Chapter 111: The Sharingan!

For the past two years, Sasuke had realized something: Naruto's stamina was definitely not normal. Even most adults couldn't compare to Naruto's stamina!

For him to try to catch up to Naruto in this area—it was just ridiculous...

"Naruto probably has even more stamina than you," Sasuke couldn't help but say.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but Naruto's stamina is still not as good as mine," Natsuro said confidently. Although he couldn't beat Naruto in terms of chakra, when it came to physical stamina, he definitely wouldn't lose to the current Naruto.

"My theory grades are almost the same as Sakura's," Sasuke added.

"Hmm, in my view, you're still far behind. Sakura scores 100 because the test only allows for a perfect score of 100. You scored 99 because your ability is only worth 99." Natsuro's words were like daggers stabbing into Sasuke's heart.

And the worst part was, Sasuke couldn't argue with him. It seemed to make sense. Sakura always got a perfect score in theory, which clearly indicated that her ability exceeded the limit.

Sasuke remained silent, gritting his teeth as he glared at him. Unable to bear it any longer, he said, "Enough about that. Let's fight."

"Alright then, come at me," Natsuro said casually, which annoyed Sasuke. However, considering Natsuro's rank as a special jōnin, it made Sasuke think of his class teacher.

Still, Sasuke figured that since Natsuro was only a special jōnin, he couldn't possibly be stronger than his own teacher, right? Regardless, he would have to be cautious.

Sasuke created some distance and quickly threw several shuriken at him.

"Hmm, precise enough, but lacking in speed and power," Natsuro observed as the shuriken flew toward him. He nodded, then shook his head in evaluation.

This was a different approach to shurikenjutsu compared to his own style, which focused on speed and power.

Natsuro didn't move much. Just as the shuriken were about to hit him, arcs of electricity seemed to jump across his body, and the shuriken lost all forward momentum. Natsuro effortlessly caught them one by one in his hands.

Sasuke was confused by the scene. Unsure of what had just happened, he formed hand signs.

"Too slow."

The next moment, Sasuke heard Natsuro's voice directly in his ear. Startled, Sasuke widened his eyes and stopped making hand signs, raising his arms in defense instead.

"Bang!"

Natsuro had already appeared in front of Sasuke and swept his leg at Sasuke's arms. Even though Sasuke managed to block, he was still sent flying, sliding a good distance before stopping.

"Why is he so fast?!" Sasuke gritted his teeth. At this rate, how could he even finish making hand signs? Shuriken were useless against him, and he couldn't use ninjutsu—what could he possibly do to win?

"It's just the Body Flicker Technique."

Sasuke looked at Natsuro, who was now casually walking toward him, speaking in that calm voice. The sense of helplessness Sasuke felt was even stronger than when he faced Kakashi.

This wasn't just his imagination either—Natsuro was unbeatable when it came to crushing weaker opponents.

"Damn it!" Sasuke cursed as he threw more shuriken at Natsuro, thinking of his options. Maybe he could use the Substitution Jutsu, which didn't require many hand signs? But could he really fool Natsuro with that?

As expected, Natsuro once again caught his shuriken effortlessly.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, but remembering Natsuro's jōnin-level strength, he no longer hesitated.

Natsuro noticed Sasuke's little trick and sighed slightly.

"He's being a bit reckless, isn't he? Using explosive tags in such a small sparring match..."

Still, he understood the pressure he was putting on Sasuke. This was likely the only solution Sasuke could think of after seeing Natsuro catch his shuriken so easily.

Natsuro smiled faintly. "Alright, let's see how far you can go."

He watched as three kunai, each attached with an explosive tag, flew toward him. Acting as though he hadn't noticed, Natsuro once again used his electromagnetic control to stop the kunai in midair, right in front of him. In the next moment…

A loud explosion rang out.

Sasuke's eyes lit up with a trace of hope. Did it work? Though he knew the explosion wouldn't injure Natsuro much, this was his chance. Sasuke immediately began forming hand signs.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

In the next instant, several fireballs shot from Sasuke's mouth toward Natsuro's location. But that wasn't all—Sasuke also quickly threw shuriken, merging them with the fireballs.

The fireballs broke through the smoke from the explosion, seemingly hitting something.

That should do it. The shuriken shouldn't be blocked by Natsuro's strange defense this time, right?

"Did it work?" Sasuke's forehead was covered in sweat as he anxiously watched, ready to move at any moment.

"Not bad."

A voice reached Sasuke's ears, but it didn't come from within the smoke. It came from… behind him.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke forced himself to turn around and kicked backward.

However, Natsuro effortlessly caught Sasuke's ankle in his hand. The grip was so strong that Sasuke couldn't break free, no matter how hard he tried.

"Unfortunately, this isn't enough to defeat me," Natsuro said, throwing Sasuke to the ground.

Sasuke glanced at the spot where the explosion had occurred. There, lying on the ground, was a charred log.

