Once tainted, there's no turning back.
But he'd never have to endure the sting of wounded pride from weakness again. Because every enemy would be crushed beneath his feet.
Yet at this moment, he did not respond to Sakon's provocation. Instead, his gaze shifted first toward Shiki Uzumaki.
Though he refused to admit it aloud, in his heart, Shiki Uzumaki was still his greatest rival.
That blazing red hair burned like flames, eternally ablaze in his heart.
Again and again, he told himself that this person had already become trash. As long as they fought once more, victory would be his.
But had he ever truly believed he could defeat him before?
It was nothing but meaningless self-deception. Shiki Uzumaki had become a shadow lingering over his heart.
At this moment, feeling the surge of strange chakra flowing through his body, everything seemed ready to kneel before him. Even the weight of his hatred felt close at hand now.
Then my path,
begins with you, Shiki Uzumaki.
"Shiki Uzumaki, wait until I finish off this small fry, then we can fight again," Sasuke said calmly, as if no one else existed—only the boy with fiery red hair stood before him.
Everyone else fell into stunned silence.
"Is this really the same Uchiha Sasuke as before?"
Shikamaru bit his lip, saying nothing, even though he thought Sakon was strong and Sasuke shouldn't take things so lightly.
But he realized something else too—this Sasuke standing here now was no longer the same Sasuke he once knew.
After all, earlier when Choji asked whether Team Ten was the weakest, he immediately thought of Team 7. Back then, in his eyes, Sasuke had only been an inexperienced rookie Genin.
Back then, the title of "prodigy" that Sasuke bore had merely been exaggerated by a group of obsessed girls.
Now, however, he couldn't ignore the man before him. The overwhelming power radiating from him was clearly beyond what their Team 7 could withstand.
Yet while he kept his mouth shut, someone else had already spoken up.
"Sasuke, be careful! Sakon is an extremely strong opponent!"
The voice came from Kin of the Sound Ninja Trio, a new member not previously encountered—though in reality, it was simply Ino who hadn't yet released her Mind Transfer Technique.
But whoever spoke, none of the words held any effect on Sasuke at this point. What mattered to him was whether or not the person before him would accept the challenge.
What mattered was whether the one who had always overshadowed him would fall today.
Looking at Sasuke like this, Shiki knew that the Cursed Seal's power was slowly clouding his mind.
Even if he could defeat me using this power—so what? It's only part of someone else's strength, a force that could be stripped away at another's whim.
But clearly, Sasuke no longer cared about these things. Gazing at those blood-red eyes, Shiki gave a slight nod.
"Fine. If you want to test your strength, I'll play along."
"Brother!" Yuuma shouted toward Shiki. Though she had seen her brother's strength before,
And that swordsmanship—gorgeous yet brimming with hidden danger—was far beyond the level of a mere Genin.
Being somewhat of a sensory-type ninja herself, she could deeply feel how this powerful force seemed unstoppable,
Like it was about to completely swallow up her big brother.
"No, Yuuma, let Shiki fight. After all, this is his decision," Tenten persuaded. Though she was also worried about Shiki, she would never show weakness like a helpless girl,
Never forcing her own will upon him. She respected every decision Shiki made,
Because beneath her cute appearance lay a stubborn girl's heart.
Shiki nodded faintly, instinctively reaching out to stroke Yuuma's long black hair. It was his usual way of comforting her.
Sasuke, satisfied with the response, naturally allowed a cold, sharp smile to appear on his face.
However, a violent surge of compressed air blasted forward, tearing a jagged crack through the ground
"Don't underestimate people, brat."
Sakon roared, seemingly having already knocked down the Uchiha Sasuke before him.
Chapter 130: Staying to the End
The violent impact storm carried such power that everyone present was stunned into silence.
A smirk of triumph appeared on Sakon's face, "Turned to dust already?"
As the smoke cleared, there was literally no one left in sight—not just Uchiha Sasuke, but Naruto and Sakura as well, who had already lost her fighting ability.
"Impossible... Have they really been killed?" Ino's voice trembled slightly.
Though currently still inside Kimiko's body, her saying this sounded somewhat strange.
"Shikamaru, hurry back! Sasuke and the others are fine!" Shikamaru first realized something was wrong and urged Ino to end her Mind Transfer Technique.
Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Sakon. If not for the sound of Naruto and Sakura being thrown down, Sakon wouldn't have noticed that the one called Uchiha Sasuke had already arrived behind him.
Just how fast was that?
Even Lee himself couldn't achieve such speed without releasing the Eight Gates.
Yet Sasuke managed to do it effortlessly.
"You're just too talkative."
Sasuke spoke coldly, standing still while unleashing an incredibly fast hand blade strike.
This simple, ordinary attack left Sakon from the [Sound Ninja Trio] completely unable to retaliate.
Sakon flew an incredible distance, his body creating a trail of dust rolling across the ground.
"So strong!" Choji almost popped his eyes wide open. The strength Sasuke displayed now exceeded even his wildest imagination.
"A person like this might actually be worthy of being my opponent," Neji nodded approvingly, expressing admiration for Sasuke.
He began to feel a slight anticipation toward Sasuke; even now, he still didn't believe he would lose to him.
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