Chapter 14 : Ninjutsu Test

The disappearance of Shisui Uchiha shook the entire Uchiha Clan.

Shisui wasn't just another shinobi—he was their pride. A prodigy, powerful even among the Sharingan bearers. Many believed that after Fugaku, he was the strongest in the clan. Among the younger generation, no one came close to his skill or calm wisdom.

Itachi was the closest, but even he was too young to match someone like Shisui.

So when he vanished without a trace, the clan was left in shock—and anger.

Fugaku called an emergency meeting inside the Uchiha compound. All elders, key members, and respected voices were present. The large room filled quickly, the air thick with emotion.

Fugaku stood at the front, his face hard and unreadable. "We still have no word on Shisui's location," he began. "The village claims to know nothing."

A wave of murmurs and whispers spread across the room.

"This is no accident!" shouted Elder Yashiro. "The village has always kept us at arm's length. And now our brightest star disappears, and no one knows anything? They're lying!"

"I agree," another voice growled—Inabi, a strong supporter of the hawkish faction. "First they isolate us, then they take one of our best. What next? Wait until they erase us one by one?"

"We should strike now!" someone else shouted. "Make them pay! Let them see the power of the Uchiha!"

The room erupted in noise. Many stood up, yelling over one another. The anger was raw, burning. The dovish voices that once asked for patience and diplomacy were now few and quiet.

Fugaku raised a hand. "Enough!"

The room fell silent, though the tension still simmered.

"I understand your anger," Fugaku said. "I, too, feel the pain of Shisui's disappearance. But we must think clearly. The village is strong. Too strong for us to challenge without preparation. If we act now, it would be suicide."

Fugaku too was close to dovish, as long as the interests of the clan weren't at stake. However, he too had to act according to the mood of the clansmen.

While he had no interest or intention to start a coup, he had to show that he would go along with anything as long as it benefited the clan.

That was how he could keep his clan head position and his authority in the clan to maintain some semblance of peace between the village and the clan.

"But if we keep waiting, we'll be picked off, one by one!" Inabi snapped.

"We don't even know if Shisui is alive," another elder said, voice heavy with sorrow. "And without him, our strength is lower than ever."

"Then we grow stronger," Fugaku said firmly. "We continue preparing. We gain allies. We bide our time. When we act, it must be with certainty, not emotion."

Though many nodded, the fire didn't fade from their eyes. The hunger for justice—no, revenge—was now a growing flame within the clan.

In the back of the room, Itachi stood in silence. His fists were clenched, his face cold, but inside, he was hurting deeply.

He knew the truth.

Shisui was dead. He was the one who led the search mission, after all.

His closest friend, his brother in all but blood, had left the world in silence. But even in his final moment, Shisui had done something extraordinary.

Using his last bit of strength, Shisui had left a message for Itachi—carved with chakra into a small stone, hidden where only Itachi would find it.

It wasn't much, but Itachi understood the few words well enough.

'Danzo and the Masked Man.'

Itachi kept this secret to himself. If the clan knew, their rage would only grow. Knowing that someone had taken Shisui's eye, stolen his power, and maybe even killed him—that would be enough to push them into action.

So he stayed silent.

For now.

He watched as the clan roared with anger but trembled with doubt. Their hearts were filled with resentment, but their hands were not yet ready for war.

As the meeting ended and both Fugaku and Itachi came back home, the first person to welcome them wasn't Mikoto like most days, but rather Sasuke.

The little Uchiha was waiting for his big brother all day long.

"Itachi Onii-chan... you promised me that you'll train with me today..." Sasuke shone a bright smile as he looked into his big brother's tired eyes.

"Sasuke, don't bother your brother. He just came back home," Mikoto chided.

Fugaku didn't even bother. He just entered and said, "Itachi, follow me."

Itachi sighed... more work and no rest for him. Seeing the hopeful look on his little brother's face slowly turning into disappointment, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh.

"Sorry, Sasuke. Next time, I promise..." Itachi gave a small smile and with two fingers poked little Sasuke's head, making him pout.

...

The day of the Academy test had finally arrived. This test was for Ninjutsu.

The classroom was buzzing with excitement and nerves. One by one, students were called to the front to perform the three basic jutsu: the Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Body Replacement Jutsu. It was the first real test that would decide whether they were progressing as shinobi.

Sukuna sat at the back, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. More like defeated and helpless.

