It seemed to happen in an instant!
Yet it also felt as though an eternity had passed!
A searing pain shot through Sasuke's eyes, followed immediately by an overwhelming ocular power beyond anything he could describe surging forth from his Sharingan.
"Ahh!!"
Sasuke clutched both eyes and let out a scream. After a few moments, the burning pain in his eyes began to gradually subside.
Sasuke panted heavily, slowly pulling his hands away from his face and staring down at his palms.
And at that moment, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes had transformed—evolving into a hexagonal, interlocking Mangekyo Sharingan!
"This surging ocular power..."
"I can feel it—this incredible strength. So this is the power contained within the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Sasuke stared at his palms, murmuring to himself, unable to conceal the excitement spreading across his face.
The instant Sasuke was distracted by awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan, Hyuga Neji sprang into action!
Since Sasuke's Lightning Release: Kirin hadn't defeated him, Hyuga Neji naturally wasn't going to hold back!
As Hyuga Neji sprinted forward, he yanked the steel wire with his left hand, snapping the Longsword: Nuibari back into his grip.
At the same time, leveraging the eerie speed of the Silent Killing technique, Hyuga Neji manipulated the Longsword: Nuibari through its wire to launch a ranged attack at Sasuke first!
The Longsword: Nuibari sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, hurtling toward Sasuke's heart at an unnervingly deceptive speed.
Yet at that moment.
Seeing the Longsword: Nuibari streaking toward him, Sasuke slowly raised his head. With an ease he had never possessed before, he tilted his body slightly to the side—and effortlessly evaded the blade.
As if he'd predicted it all along!
"What?!"
Hyuga Neji was momentarily stunned. He'd expected Sasuke might dodge, but never imagined he could do it so effortlessly.
Hyuga Neji quickly gathered himself, his hands still moving as he yanked the wire to recall the Longsword: Nuibari.
And in that brief span of time!
Hyuga Neji had already closed in to within striking distance of Sasuke.
The Silent Killing technique's eerie assault resumed—and this time, with the Longsword: Nuibari in hand, Neji's offensive power had multiplied several times over.
Bang! Bang!
Fierce clashes echoed through their battlefield.
Armed with a kunai, Sasuke fended off Hyuga Neji's ferocious attacks one after another.
"How is this possible?!"
Disbelief was written across Hyuga Neji's face as he stared at Sasuke effortlessly blocking his strikes.
Before this moment, Sasuke had been inferior to him in speed and every other aspect!
Even with the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan, logically speaking, Sasuke shouldn't have been able to withstand attacks this fast—nor the Longsword: Nuibari's deceptively tricky assault!
He shouldn't have been able to keep up with his speed!
As Sasuke continued parrying Hyuga Neji's attacks, he seemed to sense Neji's confusion and bewilderment. The cold, ruthless expression from earlier returned to his face.
"You don't understand the true power of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan!"
Sasuke looked at Hyuga Neji with a hint of disdain.
Never mind the special abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan!
Simply by evolving from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to the Mangekyo Sharingan, the original Sharingan's copying, hypnosis, and perception abilities were all elevated to their absolute peak.
At this moment, Sasuke finally understood what Nagato had told him from the start: the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was nothing before the Mangekyo Sharingan!
Just as in this fight against Hyuga Neji—previously, Sasuke could barely track Neji's movements.
But now, with the Mangekyo Sharingan, not only could he effortlessly perceive every motion, he could even anticipate them in advance.
It was as if the entire world had slowed down before his eyes!
That was how he could so easily fend off Hyuga Neji's blistering attacks.
"This is the power of the Uchiha clan!"
Sasuke let out a laugh, seizing a brief opening to thrust straight at Hyuga Neji's temple.
Forced to react, Hyuga Neji quickly adjusted his stance, planted his feet, and leapt backward.
Watching Hyuga Neji retreat so easily, a surge of confidence welled up inside Sasuke once more.
"Before these eyes, there's nowhere for you to run!"
