Amidst the billowing smoke, Uchiha Sasuke leaped out from above. His gaze flickered to Haruno Sakura, unconscious on the ground, and his brow furrowed slightly.
This woman... still as brainless as ever...
Whoosh!
A red fishing hook shot out from the smoke.
With a sharp crackle, Lightning Release chakra instantly coated his Kusanagi blade. His figure blurred and vanished from the spot.
Two figures blurred in a high-speed exchange across the training ground, a flurry of fierce attacks raining down. In mere moments, the once orderly training ground was reduced to a dilapidated ruin.
"This..."
Far off, the Konoha rookies watched the battle on the training ground, their eyes glazed with disbelief.
Is this guy really the Uchiha Sasuke they knew? This kind of power...
"Shikamaru, you saw it too, didn't you?" Neji Hyuga moved to his side, asking in a low voice.
"I saw it. The Mangekyo Sharingan." A flicker of gravity crossed Nara Shikamaru's eyes. He roughly guessed why the Fifth Hokage had so easily reinstated Uchiha Sasuke as a Konoha ninja. "He's a monster."
Veins bulged around Neji Hyuga's eyes as he watched Sasuke's continuous high-speed movements, and he nodded slightly. Practitioners of the same art were often rivals. As a fellow dōjutsu clan, although the Hyuga clan prided themselves on their Byakugan, they had never underestimated the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. The clan elders had explained the significance of the Sharingan's different stages to them long before they even entered the Ninja Academy.
Especially the Mangekyo Sharingan… He clearly remembered the trace of fear that would inevitably flash in the elders' eyes when they spoke of it. In the past, young and fearless, he had inwardly scoffed at the elders' perceived cowardice. But now, listening to the continuous roars from afar, watching the afterimages flash repeatedly within his Byakugan's sight, he was beginning to understand their feelings.
At the same time, a question couldn't help but surface in his mind: Can the Byakugan truly compare to the Sharingan?
"Neji, can you still keep up with their fight?" Shikamaru asked.
"Barely," Neji grit his teeth. This gap... it truly made one feel powerless. He had graduated from the Ninja Academy a year before Uchiha Sasuke, yet now, he couldn't even clearly follow his movements.
Nearby, Hinata Hyuga, overhearing their conversation, was slightly taken aback. Because she could still clearly see their fight… Why? Big Brother Neji's aptitude is so much better than mine, isn't it?
Swoosh!
A figure appeared before the assembled youngsters. "Can someone tell me what's going on?"
Recognizing his face, they exclaimed joyfully, "Kakashi-sensei!"
Shikamaru concisely explained what had just happened.
"I see." Kakashi looked down at the unconscious Sakura. "Is Sakura alright?"
"She just fainted." Yamanaka Ino recalled the perilous scene from moments ago, shaking her head slightly. If she hadn't reacted quickly, it was debatable whether Sakura would have even remained in one piece. A battle of that caliber... it was truly terrifying.
After Kakashi, numerous Konoha shinobi also arrived around the training ground. When they saw the two combatants, they were all shocked, especially the Hyuga clan members.
"Clan Head, did you see his eyes?" a Hyuga Jonin asked in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the fight. "A Byakugan capable of suppressing the Mangekyo."
"Could it be one of our clan's hidden…?" His tone was full of longing. The Hyuga clan hadn't produced a powerhouse of this level in a very long time.
Hiashi Hyuga remained silent, his heart equally filled with doubt. He could guarantee that among all the shinobi the Hyuga clan kept hidden, there was absolutely no one of this caliber. Besides, if there truly was a Hyuga member capable of contending with, or even suppressing, the Mangekyo Sharingan, how could he still be the Clan Head? Those old geezers on the council would have found a way to oust him long ago.
Could it be... Remembering the dust-covered family registry, his heart jolted, and he instinctively looked up at the sky.
"What's the situation?" Jiraiya moved to the front of the group, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Kakashi, gazing at the distant battle.
"Sasuke is starting to lose ground," Kakashi observed.
