Chapter 440: The Inhuman Uchiha

After Shisui recovered from his injuries, Obito and his team had already returned to Konoha, so Muzuki assigned Shisui to a new squad.

Shisui had no objections to this; with his current strength, he was indeed not strong enough to operate alone on the battlefield.

“You must be Uchiha Shisui, who’s joining our squad. I’m Takagi Shinji, the captain of this squad. My Ninja rank is Special Jonin, and I primarily specialize in Fire Release,” Takagi Shinji introduced himself proactively when he saw Shisui arrive.

Even though Shisui was only temporarily joining, self-introductions were an essential part of the process.

This wasn’t for the sake of ritual, but rather so that they had a basic understanding of each other on the battlefield, which would facilitate combat.

Even if they couldn’t coordinate perfectly, they couldn’t negatively impact each other.

Hearing it was Uchiha Shisui, Takagi Shinji’s disciples looked at Shisui with curiosity; this name had been ringing in their ears lately.

Even Konoha Ninja in the far rear knew of Kakashi and his team’s achievements, and Takagi Shinji’s disciples, being on the battlefield where the skirmishes occurred, naturally knew even more.

All the Konoha Ninja on the entire battlefield had learned of Muzuki’s strength and the genius of Kakashi and his team.

“He’s so small, really eight years old? How does one train to have the strength to fight the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist at eight years old?”

“Could it be that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist aren’t as strong as rumored? This Uchiha Shisui doesn’t seem very strong.”

Takagi Shinji’s disciples couldn’t help but murmur to themselves when they saw Shisui.

Because Shisui didn’t look particularly special; he just gave off the impression of being a very quiet child.

“I am Uchiha Shisui, my Ninja rank is Chunin, and I specialize in Fire Release and Genjutsu,” Shisui immediately introduced himself after Takagi Shinji finished, briefly revealing the Ninjutsu he excelled at.

Takagi Shinji nodded, then looked at his three disciples.

“I’m Kobayashi Kenji, my Ninja rank is Chunin, and I can use Wind Release Ninjutsu.”

“My name is Uesugi Tooru, my Ninja rank is Chunin, and I specialize in Fire Release Ninjutsu.”

“I’m Miyashita Yuki, my Ninja rank is Chunin, and I can use some basic Medical Ninjutsu.”

Takagi Shinji’s disciples responded one after another.

“To better arrange tactics during missions, I need to understand your abilities through a practice battle, but we also have a mission to execute soon, so we’ll stop before anyone gets seriously hurt,” Takagi Shinji said after some thought.

Under normal circumstances, Takagi Shinji would definitely have his disciples test him, but given that Shisui was a recently renowned Uchiha genius, Takagi Shinji chose to show respect and go himself.

Not to mention, Takagi Shinji truly wasn’t confident in defeating Shisui, after all, even if eight of him encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, they’d only be able to run, while Shisui and his team had defeated them.

“Please instruct me,” Shisui nodded and agreed; this was also his intention.

“Shinji-sensei, let me do it. If you watch from the side, you can observe more closely,” Uesugi Tooru volunteered and stepped forward.

He was usually the most outstanding in the squad and wanted to fight Shisui to see the gap between himself and a true genius.

“Even if he started training at three years old, he’s only trained for five years at most. I’ve been a Ninja for more than five years, so I shouldn’t lose too badly,” Uesugi Tooru thought to himself.

Uesugi Tooru had no confidence in winning, but he believed he could hold his own for a bit.

“Are you sure?” Takagi Shinji didn’t agree.

Takagi Shinji knew Uesugi Tooru’s level all too well; he was decent among Chunin, but that was it. He wasn’t in the same world as a super genius like Shisui.

“Yes, it’s rare to encounter a genius like Shisui; I want to test my level,” Uesugi Tooru explained.

“Then you go ahead,” Takagi Shinji agreed to Uesugi Tooru’s request after some thought.

He wanted to use Shisui to humble this somewhat overconfident disciple.

If he maintained this mindset during a mission, he could easily die.

“Battle start!”

With Takagi Shinji’s command, both Shisui and Uesugi Tooru moved.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Uesugi Tooru ran while pulling Shuriken from his Ninja tool pouch and throwing them at Shisui.

Shisui’s expression remained unchanged, and he also threw Shuriken.

Clang! Clang!

Their Shuriken collided and fell to the ground together.

“Even his basic skills far surpass ordinary people,” the observing Takagi Shinji nodded to himself at the sight.

On the surface, the exchange of Shuriken seemed like a draw, but Shisui waited for Uesugi Tooru to finish throwing before he threw his Shuriken. In this situation, Shisui still perfectly intercepted all of Uesugi Tooru’s Shuriken, showcasing his exceptional Shuriken throwing skill.

