.
Recently stressed, Shin'nosuke hadn't challenged Shiyu in nearly two weeks. Therefore, amidst his busy schedule, Shiyu paid special attention to him. After some careful thinking and combining with information he had collected previously, Shiyu quickly figured out the general situation behind everything.
After school one day, Teyi staged another chance encounter with Sarutobi Shin'nosuke. After a friendly negotiation, at Shin'nosuke's request, Shiyu Uchiha finally agreed to his proposal: in the next martial arts class, they would have a match emphasizing the Trio-body Jutsu, with Taijutsu only as supplementary.
Shiyu gave it some thought before agreeing. He planned to let Sarutobi get a taste of victory first, so he could enjoy the cheers and glory that came with it.
He knew Sarutobi, being the show-off he was, wouldn't take losing lightly later on. That meant Shiyu could collect a few well-deserved favors from him then. To keep Sarutobi from getting suspicious, Shiyu simply asked for a feast at the Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurant.
Sarutobi nodded when he heard this, agreeing without hesitation. Since the fight focused on the Trio-body Jutsu—a technique he had an edge in—victory already seemed within reach. Compared to such an imminent triumph, this simple request was nothing at all. They agreed to head over there that evening.
So the next day during martial arts class, the two faced off once again. Because Shiyu had won too many times before, nobody considered his victory over Sarutobi uncertain anymore, and the enthusiasm from earlier matches was noticeably absent this time around.
Seeing this, Sarutobi felt a deep sting. His desire for victory grew even stronger.
[Seal of Opposition]
Then, as soon as the teacher shouted "Begin!", they charged toward each other.
But instead of starting the fight with hand-to-hand combat as usual, they both simultaneously used the Clone Jutsu. And due to Shiyu intentionally holding back his skill slightly, he ended up one step slower than Sarutobi, who performed the same technique.
Throughout the following battle, both continuously employed the Trio-body Jutsu repeatedly. Again, thanks to Shiyu deliberately downplaying his abilities, Sarutobi's advantage kept growing—yet somehow, Shiyu stood firm like a candle flickering in the wind.
Finally, when Sarutobi's chakra nearly ran dry and he could barely continue, Shiyu judged that it was time. He pretended to be in a state of complete chakra depletion and conceded defeat willingly.
[Seal of Reconciliation]
Amid the roaring applause from the crowd, Sarutobi became increasingly elated.
The teacher gave Shiyu a curious glance but didn't press any further, acting as though he hadn't noticed what had really happened. He simply said directly, "Shiyu Uchiha, this duel should've shown you your shortcomings. Your hand seal forming is too slow, and your use of the Trio-body Jutsu isn't as proficient as Sarutobi Shin'nosuke's.
Furthermore, using the Trio-body Jutsu consumes excessive chakra for you, causing you to run out near the end of the fight. I hope you keep this lesson in mind and strive to master the Trio-body Jutsu perfectly, or else minimize its usage in actual combat and focus more on leveraging your strengths."
"Thank you for your advice, Teacher. I understand now, and I will definitely work hard to improve my skills while making full use of my advantages and avoiding my weaknesses," replied Shiyu respectfully as he bowed deeply.
The teacher was clearly pleased with Shiyu's humility. Inwardly, he couldn't help but admire how well-bred the boy was—truly a fitting heir to his noble lineage.
At the same time, Shun Mizutani downstairs said, "Shiyu is just too kind."
"Well said!" Taki Tachibana chimed in.
At this moment, Shiyu Uchiha felt that his two deskmates weren't bad at all. No wonder so many people liked to be brown-nosers. Happily, he decided to treat both of them to barbecue after school since he hadn't specified he would go alone anyway, and figured Sarutobi Shin'nosuke wouldn't mind.
When they went out for barbecue after school that evening, even though there were two extra people, it wasn't a big deal for Sarutobi Shin'nosuke—it was just chump change.
Eventually, the four of them had a great meal. Sarutobi Shin'nosuke generously paid the bill without hesitation, while Shiyu Uchiha left with the other two, leaving Sarutobi looking especially lonely. At that moment, Sarutobi suddenly felt the joy of victory slowly slipping away from him.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!