He already knew how this day would end for him. He had come to terms with it, but the little sense of pride he had built for himself over the last year by shaping his personality closer to Ryomen Sukuna wasn't letting him just take the big L the world had given to him, that easily.

Shikamaru was called first. With a sigh, he lazily performed the Clone Jutsu. It was weak and flickered, but it worked. "Such a drag," he muttered.

Choji went next. He struggled but managed a solid Transformation Jutsu.

Kid after kid gave their best. Most couldn't do all three jutsu, but everyone managed to pull off at least one.

Then Sasuke stepped up. He performed all three perfectly. His clone was solid. His transformation into Iruka-sensei was flawless. And his body replacement was quick and clean. The class was impressed, but no one was surprised.

Then came Sukuna's turn.

The room fell quiet. He had always been at the top—strong, fast, even beating Sasuke in taijutsu sparring before. Everyone expected something amazing.

Sukuna stepped up calmly. He tried the Clone Jutsu. Nothing. Not even the smoke was generated.

He tried Transformation. Nothing.

Body Replacement. Still nothing.

A few awkward seconds passed.

"...That's it?" someone whispered.

Sukuna turned and walked back to his seat silently.

The room erupted in whispers.

"What happened to him?"

"Did he forget how to use chakra?"

Iruka too was surprised at this. Did the child intentionally not show what he was capable of? He couldn't say.

Though he doubted it. Kids his age can't wait to show off. Iruka wanted to ask, however, he had to complete the test first.

Kiba smirked. "Guess all that tough talk was just for show. Finally, he flopped!"

Sukuna heard it all. He didn't react. He didn't care. He already knew he'd fail. There was no surprise, no shame. He just ignored.

Shikamaru looked at him with a strange look but remained silent, and Choji, while wanting to ask what was wrong, just like always, followed Shikamaru's lead.

"Hey, what was that for? Why didn't you do the jutsu?" Naruto, however, lacked tact... a lot.

Sukuna had a headache.

'You see me not doing it, that means there has to be a reason, right? Why can't you wait until later to ask? Why do you have to do it right in the middle of class...' Sukuna grumbled but avoided the question.

Thankfully, Shikamaru quieted the noisy knucklehead down.

But as he sat back down, his eyes didn't linger on his classmates… They all could burn for all he cared. Those jabs and tones these little bastards were sending at him—he couldn't care less about them.

His attention was rather focused on someone else.

Sakura.

He watched closely, curiously, desperately even. Sakura too was also looking at his brother with a worried-filled look at his performance. But said nothing, since Sukuna for the most part looked completely unbothered.

She stepped forward, nervous but determined.

"Clone Jutsu..." Iruka said and Sakura nodded. Forming a hand sign, she poured her chakra into the simple clone jutsu and puff...

A rather big smoke cloud appeared, making it feel like Sakura, instead of making a single clone, created an entire army.

Even Iruka was taken aback, taking two steps back to give his student some space. Others were looking at her with expectation.

However, just when the smoke disappeared, they saw Sakura standing with just another duplicate of her.

Exactly like her, from top to bottom.

Just like everyone, Iruka too thought that Sakura summoned multiple clones, seeing the range of the cloud. However, only one clone confused him.

Whatever the case, she passed.

"Sakura... you're putting too much chakra into the technique. Try putting a little less, only enough to make a single clone, okay?" Iruka, after thinking, asked her to redo the test.

While the girl passed, it was his duty as her sensei to point out mistakes. If he passed her and she didn't fix this habit, then this could later down the line affect her growth.

"Huh... O-Okay." Sakura nodded and did the jutsu again. This time with less chakra.

A regular-sized cloud appeared. However, the clone formed was deformed. Much like how Naruto's clone was.

"Ah... this. Maybe you should try doing more chakra training exercises, Sakura. You're currently wasting too much chakra to form a single clone," Iruka said, making Sakura look down.

Sukuna, who was watching this with adept attention, was feeling a little dejected since his suspicion didn't test out.

It might have just been his thinking. However, just as Iruka talked about Sakura's wastage of chakra while performing the clone, he remembered what Iruka told him about chakra wastage and its possible co-relationship with the smoke that appears during a shinobi's use of clone jutsu, sealing scroll, or summoning jutsu.

"Wait a minute..." A bright bulb magically appeared beside his head, shining brightly.

xxx

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