Sure enough, in that spot, two people were standing.
One of them was Itachi, and the other was Uchiha Rengoku.
It looked like the two of them had already been standing there for quite a while. Yet Sasuke, who had been fully focused on the fight, hadn't noticed at all that there were others in this direction.
"You're really way too gentle with Sasuke. No wonder his progress is so slow," Rengoku shook his head slightly and let out a sigh as he spoke.
In fact, the moment he had just arrived, Itachi had already keenly sensed his presence.
At the exact moment Itachi smashed down that smoke bomb, he had already cleverly left a shadow clone in place.
And the real Itachi had long since silently withdrawn from the field, going to meet Rengoku.
Hearing Rengoku's words, a trace of awkwardness appeared on Itachi's face.
But even so, he still did not hesitate to defend Sasuke, "Sasuke's rate of progress over these years has been quite astonishing. With his current strength, among the younger generation, probably only Naruto can surpass him slightly."
After all, he was a complete little brother fanatic. Even Itachi, who basically never contradicted Rengoku, rarely argued back this time.
Rengoku let out a deep sigh, a hint of helplessness in his tone, "I told you to hold up the sky for Sasuke, not to take care of him like a nanny."
His gaze locked firmly onto Itachi as he continued, "If you teach him like this, how could he possibly grow into a true powerhouse?"
At this moment, Sasuke ran over, his face filled with frustration and defeat.
After all, he had just fought against a mere shadow clone for half the day. It really was embarrassing.
"Nii-san..."
Sasuke called out weakly.
Then he looked at his master Rengoku beside him and murmured, "Shishou..."
However, at this moment, neither Rengoku nor Itachi spoke.
Sasuke cautiously sneaked a glance at his master, only to find him standing there with his arms crossed, slightly frowning, as if he were thinking about something important.
On the other side, seeing that Rengoku still had no intention of speaking, Itachi took the initiative to break the silence and seriously instructed Sasuke, "The fighting habits I showed these past two days were actually all done on purpose, deliberately added in."
"The goal was to test whether you could notice the clues and learn from them."
"So next time you encounter a similar situation, make sure to pay close attention to whether your opponent is intentionally misleading you."
Hearing his brother Itachi's words, Sasuke couldn't help but blush and nod, indicating he understood, "I got it, Nii-san."
Then he turned his gaze again toward the still silent Rengoku and called softly, "Shishou?"
At this moment, Sasuke felt extremely uneasy. Although Rengoku wasn't usually strict or harsh with him, one had to know that Rengoku was publicly acknowledged as the number one in the ninja world, and even hailed as the strongest Uchiha.
Just standing there without saying a word, the invisible pressure he gave off was already overwhelming.
Especially for someone like Sasuke, who deeply admired strength, when Rengoku kept a straight face, that aura of authority made people instinctively feel awe.
Right now, Sasuke's heart was restless. After all, not long ago, he had just been scolded by Rengoku.
Rengoku gently shook his head and sighed, "If Itachi keeps playing ninja games with you like this, you won't improve at all."
Sasuke hurriedly argued, "Shishou, Nii-san has never played any ninja games with me!"
However, Rengoku ignored Sasuke's defense. He raised a hand to stop Itachi, who was about to explain, then curled his fingers slightly toward Sasuke and said earnestly, "As your master, I haven't been around these past few years. That's my fault."
His tone shifted, and Rengoku's gaze turned sharp as he continued, "But Itachi and Shisui have been far too indulgent with you, to the point that you have no idea how cruel real combat truly is."
After saying that, a cold glint flashed in Rengoku's eyes as he spoke in a low voice, "Come. Attack me with the intent to kill."
Hearing this, Sasuke pressed his lips tightly together and turned his head to look at Itachi.
Naturally, Itachi didn't dare to go against Rengoku. He simply closed his eyes briefly, then stared at Sasuke with a tightly furrowed brow.
The meaning was clear, 'Be careful yourself, little brother.'
After receiving his brother's signal, Sasuke also took a deep breath. He tightly gripped the Kusanagi sword in his hands, his gaze sharp as he stared straight at Rengoku.
But at this moment, the Rengoku he saw was just standing there casually, as if he didn't care about this battle at all.
Seeing this, Sasuke thought to himself, 'Looks like I need to start with a probing attack.'
The thought had just settled when the Kusanagi sword in his hand suddenly flicked. The blade flashed with a dazzling light, using the reflection to shine directly into Rengoku's eyes.
At the same time, his other hand swiftly pulled out several shuriken from his chest and shot them toward Rengoku without hesitation.
Immediately after, Sasuke stomped hard with his foot. His figure flickered like a ghost, instantly flashing to Rengoku's side like a phantom.
But…
Rengoku stood firmly in place, not moving at all.
The shuriken Sasuke had thrown missed in an instant, and Rengoku moved with lightning speed, directly snatching the Kusanagi sword from Sasuke's tight grip.
Then he swung his iron fist, carrying a fierce gust of wind, and slammed it hard into the right side of Sasuke's abdomen.
Rengoku was far more ruthless than Itachi.
A faint cracking sound rang out. This seemingly ordinary punch carried terrifying power.
After taking such a heavy blow, Sasuke immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire body flying backward like a kite with its string cut.
Seeing this, Itachi hurried forward to check Sasuke's injuries.
When he got closer and looked, his expression changed drastically.
Two of Sasuke's ribs had been forcibly broken by that horrifying punch.
Sasuke suddenly felt darkness cloud his vision, while waves of intense pain surged from the front of his body, almost unbearable.
He instinctively opened his mouth to gasp for air, but another large mouthful of blood spurted out instead.
"Sasuke!", Itachi called out anxiously, fumbling over himself as he searched for medicine to treat the injuries.
But at that moment, Rengoku had already walked up to them and reached out, roughly pushing Itachi aside.
"Why are you panicking? He won't die."
Rengoku reprimanded Itachi, then reached out and gently touched Sasuke's ribs.
With a slight movement of his palm, the displaced ribs were directly set back into place.
At the same time, a cluster of green light suddenly appeared in his hand, the distinctive glow of the Mystical Palm Technique.
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