Chapter 193 The Fallen Genius

“Shisui and Kakashi, how are your preparations coming along?” Muzuki asked.

“I’m ready to fight at any time,” Shisui quickly replied, a faint smile on his face.

“No problem, we can start the fight,” Kakashi said calmly, nodding. With timely treatment and enough rest, he had fully recovered.

“Then it’s settled,” Muzuki said with a smile, gesturing for Shisui and Kakashi to go to the battleground and prepare to fight.

Watching Kakashi’s calm demeanor, Muzuki silently mourned for Kakashi for 0.1 seconds.

Since Shisui had already defeated Obito with Kakashi observing, Kakashi had a general understanding of Shisui’s strength and methods.

However, this was not necessarily a good thing for Kakashi; instead, it might lead him to misjudge Shisui’s true power.

Because Shisui always disliked one-shot kills, using only as much strength as needed to defeat an opponent. If Shisui had used his Sharingan, Obito would have been completely disoriented by his Genjutsu, but Shisui didn’t use it until the very end.

Coupled with Shisui’s misleading age, Kakashi would never have expected a Shisui, two years younger than them, to be strong enough to hold back in a fight against Obito.

Of course, even if Kakashi didn’t misestimate Shisui’s strength, Kakashi would most likely still not be able to defeat Shisui. Under normal circumstances, Shisui and Kakashi had similar overall strength, but the situation would be different if Shisui used his Sharingan.

Following the Konoha sparring custom, both formed the Confrontation Seal.

“If we were the same age, I really wouldn’t be as good as him,” Kakashi thought, looking at the serious Shisui.

Although he couldn’t go back two years to fight Shisui, Obito’s current strength had surpassed his own at six years old, and Shisui had defeated the current Obito. Indirectly comparing them, Shisui was indeed as Obito had said before, even more of a genius than him.

However, Kakashi was still confident in this fight. He felt that Obito’s loss wasn’t a matter of strength but entirely due to his poor fighting level. Although he had trained less in the past two years, he hadn’t done fewer missions, and his combat experience was very rich.

“Begin!” As the two took their stances, Muzuki announced the start of the battle.

Kakashi immediately drew the White Fang Short Blade from his back and slashed at Shisui.

Clang!

Shisui used the Breathing Technique to enhance his physical abilities, quickly drew the short sword Muzuki had given him, and blocked Kakashi’s incoming White Fang Short Blade.

Kakashi’s expression remained unchanged, his hand movements extremely fast, the sharp blade continuously slashing at Shisui’s vital points.

Kakashi’s incredibly fast swordplay put a lot of pressure on Shisui, and several scratches appeared on his clothes.

Shisui realized the power of Kakashi’s close-range swordplay and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to create distance, then quickly formed hand signs.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Shisui opened his mouth and spewed out a large amount of flames, which eventually formed a three-meter-wide fireball that flew rapidly towards Kakashi.

Facing the Great Fireball Technique burning with intense heat, Kakashi chose not to confront it head-on, but instead threw a smoke bomb and then dodged.

The moment Kakashi threw the smoke bomb, he immediately threw a large number of Shuriken towards the edge of the smoke.

Boom!!

The fireball plunged into the smoke, hitting the ground and causing an explosion. At the same time, the Shuriken, piercing the air at high speed, all rushed into the edge of the smoke.

There was no sound of metal clashing. When the smoke dissipated, only some scorched earth and a scattering of Shuriken were visible; Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

Shisui showed a thoughtful expression, jumped twice into a tree, hid in the tree, used a Shadow Clone, and then observed the movements to the north. He had thrown his Shuriken towards the south earlier.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

Sure enough, Kakashi suddenly appeared from behind a large tree in the direction he was observing, throwing out a large number of Shuriken.

Shisui also threw Shuriken to knock down the incoming Shuriken, and at the same time, through the collision of the Shuriken, he made several Shuriken stab towards Kakashi at a very strange angle.

Clang clang!

Kakashi dodged some Shuriken and knocked down others, but just as he successfully resolved the Shuriken, Shisui had already appeared with a Kunai in hand, stabbing towards him.

“Kakashi-senpai, the battle is over,” Shisui said.

“The battle is indeed over, but I’m the winner,” another Kakashi emerged from a nearby tree, holding a Kunai pointed at Shisui’s vital points.

“You should be more careful of enemies who have already disappeared,” Kakashi calmly reminded him.

“Kakashi-senpai, what you said makes a lot of sense.”

Just as Kakashi thought he had won, Shisui stepped out from behind the tree, used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly appear beside Kakashi, and held a Kunai to Kakashi’s throat, saying,

“It seems I still won,” Shisui said with a faint smile.

“You are indeed very cautious, and as a student, you are already excellent, but you need to be even more cautious,” the Kakashi held at Kunai said unhurriedly.

The next moment, a hand suddenly emerged from the ground where Shisui was standing, pulling Shisui underground, leaving only his head above ground.

“If you were a little more cautious, you might have had a chance to win, but this time I won,” Kakashi, who appeared next to Shisui, declared his victory.

Obito, who was watching the constantly reversing situation, was already stunned and couldn’t help but complain:

“That Kakashi Guy is really cunning; both Shadow Clones were decoys.”

