Chapter 36
Naruto held the Y-shaped kunai, his feet moving in a strange, wondrous footwork that could not be learned at the academy.
It was the stepping technique from Taiji Bagua Palm.
His figure flickered unpredictably. Under the three Takigakure ninja's long-sword onslaught, he weaved left and right, yet always managed to evade vital points at the critical moment.
"This brat… how are his movements so slippery!"
One Takigakure ninja grew anxious inside. Seeing they couldn't take him down quickly, he turned to first deal with the injured Iruka.
"No chance!"
It was as though Naruto had eyes in the back of his head. With a slide of his foot, he instantly blocked the path the ninja had to take.
The kunai in his hand slashed cunningly toward the opponent's turned back, forcing him to jerk back in alarm.
Iruka leaned against a tree, watching the small back dancing on the edge of blades to protect him. His heart was filled with both emotion and pain.
He knew his current state would only become a burden to Naruto.
Gritting his teeth, he dragged his heavy body and shrank as far behind the tree as possible, refusing to give the enemies a chance to take him hostage.
Although Naruto's positioning was exquisite and compensated for his lack of raw power, the gap in strength and experience was still there.
He was just a seven- or eight-year-old child. Against three coordinated chūnin, his stamina was draining at terrifying speed.
"Damn it, stop tangling with him—pull back!"
The lead Takigakure ninja realized they couldn't take down this kid quickly. He decisively retreated.
He formed seals rapidly. The shuriken in his hand once again turned into a sky full of illusions.
Phantom Multi-Shuriken
A dense rain of shuriken poured toward Naruto—truth and illusion indistinguishable, intended to wear down his stamina.
However, Naruto did not struggle to dodge like the heavily injured Iruka.
Under Xuanming's years of guidance, his spiritual perception far surpassed ordinary people.
In his eyes, the phantom shuriken were like semi-transparent bubbles.
The real ones carried a sharp, cold glint.
"Left side, right side, duck…"
Naruto moved unhurriedly, his body swaying slightly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Countless shuriken grazed past his body and embedded into the tree trunk behind him.
The few real ones were perfectly avoided with seemingly casual postures.
"Too slow, and this throwing technique…"
Naruto stood firm, looking at the stunned Takigakure ninja and curling his lip in mockery: "It's not even as accurate as Sasuke's. Way too easy to dodge."
"You little punk! What did you say?!"
The Takigakure ninja flew into a humiliated rage and charged forward again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several shuriken suddenly shot from the high canopy above, precisely predicting the ninja's advance route and forcing them into clumsy dodges.
"Who's there? Konoha reinforcements?"
The lead Takigakure ninja looked up in alarm and suspicion.
High on a branch stood another black-haired, black-eyed child gazing coldly down at them.
Uchiha Sasuke had arrived.
"Naruto, are these the enemies?" Sasuke asked coldly.
On his way toward the site of the explosive tag blast, he had been spotted by the hidden Hibachi.
After quickly confirming Iruka's direction, he picked up some leftover ninja tools from the earlier battlefield and rushed here at full speed.
Sasuke leaped lightly down and landed beside Naruto.
"Hey, how strong are they? Are they a match?" Sasuke glanced at the slightly panting Naruto.
"Not really."
Naruto was honest, staring at the three opponents: "They're not particularly strong, but we're actually weaker. Right now I can't think of a way to win."
"How about you try if your shuriken can kill them?" Naruto suggested.
"People die when they're killed!"
Sasuke stepped forward two paces and pulled out two scavenged kunai: "But they're not targets—they won't just stand there waiting to be killed. So I'll try the technique my brother taught me."
The Takigakure ninja opposite saw another child arrive and were about to sneer.
But when they noticed the Uchiha fan crest on Sasuke's clothes, their expressions instantly turned grave.
"Be careful—it's an Uchiha brat."
A person's name, a tree's shadow—the Uchiha clan was known for producing powerhouses; this was common knowledge in the shinobi world.
Sasuke took a deep breath. Eight kunai appeared between the fingers of both hands at once. His gaze turned razor-sharp.
"That opening stance…" The lead Takigakure ninja's pupils contracted: "Watch out! It's Uchiha-style shuriken throwing technique!"
Before the words finished, Sasuke's hands flicked violently.
Eight kunai scattered like celestial maidens scattering flowers. At first glance their trajectories all seemed wildly off, as though they would miss completely.
But the next instant—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
A second wave of kunai—fired later but arriving first—struck precisely against the tails of the first wave.
With crisp clanging sounds, the kunai that had been flying wide instantly changed direction.
Both waves refracted at completely counterintuitive angles toward the three Takigakure ninja's blind spots.
"What?!"
