Sasuke vs. Sasuke (2)
Outside the battlefield.
Akamaru, along with Kiba, Yamato, and Lee, had already approached the hiding place of Yoru Uo and Ash.
"Oh no, they're here! That stinky dog leading them has an amazing sense of smell!" Yoru Uo exclaimed in a panic. "Zhi, what do we do? Should we rush out and fight them? I'm not a fighting-type Ninja Cat, meow!"
"Hey? Zhi?! Where did you go? Were you summoned away?" Yoru Uo stared in shock at the white smoke that suddenly appeared beside her, formed from overflowing Chakra. "Sasuke- nii, why did you only summon Zhi and not me?!"
After a rustling sound...
"Ahhh--"
With a scream, Yoru Uo was dragged out of the tree hole by Akamaru, who was biting its tail.
"Woof woof! (If you bark again, I'll beat you up!)"
"What brings you gentlemen here?" Yoru Uo quickly jumped to his feet, grinning obsequiously, "I'm a Ninja Cat from your village! Please don't kill me, meow!"
Yamato rolled his eyes.
"We've wasted so much effort..." He scratched his head, "And this is all we found?"
We'll leave aside the fact that Yamato and his group turned to reunite with Kakashi and the others.
On the battlefield.
The tide of battle turned the moment the missing-nin Sasuke unleashed his Susanoo.
Call out!
Susanoo its palm into a blade, slashing through the air like a streak of blue light as it hurtled towards the other Sasuke.
"So fast!!"
The latter's pupils shrank, and his face turned solemn as he stared at Susanoo's powerful attack. Without a second thought, he abandoned the idea of directly confronting it.
But... can such a swift attack be dodged?
A burst of lightning flashed, Sasuke gritted his teeth, desperately channeling his Lightning Release Chakra to activate his body to its limit, causing his speed and strength to surge once again!
With a sudden burst of force, Sasuke stomped his feet, creating cracks in the ground, and leaped up, narrowly dodging the Susanoo's attack.
Boom!
Susanoo's hand blade sliced through Sasuke's afterimage, carving a terrifying deep crater in the ground.
Swish!
Sasuke Konoha, looking somewhat disheveled, appeared on the other side of the battlefield.
Although he successfully dodged Susanoo's attack, the expression on his face showed no sign of relief; instead, it became increasingly solemn and melancholic.
"Not bad speed," the missing-nin Sasuke remarked, his expression still radiating confident composure. "But... can you dodge Susanoo's attacks every time?"
Konoha Sasuke remained silent, his face expressionless.
In terms of speed, Konoha's Sasuke, who had trained in Lightning Release Nintaijutsu for many years, was almost on par with the missing-nin Sasuke, who had grown up for a year longer.
However, after each of them unleashed their trump cards— Chidori Demon Body Mode and Susanoo missing-nin Sasuke to the next level faster than him.
In high-speed combat, being quicker to the front line can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
If it weren't for the fact that Konoha of Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and vaguely sensed that his control over Lightning Release had become stronger, he might not have been able to dodge Susaku's attack just now.
"Is this the power of my Mangekyō?"
Konoha Sasuke pondered silently.
He wasn't the protagonist of a shonen movie, so he couldn't immediately unleash a powerful Susanoo after activating the Mangekyō Sharingan to rival his counterpart. Being able to vaguely grasp some of the Mangekyō's functions during the battle was already an unexpected bonus.
However, that's the best we can do.
The intense battle left him no time to explore the Mangekyō's abilities.
"Still not giving up and surrendering?!"
The missing-nin Sasuke had no patience to wait for his reply. Seeing that he remained silent, he snorted coldly and charged forward, manipulating his Susanoo.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Susanoo's left hand produced a Chakra sword several meters long from nowhere and slashed repeatedly at Konoha Sasuke!
With its enormous size and lightning-fast sword strikes, Susanoo's every attack carries a captivating aura, sweeping over like an unstoppable tidal wave!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Konoha Sasuke's body exploded with eerie blue lightning, and he seemed to transform into a ball of blue light, dodging and weaving through the cyan sword shadows with swift and agile movements, avoiding attack after attack.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Taking Susanoo's attack, Sasuke made several leaps across the field, jumping out of Susanoo's attack range and landing on the ground.
