"Dance of the Crescent Moon? No!"
Uchiha Yu's eyes widened slightly when he saw three figures of Uchiha Kai emerge from the shadows. That formation—it was unmistakable.
Konoha-ryū Kenjutsu: Dance of the Crescent Moon.
A technique pioneered by the Second Hokage's swordsmanship unit, but made famous by Hatake Kakashi's mentor, Gekko Hayate, this three-pronged strike used two shadow clones to attack in perfect synchronicity with the original. Deadly in close quarters, especially when timed perfectly.
But Yu, an experienced Uchiha, instantly realized something was off.
The clones lacked weight—presence.
Real shadow clones had chakra and substance. These didn't.
"A genjutsu? No... just normal clones," he assessed quickly.
The Sharingan could easily differentiate between real and fake in stillness. But in high-speed, close-quarter combat, even the three-tomoe Sharingan could falter under pressure. No wonder the Second Hokage had used it to kill Uchiha warriors during the Warring States period.
Still, Yu wasn't fooled.
"This isn't the real Dance of the Crescent Moon," he growled inwardly. "It's a bluff."
He darted through the clones, dispelling one with a palm strike—the other vanished as Kai feinted behind him.
"A distraction...!"
Kai's blade gleamed, and in that split second, his left hand crackled with lightning—Chidori.
Yu's expression tensed.
Lightning Release: Chidori. A technique that only someone with the Sharingan could control effectively in battle.
"Where did he learn that?" Yu thought. "Has he allied himself with the Hokage faction…?"
But Yu didn't panic.
As Kai lunged forward with the Chidori, Yu shifted his weight, trapping Kai's wrist mid-thrust and twisted.
His other hand struck with a kunai aimed at Kai's abdomen, and his eyes flared with chakra—initiating a genjutsu.
But their eyes met.
And Yu hesitated.
Just for an instant.
A blink.
But it was enough.
Kai's eyes shimmered—not just with three tomoe, but something deeper. Denser.
That brief flicker of illusion was enough for Kai to break free.
Kai's body shifted with precision, and in the next heartbeat, a violent gust of wind followed as he appeared behind Yu in a Body Flicker Technique. Sword drawn. Blade humming.
Yu barely activated his own Shunshin in time, but not before Kai's sword carved shallow gashes across his side.
"Tch... you—!" Yu stumbled back, clutching his ribs. "Your Sharingan… it's still at three tomoe, so why… why is your genjutsu so fast? So precise?"
Kai didn't answer. He only snorted coldly.
"You talk too much," he said, lowering into a ready stance. "Typical frog at the bottom of the well."
Both Uchiha were cautious with genjutsu. When two Sharingan wielders clashed, illusions became a dangerous gamble. The moment you assumed dominance, you exposed your chakra flow to disruption.
But Kai had waited.
Watched.
His Sharingan was simply stronger.
And now Yu knew it.
Still, Yu had resilience. As Kai wove hand signs—Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique—Yu countered.
But he hesitated.
Kai vanished in the fire's roar, reappearing behind Yu with surgical precision, sword gleaming again with lightning.
Yu abandoned his jutsu midway, chakra flow stuttering. He leapt sideways with a hiss.
"Damn kid!" Yu cursed. "He's using misdirection just like I did. But his timing—it's like he's reading ahead…"
He lashed out with a kunai feint, moving faster than before. Kai blocked effortlessly, blade meeting steel.
Yu began mimicking Kai's earlier tactics. Countering, mirroring his movement.
But something was wrong.
Kai wasn't slowing down.
He was accelerating.
Yu's confidence began to falter.
Since returning to Konoha, Kai had recovered fully. His chakra reserves were stable—no longer worn thin like on the battlefield. This was a fresh, rested Kai.
And Yu was beginning to realize he was the one being outmatched.
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"…Approaching the Uchiha Police HQ," he thought, sensing chakra flaring nearby. A shadow clone returned, dispersing as it delivered information.
The police had noticed the fight. Reinforcements were en route.
"Tch. So much for polishing my basics," Kai sighed inwardly. "I wanted ten minutes, but I overestimated how long I could drag this out unnoticed."
"You're distracted?" Yu's voice cut in behind him, wild-eyed and furious. "You really do deserve to die!"
Yu lunged, kunai flashing.
But the blade passed straight through Kai's body—like mist.
A shadow clone.
And then—
Steel pierced Yu's back.
Kai stood behind him, blade already drawn back from the strike. Calm. Unflinching.
"You're boring," Kai muttered. "And arrogant."
Yu's eyes widened in disbelief, blood dripping from his mouth. Then his gaze shifted downward—
—into Kai's eyes.
A triangular, rhombus-shaped pattern spun in his Sharingan.
Something deeper than three tomoe.
Something ancient.
Mangekyō.