A Substitution Jutsu? When did he use that?

Sasuke had been watching him closely the entire time but hadn't seen him form any hand signs, not even when he used the Body Flicker Technique.

"Now, it's my turn to attack. Be careful," Natsuro said suddenly.

Sasuke's heart tightened. That's right—up until now, Natsuro had barely attacked, aside from one casual kick. But even with just that, the pressure he'd put on Sasuke was immense. If he started attacking in earnest…

In the next moment, Sasuke was at a loss for words.

Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, and his body trembled uncontrollably. He couldn't move at all.

Natsuro had directed all of his killing intent at Sasuke. This was the first time he had actively used his killing intent, and it wasn't difficult for someone of his level to do so.

Natsuro had originally intended to grab his 'Ink' Sword, but then he remembered that it was sealed away. Besides, it wasn't necessary for a spar like this. It was just a habit of his.

Instead, he channeled chakra into his hand, creating a violent surge. In Sasuke's stunned eyes, the chakra took the shape of a sword, identical to the 'Ink' Sword.

With the chakra sword formed, Natsuro slowly walked toward Sasuke, who was still frozen in place, trembling. He didn't ease up on his killing intent.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at Natsuro approaching with the chakra sword. His opponent's eyes seemed to be tinged with red, and Sasuke thought… Is he really going to kill me?

Move...

Move, damn it!

Sasuke screamed in his mind, but his limbs refused to obey. Cold sweat continued to pour down his face.

Natsuro reached Sasuke, taking his time as he walked slowly to give Sasuke a chance to move. However, to Natsuro's disappointment, Sasuke still couldn't break free from the pressure. Natsuro's killing intent was probably even stronger than Zabuza's at this point.

Natsuro recalled a story about Sasuke's past. Back then, Sasuke had been so overwhelmed by Zabuza's killing intent that he had even considered suicide…

But when faced with mortal danger, one must act, even if terrified. Waiting to die wasn't an option.

Natsuro raised his chakra sword, watching Sasuke's pupils shrink rapidly, his pale face drenched in sweat.

Is this all you've got?

Natsuro pondered briefly before swinging the chakra sword toward Sasuke with full force.

In the next moment, Sasuke finally moved. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth—he had bitten his tongue so hard that it bled. But was it too late now? Natsuro's strike was incredibly fast, and the glowing chakra blade slashed toward him...

It hurts…

It hurts so much...

Sasuke wandered in confusion, feeling the excruciating pain from the wound inflicted by the sword. He couldn't believe it.

Is he really dead? He should be, right? With such a direct hit from that sword, it seemed impossible to survive.

Damn it, he hasn't even killed that guy yet—how can he die here?!

Sasuke couldn't even grasp why Natsuro would resort to killing in what was supposed to be a sparring match.

All he could feel was that the world around him was drenched in red, and he had a deep, painful cut. He was struggling, confused, and angry...

He couldn't die here. He still needed to seek revenge...

At that moment, Sasuke felt as if he were falling into an abyss, with his body continuously plummeting, unable to struggle or climb back up...

Natsuro looked at Sasuke, who had collapsed on the ground, and felt a bit speechless. He wasn't sure what to say. He squatted down and observed Sasuke's wide-open eyes, which revealed endless fear.

However, Sasuke's eyes weren't the usual black; they were red, with two tomoe in each eye.

Natsuro realized that Sasuke had subconsciously unleashed his strongest power in this critical moment—his Sharingan, it was a double tomoe.

Natsuro recalled that Sasuke's Sharingan had actually awakened a long time ago, but it wasn't double tomoe. The fact that it was now means Sasuke had truly tapped into his potential under extreme life-threatening conditions, reaching the next level.

Moreover, Sasuke's first move after the breakthrough was to use the illusion techniques of his Sharingan. It was Sasuke's greatest effort to survive. In that moment of extreme pressure, Sasuke judged that evasion was impossible and sought to force Natsuro to stop by using the Sharingan's genjutsu.

However, this was also the reason Sasuke ended up on the ground. After all...

Natsuro's mental fortitude was not easily overcome by illusions. Especially since he was in the Void State, which made him immune to most genjutsu. When faced with Sasuke's double tomoe Sharingan genjutsu, Natsuro instinctively controlled his chakra to dispel and rebound the illusion.

As a result, Sasuke collapsed. Seeing the ongoing terror in his eyes, it was clear that the illusion was indeed quite distressing.

Natsuro wasn't sure how long it would take for Sasuke to recover. Keeping him in the genjutsu a bit longer wouldn't be a bad thing for Natsuro. So, he sat down beside him. The chakra sword he wielded seemed useful but was actually non-material and disintegrated the moment it touched Sasuke.

Natsuro looked at Sasuke's Sharingan and couldn't help but to nodded in satisfaction. The greatest fear is between life and death. At least, his goal was achieved, and even exceeded expectations.

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Currently on Chapter 160 - Natsuro vs Orochimaru!