Might Guy scratched his head, feeling that all this flashy stuff was not as good as a full-force kick.

Just as Kakashi thought he had won, a sudden change occurred: the Shadow Clone Shisui suddenly counterattacked, taking down both Kakashi’s Shadow Clones with him.

A Shuriken on the ground suddenly transformed into Shisui. Shisui quickly activated his Sharingan and said,

“Kakashi-senpai, you’re right. A Ninja should indeed be more and more cautious.”

Kakashi subconsciously looked at Shisui and directly saw Shisui’s blood-red eyes.

“Sharingan!” Kakashi’s heart trembled. He hadn’t expected to see the Uchiha’s famous Sharingan on Shisui, a Ninja Academy student who was still in his first year.

The next moment, Kakashi suddenly found his body bound by suddenly growing trees, unable to move.

Kakashi knew about Ninjutsu that could control plant growth; it was very famous in Konoha and the Ninja World—it was the Wood Release used by the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.

However, as an Uchiha, Shisui naturally couldn’t use Wood Release. Kakashi quickly guessed that he had fallen into Genjutsu. He wanted to dispel it, but Shisui’s series of attacks was too fast, and Kakashi quickly felt a sharp short blade pressing against his body.

The Genjutsu ended, and Kakashi saw Shisui, who had already appeared beside him.

“Thank you for the match, Kakashi-senpai,” Shisui said with a calm smile.

Winning against Kakashi was within his expectations. Although he always heard Ninja Academy teachers compare him to Kakashi, saying he was the second Kakashi, Shisui didn’t believe he would lose to Kakashi, because he was Muzuki’s first disciple.

When Kakashi first used the smoke bomb, Shisui immediately activated his Sharingan to pinpoint Kakashi’s location, and the subsequent series of attacks were all intentional bait from Shisui.

After the first wave of engagement, his victory was already assured.

“There’s no ‘thank you for the match’; you won with sheer strength,” Kakashi said with a complex expression.

Before today, he had never lost to a peer, or even to Ninja several years older than him.

Today, he lost twice: once to Might Guy, who was his age, and once to Uchiha Shisui, who was two years younger than him.

Losing to Might Guy, Kakashi was surprised yet found it reasonable, as Might Guy was so hardworking and had also gained his father’s approval.

Losing to Shisui in this battle, Kakashi was convinced. Shisui’s overall strength indeed surpassed his.

“Can I still be considered a genius?” Kakashi asked himself internally.

Two years ago, when people called him a genius, Kakashi didn’t smile because of it, but he felt a sense of inner affirmation.

He graduated early from the Ninja Academy at five years old with the top score and passed the Chunin Exams directly at six years old to become a Chunin. If he wasn’t considered a genius then, what would be?

But can he still be considered a genius now? A new year had arrived, and if not by actual age, he could already be considered nine years old.

How much had his strength improved at nine years old compared to when he was six, and what kind of genius feats had he accomplished?

None. His raw strength hadn’t improved much; only the accumulation of experience made it seem like he was constantly progressing. There were no more extraordinary feats; he was just a slightly younger Chunin.

Perhaps he could have been called a genius once, but now he no longer had the right to be called one.

Kakashi began to ponder when he had become like this. As he thought, the scene in his mind gradually became clear: it was a very deep night, a blood-stained night. From that night onwards, when Kakashi called out, “I’m home,” no one answered anymore.

“Kakashi, are you feeling unwell?” Muzuki asked softly, looking at Kakashi’s pale face.

Muzuki’s voice pulled Kakashi from his memories. When he came back to his senses, Muzuki’s gentle and warm smile met his eyes. Kakashi felt a little relieved, then shook his head and replied:

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about something.”

Muzuki placed a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder and said with a smile:

“If you’re tired, you can rest more. Training is important, but your body is the capital for training.”

Kakashi nodded slightly, then returned to the observation area to rest.

“Rin, you see? I told you Kakashi couldn’t win. Shisui can even defeat me, so dealing with Kakashi is a piece of cake.”

As soon as Kakashi reached the observation area, he saw Obito slandering him.

“I can’t defeat Shisui, but defeating you, an Uchiha who hasn’t awakened his Sharingan, is very easy,” Kakashi said impolitely.

After listening to Obito’s words, Kakashi’s motivation for training doubled. Whatever happened, he at least couldn’t lose to Obito.

“Damn Kakashi, I’ll have a Sharingan sooner or later!” Obito retorted upon hearing Kakashi’s voice.

Kakashi replied to Obito with a sarcastic laugh.

Obito immediately realized that his words just now implied he admitted he was no match for Kakashi without the Sharingan, so he quickly changed his tune: “Even without the Sharingan, I can still defeat you.”

“Then prove it to me. If you defeat Guy, then you truly have the strength to defeat me,” Kakashi said calmly. The next fight was between Obito and Might Guy.

“I…” Obito was momentarily speechless. Given Might Guy’s speed and strength shown that morning, Obito was genuinely a bit nervous.

“Alright, you’re both amazing. Obito, it’s time for you to prepare for your fight,” Rin Nohara said with a gentle smile.