CHAPTER 6

April, 4 aNb

"It seems you have mastered your Sharingan, Itachi." Shisui said mid-strike, Itachi easily dodged it.

"Don't forget about me!"

Itachi turned in the direction of her voice. He saw something flying through the air and heading his way. As soon as it came within his arm's reach, Itachi reached out and caught it with his right hand. Kunai…

Looking down at the kunai would've been a fatal error with someone without the Sharingan, because in that mere moment, Misaki had teleported behind his back and was about to deliver a blow. However, thanks to his dōjutsu, Itachi had seen both her and Shisui's next movement, and with small step to the side, he was out of their line of attack.

Shisui grinned while Misaki frowned.

The two-to-one combination against Itachi suddenly turned against Misaki. Standing in front of her, Shisui and Itachi shared a look before facing her again. Shisui smiled then activated his Sharingan to be on par with Itachi.

Knowing that what would come next would be tough, Misaki took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, amplifying the range of her senses and gathering her chakra in her arms and feet. Not only both the Uchiha excelled in taijutsu and ninjutsu, they were also extremely quick, with Shisui being known as the fastest shinobi in Konoha. Nevertheless, she had learned her skills from and alongside them both so it wasn't an impossible task to defeat them. It wasn't easy either.

Shisui began using his Body Flicker jutsu, and moving around her he created several afterimages. Misaki knew this was a deliberate move that would hide the real attack which would be provided by Itachi. She had to identify the real Shisui but that was difficult since each of the afterimages had mass and chakra behind them.

She wasn't sure how her skill worked but for what Shisui explained regarding the Byakugan, that was the closest to how hers worked. Misaki didn't have any visible dōjutsu but her sensory skills were so accurate that she could pinpoint her opponent's location without having to look. The image of where they were was clear in her mind and, not only it was covered a 360 degree angle, she could sense their intentions regarding their next movement before the movement was made.

This is how she managed to identify the real Shisui, she began her attack by throwing multiple shuriken, knowing that Itachi would take that opening to use some sort of jutsu from behind. As expected, Itachi attacked her with a fireball jutsu which she stopped with a water formation wall technique. However, Itachi pushed through the wall appearing right in her face, his new mastered Sharingan activated.

Genjutsu. Demonic Illusion: Mirage Crow.

Misaki found herself trapped in a powerful illusion, a genjutsu that projected a torrent of crows, leaving her incapacitated and at his mercy. She struggled at first but after a lot of concentration she gathered all her chakra to disrupt it.

Coming back to herself, she found Shisui looking at her with his Sharingan still activated.

"Good job, but this isn't over yet." He said.

"I didn't expect it to be." She answered, resuming her fighting stance.

Shisui grabbed his tantō, the small katana he kept at his shoulder, and Misaki did the same with hers. A fight between them two began, both showing great swordsmanship skills. The moved from side to side, attacking, blocking and evading each other. At the eyes of someone else, it would've been impossible to follow their movements.

Itachi used another opening to throw shuriken coated with fire against her. As she blocked the multiple shuriken with her blade, she could only void Shisui's relentless attack but at some point, Shisui used his unmatched speed to move to her front, and the blade of his katana was embedded into her abdomen before she could even register the movement.

Misaki dropped her katana on the floor and felt the warm blood trickling down her chin.

"That was mean." She said as she grabbed the blade with both her hands. The sharp steel cut through her palms.

Shisui's eyes widened. That wasn't something he expected her to say.

"Can we fight for real now and stop this foolish games?" Misaki asked now smiling.

Shisui chuckled then rolled his eyes. With that, the genjutsu he had applied on her moments ago dissipated. Misaki was facing Shisui like she was when he said it wasn't over yet. To her left, Itachi was grinning.

"She saw through our double genjutsu, who would've thought?" Itachi told them. "Most people don't realise, let alone break from them. She really is full of surprises."

Someone in the woods began clapping.

The three of them turned to where the noise originated with clear surprise in their faces. None of them had noticed there was someone watching.

"Danzō." Shisui greeted him between clenched teeth.

Danzō was one of the elders of Konoha and founder of the Root. That's all Misaki knew about the man standing with a cane in his left hand. But she knew from just looking at him that he was bad news.

"Relax, Uchiha brats. I'm just here to confirm the intel I received on his young girl that is capable to go against two of the most skilled shinobi from the Uchiha clan. You're Ogata's daughter, are you not?" Danzō asked looking at Misaki.

When she didn't reply, Danzō continued.

"Your brothers were great shinobi even at such young age, and your father was one of the best captains we had during the war. If anyone could go against Itachi's father, Fugaku, that was him, so it's no wonder you're showing such skills so early. I know he forbid you from joining the Academy because of the death of both his sons but the village is being deprived of a valuable asset if you aren't allowed to become a shinobi. You want to become a shinobi, right?"

"Of course!" This time Misaki answered without hesitation. "But without joining the Academy, how can I become one?"

"Leave it to me. I'll convince the Third to let you take the exams. You've shown the required skills and some more, so it will be easy for you to pass. Once you've become a full-fledged shinobi, I'm sure you can be a great addition to my personnel."

"There's no way I'll let Misaki join the Root." Shisui stated, taking a step before Misaki and blocking her from Danzō's view.

"No need to fuss about it, Shisui. She's not material from the Root, there's not an ounce of darkness in her. Still, she'll be of great use to the village. Aren't you helping her to become a shinobi? Are you going to oppose against it now?"

"Fine." Shisui said simply.

"That young beauty is her?"

"Jiraiya, please. She's just nine years old." The Third complained as they both watched through the windows of his office as Misaki left the Academy with her new acquired Konoha headband, the one that proved she was now a Genin.

"Even at this age I can tell she'll developed into a beauty soon. Anyway, don't you think is too early? How good can she be?" Jiraiya questioned.

"You've seen Itachi fight, right? He'll be nine soon as well."

"Oh yes, that boy is something else. In his case, age doesn't apply."

"Well, Misaki can fight him and Shisui while holding her ground…"

"That's not possible!"

"I didn't believe it at first when Danzō told me. But I've seen it with my own eyes. And her speed is something else, thanks to her training with Shisui she can almost match him, in no time she will. She passed the Academy exam without breaking a sweat, and she didn't even attend any of the classes. Most of her skill has been acquired by training under Shisui and self-taught, I believe."

"Fine. If you're so worried about Danzō's interest in her I'll take her away with me. I'll keep her out of the village at least until we find Orochimaru. Those two working together can only mean trouble. Plus I heard he's after Kakashi's Sharingan." Jiraiya said.

"Thank you. Misaki will be of great help thanks to her sensory skills. Please take care of her."