[Bond] Ch 18: Shimura Yami

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At Konoha Hospital

Uchiha Itachi had already woken up inside a private ward

He hadn't suffered any serious injuries—just a fractured fist from Shimura Yami's punch.

The reason he passed out was that his body couldn't handle the sudden surge of mental energy from awakening the Sharingan, triggering a self-protection mechanism.

After a brief rest, he regained consciousness.

Uchiha Shisui was beside him right now.

Yesterday, Shisui had heard about the duel between Yami and Itachi, but an urgent mission came up, forcing him to leave.

He rushed through it as quickly as possible and returned at top speed—only to still be late. By the time he caught up, Itachi was already lying in a hospital bed.

When Itachi opened his eyes, the first thing he saw were two pairs of concerned eyes watching him.

"Father, Shisui..."

"You're awake, Itachi." Shisui smiled. "No matter how fast I rushed back, I was still a step too late."

"I heard it was an incredible fight. Don't be discouraged—losing to Yami is nothing to be ashamed of. If you keep working hard, you'll catch up to him in the future."

"That's right," Uchiha Fugaku chimed in, full of pride. "Winning or losing once doesn't matter. Besides, you awakened your Sharingan—that's a huge surprise in itself."

Awakening the Sharingan at seven was incredibly rare in the post-Warring States era.

The last person to do so had been Shisui himself. If he calculated it correctly, Itachi was actually half a year younger than Shisui was when he awakened his Sharingan.

As expected of his son.

(A/N: it should be: As expected of Mikoto's son.)

Despite their encouragement, Itachi's expression remained bleak, showing little reaction.

After a moment of thought, Fugaku decided to leave the room.

Even though his son usually acted mature, Fugaku knew he carried the same Uchiha pride. Losing to a peer from another clan was definitely a tough pill to swallow.

There was nothing he could do to help. It was better to let Shisui, who was closer to Itachi's age, talk to him. Maybe it would be more effective.

Now, only Shisui and Itachi remained in the ward. The atmosphere did seem to lighten a bit—at the very least, Itachi finally spoke.

"Shisui, did you teach Yami the throwing techniques and Body Flicker?"

Shisui blinked, slightly surprised by the question, but he nodded. "That's right."

Itachi's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight. "You're his teacher—then how big is the gap between me and him?"

Shisui sighed and didn't answer. He just shook his head.

Itachi clenched his fists, unwilling to accept it. "I've awakened the Sharingan now. Doesn't that give me a chance?"

With the Sharingan, his mental energy had skyrocketed. Since chakra was formed by blending mental and physical energy, his chakra reserves had grown as well.

Itachi was even considering challenging Yami again immediately—so why was Shisui still saying he had no chance?

"Itachi, the Sharingan isn't omnipotent."

Shisui met Itachi's stubborn gaze and patiently explained, "You've only just awakened it."

"You haven't learned how to use it properly, and a single-tomoe Sharingan doesn't provide a huge advantage—it only improves your perception. But Yami doesn't even need a Sharingan; his dynamic vision is already incredible."

"You don't stand a chance right now."

"Is Yami really that strong?" Itachi found it hard to believe.

He had been on the battlefield with his father since he was four. He had personally killed enemy ninja.

And Yami?

Just some spoiled rich kid, notorious for freeloading at various shops in the village. And taking stuff for free, too.

"Itachi, Yami is far more terrifying than you think. I have nothing left to teach him anymore."

Shisui's words left Itachi utterly stunned.

"That's impossible."

Shisui was his idol—even more than his father. He was a master of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, and had the strongest three-tomoe Sharingan.

And now he was saying he wasn't qualified to be Yami's teacher anymore?

Then who in the entire village was qualified? The Hokage himself?

"It's not that Yami is stronger than me," Shisui clarified, "but rather, his talent and learning speed."

"There's something I'll tell you—but you can't share it with anyone. Not even Fugaku-sama."

Shisui's expression turned serious, and Itachi nodded solemnly.

"I understand. I won't tell anyone."

"He learns at an absurd rate." Shisui sighed. "It took him one week to master the Uchiha throwing technique. In just one month, he learned all of my Fire Release jutsu."

"Another month later, he had completely mastered my Body Flicker techniques."

"Six months in, when it came to pure kenjutsu, I could only fight him to a draw. After that, I never gave him another lesson. He doesn't lack skills or jutsu—he just needs time to grow."

"Yami knows kenjutsu too?" Itachi blurted out. He knew how lethal Shisui's kenjutsu was—combined with Body Flicker and genjutsu, he could take out most ninja in a single strike.

"You're mistaken."

Shisui corrected him. "His true specialty isn't ninjutsu or taijutsu—it's kenjutsu."

Itachi was speechless.

So… I wasn't even worthy of making Yami take me seriously?

Seeing his dumbfounded look, Shisui felt a little sorry for him.

Against any other peer, Itachi wouldn't have lost.

But he just had to run into Shimura Yami.

...

After a long silence, seeing that Itachi had calmed down, Shisui finally continued,

"Itachi, even though you've awakened the Sharingan, there's something important you need to remember."

His expression grew even more serious than before. Itachi couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"

Looking at Itachi's young face, Shisui spoke each word carefully:

"Until your body is fully developed, use your Sharingan as little as possible. Otherwise... it could cause irreversible damage."

— — —

At the same time, elsewhere in the village, on a grassy field—

Shimura Yami and Uchiha Izumi lay side by side, gazing at the sky.

Yami murmured softly,

"Honestly... awakening the Sharingan too early isn't necessarily a good thing."

.

.

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