Uchiha Shigure gave a polite nod, his expression composed, almost indifferent to the woman before him. Though courtesy demanded it, his introduction came out stiff and formal.
"Uchiha Shigure. I'm Hoshiko's brother… a Genin of Konoha."
The woman — Amemiya Narcissus, her presence both graceful and direct — tilted her head slightly as if appraising his formality. A smile touched her lips.
"Such a conservative young man. Don't worry, I'll remember that and return your favor someday. Why don't we go out for a meal together instead? My treat." Her voice was warm, almost playful, an open invitation.
For a moment, Shigure blinked, as if reminded of something crucial. His mind snapped back — the group matches. The competition was waiting, and every second mattered.
"Apologies," he said flatly, without hesitation. "But I have other important matters to attend to."
Narcissus' smile did not fade, though Shigure had already risen, impatience stirring in his chest.
"Hoshiko," Narcissus crouched slightly to meet the girl's gaze, her voice low and gentle. "If you need anything, and I do mean anything, you must come to me. Don't hesitate. Work will call me away from time to time… but you know how to find me."
Hoshiko's bright nod came with that same simple sincerity. "I understand!"
Shigure's fists tightened. He could already feel the pressure of time slipping away.
"If I keep walking… I'll be too late." His thoughts sharpened. "Then I'll force it with continuous teleportation!"
Without another word, his hands blurred through seals, and in the next instant, his form vanished in a sharp rush of displaced air — the Shunshin no Jutsu, the Body Flicker Technique. His figure darted toward Konoha's Fourth Training Ground, a streak of phantom speed cutting across the village.
The shop grew quiet, the only sound the faint clatter of a sign rustling outside. Narcissus blinked after him, baffled by his abruptness.
"Your brother," she murmured with a faint laugh. "Has he always been so… domineering? So blunt?"
Hoshiko covered her mouth, giggling. "No, not at all! He used to be gentler. He always loved me, but after everything with the other Uchiha, he's changed. Stronger. More decisive. More… protective." Her voice softened. "I think he finally understands what matters."
Then the girl leaned closer to Narcissus, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Besides, he almost didn't make it home today because of a mission. If he'd been any later…" She trailed her words mysteriously.
"Later?" Narcissus raised a brow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Heh, secret." Hoshiko pressed a finger to her lips, her voice a whisper. "You'll find out tonight."
Shigure was, of course, oblivious to their conversation. His entire being was thrown into control, every fiber straining against the limits of his chakra. Shunshin. Again. His form flickered, vanished, and reappeared, an unbroken chain of displacements.
His mastery of the technique had grown sharper than ever. Where once his movements had been clumsy and taxing, his body now obeyed without hesitation — the result of tireless practice and something deeper stirring within his blood.
The Ōtsutsuki heritage woven into him was sharpening by the day. Half a month of missions had refined the bloodline in his body to frightening clarity: skin pale as porcelain, the faint protrusion of budding horns at his hairline, a reservoir of chakra that seemed to swell endlessly within him.
At this pace, Shigure knew without arrogance that he would soon reach beyond the level of an ordinary Kage. His chakra density was rising toward a realm few could truly comprehend — Super Kage-class.
Power alone, however, was not victory. Chakra control and timing were a ninja's true weapons. And Shigure, in battle and practice alike, had begun to master both.
It doesn't matter how many jutsu you copy if you can't use the right one at the right time.
That lesson had changed him.
And the greatest change of all had come to his eyes. His Byakuran — the unique dojutsu of his hybrid bloodlines — had expanded in strength. The radius of his perception stretched almost one-third wider than before. Where once chakra veins had blurred faintly, now every stream of energy in a body burned clear and sharp. His eye power surged, refining, evolving.
The Body Flicker itself was tied to this flow of chakra. The more vigorously he poured chakra into the technique, the faster his body blurred across space. And Shigure now held little concern for chakra consumption. His flickers became bolts of raw speed, ripping through the village like shadows across stone.
