Might Guy tried to dodge—but the flying slash still grazed him.
Hiss!
It was carved across his shoulder. Before the blood could even drip, the heat evaporated it instantly, leaving a scorched burn mark behind.
"What was that…? That wasn't Uchiha-style swordsmanship!"
Guy's eyes widened in shock as he immediately pulled back to widen the distance.
Yusuke's attack was simply too strange—too unpredictable.
To be fair, with Guy's speed, he could have avoided it completely.
But he had never seen a technique like that before, and that moment of unfamiliarity was all it took.
Guy was sure now.
That slash wasn't "normal" Uchiha sword technique at all.
His expression hardened.
Then he raised the Eight Gates even further.
"Eight Gates… Sixth Gate—Gate of Joy, OPEN!"
With a roar, the green aura around Guy exploded outward, blazing brighter than before.
"Yusuke! I'll show you the true power of the Sixth Gate!"
"Morning Peacock—!"
He launched forward—
and his fists began tearing through the air so rapidly that the friction ignited into flames, blooming like a peacock spreading its fiery wings.
"Morning Peacock!"
Guy's barrage was a storm—violent, relentless, dazzling.
Yusuke only smiled.
He swung his sword repeatedly, calm and composed.
"Good. Let's end this quickly."
"Uchiha Style… Flame Demon."
Guy looked almost crazed now, punching at insane speed.
"Ha—! Shoo—! Shoo—!"
And yet—
Yusuke's body transformed into the silhouette of a towering flame demon giant, unmoving no matter how hard Guy struck.
Then Yusuke shifted into a clean, precise draw stance.
The flame giant mirrored him perfectly.
"Slash."
One sword drop.
A sea of fire swallowed the battlefield.
A swordsman wasn't just about flying slashes—
True mastery meant sensing the "breath" of all things, then cutting with a force that multiplied destruction itself.
When the flames finally faded—
Guy was on one knee, panting.
Yusuke stood with hands behind his back, perfectly relaxed.
The result was obvious.
Even Sixth Gate Guy…
was not enough to defeat Uchiha Yusuke.
"Ahem… what kind of swordsmanship was that?"
Guy coughed, staring with open curiosity.
He could feel it clearly—
if Yusuke hadn't held back, he'd be seriously injured right now.
Yusuke sheathed his blade and smiled lightly.
"A new technique I've been working on."
"Just ordinary swordsmanship."
Guy's eye twitched.
Ordinary?
With power like that?
Sure. Right.
Nearby, Asuma, Genma, Hayate, and the others swallowed hard.
This guy…
was a monster.
As for Kurenai, Anko, and Yugao—
they were already screaming without a shred of dignity left.
"Ahhh—Yusuke-kun is amazing!"
"Yusuke-kun—so cool!"
"Yusuke-kun is mine! Waaaah!"
Yusuke remained his usual cold self.
Women only slow down my draw speed.
The Next Day
The war council was held as scheduled.
Konoha's upper leadership, the clan heads, and many elite jonin gathered once again inside the Hokage Tower.
"Yusuke—you're here."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stepped forward with a warm smile the moment Yusuke entered.
He had already received the report about last night's fight between Yusuke and Might Guy.
A never-before-seen sword technique…
and Yusuke defeated a Sixth Gate Guy with ease.
Based on that alone, Hiruzen strongly suspected Yusuke had stepped into Kage-class territory.
Even after witnessing countless prodigies, Hiruzen had to admit—
Uchiha Yusuke's talent was extraordinary.
The ability to develop entirely new techniques so effortlessly…
He had only seen that level of "creation" once before—back when his teacher, Tobirama Senju, was alive.
Hiruzen had even tested it himself last night.
No matter how he tried to control his chakra, he couldn't recreate Yusuke's flying slash.
From what intelligence suggested, the technique's power was at least equivalent to an A-rank jutsu.
With its speed advantage, it even edged close to S-rank lethality in practice.
And the most frightening part?
Yusuke was only sixteen.
At this rate…
even surpassing Tobirama one day might not be unrealistic.
Hiruzen's feelings were conflicted.
Konoha producing such a genius should've been a blessing.
But the fact that this genius was an Uchiha…
made it a political nightmare.
Suppress him?
Or try to pull him closer?
Hiruzen was genuinely torn.
He had allowed Danzo and the two advisors to pressure the Uchiha for years—
but he had never truly wanted to "discard" them.
Because if used properly…
the Uchiha were a blade Konoha could point at any enemy.
And right now, with war approaching—
the Uchiha on the battlefield alone would terrify Kumogakure.
The title of "strongest clan in the shinobi world" wasn't just for show.
"…Mm."
Yusuke responded calmly to Hiruzen's friendliness with a simple nod.
He didn't respect Konoha's leadership much—
but he would still give the Third Hokage the face he demanded in public.
The Council Begins
Hiruzen opened by analyzing the current state of the shinobi world.
After the Third Great Ninja War, both Sunagakure and Kirigakure were still struggling to recover.
Suna's puppet corps had taken massive losses, and even the Third Kazekage was missing.
Kiri's Seven Swordsmen were basically ruined, and rumors said the village was slipping into a brutal "Bloody Mist" era.
Those two villages had enough chaos of their own.
It was unlikely they'd jump into a Konoha–Kumo conflict.
The real concern was Iwagakure.
In the last war, Iwa had gambled everything—launching a massive assault toward Konoha.
But they ran into Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash.
Their plan collapsed.
Later, Iwa fought Kumo in a savage clash—one that ended with the Third Raikage dying as a casualty of war.
Iwa had grudges with both Konoha and Kumo.
And with the calculating Onoki in charge…
If Konoha and Kumo got locked into a brutal struggle, Iwa might very well jump in to fish for profit.
Mobilization
After the strategic overview came the next step—
troop commitments.
Yusuke spoke first on behalf of the Uchiha.
"The Uchiha clan is prepared to send fifty jonin and two hundred chunin—"
The Uchiha were committing elite forces. The Third Hokage had no reason to object.
Yusuke might've stirred trouble politically—
but at least in war, he wasn't holding back.
After Yusuke, Hiashi Hyuga stood as well.
"The Hyuga clan will send forty jonin and one hundred fifty chunin—"
The conflict began because of the Hyuga incident.
With the Uchiha stepping forward, the Hyuga could not retreat.
The outcome of this war would determine the village's future.
And with Konoha's two greatest clans already making their pledges…
The other clans had no choice but to follow.
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