His breathing began to quicken.
"Hmph..." The missing-nin Sasuke sneered and did not give chase.
"Your attacks can't break through my defense, and your speed is starting to decrease, making it increasingly difficult for you to dodge my attacks..."
He stood proudly in place, his arms clasped in front of him, his head held high, looking down at Konoha Sasuke.
"Can you feel it? This is the difference between us!"
Those watching from the sidelines had already noticed the reversal of the situation.
Karin was a little conflicted. Of course, she wanted to cheer on the Sasuke she knew, but the other Sasuke seemed pretty good too...
"It seems..." Obito glanced at Sakura Haruno and said casually, "It looks like Sasuke on our side is going to win."
Sakura gave him a cold glance.
"The White Fang Swordsmanship isn't very effective against Susanoo," she pondered silently. "Besides, Sasuke's speed is slightly slower than that Sasuke..."
--Only by training to a level close to that of White Fang of Konoha could Sasuke's Chidori Short Sword easily cut through Susanoo's defenses or directly contend with Susanoo's attacks.
Being at a disadvantage in both strength and speed, this battle will be very difficult.
In her view, apart from the difference in the development of their Sharingan, the two Sasuke were roughly equal in other aspects.
The Sasuke of this world may have mastered many of Orochimaru's Secret Technique, making his battles more unpredictable and varied.
Sasuke, who was by her side, had a purer fighting style because he had always focused on Lightning Release Nintaijutsu and swordsmanship, without so many fancy variations.
Even disregarding the Mangekyō Sharingan, in actual combat, the two Sasuke would likely fight to a standstill— the missing-nin Sasuke was only slightly outmatched because he was not in good condition.
However, even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, which Sasuke in this world hasn't fully developed, its boost to combat power is still quite evident.
But--
"Do you really think he has victory in the bag?" Sakura Haruno smiled mysteriously, "Our Sasuke also has his trump card..."
It's too early to say who won or lost!
"A trump card?" The missing-nin Sasuke keenly caught the pink-haired girl's words.
He immediately scoffed.
Even though he didn't dare openly provoke Sakura Haruno, the missing-nin Sasuke still showed disdain for her words, coldly telling the other Sasuke, "No matter what your Ninjutsu card is, it's nothing but a joke in the face of the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"Snort."
Konoha Sasuke sneered.
"You overestimate the power of the Mangekyō... Don't forget, I have eyes just like yours!" He pointed to his Sharingan and said coldly, "Aside from the Mangekyō, your power cannot truly convince me!"
"In the end, a ninja battle is never truly decided until the very last moment..."
Dazzling lightning crackled and leaped restlessly from Sasuke's arm, constantly gathering together.
Two straight, shining paths of light were formed!
"Thank you for not pressing me too hard, which allowed me to complete this Ninjutsu..." Konoha Sasuke suddenly smiled.
"What kind of Ninjutsu is this?"
The missing-nin Sasuke was suddenly startled. He saw that the enemy in front of him was radiating a strong Lightning Release from his right hand. Even after being filtered by Susanoo, the dazzling light was still so bright that he couldn't help but close his eyes!
A sense of missing-nin flashed through Sasuke's mind.
"I can't let him use that Ninjutsu!" This strong thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and the missing-nin Sasuke did not hesitate at all, manipulating Susanoo to rush forward!
But it was too late.
"Get out of my way, I don't want to kill you..."
The air carried the slightly childish voice of Konoha Sasuke.
Before the words were even finished, a blindingly bright light shone on the field, so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it.
A loud, high-pitched whistle suddenly rang out from the field, followed by violent collisions and explosions!
Rumble--!
After a long while, the whistling sound that cut through the air finally disappeared into the distance.
Sakura Haruno had already covered her eyes the moment the technique was activated.
She only let go of her hand and looked at the field after the blinding blue light disappeared.
[I'm not in a good writing mood right now, and I probably won't be able to finish writing another chapter in the remaining time. I'll make up for the missed updates tomorrow morning.]
[Setting a goal: to update with at least 8000 words tomorrow]