Konoha shinobi with trained perception caught sight of him as he moved — or rather, of the whip-crack afterimages left in his wake. Wordless gasps followed his passing.
Elsewhere in Konoha, three young ninja and their sensei happened to spot him.
A silver-haired boy stiffened, his single visible eye narrowing in awe.
"That… that was the Body Flicker?!" exclaimed Hatake Kakashi, his voice uncharacteristically startled. "Sensei, did you see that?! It's almost like your Flying Thunder God!"
Namikaze Minato, tall and lean, turned his sky-blue eyes in the direction of Kakashi's shout. The man's golden hair gleamed in the afternoon light. He wore the simple but proud flak jacket of a Konoha Jōnin, though there was nothing ordinary about the calm weight of his presence.
Minato smiled faintly. "Is that so, Kakashi?"
"Eh?!" A dark-haired boy with round goggles rubbed his eyes, clearly too slow to catch the motion. "I didn't see anything! You sure you weren't just imagining it?" Uchiha Obito yawned loudly, crumbs of food still at the corner of his mouth.
"You were busy eating. He was gone before you even lifted your head," the third member of their team said dryly.
Nohara Rin, soft-spoken with warm brown eyes and painted markings on her cheeks, folded her arms. She had seen it too, faint as it was.
Obito sputtered, cheeks turning red. "I-I saw it too! I was just— uh— testing you guys! Yeah, testing your awareness!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Mm-hm."
"You again, Obito…" Rin sighed, though the words betrayed affection more than scorn.
Before tension could mount, Minato's calm voice drew them back. "No need to argue. What's important is what we witnessed. I could swear that figure bore the Uchiha crest."
Obito blinked twice, startled. "An Uchiha?!" His mind immediately raced through the clan members he knew.
"But what puzzled me," Minato continued, "was that there was no spatial disturbance. That wasn't the Flying Thunder God. Pure Body Flicker, amplified… and yet, none of our clan Jōnin could achieve such speed." His eyes glinted with curiosity.
"Obito," Minato asked, "do you recognize him? A prodigy kept secret by the clan, perhaps? Or someone in Anbu?"
"H-huh?!" Obito flailed his arms, voice high. "Wait, wait, hold up! Don't tell me you're talking about my cousin Shisui! No way! He's what, six? Seven? He's already busy as an Anbu operative under the Hokage. It couldn't possibly be him!"
"Anbu at six years old…?" Kakashi muttered in disbelief.
Obito realized what he had admitted and immediately flushed crimson. "Agh! Don't you laugh! My strength is way ahead of his, I'll have you know! H-he's just… lucky!"
Rin covered her mouth, stifling laughter. Kakashi smirked. Obito's ears turned scarlet.
"Stop laughing! I'm serious!"
Minato chuckled softly. "Enough, Obito. Either way, we're not on mission today. Why don't we follow his trail? Whoever he was, I'd like to meet him."
"Yes! Finally, some excitement!" Obito pumped his fist, a grin spreading across his face.
Kakashi tilted his head. "Better than sitting around. If he's strong, fighting him will be interesting."
"Then it's settled," Minato said. With that calm authority that always drew his students forward, he gestured for them to move. "Let's go."
Together, the future Fourth Hokage and his legendary disciples began to follow the blur of footsteps left by Uchiha Shigure.
But Shigure — though unaware of the team trailing behind him — remained cautious. His instincts whispered danger. After all, he had already killed Uchiha in this very village.
And secrets had a way of drawing eyes he was not yet ready to face…
--
Unlock 50 exclusive advanced chapters for just $10 – don't miss out! Check the synopsis/description for the link! 🚀
Loved this fic? 🔥 Then you'll absolutely binge my other hits — "Douluo Dalu: Ten Thousand Years Early System!" & "Douluo Dalu: The Godly Drunkard System" — don't miss out!