Gaara's training could technically be considered complete.
By now, he could trade blows in taijutsu with Naruto, suppress the sand's instinctive reactions, and keep it from lashing out on its own even when facing Sasuke with his Sharingan activated. By that standard, the training had already achieved its goal.
Yet Hiruzen, who had temporarily taken over as instructor, hadn't declared it finished for one simple reason: he was waiting for Roshi to return.
Since this special training had been Roshi's idea, his opinion naturally had to be heard before deciding the next step—whether to deepen the training, move on to a new phase, or send Gaara back to the regular Ninja Academy curriculum.
Besides, there was one more test that needed to be carried out today.
So when Roshi finally arrived at the training ground, the Third Hokage was still there.
Sasuke and Naruto, having been informed in advance, were already in position. Gaara stood off to the side, silently observing.
"How are things in Iwagakure?" Hiruzen asked.
"Fairly smooth," Roshi replied.
Before the two could continue their conversation—
"Roshi-nii!" Naruto yelled the instant Roshi came to a stop. "Can we start now? I've been waiting forever!"
In stark contrast to Naruto's restlessness, Sasuke stood quietly, simply waiting for the signal to begin.
Seeing this, Roshi said, "Then let's begin. No restrictions. The match ends when one side can't continue or admits defeat."
Naruto immediately formed the Seal of Confrontation, and Sasuke mirrored the gesture.
As soon as their hands dropped, Naruto used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, opening with the same tactic that had won him the last match.
But faced with this familiar move, Sasuke's response was completely different from before.
The instant the Shadow Clones appeared, his pupils turned red as the Sharingan activated, taking in every detail of the chaotic scene in front of him.
As the clones charged in a loose, disorderly swarm, Sasuke moved.
Instead of retreating, he burst to the side. His feet dug shallow pits into the sandy training ground as he leaned low and shot forward, his speed spiking the moment he launched himself. At the same time, his hands went to the ninja tool pouch at his waist. When they came back out, cold light flashed between his fingers.
Four kunai in each hand.
Each kunai was attached to a length of thin steel wire, the other end of each wire looped around specific joints of his fingers.
Sprinting, Sasuke twisted his body and swung his arms.
The eight kunai didn't target the Shadow Clones at all, but empty points along and around his path—top left, top right, straight ahead, bottom left, bottom right, and so on. They drove deep into wooden stakes, tree trunks, and the hard, rocky ground at the edge of the field.
The steel wires snapped taut, crisscrossing through the air and sketching out several overlapping, almost invisible trajectories.
By the time Sasuke's trap was sprung, the three fastest Shadow Clones had only just reached the spot where he'd been standing, their punches cutting through empty air.
"On the left!"
"There's one behind, too!"
"Don't let him get away!"
They shouted over one another as they corrected their course, fanning out to hem Sasuke in along his path.
The two clones closing in from the left struck first, driving their fists straight toward his ribs and back.
Sasuke slid half a step forward and left, his body dropping low, almost skimming the ground. Their fists brushed through his hair as he passed under them—and from that low slide, he snapped his right wrist.
The steel wire linking the kunai on his right middle finger to the kunai buried in the wooden stake above and to the left, which had been hanging slack in the air, suddenly went taut. It whipped upward, rising half a meter off the ground and cutting cleanly across the path of the two charging clones.
"Waaah!"
"Wha—?!"
Unable to stop in time, both clones slammed their shins into the wire. Their legs flew out from under them as they pitched forward with twin cries, bodies bursting into white smoke with two soft poofs.
The third clone reacted a fraction faster and tried to leap over the wire—but at almost the same instant, Sasuke twitched his left little finger.
Another length of wire, attached to a kunai hidden in the sand, snapped up from below. It looped neatly around the ankle of the clone mid-jump and yanked hard.
"Ugh!"
The clone crashed to the ground and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Hiruzen's eyes warmed with approval. This was the kind of tactical finesse befitting a classic shinobi—less flashy than overwhelming ninjutsu but deeply satisfying to watch.
"Beautiful," Roshi said from beside him, giving his own verdict. "Clean, efficient, and highly entertaining. This is the kind of match people would pay good money to see."
Down in the arena, neither offense nor defense paused for even a heartbeat after the first clones disappeared.
Using the recoil from the tightened wires, Sasuke twisted his body and redirected his momentum, retreating swiftly toward a cluster of wooden stake obstacles to his rear right. As he moved, his hands dove back into his ninja tool pouch, this time drawing a handful of lighter shuriken.
