Over the past two years, Sasuke had come to accept one uncomfortable truth.
Uzumaki Naruto's stamina was abnormal.
Not just for a kid their age either. Even most grown shinobi couldn't match it. Trying to catch up to Naruto in raw endurance was pointless to the point of absurdity.
"Honestly," Sasuke muttered, "Naruto's stamina might even be better than yours."
"Sorry," Fujimoto Tōma replied calmly. "In that regard, Naruto still loses to me."
He had no delusions about chakra reserves. Naruto was a monster there. But physical stamina? Tōma wasn't уступing.
"…Then my theory scores are basically on par with Sakura's," Sasuke said stubbornly.
Tōma looked at him for a moment, then spoke without malice, yet every word landed like a blade.
"No. You're still far behind. Sakura gets a perfect score because the test only goes up to a hundred. You get ninety-nine because your current limit is ninety-nine."
Silence.
Sasuke clenched his teeth. The worst part was that he couldn't refute it. Haruno Sakura's written exams were always flawless, but everyone knew she was holding back. Her understanding went beyond the paper.
After a long pause, Sasuke lifted his head, eyes sharp.
"Enough of that. Fight me."
"Alright," Tōma said easily. "You attack first."
That casual tone irritated Sasuke. Still, the words Special Jōnin echoed in his mind. Even if Tōma wasn't as terrifying as Hatake Kakashi, he wasn't someone Sasuke could treat lightly.
Sasuke leapt back, creating distance, and flicked his wrist. Several shuriken whistled through the air.
"Good control," Tōma commented, watching them approach. "But the speed and power aren't there."
Different styles. Sasuke focused on precision. Tōma prioritized lethality.
He didn't move.
At the instant the shuriken closed in, faint arcs of lightning rippled across Tōma's body. The weapons abruptly lost momentum, hovering for a heartbeat before being plucked calmly out of the air, one by one.
Sasuke froze.
What… was that?
He immediately began forming hand seals.
"Too slow."
Tōma's voice sounded right beside him.
Sasuke's eyes widened. He abandoned the seals and raised his arms just in time.
Bang!
Tōma's leg smashed into his guard, sending Sasuke flying backward. He skidded across the ground before barely managing to stop himself.
"How are you this fast?!" Sasuke growled.
"How else?" Tōma replied, walking toward him. "Just a Body Flicker."
Despair crept in.
Shuriken didn't work. Hand seals were too slow. Ninjutsu wouldn't come out in time. Against this speed, what options did he even have?
Sasuke hurled more shuriken in frustration.
They were caught again.
He hesitated.
Then made a decision.
Tōma noticed immediately and sighed inwardly.
Using explosive tags in a spar? That desperate already…
Still, he understood. The pressure left Sasuke with few choices.
Three kunai streaked forward, explosive tags fluttering behind them.
Tōma didn't dodge. He halted them midair as before.
The explosion detonated point-blank.
Sasuke's eyes lit up.
Did it work?!
Even if it didn't injure Tōma, this was his chance.
He finally completed his hand seals.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Several fireballs burst forth, shuriken hidden within them. The flames pierced the smoke cloud, slamming into something solid.
Sasuke held his breath.
Then a voice spoke from behind him.
"Not bad."
Cold shock raced up his spine.
Sasuke spun and kicked.
His ankle was caught effortlessly.
"You're still nowhere near enough," Tōma said, tossing him aside.
Sasuke hit the ground hard. He stared at the scorched log lying where Tōma had been moments earlier.
A substitution.
When did he even cast it?
"Now," Tōma said calmly, "it's my turn to attack. Be careful."
Fear surged.
Until now, Tōma had barely done anything. One kick. That was all. And yet the pressure was already unbearable.
Then Sasuke couldn't move.
His body trembled uncontrollably. Cold sweat poured down his face.
Killing intent.
Pure, focused, crushing.
Tōma had deliberately released it, shaping it like a blade against Sasuke's mind. It wasn't complicated. Just refined control.
Sasuke's limbs refused to respond.
Tōma almost reached for his sword out of habit, then paused.
Right. It's sealed.
Instead, chakra surged violently from his hand, taking shape. A blade formed. Identical in outline to his sword, but forged entirely of chakra.
He walked forward slowly.
Deliberately.
Giving Sasuke time.
But Sasuke still couldn't move.
Tōma frowned slightly. This level of killing intent was stronger than Momochi Zabuza's had been back then. Fear alone wasn't an excuse to freeze.
Life-or-death meant action, no matter how ugly.
Tōma raised the chakra blade.
Sasuke's pupils shrank to pinpoints. His face was pale, drenched in sweat.
Move. MOVE!
At the last possible moment, Sasuke bit down hard, drawing blood.
And something awakened.
The blade fell.
Pain exploded across Sasuke's senses.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Tōma crouched beside the unconscious body, staring into Sasuke's eyes.
They were no longer black.
Both irises burned crimson, each bearing two distinct tomoe.
"…So that's it," Tōma murmured.
A double two-tomoe Sharingan.
Sasuke had awakened it under genuine threat of death. Not just one eye. Both.
And instinctively, he'd used genjutsu. The correct choice. When evasion was impossible, stopping the enemy was the only option.
Unfortunately…
Tōma's mind was not easy to trap.
His constant empty-focus state rendered most genjutsu ineffective. Sasuke's illusion had been dispelled instantly, then reflected back.
That was why Sasuke lay here now, eyes wide with lingering terror, still trapped in his own nightmare.
Tōma sat down nearby, unhurried.
Let him experience it. A little fear wouldn't kill him.
The chakra blade had already dispersed the moment it struck. It had never been solid.
Tōma glanced once more at the Sharingan and nodded faintly.
Life and death really do force growth.
His goal had been achieved. More than achieved.