The ninja frantically blocked the frontal attacks with their swords, never expecting shuriken from the sides and rear.
Pfft! Pfft!
Though they didn't hit vitals, the sharp kunai still opened several wounds. Blood seeped out.
"Damn brats!"
Forced into this position by two kids and even injured, the three Takigakure ninja's patience was completely exhausted.
If word got out, how could Takigakure ever show their faces again?
"Whatever—kill them directly!"
The lead ninja's face twisted ferociously as he gave the signal: "No holding back—use that technique!"
The three quickly took positions. Their hands flew through seals; chakra surged madly in their throats.
Fire Release Cooperative Technique: Garuda
BOOM!
All three opened their mouths at once and spewed three torrents of blazing flame.
The flames intertwined and fused in mid-air, rapidly forming a terrifying fire dragon over twenty meters long.
Carrying heat that could incinerate everything, it roared straight toward Naruto and Sasuke in a line of destruction.
"Damn it… I can use Fire Release too…"
Feeling the scorching wave rushing at him, the pride deep in Sasuke's Uchiha blood was fully ignited.
As the son of the Uchiha clan head, how could he not know Fire Release ninjutsu?
"Snake – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger!"
Sasuke's hands formed seals at blurring speed.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Sasuke inhaled deeply, chest swelling high, then exhaled sharply.
Whoosh——!!
A massive orange-red fireball—easily ten meters in diameter—howled forth, meeting the terrifying fire dragon head-on.
BOOOOOOM——!!
The two Fire Release techniques collided violently in mid-air. The sound of burning air crackled endlessly.
To resist the opponent's terrifying Fire Release, Sasuke poured every ounce of chakra into countering, unleashing power far beyond a normal Great Fireball.
Truly worthy of an Uchiha brat—to unleash such terrifying Fire Release alone.
That thought flashed through the three Takigakure ninja's minds.
But the gap in strength was reality.
Sasuke was still young; his chakra reserves were limited.
The other side was a cooperative technique from three chūnin.
The standoff lasted only five seconds.
"This is bad… chakra can't keep up…"
Sasuke's face turned pale. He watched helplessly as his Great Fireball was slowly devoured and scattered by the fire dragon.
With nothing left to block it, the fire dragon roared and continued its charge, momentum barely diminished.
Its ferocious dragon head enlarged rapidly in Sasuke's pupils. The shadow of death instantly enveloped him completely.
Body… can't dodge anymore.
Just as the fire dragon was about to swallow Sasuke—
A hand suddenly seized Sasuke's arm.
"Naruto?!"
Sasuke only had time to shout one name before feeling a tremendous force.
Naruto gave himself no path of retreat—he pushed Sasuke with all his strength toward a safe spot to the side.
"——!!"
In mid-air, Sasuke's vision seemed to slow to a crawl.
He watched wide-eyed as the blond figure who always bickered with him
was instantly swallowed whole by the raging fire dragon—reduced to a tiny black silhouette in the flames.
BOOM——
The fire dragon continued its charge, smashing countless trees along the way until a massive explosion erupted far in the distance.
Sasuke crashed heavily to the ground, rolling several times before stopping.
Ignoring the pain in his body, he scrambled up in panic and looked toward where Naruto had stood.
There was no trace of Naruto anymore.
Only a dozens-of-meters-long streak of scorched black earth still smoking, and broken branches and splintered wood scattered everywhere.
"Hmph. Only took out one?"
The lead Takigakure ninja was somewhat dissatisfied with the result.
"Nar… Naruto?!"
Not far away, behind a tree, Iruka clutched his wound, eyes splitting with rage as he stared at the blasted wasteland. His voice trembled so much he could barely speak.
Sasuke knelt on the ground, eyes wide and round, staring fixedly at the charred trail.
His mind went blank, as though he could hear the sound of a string called "reason" snapping in his head.
That idiot who always shouted about becoming an immortal…
That dumbass who always fought him for first place…
That friend who promised to grow strong together…
Just like that… gone?
"No… impossible…"
Sasuke's breathing became rapid and chaotic.
A pain and rage he had never felt before surged from the depths of his soul, tearing at his heart.
"How could you… how could you die here…"
He slowly raised his head and looked toward the three smug Takigakure ninja.
His physical stamina and chakra were already almost depleted.
But under the extreme mental shock, a new, special chakra surged inside his brain.
The originally pitch-black eyes instantly broke through some kind of boundary.
Black faded away, replaced by a field of scarlet blood-red.
In those crimson pupils, the left eye bore one tomoe, the right eye bore two tomoe—slowly rotating, radiating a heart-shaking power.
The eye that mirrors the heart—Sharingan
Awakened!
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