Sasuke reached out to grab the ninja bag on his waist.
This action made Hiruzen frown. Don't tell me you plan to use that Lightning Style at this time!
Kakashi thought the same way. He didn't understand what Sasuke was trying to do.
Use hidden weapons to deal with me?
He should have been very clear that there was no way to force him back with a mere hidden weapon.
Even if Sasuke could avoid the kunai, he could adjust his posture and throw a hidden weapon toward him.
It was also impossible to interrupt the rhythm of his melee attack.
Such a choice made Kakashi feel that Sasuke seemed to turn from a genius into a fool in an instant.
But just as he gave a bad evaluation of Sasuke's actions in his heart...
He saw Sasuke's left hand, which was forming a mudra.
Seal?
At that moment, both Kakashi and Hiruzen were stunned.
It wasn't surprising that seals were formed. Wasn't it normal for ninjas to form seals in battle?
However, the problem was—
Sasuke was doing a one-handed seal!
At the same time, the kunai taken from the ninja bag with his right hand was thrown directly at Kakashi's kunai in the air.
It was true that one kunai couldn't stop Kakashi, but two kunai could completely block it.
Sasuke, this boy... one-handed mudra... he can do one-handed mudra!
Kakashi froze.
He hadn't expected Sasuke to know how to form mudra with one hand.
And the frightening thing was that the seal speed was very fast.
Such an astonishing seal speed—this was no longer within the scope of a Genin!
Clang!
The kunai collided in the air, and Kakashi's kunai was bounced off.
At the same time, Sasuke suddenly gasped.
Seeing this action, Kakashi's eyelids twitched wildly!
This is... Fire Style!
Judging from the hand seal, it had to be a Fire Style jutsu.
That was bad news for Kakashi.
At that distance, under normal circumstances, Fire Style's area of effect was extremely wide.
If he got hit, even he—a Jōnin—couldn't stand it!
"Fire Style ~ Great Fireball Technique!"
Sasuke put one hand in front of his mouth and exhaled a mouthful of flame.
In an instant, violent flames swept out directly.
The heat wave formed by the terrifying flames surged outward.
Kakashi felt his face burn with intense heat.
In the blink of an eye, he jumped backwards rapidly.
Boom!!!
Terrifying flames surged forward.
The flame formed a three-meter-wide fireball, condensed in an instant, and bombarded Kakashi in a straight line.
In a flash, it flew over ten meters.
The final explosion left a huge crater in the ground.
At that moment, Kakashi had just retreated twenty meters.
He had barely dodged Sasuke's Fire Style!
The flames continued to burn.
Naruto on the tree, little Sakura in the bush, and Hiruzen in front of the crystal ball—
All three of them were stunned.
Especially Naruto and little Sakura.
As Genin of the same generation, they hadn't even imagined... Sasuke... had already mastered ninjutsu!
And it was a mighty Fire Style!
This left them in complete shock.
Naruto said, "Sasuke... has... already mastered a Fire Style ninjutsu!"
Little Sakura said, "He's so strong... I didn't even see the hand seal clearly, and he forced back a Jōnin teacher!"
Standing on the edge of the crater formed by the flame bombardment, Kakashi also had a trace of cold sweat on his forehead.
If the Great Fireball had been even a little faster, he might not have been able to dodge.
Great Fireball Technique.
A Fire Style ninjutsu of the Uchiha clan.
Kakashi was very familiar with this technique.
But!
Kakashi was incredibly surprised to see such a powerful Fire Style jutsu coming from a kid who had just graduated.
And what surprised Kakashi the most was that the kid had done it one-handed.
This wasn't something that could be achieved through mere practice—this was talent!
Only talent could make it possible.
Every ninja who could form seals with one hand was extremely enviable.
And the reason was simple.
Just like in the situation just now—
If it had been a two-handed seal, then even if he had succeeded in casting it, Sasuke would have had no time to block the flying kunai.
This was what made one-handed seals so enviable among shinobi.
It was equivalent to having a hand free to attack while forming seals.
Before, Kakashi had thought the most outstanding member of the Uchiha clan was Itachi. But now...
It seemed the most outstanding one was the kid in front of him.
Uchiha... Sasuke!
But with such a talented Sasuke—for Konoha, who knew whether that would be good or bad?
Kakashi sighed softly.
And at that moment, Sasuke's voice rang out.
"Mr. Kakashi, are you tired?"
"Now's not the time to be distracted!"
"Fire Style ~ Fire Dragon Technique!"
Boom!!
The sound of sweeping flames echoed again.
If Great Fireball Technique was wide-range and powerful, albeit a bit slow—
Then Fire Dragon Technique was a whole different beast.
Although not as powerful, it was far faster than the Great Fireball.
In an instant, a new stream of fire ignited from the still-burning flames of the Great Fireball Technique.
It blasted straight toward Kakashi.
Kakashi raised his head and began forming hand seals.
"Earth Style ~ Earth Wall!"
A wall of earth rose immediately—and then a roar followed.
The Fire Dragon Technique struck the earthen wall. Though it was only a thin barrier, with chakra reinforcement, it wasn't something flames could break through easily.
Naruto said, "You've mastered another Fire Style jutsu! Sasuke... just how strong are you...?!"
Looking at Sasuke's back at that moment, in Naruto's eyes, that back grew larger and larger—
And suddenly Sasuke leapt upward.
Just after that strange look from Naruto, the ground beneath Sasuke's feet cracked open.
Kakashi appeared from below.
Naruto was stunned. What's going on?
Why is Mr. Kakashi underground?
Kakashi was also very surprised. His Earth Style ~ Headhunter Jutsu had actually been seen through.
But! Kakashi also smiled.
Sasuke was still in midair. Seeing Kakashi's smile made him feel uneasy.
Right after, a black shadow suddenly emerged from the other direction, charging toward Sasuke.
Sasuke caught the figure in the corner of his eye—it was also Kakashi. Probably a Shadow Clone.
But the other Kakashi held a kunai and was targeting Sasuke's back. Was he really planning to kill him?
Should I dodge using Lightning Style?
For a moment, Sasuke hesitated.
No!
Stop avoiding—why would Kakashi want to kill me?
It's just a stab—at worst I'll be seriously injured, not dead...
But as the kunai-wielding Kakashi got closer and closer, the blade just about to pierce Sasuke's clothes—
A ray of light flashed.
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