Chapter 17: A Midnight Duel
The moonlight's shadow faded. The night breeze carried the faint scent of sweet herbs through the window.
Liumu lay with his arms behind his head, but a sudden sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Whoosh…
A faint, unnatural scraping sound came from the roof tiles above him. Hearing it, Liumu let out a deep sigh. He performed a neat kip-up, leaping straight off the bed.
With a casual glance toward the yard outside his window, he vanished from the spot.
Konoha Perimeter Woods.
In the previously quiet forest, the sound of cloth rustling against leaves became a constant rhythm.
Liumu watched the village recede behind him. Taking a sharp breath, he stopped, landing on a branch several meters high. He then turned, waiting for his pursuer to appear.
The woods swayed, casting a few shifting shadows. Deep within the silence lay an absolute, deathly stillness.
Liumu smiled and called out into the depths of the dense forest, "Alright, enough lurking. Come on out."
As a shinobi, surveillance was a mandatory skill for everyone, whether for gathering intelligence or executing missions. However, the person tailing him had clearly failed that particular class. Even with Liumu's mediocre sensory abilities, he'd detected their presence long ago.
"Are you… Liumu?"
Following his voice, a half-grown figure wearing a Chunin uniform slowly emerged from behind a massive tree trunk. Instantly, a pair of blood-red eyes glimmered in the darkness, casting an eerie, pervasive strangeness over the night.
"The Sharingan!"
Seeing this, Liumu's eyebrows raised slightly. With a light frown, he realized the user had already awakened the Three Tomoe stage at such a young age.
Liumu probably understood the evolution of the Sharingan better than most Uchiha. For someone only a few years older than himself to not only evolve it to Three Tomoe but also attain the rank of Chunin… there was no doubt this was a prodigy.
But were prodigies rare in Konoha? The last one hailed as a genius probably had grass growing several meters high over his grave by now.
Liumu sneered. "You've been watching me all night, and you still don't know who I am or what I'm called?"
As he spoke, Liumu jumped down from the tree, casually picking up a few pebbles from the ground. He smiled lightly, saying nothing more.
"Seeing my eyes, you must know why I've come for you."
The visitor's expression was solemn, his silent face devoid of emotion.
"I know you are Lord Jiraiya's disciple. The elders may fear him, but I will not let you go unpunished." The man's right hand slowly moved to the hilt of the sword at his waist. "I am Uchiha Izumi. This is not a formal duel. Blades have no eyes. Life and death… are a matter of fate."
"Heh. Life and death… what life?" Liumu chuckled, tossing the pebbles in his hand lightly. He replied fearlessly, "Blades have no eyes, you say? Fine. Let's do this."
The moment Liumu issued the challenge, Uchiha Izumi's pupils constricted. He swiftly drew a kunai from behind and hurled it at Liumu while his hands flew through a series of seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Whoosh…
"Well now, going all out from the start!" Liumu watched the kunai's trajectory and moved to sidestep. But in the blink of an eye, he found the suddenly rising fireball had already cut off his intended path.
This level of combat experience… truly worthy of a Chunin.
But…
"Against anyone else, this might have worked."
BOOM!
The massive fireball exploded with violent force. Uchiha Izumi, who believed his attack had succeeded, watched in shock as Liumu strolled nonchalantly out of the smoke, casually brushing dust from his clothes.
As for the kunai thrown at Liumu… it was now embedded in a tree several meters away.
"How is this possible?!"
Uchiha Izumi's expression changed drastically. Seeing his initial assault fail, he immediately drew the long sword from his back. He shot toward Liumu like lightning, leapt into the air, gripped the hilt with both hands, and brought the blade slashing down toward the top of Liumu's head.
"Hah!"
Clang!
A crisp, metallic sound rang out. Uchiha Izumi stared in utter disbelief as Liumu, still standing on the ground, simply opened his mouth and bit down on the descending blade, cleanly snapping it.
"What… how… is he even human?!"
Losing control of his body in mid-air, Uchiha Izumi saw Liumu already within arm's reach. A look of apology even flickered across Liumu's face.
"Sorry about this, pal!"
Liumu smiled. His fist slowly pulled back, then shot forward, aiming precisely between Uchiha Izumi's legs…
Thwump.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"
...
Immediately, a soul-rending scream echoed through the woods, startling a large flock of crows into a panicked flight.
"Er…" Liumu looked down at Uchiha Izumi, now kneeling on the ground, clutching himself and sobbing uncontrollably, a cold sweat breaking out on his own forehead.
"My bad, my bad! Pure reflex, subconscious action! Is… is it too late to apologize now?" Liumu scratched his head, offering an awkward, apologetic grin.
This… I hope nothing's broken.
I wonder if it'll still work…
He—oh, wait, probably 'she' now—hopefully isn't an only child. I really don't want to be responsible for ending someone's family line.
Seeing the infuriating, gloating expression on Liumu's face, Uchiha Izumi glared with bloodshot eyes. Using the broken sword for support, she slowly, painfully pushed herself back to her feet, legs trembling.
"I-I'm fine… Let's go again." Uchiha Izumi's voice quivered, though her words remained stubborn.
But Liumu could see she could barely stand. He stepped forward and patted her shoulder. "Let it go. You can't beat me."
With that, Liumu made to leave.
He'd known someone was watching him but had still ventured outside the village precisely to settle the matter directly. But Uchiha Izumi's temperament was that of a profoundly stubborn child. Tangling with such an opponent was a complete waste of time.
The Uchiha elders likely didn't want to offend Jiraiya or, by extension, the current Hokage over Liumu. But as a child herself, Uchiha Izumi could use her own youth as a pretext to openly challenge Liumu. From their initial exchange, Liumu understood her original intention was just to teach him a lesson—otherwise, that last sword strike wouldn't have been aimed directly at his head.
It was also precisely because of that action that Liumu had unleashed his… notorious fist.
Liumu's footsteps crunched on the soft bed of dead leaves, creating a rustling sound.
But at that moment, an enraged voice, laced with deep resentment, suddenly rang out from behind.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Uchiha Izumi was now weeping tears of fury. Since childhood, hailed as a genius and a beauty, she had carried the high expectations of her parents. When had she ever suffered such humiliation?
Losing in a fair fight was one thing, but her opponent had taken advantage of her moment of vulnerability to pull such a dirty trick!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She no longer cared about anything else. Chakra surged through her body as she gathered it furiously, then spat a massive fireball straight at Liumu's retreating back.
"Tch…"
Hearing the sound, Liumu closed his eyes and let out a soft, derisive chuckle.
This is a classic shinobi bad habit. A sneak attack is a sneak attack, but 'announcing your move' like you're ordering off a menu… isn't that just telling your target what you're about to do?
(End of Chapter)
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