Whoosh!

When he was only five meters away from Shisui, Uesugi Tooru suddenly unleashed his Chakra, using the Body Flicker Technique to appear at Shisui’s side and throw a punch.

Shisui seemed to have anticipated this, and with a slight turn of his body, he dodged the incoming punch.

His attack missed, and Uesugi Tooru immediately took a step back and kicked at Shisui, but Shisui also happened to take a step back, and Uesugi Tooru’s attack missed again.

Uesugi Tooru pushed his physical body to its limit, launching continuous fierce attacks, but he couldn’t even touch Shisui’s clothing.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Seeing that his Taijutsu was ineffective, Uesugi Tooru distanced himself, formed hand signs, and used Fire Release.

“Muzuki-sensei’s Ninjutsu,” Shisui was slightly surprised.

Previously, when Muzuki was teaching Nature Transformation, he developed five D-rank Ninjutsu, and subsequently developed corresponding upgraded C-rank Ninjutsu, of which the Great Fireball Technique was one.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Shisui also formed hand signs and used Fire Release, but to avoid injuring his teammates, Shisui intentionally reduced the amount of Chakra used to weaken the power of the Great Fireball Technique.

“So, there’s still such a huge gap between me and a true genius,” Uesugi Tooru sighed inwardly after seeing the power of the Great Fireball Technique released by Shisui.

He had practiced Fire Release for a long time, and even before the fireballs collided, he could tell that Shisui’s fireball was much stronger than his.

Boom!!

The two fireballs collided, and Shisui’s Great Fireball Technique, without exception, engulfed Uesugi Tooru’s Great Fireball Technique.

Although his fighting spirit was almost completely extinguished, his Ninja instincts still urged Uesugi Tooru to dodge.

Whoosh!

Just then, Shisui, who had not taken the initiative to attack, made his move. He held a Kunai and used the Body Flicker Technique to rush forward.

By the time Uesugi Tooru reacted, the cold glint of the Kunai was already pressed against his neck.

“So fast,” Uesugi Tooru’s pupils dilated, his face full of surprise.

He thought he could last a bit longer, but he didn’t expect Shisui’s Body Flicker Technique to be so fast.

Shisui silently put away his Kunai; this was a practice battle meant to stop before serious injury.

In fact, if Shisui had truly gone all out, he could have instantly defeated Uesugi Tooru at the very beginning. However, to understand his teammate’s strength and to give his new teammate some face, Shisui only got serious after a few exchanges.

“Tooru, you’re a bit overconfident,” Kobayashi Kenji couldn’t help but retort.

On the surface, the two seemed to have exchanged a few blows back and forth, but in reality, as soon as Shisui took the offensive, Uesugi Tooru was instantly defeated.

“His strength truly lives up to its reputation,” Miyashita Yuki was surprised by the strength Shisui displayed.

Hearing about it and seeing it with one’s own eyes were still quite different; the sight of an eight-year-old child dominating a sixteen-year-old Chunin was incredibly impactful.

At this moment, Uesugi Tooru didn’t respond to his teammate’s taunt; he had only one thought in his mind: “This guy is eight years old?”

He accepted that Shisui’s Fire Release was stronger than his; after all, he was a genius, and Ninjutsu indeed depended heavily on talent.

But Shisui’s Taijutsu was a bit beyond common sense; how could an eight-year-old body have such physical strength?

“Did he start training in the womb?” Uesugi Tooru couldn’t help but wonder.

Takagi Shinji’s hand interrupted Uesugi Tooru’s thoughts.

“Now you know the strength of a true genius, don’t you? You still have a long way to go,” Takagi Shinji said, patting his somewhat overconfident disciple.

After speaking, Takagi Shinji didn’t wait for Uesugi Tooru’s reply and looked at Shisui, “Shisui, do you want to rest before fighting again, or start now? This guy’s level is too low; you were probably holding back your strength to avoid hurting him, right?”

Uesugi Tooru went down too quickly, so Takagi Shinji had to personally assess Shisui’s abilities.

“Then let’s start now,” Shisui agreed.

He hadn’t expended much effort fighting Uesugi Tooru just now, so he naturally didn’t need to rest before fighting again.

Uesugi Tooru rubbed his patted back, sighed, and moved to the side to watch the battle, thinking that the only painful part of the fight was the pat his sensei gave him after it ended—unbelievable.

“Sensei is a Jonin after all, so it shouldn’t be like me,” Uesugi Tooru speculated about the battle’s outcome in his mind.

A Special Jonin was still a Jonin, with a significant gap from a Chunin. He believed Takagi Shinji could make Shisui use his true strength.