"Let's make our move. If we keep watching, some people will start getting ideas," Jiraiya said, taking the lead and charging into the battlefield. Close behind, Kakashi's figure also vanished.
Otsutsuki Urashiki lightly patted the fishing basket at his waist. A large number of stones materialized out of thin air and crashed to the ground. In the blink of an eye, a thick wall separated him from his pursuers.
"That's enough playing for now. Until next time, Sasuke-kun!" Otsutsuki Urashiki chuckled softly, his figure slowly fading into mid-air.
Zzzt!
Kakashi, Chidori in hand, shot straight through Urashiki's fading, illusory form.
From a blind spot, Jiraiya's figure slowly emerged. He looked up at the sky, a trace of gravity in his eyes. A space-time ninjutsu I've never seen before...
Watching them, Uchiha Sasuke's turbulent chakra gradually calmed, and he sheathed his Kusanagi blade.
"Hm? Someone who wears a longsword at their waist?" Observing Sasuke sheathe his sword, Jiraiya froze on the spot. The Great Toad Sage's prophecy resurfaced in his mind.
"Through the Byakugan Princess, you will meet a man who carries a longsword at his waist... You will have an exchange, and at that time, you will face a choice..."
But where is the Byakugan Princess? Jiraiya wondered.
"Ngh..." Uchiha Sasuke clutched his left eye in pain, blood slowly trickling out from between his fingers.
"Are you alright, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, instinctively touching his own sealed left eye with a puzzled expression. What is this familiar pulsation?
"I'm fine." Uchiha Sasuke shook his head slightly. He had overused his dōjutsu power again. He looked at Kakashi, who was clearly close by yet appeared blurry, and the hand covering his eye tightened slightly. Is this how Itachi felt back then...?
"Let me take you to the hospital." Kakashi turned and crouched down in front of him, offering his back.
Outside Konoha, in a patch of forest.
Otsutsuki Urashiki's figure appeared under the shade of a tree, his right hand propping up his chin as he contemplated the recent battle. "I didn't expect Konoha to have so many skilled shinobi. A miscalculation."
"Bansho Ten'in!"
Suddenly, his body was uncontrollably pulled to the side.
"Inferno Style: Kagutsuchi!" Future Sasuke's figure leaped out from the shadows, his left-hand longsword coated with Amaterasu flames.
Just as the longsword was about to pierce his heart, the astonishment on Otsutsuki Urashiki's face vanished instantly. His eyes transformed into Rinnegan with nine tomoe. "What a surprise. You were actually able to keep up with me."
Whoosh!
Several red paper cranes, caught in the attack's path, were incinerated by the Amaterasu flames.
"But unfortunately," Urashiki's voice echoed from all directions, "I don't feel like playing with you anymore."
Future Sasuke looked up at the sky, gave his sword a flourish, and the black flames on the blade dissipated.
... Splash!
Boruto's body crashed into the lake.
Not far away, Naruto stood on the water's surface, sighing helplessly. Why does he have so many mischievous ideas?
"Hah!" Boruto poked his head out of the water. "I tagged you! You can teach me swordsmanship now, right?"
"Alright." Naruto nodded. Even though it was through a trick, a touch was a touch. He wasn't one to go back on his word. "Come on up."
He sheathed Kusabimaru and took out a sealing scroll. After wandering the shinobi world for so long, he had encountered many ninjas and samurai who used swords. Although most wielded apprentice-level longswords, with quantity, one was bound to acquire a couple of fine pieces.
He took out a katana forged with chakra-conductive metal and handed it to the excited youngster before him.
Clang~
As soon as Boruto got his hands on it, he eagerly drew the longsword from its scabbard and swung it around wildly. "Cool, huh?" Boruto struck what he considered a very cool pose and asked excitedly.
"So-so," Naruto stroked his chin, offering an honest assessment. Gazing at the little guy, an inexplicable emotion welled up within him. Is this... legacy?
"When do we start training?" Boruto asked, eager.
"Let's train in Konoha."
"Why? Can't we do it here?"
"Your Sasuke-sensei asked me to return to Konoha for a bit," Naruto replied.