Dozens of orange-red flames, like startled touch-me-not seeds, traced eerie arcs through the air, guided by chakra.
Uchiha Reki's single tomoe spun frantically within his Sharingan. The trajectory of every single flame was crystal clear to him, but their speed was simply too fast.
He moved to dodge to the side, only to realize that the fireballs were accelerating mid-air, splitting into hundreds of sparks that closed in from all directions.
In the nick of time, Uchiha Reki slammed his hands together.
"Wood Release: Cutting Technique."
Rumble!
With a deafening crash, thick, knotted wooden vines burst from the ground, erecting a three-meter-high circular barrier around Uchiha Reki.
The fireballs slammed into the wooden wall with a barrage of dull thuds before falling weakly to the ground.
"Seriously... no hand signs at all?"
As the dust settled, Kakashi stared at the undamaged wooden wall, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth beneath his mask.
Is this the power inherited from the First Hokage...?
Just as Kakashi was momentarily dazed, a piercing whistle ripped through the air above him. Uchiha Reki descended from the sky, wielding Karma Fire.
Kakashi instinctively raised his blade to block. White Fang collided with Karma Fire, sending a shower of blinding sparks flying.
Uchiha Reki had used the cover of the dust to leap high into the air, and right now, the single tomoe within his scarlet Sharingan were spinning slowly.
"Too slow." Uchiha Reki's whispered words sent a chill down Kakashi's spine.
The clash of blades generated the crushing pressure of a mountain. The webbing between Kakashi's thumb and forefinger instantly split, and blood began to drip down the hilt of White Fang.
Bang!
Karma Fire hacked savagely into the ground before thrusting toward Kakashi once more.
Clang!
The sharp White Fang, wreathed in blue chakra, barely managed to parry the edge of Karma Fire.
A sharp, stabbing pain shot through Kakashi's hand. This strength was even greater than before.
Uchiha Reki, just how many trump cards are you hiding?
Right at that moment, he locked eyes with those blood-red pupils.
The single tomoe suddenly accelerated their spin, transforming into a pitch-black vortex.
Kakashi felt his consciousness being yanked away as the scenery of the training ground began to distort.
Damn it! I forgot about Uchiha Reki's Sharingan!
And at that crucial instant, Karma Fire had already breached the safety margin, roaring as it slashed toward Kakashi's chest.
Kakashi watched helplessly as the dark blade cleaved toward his chest, his body nailed to the spot as if paralyzed.
"Reki!" Senju Hashirama's roar exploded through the mental space like a thunderclap.
Uchiha Reki violently whipped his wrist, turning the flat of the blade to smash against Kakashi's chest instead.
Even so, the immense shockwave sent the white-haired boy flying, crashing through a wooden post at the corner of the training ground and kicking up a flurry of wood chips.
"Kakashi!" Uchiha Reki's voice carried a rare trace of panic.
When he swung his blade just now, he had unconsciously increased his strength, only managing to forcibly pull back at the very last second.
He rushed into the rubble, frantically clearing the snapped wooden boards with his bare hands.
When he saw Kakashi curled up amidst the debris, he sucked in a sharp breath of air.
His right arm was bent at an unnatural angle, and his mask was soaked in blood.
After confirming there were no fatal injuries, he carefully scooped Kakashi up and carried him to a level clearing.
"Kakashi, are you okay?"
Kakashi weakly waved his left hand. "Good thing you pulled your blade back in time, or I'd be off to see my old man."
Hearing that Kakashi still had the energy to joke around, Uchiha Reki let out a sigh of relief.
Just then, a familiar voice drifted in from outside the doorway.
"Big Bro Reki? What are you doing here?"
Uchiha Reki looked up to see a bright-eyed Uchiha Shisui walking in.
"And Big Bro Kakashi, how did you end up hurt?"
Uchiha Reki scratched his head awkwardly. "We were just sparring, and I got a little too rough."
Uchiha Shisui blinked in surprise. Could Big Bro Reki really beat Kakashi into a state like this now?
It had only been a few days, but Big Bro Reki seemed to have grown stronger yet again.
"Shisui, you're just in time. Give me a hand."
"Got it, Big Bro Reki."
The two of them roughly checked Kakashi over.
Inside his mind, Senju Hashirama watched and frowned deeply. "Do the two of you really know nothing about medical ninjutsu? Fumbling around and checking him like this, you're going to break a healthy man."
Uchiha Reki felt rather awkward. "I really don't know any."
Senju Hashirama sighed. "Do it just like I tell you. First you do this, then you do that."
[Super Academic Prodigy Physique activated. You have learned Basic Medical Ninjutsu.]
"I understand, Lord Hashirama."
Uchiha Reki's hands, wreathed in a faint blue chakra, pressed gently against Kakashi's chest.
Standing nearby, Uchiha Shisui didn't even dare to breathe heavily. He rubbed his eyes, half-convinced he must be dreaming.
Did any of the teachers at the Ninja Academy ever teach Big Bro Reki these things?
If not, where on earth did he learn them?
Could he really be the greatest genius ever?
Similarly, Senju Hashirama was somewhat astonished.
As for medical ninjutsu, even he only knew a smattering of it.
After all, that sort of thing relied heavily on natural talent, and besides, with his passive regeneration, he never really had any use for it anyway.
Judging by Uchiha Reki's performance today, he wasn't half bad at medical ninjutsu either.
"An all-around talent. Not bad."
In no time at all, Uchiha Reki finished checking Kakashi over.
"Three broken ribs, and a fractured right arm."
Senju Hashirama softly reminded him, "Reki, don't be nervous; just do as I say. On the battlefield, this kind of thing happens all the time."
Watching Reki skillfully set bones, staunch bleeding, and apply bandages, Uchiha Shisui's eyes grew round as saucers.
Uchiha Reki, who had been scrambling around in a panic just moments ago, now looked every bit like an experienced medical ninja.
Once he finished the emergency treatment, Uchiha Reki simply ripped off a wooden door, laid Kakashi on top of it, and—with Uchiha Shisui's help—carried him off to the hospital.
As night fell, Kakashi finally regained consciousness in his hospital room.
Moonlight poured through the window onto the bedside, where the Uchiha brothers sat staring at him unblinkingly.
The gazes of the three crossed in the air, leaving them speechless for a moment.
In the end, it was Kakashi who broke the silence. "I thought I was really going to go see my old man today."
Uchiha Reki nearly tumbled off his stool. "Relax, Kakashi. You've got a hard head; you'll definitely live until you die."
Kakashi tried to sit up, only to be yanked back by a sharp pull from his full-body bandages, drawing in a sharp hiss of pain. "You hit harder than my old man ever did."
Uchiha Reki scratched his head. Why did that sound as if he'd gone out of his way to try and finish him off today?
"Li-kun, did the medical team say when I can be discharged?"
"You'll need at least a month of rest."
Hearing this, Kakashi looked somewhat crestfallen. "Does that mean a whole month without training?"
He looked up at Uchiha Reki. "Reki, once I'm out of the hospital, how about we have another match?"
Before Uchiha Reki could reply, a miserable howl echoed from outside the door.
"Kakashi! Are you okay?!"
Bang!
A burst of green light slammed through the doorway of the hospital room.
Seeing Kakashi lying pale on the bed, he let out a loud cry.
"Which damn bastard did this to you?! I'm going to use the ultimate move I prepared for you to avenge you right now!"