As the forehead protector was lifted, one eye was exposed to the cool Gekko.
In that crimson pupil, three pitch-black tomoe were slowly rotating, emitting a powerful aura.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
In that instant, Sasuke’s pupils contracted sharply, and the momentum of the blade in his hand also stalled.
“That eye…”
He stared intently at Kakashi’s left eye and asked, “Why, why do you possess that eye?!”
The Sharingan is proof of the Uchiha Clan Bloodline; it is the pride of their clan.
Aside from that man and himself, there shouldn’t be a third person in this world who possesses it.
But the Kakashi before him not only possessed it but also had the fully matured Three-Tomoe form.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke’s shocked expression and replied calmly.
“This is a gift left to me by a friend.”
“A gift?”
Sasuke’s eyes instantly turned cold.
“Since when did the eyes of the Uchiha Clan become gifts that could be casually given away?”
He raised his hand and chanted the incantation.
“Hado Number Four, Byakurai!”
A bolt of lightning shot out from Sasuke’s fingertip.
It was only a test; this Kido technique did not have much lethality, and even if it hit, it would only paralyze the enemy.
Kakashi dodged sideways, slightly surprised.
What kind of technique was that?
Lightning Release Ninjutsu that doesn’t require hand signs.
He had never seen it before.
The Sharingan couldn’t copy it, and he hadn’t even sensed any obvious Chakra fluctuation.
“Hado Number Thirty-Three, Sokatsui!”
Sasuke didn’t give him much time to think.
He held his left hand straight out, and a ball of blue-white flame instantly condensed in his palm, howling as it smashed toward where Kakashi was standing.
Boom—!
The violent explosion shattered the entire tree branch.
Kakashi’s figure had already appeared on another tree, his Sharingan tightly locking onto Sasuke’s figure, his brain analyzing rapidly.
“Fire Release and Lightning Release without hand signs, huh…
The attack method is very direct, but it seems to lack variation.”
“Hado Number One, Sho!”
Sasuke chanted softly again, and an invisible force of impact shot out from his palm, heading straight for Kakashi.
Kakashi did not take the hit directly.
Relying on his combat experience, his figure constantly flickered through the woods, neutralizing all of Sasuke’s attacks.
Sasuke’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
Although his Kido techniques were fast to deploy, they seemed to lose their effectiveness in front of the Sharingan.
Just as Sasuke used Shunpo to pursue again, preparing for a close-range slash, an anomaly suddenly occurred.
On his path forward, the ground suddenly became soft, and a hand reached out from beneath the ground without warning, gripping his ankle tightly!
Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!
The powerful pull caused Sasuke to instantly lose his balance, and his body slammed heavily into the ground.
“Damn it!”
Sasuke was startled, realizing that the fighting style here was different from the Soul Society he was familiar with.
Before he could stabilize himself, Kakashi’s figure had already appeared in a clearing nearby, his hands forming seals at a blinding speed!
“Tiger – Rabbit – Serpent – Horse – Ram – Boar…”
“Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!”
Following a low shout, the accumulated water in the pond gathered into a ferocious Water Dragon, surging toward Sasuke, who had just managed to stand up.
Sasuke could only activate Shunpo again, awkwardly dodging to the side.
Rumble—!
The Water Dragon crashed into the ground, raising monstrous waves.
Sasuke had just landed stably and hadn’t even had time to catch his breath when he suddenly met Kakashi’s crimson Sharingan.
Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!
In an instant, the world before Sasuke began to twist.
He seemed to return to that bloody night, his parents lying in pools of blood, while his older brother stood holding a dripping longsword, looking at him indifferently, speaking cruel words.
“My foolish little brother…”
“Kill him, kill him!”
Feelings of hatred instantly erupted, and at the same time, that cold voice resonated again in his mind.
“Get out!”
Sasuke’s Soul was strong enough, and the tomoe in his eyes spun frantically.
In just one second, he broke free from the Genjutsu’s restraint.
But in terms of combat, one second was already enough to decide the outcome.
When Sasuke’s vision returned to clarity, a cold kunai was already pressed against his throat.
The battle was over.
Sasuke stood rooted to the spot, motionless.
“Damn it…”
He gritted his teeth, his heart filled with resentment.
“That guy is messing things up again!”
Kakashi withdrew the kunai and looked calmly at Sasuke: “You are not yet a powerhouse; you don’t have the right to look down on your opponent.”
“Hmph.” Sasuke let out a cold snort.
“If it weren’t for…
Anyway, consider yourself lucky this time.”
He argued stubbornly, but the contempt he had shown earlier was gone.
Kakashi saw through his thoughts but didn’t expose him, merely shrugging: “Well, battles only look at the result.
If you lose, you lose.”
Sasuke’s expression became somewhat sullen.
After a moment of silence, he spoke again, “I acknowledge your capacity.
You are indeed worthy of standing before me.”
“What you said earlier, does it still count?” he asked somewhat stiffly.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised he would say that.
“Hmm?
What did I say?”
“…Stay, and become stronger.” Sasuke practically squeezed those words out through gritted teeth.
“Ah, that.”
Kakashi looked enlightened, then smiled.
“Of course it counts.
What, do you want to be my Disciple?”
“Boring.” Sasuke turned his head away, no longer looking at him, but he didn’t mention leaving again.
Kakashi hoisted Naruto onto his shoulder and prepared to turn and leave, when Sasuke’s voice suddenly came from behind him.
“Tomorrow, what time?”
Kakashi paused, turning back to look at him with some surprise.
Sasuke’s face still held that indifferent expression, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred: “Ninja Academy.”
Kakashi was stunned for a moment, then laughed—the kind that came from the heart.
“Well, let’s say nine in the morning.
Don’t be late, okay?”
After speaking, his figure flashed and disappeared.
Watching Kakashi’s retreating back, Sasuke lowered his head to look at the slightly trembling Zanpakuto in his hand, murmuring:
“We certainly lost this time, but in the future, there will be a chance for you to use your full strength.”
Although he really didn’t want to admit it, staying in Konoha was indeed his best option right now.
Through this battle, Sasuke largely recognized his own strength.
If he were to go look for Itachi now, setting aside whether he could find him, he would probably just be throwing his life away if he did…
It would be better to stay and become stronger, just as Kakashi suggested.
After all, as a Ninja, he still had tremendous room for improvement.
It would be difficult to find Itachi on his own; by staying, he could utilize Konoha’s intelligence to find clues about Uchiha Itachi.
But there was an even more important matter at hand.
How exactly did he return to Konoha?
Was it because of that voice inside him?
Or…
If he couldn’t figure out why he Transmigrated between the two worlds, it would be troublesome if he returned to the Soul Society next time and couldn’t come back.
But Sasuke tried all sorts of strange and unusual methods, yet none of them worked.