38. Akira Vs Sasuke.

After lunch, they walked around the village to see the sights. Naruto took him to his favorite spots and shared stories about each place.

"This is the swing I used to sit on after school to watch my classmates being picked up by their parents...."

"This is where I used to fish when people wouldn't sell me food..."

"This is where I used to sleep when people broke my room's gate..."

Every time he opened his mouth, Akira felt a physical pain in his heart. Koemi even shed a tear or two. Even Ajisai and Suiren felt a little pity for the kid, though Fuyo, the only one who could find fun in this situation, was sleeping on Akira's back.

"That's enough," Akira said, clutching his chest. "I can't take anymore."

"But I still haven't shown you the market where I used to steal food from," Naruto looked dejected.

"Okay, can we meet the Hokage now? I really want to rest." The emotional damage was too much for Akira.

"No, we still have an hour left," Kakashi said while reading his book.

"Well, looks like we have nothing to do. Anybody have any ideas to pass the time?" Akira asked. An unexpected person spoke up.

"I have an idea," Sasuke said.

"Oh, what is it?" Akira was interested.

"You're the strongest, right? I want to fight you," Sasuke said.

"Of course you do. Well, we have time, and I also want to see what an Uchiha can do." Akira was intrigued. He knew Naruto had defeated Sasuke in the battle at the end, which was why Sasuke was still in the village.

Kakashi put his book in his back pocket to watch the fight. Ajisai looked at Koemi, who was now carrying Fuyo, and asked, "Is sensei fit to fight?"

Akira had just lost his leg a few days ago, undergone a procedure, and then ran a whole day without sleep while carrying three people. Koemi, unconcerned, replied, "Don't worry, your sensei is way stronger than you think."

Sasuke threw many shurikens to test Akira, who deflected them using a kunai without taking a step. "You'll have to do better than that."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and fired three shurikens. The first one was blocked by Akira, while the other two missed him and bypassed him. Akira was perplexed by Sasuke's missed shots but then heard a collision of shurikens.

'Well, as expected of an Uchiha,' he thought and jumped out of the way of a shuriken coming toward his back.

Seeing him dodge, Sasuke ran toward him while weaving hand signs.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique"

He breathed out a large fireball. Akira looked at the blazing fireball and thought Sasuke was pretty good in terms of ninjutsu. He responded with a

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique"

He spat out a large amount of water, overshadowing the fireball. He manipulated the water to form a vortex, ripping apart the ground. The vortex swallowed the fireball, and its size was so immense that Sasuke couldn't dodge. In the end, he was washed away in the vortex.

"Sasuke!!!" Sakura screamed, worried about him. She took a step forward to help him, but Naruto stopped her.

"Naruto-kun."

"Don't worry. Sasuke is not that weak. He'll be okay. I'm sure of it," Naruto assured her with a smile.

As the attack stopped, they could clearly see the damage. It was like a natural disaster had swept through there. They looked around but couldn't find any sign of Sasuke.

Suddenly, from the ground right beside Akira's feet, a Fuma shuriken emerged, aiming for his chin. But Akira's instincts had already warned him of the danger, and he bent backward to dodge.

Puff!

The shuriken transformed into Sasuke, whose hand was discharging electricity for Chidori. He thrust it forward to pierce Akira's chest. Akira sped up, fully bending backward as his palms touched the ground. Using it as a pivot, he lifted his leg to kick Sasuke's elbow, causing the Chidori to fire upward. Akira did a backflip and used his other leg to hit Sasuke straight in the chin.

Sasuke fell on his back, disoriented by the kick. Akira asked, "Do you still want to fight?"

Sasuke rolled over and pushed himself up. Seeing him struggling to stand up, Akira was impressed. He was sure that his water jutsu was enough to KO any normal shinobi, and above that, his punches and kicks were way more powerful than an average jonin.

'Aren't Uchiha supposed to be weak in defense while their rivals, the Senju, are strong in defense?' Akira thought. Uchiha were known to have high-quality and quantity Yin chakra, which was known to make people physically weak, Kurama Yakumo being an example.

Sasuke pulled out his kunai. If he wasn't able to win in ninjutsu, then he would try taijutsu. He ran forward, and Akira, understanding his intention, got ready for hand-to-hand combat.

Sasuke thrust his kunai forward, and Akira parried it with a kunai in his left hand, punching with his right hand. Sasuke moved his head to dodge it by a hair's breadth. Sasuke swung his leg to kick Akira in the ribs.

Bam!

Akira took the hit and swept Sasuke's other leg, causing him to fall. Sasuke was mid-air during the fall, so Akira pulled back his leg and then kicked him straight in the stomach. Sasuke's body bent in a V-shape and he flew like a bullet, rolling on the ground and knocking him out for good.

Akira walked to the downed Sasuke to check on him, not knowing Sasuke was awake and ready to execute his plan, waiting for Akira to get close.

Tread! Tread!

'A few more steps.' Sasuke was eager for a win. He was going to show his strength and wash away his shame of losing to Naruto. But Akira stopped before reaching him. 'Why did he stop?' he thought.

Poke! Poke!

Akira had picked up a branch on the way and was now poking him with it. Akira called out, "Hey, are you awake?"

Sasuke's mind surged with anger, his Sharingan spinning continuously. He tried to calm his anger by thinking of the enjoyment he would get from winning this fight. After poking a few more times, Akira threw the stick away. He sat beside him and turned Sasuke to see his three-tomoe Sharingan.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan"

Akira's eyes became empty and he fell to the ground. Sasuke stood up and put a kunai to his neck, causing Kakashi to announce his victory.

Sakura ran up and hugged his arm. "I knew it, you would win, Sasuke-kun."

Kakashi rubbed his head and said, "Good job."

Naruto, depressed, told him, "Looks like Sasuke is stronger than me. I don't think I can defeat him now."

Koemi commented, "Looks like the last Uchiha might be the most talented ninja."

Sasuke looked around to see others in the village surrounding the ground and chanting his name, "Sasuke! Sasuke!"

Slowly, he felt something weird about his situation. His surroundings became blurry and he only heard one voice saying his name. He tried to concentrate on it.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke opened his eyes to see the worried faces of Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto. He questioned, "What happened? I was fighting?"

"It was a genjutsu reflection. When you cast the genjutsu on him, he reflected it back, and you fell under it," Kakashi answered his doubt.

"So, I lost again." Sasuke felt emotionally hurt. Ever since he lost to Gaara, his losing streak continued, making him feel he was not growing. If he wasn't becoming stronger, how would he be able to take his revenge? He covered his eyes to hide his tears.

Seeing him so vulnerable, Sakura felt sad, wondering if she made a mistake by asking Naruto to bring back Sasuke. Her thoughts were disturbed by Akira's voice.

He walked to Sasuke's side and looked down at him. "Hey kid, you did pretty well. You seem pretty talented, but you lack experience and variety. We're staying here for a few days. Do you want me to teach you?"

Sasuke cleared his eyes and looked at him. "Will it make me strong enough to defeat you?"

Akira smiled. "That depends on how hard you work."

....

📢 8 Advanced chapters on p@treaon📢

For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

39. It's Princess Tsunade.

40. Teaching A Uchiha Fire Release.

41. The Plan.

42. Start Of The Operation.

43. Rod From God.