However, something unexpected happened to Uesugi Tooru: the overall rhythm of Shisui’s battle with Takagi Shinji was surprisingly similar to the previous fight.

In Taijutsu, Takagi Shinji still couldn’t gain any advantage over Shisui, and was even forced to retreat step by step.

In Fire Release, Takagi Shinji was still suppressed by Shisui. When both used Fire Release simultaneously, Takagi Shinji’s Fire Release was ultimately engulfed by Shisui’s Fire Release.

Takagi Shinji’s three disciples all watched this scene with shocked expressions.

Clashes of Ninjutsu of the same nature could easily compare the strength of both sides, because there was no counter-relationship; the stronger one would simply win against the weaker one, without any surprises.

Takagi Shinji losing the Ninjutsu clash proved that he was inferior to Shisui in Fire Release training.

“Shinji-sensei actually…” Kobayashi Kenji stared dumbfounded at Takagi Shinji, whose back was drenched in sweat.

As their guiding sensei, Takagi Shinji was the Jonin they had the most contact with. Witnessing their own sensei being beaten into a sweat by an eight-year-old child was an incredibly impactful sight.

Fortunately, Shisui remembered the rule of stopping before serious injury. When he felt he had understood enough, he proactively stopped, which somewhat saved Takagi Shinji’s remaining dignity.

Whether it was from overexertion or the high temperature of Shisui’s Fire Release, Takagi Shinji’s face turned slightly red.

“Truly monstrously strong,” Takagi Shinji exhaled and thought.

Although he had expected Shisui to be very strong, Takagi Shinji was still surprised by Shisui’s strength after actually fighting him. He felt as if he was facing a truly formidable Jonin.

Takagi Shinji, with his rich combat experience, could sense that Shisui was still holding back, because going all out would injure him.

“Having such a strong teammate is a good thing,” Takagi Shinji comforted himself.

This was indeed a bit embarrassing. He had just lectured his disciple, only to get completely dominated himself after stepping in.

And so, Shisui joined Takagi Shinji’s squad and began a new mission career.

Although they were all teammates, Shisui could clearly feel that he hadn’t integrated into the team’s atmosphere; the three teammates had a subtle sense of detachment towards him.

Shisui hadn’t experienced this feeling in a long time; he only felt it when he went out with the elders of the Uchiha Clan before.

After entering the Ninja Academy, he spent most of his time training with Muzuki, and was mostly with Muzuki and his disciples, so such a thing naturally wouldn’t happen.

This feeling made Shisui a little uncomfortable, after all, he hadn’t done anything detrimental to anyone.

Shisui roughly guessed the reason, but he couldn’t be 100% certain.

Next, Shisui didn’t isolate himself from the team because of that subtle sense of detachment; he continued to be himself.

During a slightly dangerous mission, Shisui used his Sharingan to deal with a sneak attack, preventing Kobayashi Kenji and Miyashita Yuki from getting injured.

After this mission, that subtle sense of detachment disappeared.

“Shisui, thank you so much! If you hadn’t acted so quickly, we probably would have been bedridden for a while,” Kobayashi Kenji said gratefully.

“It seems not all Uchiha are unsympathetic… Hiss.”

Miyashita Yuki smiled and elbowed the insensitive Kobayashi Kenji, then said to Shisui apologetically, “Sorry, Kenji isn’t very good with words. Shisui, please don’t take it to heart.”

Through their interactions, it was clear that Shisui wasn’t a cold-hearted person, but according to Miyashita Yuki’s understanding, Uchiha Ninja had a very strong sense of clan identity, and she was worried Shisui would be upset by this.

“I don’t mind,” Shisui said, shaking his head.

If someone were truly slandering the Uchiha Clan, Shisui would indeed be upset.

However, was Kobayashi Kenji truly slandering them? That’s not necessarily true.

Based on Shisui’s understanding of his clansmen, there were indeed some who completely disregarded those outside the Uchiha.

Clearly, Shisui had guessed correctly; the reason his squadmates didn’t immediately accept him wasn’t because he had defeated Uesugi Tooru and Takagi Shinji, but because of his surname—Uchiha.

Because he was a temporarily assigned Uchiha Ninja, the three teammates had a slight sense of detachment towards him at first.

Shisui even believed that Captain Takagi Shinji might have felt it too, but Takagi Shinji was older and thus better at hiding it.

“I must change the image of the Uchiha Clan among the Konoha populace,” Shisui realized the importance of a good reputation after deep thought.

Not all Uchiha would be able to prove their true character through actions like Shisui, thereby improving relationships.

Many Uchiha clansmen had an arrogance stemming from being the strongest noble clan. If outsiders initially showed detachment, they would respond with even stronger detachment.

Even if they realized the other party was misunderstanding, they would be too proud to explain.