Uchiha Sasuke: The Sky Clears and the Rain Stops, I'm Back!

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

BOOM—!!!

The instant he broke free of his restraints, Zabuza formed the Water Dragon Bullet Technique at the hand speed of a man who had been single for decades.

Unfortunately, his aim was wildly off.

Sakura had thought victory was already in the bag.

But at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind Zabuza.

After carrying Zabuza away, he formed a seal with one hand.

"Release!"

Buzz—

Only then did Zabuza completely break free of the illusion technique.

"Mr. Zabuza, are you all right?"

Smack—

Zabuza slapped his hand away, took a deep breath, and said nothing.

"Mr. Zabuza, I was discovered a long time ago, so..."

"Enough."

After steadying his emotions, Zabuza looked at Kakashi.

"Kakashi, we both have an excellent subordinate."

"She truly is excellent. But you, who grew up in peaceful hidden villages, can never cultivate a real ninja."

Naruto suddenly laughed at that.

Zabuza, Zabuza... still talking tough?

Or was he... trying to carve out a path to survival for Haku?

Naruto ignored Kakashi and Zabuza's endless babbling.

He walked over to Uchiha Sasuke and saw that he was still trembling all over.

Naruto immediately knew that Uchiha Sasuke had been stunned by Sakura's strength.

Zabuza's lingering killing intent in his mind, coupled with the change in Kakashi's left eye, had already deeply shaken Sasuke.

See? He was mentally unraveling now.

Waking Uchiha Sasuke under these circumstances was easy.

He just needed a stronger stimulus.

"My foolish Little Brother! If you want to kill me, then hate me, resent me, and live on in disgrace!"

"Ahh—!!!"

Uchiha Sasuke let out a miserable scream.

The fragmented images in his mind shattered completely, replaced by the scene of his parents' deaths that he had witnessed with his own eyes.

And the final words Filial Son had said to him.

Whoosh—

Sharingan!

A One-Tomoe and a Two-Tomoe—truly terrifying!

As everyone knew, Sasuke's path of Sharingan evolution had actually been an arduous one.

After all, he really had taken plenty of beatings along the way.

"Damn it!"

Uchiha Sasuke could no longer suppress the violent emotions within him.

He threw back his head and howled.

Scenes from the past flashed before his eyes.

At the Ninja Academy, he had been suppressed by Naruto for six years.

The useless Pink Hair who had always followed him around had betrayed him.

Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone.

His miraculous Chakra bestowal.

Pink Hair had grown stronger!

And yet, he had been so frightened by the other party's killing intent that he did not dare move recklessly.

Pink Hair had actually defeated someone like that.

The next instant, Uchiha Sasuke closed his eyes.

A tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

He slowly turned his head and said in a choked voice, "Naruto, I want to become stronger..."

Sniff—

He sniffled.

Uchiha Sasuke suddenly felt that the world before him had become different.

It felt as though the flow of time had slowed considerably.

The entire world had become crystal clear.

He sensed that something was wrong. Then there was only one possibility!

"This is... the Sharingan?"

Uchiha Sasuke's eyes widened as he lifted his head, his face full of uncertainty.

"Mm, one eye has One-Tomoe, while the other has two tomoe."

"Congratulations, congratulations."

"Thank you, Naruto!"

"Without what you said... I'm afraid it would have taken me a long time to awaken the Sharingan!"

After awakening the Sharingan, Uchiha Sasuke's previous dejection visibly gave way to confidence.

At that moment, even Naruto's speed looked as slow as a turtle's to him.

The skies had cleared, the rain had stopped—I, Uchiha Sasuke, was back!

He turned to look at Sakura and Kakashi, who were facing Zabuza and Haku.

"Naruto, please don't interfere. This time, I won't be a coward again!"

Naruto silently shook his head. Just don't get too carried away.

However, his concerns proved correct.

Uchiha Sasuke swiftly arrived beside Kakashi and Sakura.

Both of them were somewhat surprised.

Uchiha Sasuke grinned smugly, clenched his right hand into a fist, then raised his thumb and pointed it at his eye.

"Kakashi, let me show you what a true Sharingan looks like!"

