Suddenly, Shisui turned to Akira and said, "Akira, I want to spar with you."
Akira raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Though they were both from the Uchiha clan, they weren't particularly close. "Why now? What brought this on?" he asked.
Shisui's expression turned serious. "I'm heading to the battlefield soon, and honestly, I don't know if I'll make it back. Before you came along, everyone called me the number one genius of the Uchiha clan. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bitter about losing that title. This might be my last chance. I want to see for myself—who truly deserves that title."
Akira nodded slowly in understanding. Shisui had always been recognized as a prodigy, and it made sense he would feel some rivalry. But this Shisui hadn't yet been shaped by the crucible of war. He wasn't yet the man who would one day choose death to keep Kotoamatsukami from being misused.
To Shisui, this match could be his final chance to prove something.
But Akira had his own reasons to accept. This was a good opportunity to gauge how far he had come after merging the talents and memories of Uchiha Nan and Uchiha Kawa. He agreed.
The two headed for the Uchiha clan's private training grounds. Upon reaching the center of the field, they faced off, signaling the start of their duel.
At first, neither activated their Sharingan. This was a test of raw ability.
They moved apart and formed hand seals simultaneously, launching the iconic Uchiha jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. Akira's hand seal speed was just a bit faster—his background in medical ninjutsu had trained his dexterity well. His fireball surged forward first.
Shisui launched his own fireball a moment later, and the two massive flames collided in a blaze that obscured both fighters.
Using the cover of smoke, Akira hurled six shuriken from both hands in precise, unpredictable arcs.
Shisui had barely finished his technique and was caught off-guard—but his reflexes were sharp. He twisted, dodging most of the projectiles, then retaliated with several kunai. Akira easily evaded.
The opening exchange ended in a draw, but Akira held a slight edge. They had both seen a glimpse of the other's tactics—Akira's technical precision and Shisui's extraordinary speed.
Realizing this wouldn't be won with jutsu alone, both activated their Sharingan.
Shisui's eyes flared red with two tomoe. Akira's glowed with the fully matured three tomoe.
Knowing he couldn't outmatch Akira in ninjutsu, Shisui rushed in for close combat, using his signature Body Flicker Technique. Akira barely managed to parry with a kunai, and the two engaged in a high-speed taijutsu clash.
Shisui's agility and movement were almost overwhelming. He was faster, more fluid, his blows swift and relentless. But Akira's three-tomoe Sharingan granted him superior perception—he could predict and counter, if only just barely.
They clashed again and again—Shisui trying to overwhelm with speed, Akira reading his every movement to hold him at bay. Neither could land a decisive blow, and both began to tire.
But Akira had a hidden advantage.
His chakra reserves, strengthened by the combined potential of Uchiha Nan and Uchiha Kawa, were far greater than Shisui's. Slowly but surely, Shisui's attacks lost speed and intensity.
Akira seized his moment.
He distanced himself and unleashed a Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. Shisui, exhausted and caught off-guard, had no time to react. The flames barreled toward him—
—but Akira canceled the jutsu at the last second, stopping the flames just short.
The message was clear.
Shisui, panting, stepped back and gave a wry smile. "I lost."
They exchanged the traditional gesture of reconciliation.
Shisui had no excuses. He was older and more experienced, but he had been outmatched. Still, he was grateful. The match had given him clarity—and perhaps closure. He said his goodbyes and left to prepare for his graduation exam and deployment.
Akira, meanwhile, had gained valuable insight.
He had superior ninjutsu and perception, but his speed and close-quarters combat lagged behind. If he wanted to perfect his vision of a Ninja Body Technique—blending Lightning Release and taijutsu—he still had work to do.
He needed more speed.
More power.
More answers.
The only way Akira could think of to quickly improve his taijutsu was through the use of nin-taijutsu. He had never tested his chakra nature before, but thanks to Kawa's memories, he knew that in addition to the Uchiha's inherited fire release, he also possessed both lightning and earth nature transformations.
In other words, Akira now had at least three chakra natures: fire, earth, and lightning—which reminded him of Sasuke from the original timeline. When Sasuke first encountered Rock Lee, he was completely overwhelmed by Lee's astonishing speed. But after only a month of special training under Kakashi, Sasuke had developed speed to rival Lee's, shocking even the taijutsu prodigy.
The key to Sasuke's rapid improvement was his use of Lightning Release to stimulate his nervous system. By activating his cells and enhancing reflexes, he achieved explosive speed. This principle was the foundation of the Chidori technique. When Kakashi first developed it, his speed was so extreme he couldn't track his opponent's movements.
