"Sasuke, did Kakashi ever tell you that while the Chidori is a very sharp and powerful ninjutsu, its extremely high speed can also be a burden on the user?"
The distance was short, yet to Sasuke it felt like he had been running for miles.
Hikari finished an entire sentence, and Sasuke still hadn't reached him.
Could it be that the world had slowed down?
"It's not the world that slowed down... it's your perception that did!"
As the words fell, Hikari appeared in front of Sasuke. He gently placed a hand on Sasuke's right arm and tugged.
Sasuke immediately lost balance and rolled far across the ground.
As for the Chidori—Hikari had already shut it down for him.
Otherwise Sasuke might have been injured by his own jutsu, and that was the last thing Hikari wanted to see.
"Why?"
Sasuke rolled a few times and stared at Hikari in confusion. By now, he already understood he had been caught by a genjutsu.
Genjutsu.
How laughable.
He was an Uchiha with fully awakened three-tomoe Sharingan, yet someone had planted a genjutsu on him—this was practically an insult to the Uchiha clan!
(Hikari: Ahem. You don't represent the entire Uchiha clan. You're just a brat!)
"Because your spirit isn't firm enough."
A shinobi's chakra is the product of spiritual and physical energy. Although Sasuke trained relentlessly, the strength of his spirit had only been boosted indirectly through awakening the three-tomoe Sharingan. That didn't mean he could easily control that strength.
In terms of mental stability, he was far inferior to Naruto right now.
"My spirit isn't firm enough? I train this hard just to kill him, and you're saying my spirit isn't firm enough?!" Sasuke felt Hikari was joking.
"That kind of line might fool other people, but it won't work on me." Hikari grinned at him. "Only when you truly understand your own heart will you have the qualifications to advance further."
"As you are now—you're simply blinded by hatred. You haven't recognized what's really inside you."
Hikari had sensed this personally.
Sasuke indeed resented Itachi for killing their parents, yet deep in his heart he still clung to a faint trace of hope. He hoped Itachi would one day tell him everything before was a lie.
He wished he could wake up one day and find Itachi still the loving brother he remembered.
One part of him wanted to kill Itachi, yet another part still yearned for him.
With such a conflicted heart, how could Sasuke possibly take the next step and obtain the Mangekyō?
The Uchiha were a clan full of "love".
That was why many awakened the Sharingan after losing loved ones—the trauma bent their spirit off-center, letting obsession replace rational goals.
Madara understood this perfectly.
Why did he choose Obito?
Because Obito's inner light far surpassed that of most Uchiha.
When that light was completely shattered by Madara, Obito's heart turned even darker—pure darkness.
At that moment, his Sharingan became stronger than average.
And thus, the Mangekyō was born.
"You need to calm down during training and seriously consider your real objective." Hikari advised.
The apparent trigger for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan is the stimulus of losing loved ones, but the true essence is using intense negative emotions to force a surge in one's spiritual energy, thereby unlocking the latent potential in the bloodline and giving birth to the Mangekyō.
If someone is strong enough—with a powerful enough conviction—they can awaken the Mangekyō even without losing loved ones.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Seeing Sasuke lying on the ground with a confused gaze, Naruto exploded with chakra. Hundreds of Narutos charged toward Hikari, each wielding a Rasengan.
"Take this, Hikari-senpai!"
Hikari turned around, looked at the endless sea of Narutos, and shook his head.
"Against small fry, this is fine. Against me? It's still a bit lacking."
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blades!"
Countless transparent blades of wind materialized around Hikari, forming a dense net-like defense.
"Go."
The blades screamed outward, slicing toward the clones.
Individually they weren't strong, but their speed was overwhelming. Naruto's clones took up too much space to dodge properly.
*Puff!*
In just a single breath, half of Naruto's clones vanished. Even with Naruto's strong recovery ability, the sudden drain of chakra made his face pale.
"Having numbers is an advantage, but in front of a true expert, ordinary clones don't amount to much."
Other than Wood Clones, all clone techniques share one weakness—they can't withstand damage.
They're essentially chakra constructs. Once struck, they disappear. To counter this weakness, Hikari developed this technique.
Each wind blade could be adjusted depending on the target.
Against Naruto, they would only cut the skin lightly without causing real harm.
Against a real enemy, they could easily inflict multiple lethal wounds.
Moments later, the wind blades wiped out all remaining clones. Only Naruto stood there, holding a Rasengan and staring blankly at Hikari.
His mind could no longer process what he should do next.
Clone combat had always been Naruto's specialty, yet it had been destroyed in an instant. He wasn't the future Naruto yet—being shaken at this age was normal.
"Go keep Sasuke company. You should also think about your path from here on."
Hikari waved his hand, sending Naruto flying toward Sasuke.
This time the restraint wasn't too strong, and Naruto felt he could break free with Nine-Tails chakra if he wanted.
But since he saw his landing target was Sasuke, he didn't resist.
A perfect chance for payback like this doesn't come often.
*Boom!*
Ignoring the harmonious, affectionate collision of Naruto and Sasuke, Hikari turned toward Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino standing at the side.
"You four aren't attacking. Is it because you think I'm too strong? Or do you simply not have the courage to try?"
Shikamaru raised his hand in surrender. "Senpai, you're too troublesome. I give up."
"Giving up is not my style! Take this—Gatsūga!"
*Kiba launched himself forward.*
*Kiba reached Hikari.*
*Kiba got smacked down.*
*Kiba was KO'd.*
Shikamaru twitched at the sight.
'Brother... you are brave.'
'Knowing defeat was certain yet still attacking—I respect you as a true man.'
"Next, will you three attack me on your own, or should I make the first move?"
As a senpai, Hikari was still considerate of his juniors.
See? He even gave them a choice.
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