Each shuriken was also threaded with thin steel wire.
Even amid high-speed movement and chaos, the Sharingan calmly tracked every subtle motion of every target.
He whipped his arms out.
A spray of shuriken fanned through the air, embedding themselves in shallow pits, tree trunks, and the tops of the wooden stakes—every surface the clones could use for footing or cover.
"Don't be afraid! He can't hit us!"
"Charge! Once we get close, he's done for!"
Naruto's Shadow Clones had clearly learned from their previous lesson; this time, they didn't panic at the first sign of trouble.
They split on instinct into three groups. Six or seven clones rushed straight in, putting on a fierce frontal assault, yelling loudly to draw attention. The other two groups—four or five clones each—slipped around to the sides, moving fast and quiet in an attempt to surround their target.
Naruto had come up with a new tactic—but Sasuke's preparations went even deeper.
Faced with the seven clones charging head‑on, Sasuke didn't back away. He stepped in to meet them and snapped his right arm.
The two shuriken embedded in the thick tree trunks lining the right side of the training ground suddenly pulled taut on their steel wires.
The loose wires that had been draped along the trunks lashed out in an instant, whipping low toward the knees of the frontal group.
"Watch out!"
"Jump!"
The two clones in front reacted on instinct, springing up and barely clearing the wires. The two right behind them weren't so lucky. Their view was blocked by the bodies ahead, and they only realized something was wrong when the wires were already upon them. Steel wrapped tight around their ankles.
They crashed into each other and burst into smoke.
Almost at the same time, Sasuke drove his left palm downward.
The shuriken he'd planted in the ground earlier had already laid their wires in silence. Now, with a subtle tug of his fingers, seven or eight steel wires snapped up from beneath the sand, weaving into a net about twenty centimeters above the ground.
The three clones flanking from the left were sprinting flat-out, ready to coordinate with the frontal team and complete the encirclement. None of them expected a trap underfoot. All three slammed their shins into unseen obstacles at the same moment; their momentum was cut off cold.
"There's something on the ground!"
As they cried out, the three pitched forward and, one after another, dissolved into white smoke.
The clones that had seemed so aggressive at the start were being cut down in waves by this layered trap. The number of Shadow Clones on the field was shrinking visibly.
Naruto's real body was hidden among the remaining clones. Just as he raised his hands to form seals again—
Sasuke, who had been moving at high speed, constantly dodging and thinning the herd of clones, caught the subtle difference in one figure's movements.
He flicked his wrist and sent three shuriken flying toward Naruto's position. A Shadow Clone jumped in to block them, and that single motion completely confirmed for Sasuke which one was the real Naruto.
He immediately ran through his own hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Naruto broke off his seals at once and scattered to the side. He had just managed to slip out of the Great Fireball's blast range when—
A figure was already on top of him.
Naruto's body moved on instinct, fist already swinging up to counter—but before it was even halfway out, his wrist was caught in a tight grip. In the same instant, his ankle was hooked, his footing vanished, and the world flipped upside down.
Poof!
His back crashed hard into the sandy ground. Dust burst up around him, stinging his nose and throat. Naruto coughed and tried to struggle, only to realize his limbs were locked in a precise joint hold. He couldn't move at all.
Sasuke's knee dug into his back. One hand clamped Naruto's wrist; the other pressed firmly against the back of his neck.
The Sharingan stared down at him from just above, scarlet tomoe spinning slowly as they reflected Naruto's messy, frustrated face.
"It's over," Sasuke said, his voice calm and certain.
Around them, the remaining Shadow Clones vanished one after another with soft "poof, poof, poof" sounds, dissolving into white smoke.
Sasuke released him, rose smoothly to his feet, and turned his back on Naruto, who was still sprawled in the sand.
"For dead last, getting lucky only happens once."
"Aaaah!! You smug Sasuke! One more time! Let's go again!" Naruto leapt up, shouting, his face twisted with frustration.
"I still—"
"Enough, Naruto."
Roshi cut him off, stepping into the center of the training field.
"You pass the test, Sasuke," Roshi said.
"According to our agreement, you can apply for a leave of absence and receive more specialized training. Have your father submit the application to the Ninja Academy."
The Third Hokage, watching from the side, also turned his gaze to Sasuke, waiting for his reply.
"Thank you very much, Roshi-san. However…" Sasuke lifted his head, black eyes firm with resolve. "I'm giving up on applying for a leave of absence."
"I believe there are still some things… that I can only learn in the Ninja Academy."