"Sakura, leave that masked guy to me. As for Zabuza, I can't even muster the slightest interest in him anymore."

The corner of Uchiha Sasuke's mouth curled up as he prepared to step forward.

But Kakashi stopped him.

"Sasuke, that boy is different from you. He was raised as a weapon of slaughter."

The implication was clear: he knew Sasuke was strong, but he still was not Haku's match.

Those words instantly displeased Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hmph. Before these eyes of mine, everything is futile."

Zabuza was somewhat speechless, but in the next moment, his pupils contracted.

An Uchiha?

Right, Uchiha Itachi seemed to have left behind a child back then.

In that case...

"Haku, it seems you've been underestimated."

A hint of disdain appeared in Zabuza's gaze. "He's just a rat whose courage was shattered by killing intent."

"I won't disappoint you," Haku replied calmly.

"Damn it!"

Uchiha Sasuke's gaze instantly turned cold.

He drew out a kunai with his backhand and charged at Haku.

Zabuza directly retreated some distance.

"Stop!"

Sakura cried out and was about to step forward, but the next instant, everything went dark before her eyes.

Whoosh—

Naruto appeared before her, catching her with one hand while letting that broad forehead of hers slam into the ground.

Her nutrients had not been depleted; Sakura's body was simply far too frail right now.

Even after two months of special training, she still could not endure such a long stretch of high-intensity combat.

Her mental energy and Physical Energy had been depleted too severely.

Naruto's nutrients could replenish those, but she did not possess the abilities of the Mori Mori no Mi, so the effect was greatly reduced.

"Naruto-kun... I... I'll rest for a moment. I can still... still fight!"

Naruto raised his hand and flicked her forehead.

Mm... that sound really was quite broad.

Sakura's face instantly turned red, and her embarrassment and indignation made her shut her eyes.

"Sakura is in your hands, Naruto."

With his back to Naruto, Kakashi then walked toward Zabuza.

"Zabuza, our battle isn't over yet."

When Zabuza saw Sakura lose her ability to fight, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If Haku had not stepped in just now, his fate would probably have been the same as the Water Clone's.

The difference was that the Water Clone had been smashed into a puddle of water, while he would have been smashed into a puddle of...

"You're just someone I've already defeated. If I could trap you once, I can trap you a second time."

Once he felt that his Chakra had mostly recovered, Zabuza took the initiative and rushed in.

In an instant, after exchanging a single clash, the two pulled apart at the same time.

A classic scene from the original story appeared.

As expected of two Old Bachelors who had been single for years—their hand speed was fast.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Rumble—!!!

Naruto glanced over, then waved Tazuna over.

Tazuna had been scared senseless and only snapped out of it when Naruto called to him.

He hurriedly grabbed the luggage and rushed toward Naruto.

"Ah! My back!"

Yet when he tried to hoist the luggage up, he nearly threw out his old back.

Elsewhere.

Clink, clink, clink—

Countless Senbon shot toward Uchiha Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke sneered. His Sharingan spun wildly, while his hands moved without slowing, deflecting every incoming Senbon.

But there were simply too many Senbon, and Uchiha Sasuke could only slow down.

His eyes could keep up, but his hands could not.

Whoosh—

Seizing the moment, Uchiha Sasuke hurled a Kunai.

It slipped through a gap in the densely incoming Senbon.

Beneath the mask, Haku narrowed his eyes and stopped attacking.

He tilted his head aside, avoiding the Kunai flying straight at his face.

Zabuza, who was locked in a prolonged battle with Kakashi, was slightly startled.

After that Brat awakened his Sharingan, it was as though he had become a completely different person.

But if that was all he could do...

He sneered, then looked at Kakashi.

At that moment, he already knew that he could not defeat Kakashi.

Though arrogant, he still believed Kakashi was merely someone he had defeated before. Beating him would only be a matter of time.

But Naruto, who had yet to make a move at all, was placing tremendous pressure on him.

The moment Haku had stepped out to save him, the outcome had already been decided.

"Heh heh, Kakashi."

"Even if you can defeat me, you won't be able to defeat Haku."