"With this three-way battle, it looks like I win. It's over!"
Sasuke gazed coldly at Hyuga Neji and at Naruto, who had just clambered back to his feet from atop Gamaken in the distance.
In the brief exchange with Hyuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke had already begun to grow accustomed to his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Overconfidence isn't a good thing!"
Hearing Sasuke's boastful words, Hyuga Neji let out a cold snort. He raised the Longsword: Nuibari and drove it straight into the ground.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Following Hyuga Neji's motion, multiple steel wires suddenly erupted from underground, forming a net that ensnared Sasuke in the center!
Clearly, Hyuga Neji hadn't merely been fighting—he'd been secretly laying a trap all along.
"Longsword Ninja Art: Earth Spider Sewing!"
Hyuga Neji pressed one hand to the ground and called out in a low voice.
The net of steel wires beneath the ground instantly began to contract, slicing toward Sasuke. Given the Longsword: Nuibari's steel wires and their terrifying cutting power, a single touch would sever both of Sasuke's legs.
Facing this sudden turn of events, Sasuke remained composed, showing not the slightest panic.
"You think I didn't see your little trick?"
Sasuke's eyes widened, and the ocular power of his Mangekyo Sharingan erupted. A purple, almost tangible chakra surged forth from his eyes.
In an instant, Sasuke was enveloped in this solidified purple chakra.
The steel wires from the Longsword: Nuibari slashed against the purple chakra with a metallic clash, sparks flying from the point of contact.
"This is..."
Hyuga Neji's expression changed as a bad premonition flooded his mind.
"Susanoo!"
Sasuke slowly spoke the word.
The Susanoo before him was only in its most rudimentary form—not even the skeletal first stage—yet it still displayed formidable defensive power.
The solidified purple chakra flowed and shifted, forming an enormous Susanoo arm roughly four or five meters long, which swung directly down at Hyuga Neji.
As the Susanoo's arm swept through the air, a terrifying wind pressure bore down!
Hyuga Neji's pupils contracted sharply as he instantly activated Rotation.
The Susanoo's arm collided with Rotation in a tremendous explosion.
It held for merely a moment before Hyuga Neji, along with his Rotation, was sent hurtling through the air by the Susanoo arm's devastating force.
Having dealt with Hyuga Neji, Sasuke turned his gaze toward the toad as massive as a small hill—Gamaken—and Naruto standing atop his head.
Sasuke didn't wait for Naruto to speak. His Mangekyo Sharingan flared once more!
Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi!
Black Amaterasu flames shot from Sasuke's eyes, transforming midair into arrows of black fire that streaked toward Gamaken.
Caught off guard by Sasuke's sudden attack, Gamaken was struck by the Amaterasu before he could react.
The next moment!
An indescribable, searing agony radiated from the spot where the Amaterasu burned on Gamaken's body.
Compared to Gamaken's enormous, hill-like form, the area scorched by Amaterasu was minuscule—yet the pain far exceeded anything he could have imagined.
Before Gamaken could even warn Naruto, he vanished in a puff of white smoke, returning directly to Mount Myoboku.
And Naruto, standing atop Gamaken's head, froze for an instant as the toad disappeared beneath him—then plummeted from dozens of meters in the air.
"Sasuke, you bastard!!!"
Naruto let out a frantic scream as he fell through the sky.
A drop from roughly dozens of meters—even if it didn't kill him, it would leave him critically injured!
In mere moments.
Having dispatched both Hyuga Neji and Naruto, Sasuke slowly turned to face the opposite direction.
And at that moment, Nagato leaped down from the rock where he'd been perched.
"Manipulating Amaterasu? Is that the ability of your Mangekyo Sharingan? Not bad."
"In that case, I'll be taking those eyes without hesitation."
On Nagato's otherwise expressionless face, a rare smile appeared as he gazed at the Mangekyo Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes.
Nagato had originally intended only to use Naruto and Hyuga Neji to push Sasuke to his limit—he never expected it to actually work!
[
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