Sasuke Uchiha's physical exhaustion was far worse than it appeared. If not for his rigorous training, he probably would've collapsed already. The intense battle had temporarily distracted him from his fatigue, allowing him to persevere on sheer willpower alone. But once that drive weakened, he could no longer suppress his trembling body.
Seeing the fight end, Kakashi Hatake—who had been observing from the sidelines—appeared at just the right moment. Together with Mizuki, he helped an almost uncontrollable Sasuke to a shady spot to sit down.
"How bad are the injuries?" Kakashi asked, concern evident in his voice.
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
Truthfully, Mizuki hadn't really hurt Sasuke much—there hadn't been many serious attacks landed on him at all. Rather, his stamina and chakra were nearly depleted. If the fight had gone on much longer without enough chakra to keep it under control, the cursed seal might have flared up again.
This pitiful condition was entirely due to Sasuke pushing himself too hard. An improperly controlled [Chidori Current] was a double-edged sword, capable of harming the user before the enemy. [Chidori] was truly an ultimate technique—it could be a decisive weapon in skilled hands, but the slightest mistake would leave the user open to devastating counterattacks. Why had Minato Namikaze once ordered Kakashi to seal the Chidori as forbidden jutsu? Because its high-speed straight-line thrust carried enormous risks—if it missed the target, the opponent could easily launch a devastating counterattack. Even evading during high-speed movement became impossible without Sharingan's cheat-like dynamic vision.
Soon enough, under Mizuki's treatment, Sasuke's condition improved slightly. Regaining some energy, his involuntary muscle tremors eased, and his breathing slowly stabilized.
"When you don't have teammates around, don't push yourself like that. Losing control of your body on the battlefield is practically seeking death."
Mizuki released the Mystical Palm Technique and offered Sasuke a waterskin.
"Drink this. You're not seriously injured; after resting a bit, you should be able to move freely again."
Sasuke didn't refuse. He took the waterskin and gulped down several large swallows, then poured the rest over his overheated head to cool himself down.
"I'm sorry for troubling you, Teacher Mizuki."
At least for now, Sasuke was still a level-headed youth who could tell friend from foe—his heart hadn't yet sunk into darkness or been consumed by exaggerated paranoia.
"No problem. Fighting against the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan isn't something you experience every day."
Mizuki said with a smile.
The last time he'd fought against someone from the Uchiha clan was during Itachi Uchiha's invasion, but back then Kakashi Hatake had been the main fighter. Mizuki himself had been defeated by a mere glance—the black flames of Amaterasu instantly overwhelming him. Earlier still, decades before the destruction of the entire Uchiha clan, he had occasionally witnessed the Sharingan's power when the Uchiha Clan still stood proudly as Konoha's premier powerhouse family. Unfortunately, back then the Uchiha looked down on mediocrity like Mizuki. No one took duels with him seriously. With merely average aptitude, Mizuki mostly served as a convenient demonstration tool to showcase the Sharingan's strength.
"Now that you've recovered, my job here is done."
"Alright then," Mizuki said, turning to Kakashi Hatake. "I'll be going first. The rest is all up to you."
Kakashi simply nodded.
"See ya!" Mizuki vanished instantly with a Body Flicker Technique.
Watching Mizuki disappear in the blink of an eye, Kakashi sighed and turned to Sasuke. "You shouldn't take Teacher Mizuki's words too seriously."
"I know." Sasuke let out a bitter chuckle. "Even if it's not pleasant to hear, what he said was true. Having just one or two high-level ninjutsu really doesn't prove much."
"It's good that you can listen to it. But objectively speaking, the standards for jonin might be a bit harsh on you. Actually, you've done pretty well already."
Kakashi comforted him by saying, "When I was chatting casually with Teacher Mizuki, we mentioned Konoha genin, and he thought you and Neji Hyuga were among the strongest."
"Me and Neji? But I couldn't even beat Naruto!"
Sasuke said bitterly.
Sasuke had seen it with his own eyes: the Rasengan's power was no weaker than the Chidori. [Shadow Clone] seemed tailor-made for Naruto, maximizing his stamina and chakra advantage. As for summoning, which overwhelmed others, it made Sasuke feel even more powerless. If Naruto could summon Gamabunta, he could easily wipe the floor with every genin in Konoha.
"Naruto," Kakashi sighed. "You don't need to worry too much about those hit-or-miss summoning techniques. If we included those massive summoned beasts when evaluating strength, that'd just be unfair. Putting that aside, you still have your strengths."
"But during a real fight, no one cares whether using summons is fair or not..." Sasuke said somewhat bitterly.
"You do have a point there," Kakashi said with an awkward scratch of his head. "But summoning contracts are complicated things. Finding a large summoned beast is genuinely difficult, though there are some practical ones out there."
"Not easy to find, huh?" Sasuke said with a discouraged tone.
"You actually don't need to rely too much on external firepower. Summons may be convenient, but they aren't always easy to use. Plus, a high-level ninja's power isn't necessarily inferior to those massive summoned beasts."
"Really?" A spark of hope lit in Sasuke's eyes as he recalled the world-shattering Fire Release techniques he had witnessed back on the sea in the Land of Water.
[If I could become that powerful, I wouldn't need any summoned creatures either!]
Indeed, high-level jutsu weren't everything, but mastering ultra-advanced techniques naturally indicated that one's overall abilities had reached an extremely high level—they go hand in hand.
The Uchiha clan possessed many advanced techniques within their inheritance, especially Fire Release, which held an especially important place throughout Uchiha history.
After resting for a while and feeling slightly recovered, Sasuke struggled to stand up. As Mizuki had said, he hadn't sustained serious injuries—just temporary exhaustion. However, today's training seemed impossible to continue, so they had no choice but to return.
"Teacher Kakashi, I have a question..." On the way home, looking somewhat hesitant, Sasuke finally spoke up. "Between you and Teacher Mizuki... who is actually stronger?"
"Why are you interested in that all of a sudden?"
"Let's just say you're outmatched by both me and Mizuki," Kakashi said after a pause. "In my usual state, I'd be slightly stronger. But if Mizuki uses Sage Mode, I might be a bit weaker. Still, it doesn't mean I can't push back. I might have to resort to something drastic."
That "special method," of course, was none other than [Mangekyo Sharingan].
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>