"You've got guts."
Izanami wasn't surprised by Uchiha Sasuke's decision, but he still gave him a thumbs-up with a faint smile. On the surface, it was encouragement—but inwardly, Izanami was pleased.
A taijutsu-only duel wouldn't allow him to demonstrate his full capabilities. Even if he won, the odds of triggering a high-value drop would be lower than in a no-rules match. He had tested this before. When Hinata didn't use her Gentle Fist to inject chakra into his body, even in defeat, she hadn't dropped a single entry.
The disparity in strength between them had simply been too large.
While dominating an opponent could sometimes trigger a drop, in Izanami's experience over the past year, that scenario was incredibly rare. Only when Hinata fought seriously—with her Gentle Fist and full strength—had she dropped two entries: one purple, one blue.
Those were:[Bloodline Limit: Byakugan] (Purple)[Chakra Control] (Blue)
It wasn't that Izanami underestimated Sasuke—far from it. He knew the plot like the back of his hand. He knew Sasuke's potential. He knew he himself had a three-to-four-year head start thanks to his cheat-like foresight. If Sasuke hadn't already learned Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, he wouldn't pose a real threat yet.
That technique alone increased the odds of a meaningful drop.
A no-rules duel was the best possible outcome.
"Then let's begin."
Izanami stepped back, creating distance, and raised his index and middle fingers in the seal of confrontation. Sasuke mirrored the gesture without hesitation. The moment the seal formed, both of them launched forward.
Sasuke struck first with a punch.
Izanami dodged with a smooth pivot, spinning into a 180-degree kick aimed directly at Sasuke's face—his flexibility remarkable. Sasuke barely managed to block with his forearm, but the force of the kick pushed him back several steps, leaving him in a defensive stance.
Before he could recover, Izanami was already in front of him again, throwing rapid punches at his chest and face.
The blows weren't particularly strong, but they were fast—relentlessly fast. Sasuke blocked one, only to take the next directly to the jaw. Then another to the ribs. He quickly lost his rhythm, becoming little more than a training dummy.
Izanami grabbed his raised arms, pulling and disrupting his posture with minimal effort. His attacks began to take on a rhythmic precision—reminiscent of the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palm. Without chakra injection, the strikes weren't deeply damaging, but they were impossible to counter.
Finally, after a flurry of hits, Izanami spun in place and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick that sent Sasuke flying.
The impact knocked the air out of Sasuke's lungs. Struggling to breathe, he landed hard and rolled.
But as he looked up, dazed, Izanami's silhouette wavered—and for a terrifying moment, it wasn't Izanami he saw, but Itachi.
Itachi's cold, emotionless voice echoed in his mind:"You are weak. Cling to life. Crawl in the shadows. Hate me. Survive in disgrace…"
Sasuke's expression twisted with fury.
"Uchiha Itachi—I will kill you!"
His hands formed seals with desperate speed."Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He spat out a wisp of flame that rapidly expanded into a blazing inferno, hurling it straight at the imagined Itachi.
"Perfect timing," Izanami muttered, inwardly elated. "Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
Feigning his own hand seals, he released a focused breath. The invisible air abruptly transformed into a sharp, scythe-shaped white wind blade, slicing through the fireball in a clean arc.
Shhhhhh—KRAK!
The flaming sphere split apart, the wind blade continuing forward, its power reduced but still dangerous.
Ssssst!
A ripping sound cut through the air—cloth tearing, then a spray of blood.
Sasuke hit the ground hard and lay still.
Izanami didn't panic. He strolled forward calmly.
Anyone else could die in this world, but not Sasuke and not Naruto.
He was sure the Sage of Six Paths was watching from somewhere. The Outer Path Demonic Statue had already been summoned. That meant the Sage must know the second Rinnegan had emerged.
Until Indra and Asura's reincarnations fully awakened, the Sage wouldn't allow them to die.
And besides, if Sasuke could be killed by a half-powered Wind Cutter, he'd never be worthy of being the story's deuteragonist.
As Izanami knelt beside him, he confirmed it: Sasuke was still breathing. The wind blade had only torn his clothing and grazed his skin—a shallow wound. No bones were broken.
Izanami placed his hand over Sasuke's injury and channeled basic medical ninjutsu, healing the scratch with practiced ease.
Pop!
A sharp sound echoed in his ears—clearer than a balloon bursting.
Izanami's eyes snapped into focus.
Only he could see it: bubbles floating around Sasuke's body, faint and translucent. And one had just popped.
Inside it—he caught a glimpse.
A red beam of light shot toward him.
"…Ah?"
Staring at the red beam rapidly expanding in his vision, Izanami—who rarely showed surprise—found himself momentarily dumbfounded.
Red…? That's red, right?
How many red entries did Uchiha Sasuke even have?Was red truly the highest tier? Or was it purple?
But before he could spiral further into speculation, a system prompt chimed crisply in his mind, cutting through the chaos.
Ding! You have obtained the talent entry: [Immortal Eyes (Red)]. Fuse or Decompose?
"Fuse!"Izanami shouted inwardly without hesitation.
His heart pounded. He could barely keep the corners of his mouth from curling up in excitement. It was all he could do not to grin like an idiot on the spot.
But caution kicked in—someone might be watching.Suppressing the urge, his lips twitched awkwardly, resulting in a barely contained smirk that came off a little comical.
Inside, however, his emotions were a whirlwind.
He had braced himself for a long game with Sasuke. Based on his past experience with Hinata, Izanami had assumed it would take years—maybe five—to trigger a red-tier drop. He'd even mentally prepared to stall his growth, to match pace with Sasuke and Hinata just to maximize drop opportunities.
If nothing happened during the Academy years, he planned to extend the timeline. That's how rare and valuable red entries were.
And yet…Here he was.First no-rules duel.First try.Immortal Eyes (Red).
He had hit the jackpot.
This wasn't just victory—it was the kind of ridiculous luck that felt scripted.
For the first time, Izanami truly understood what it meant to be one of the so-called "lucky emperors."
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