Akira believed that if he could harness lightning chakra in a similar fashion, even without forming a full technique like Chidori, he might be able to develop a nin-taijutsu style focused on speed—similar to the techniques of the Third and Fourth Raikage.
"In my past life, I studied medicine and mastered biology. No one in this world understands the human body better than I do. I also possess Lightning Release. If anyone is capable of developing a lightning-based taijutsu technique, it's me," Akira thought with conviction.
The only missing piece now was mastery over the Lightning Release chakra nature.
However, that posed a challenge. Neither the previous body nor Kawa had focused on Lightning Release. Kawa had dabbled in it, but only at a superficial level.
Akira recalled the principle of Lightning Release chakra transformation, formed the appropriate hand seal, and focused chakra into his palm. A faint stream of electricity sparked around his hand. It was the minor Lightning Release Kawa had trained in. But to develop a high-level nin-taijutsu technique with that alone was laughable.
He knew the theory—but not the method to advance.
"This is frustrating. In my past life watching Naruto, I don't remember many Konoha shinobi who specialized in Lightning Release."
Most of Konoha's elite ninjas were fire users or specialized in Yin-Yang release secret arts. Kakashi was the only one who stood out with significant Lightning Release proficiency.
Akira had met Kakashi before through his time assisting at Konoha Hospital, having treated Kakashi several times. But they had no personal relationship. To Akira's previous self, Kakashi was just another shinobi—not yet known as the future Sixth Hokage.
"I could try asking Kakashi for guidance, but I'm not sure he'd be willing to teach me."
At this point in time, Kakashi was still dealing with the trauma of his father's suicide and often came off as aloof and indifferent. Akira couldn't count on him being approachable.
Still, he reasoned that they were both part of the same village. It wasn't as if he was asking for a secret jutsu—just insight on Lightning Release chakra control. Kakashi shouldn't have a reason to turn him down.
The bigger problem was finding him. They weren't close, and Akira had no idea whether Kakashi was even in the village. If he was on a mission, it would be pointless to search.
So Akira devised a simple plan: wait for Kakashi to come to him.
He sent a shadow clone to the hospital to work as a medic. If Kakashi was in the village or returned from a mission with injuries, the hospital would be his first stop. Akira would treat him personally, then ask about Lightning Release.
Even if Kakashi never showed, it was still an opportunity to hone his medical ninjutsu. There was no downside.
With his plan set, Akira deployed his shadow clones accordingly. One clone went to school to keep up appearances, another worked at the hospital, while his real body focused on intensive training: ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu.
Because his previous self had been withdrawn due to unstable memory recall, most students ignored him at school. The clone simply sat quietly to conserve chakra.
At the hospital, everyone welcomed "Nan" back warmly, believing he had overcome his trauma. No one realized the person inside had changed—that Akira had taken over with a clear goal in mind.
Akira didn't mind maintaining friendships with the previous body's old colleagues. It helped to keep a low profile and gave him access to valuable information.
During solo training, Akira discovered another significant advantage: the versatility of his Mangekyō Sharingan's illusion clone technique.
He summoned additional clones: one for fire release, another for genjutsu training using the Yin nature, and a third for taijutsu practice with medical support from a Yang nature clone.
With medical ninjutsu constantly restoring his stamina and chakra, Akira was able to train intensively without suffering from exhaustion.
This dramatically accelerated his progress. The illusion clones provided more than just battle utility—they were the perfect tools for parallel training. It was yet another benefit of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Because his training ground was remote and rarely visited, Akira wasn't worried about being seen. His Yin clone's perception ability could detect anyone approaching, giving him time to dismiss the clones.
So, Akira trained while waiting for Kakashi's return. A month and a half passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, his ninjutsu, genjutsu, and even his weakest area—taijutsu—had improved significantly. His medical ninjutsu also advanced, thanks to the daily hands-on experience at the hospital.
Still, there was no sign of Kakashi. Akira began to wonder if he was still alive. If he hadn't known from the original series that Kakashi would live until the end, he might have given up hope.
Nonetheless, he prepared for the worst. He asked the Uchiha elders if there were other Lightning Release specialists in Konoha.
The answer was disappointing but not surprising. Lightning users were most common in the Land of Lightning, and Konoha, located in the Land of Fire, produced mostly fire-style shinobi.
The strongest Lightning Release user in Konoha had been Sakumo Hatake—the White Fang. After his death, the most capable was his son, Kakashi.
To develop a lightning-based nin-taijutsu, Akira needed someone with true mastery. The few others who knew the element weren't skilled enough to be of use.
Thus, Kakashi remained his only viable option.
At last, after another two weeks, Akira's patience paid off.
One day, while his hospital clone was treating patients as usual, a familiar figure walked through the entrance...