Forgive Me, Sasuke

"You're really strong, able to exploit the weaknesses of my chakra nature for combat,"

Haku stared at Sasuke, deflecting all the shuriken he threw and kicking back a kunai ignited with an explosive tag.

"But I also have my reasons for fighting, so if you die, please don't hate me!" Haku's tone instantly sharpened.

"Hmph, you're just as arrogant as Naruto."

The two engaged in taijutsu combat amidst the incessant explosions. Because Sasuke's close-quarters combat was so intense, Haku didn't have time to use his killing move.

Naruto, watching from the sidelines, casually crushed the enemy next to him and frowned.

This is bad, this is bad. Sasuke's a bit too competent.

According to the original story, Sasuke would unleash his potential and awaken the Sharingan in his life-or-death battle with Haku.

But it seemed that the recent excessive military training, combined with Sasuke's drive to surpass Naruto, had made Haku a bit insufficient for Sasuke now.

This is all over!

There were already three Transmigrators now. Who knew if there would be a fourth or fifth? What if a fangirl obsessed with Sasuke transmigrated and used her knowledge of the plot to seduce him...

The more Naruto thought about it, the more his skin crawled. Pretty boys really need to protect themselves when they go out!

In short, to protect Sasuke's Ass, Naruto decided to ramp things up for him.

Naruto let scarlet chakra spread around him instantly, then he grabbed several enemies like he was tossing cabbages and hurled them fiercely in Sasuke's direction.

The ninjas were initially disoriented by the throws, but they quickly saw Haku locked in a fierce battle with Sasuke and joined the encirclement to kill Sasuke!

"Forgive me, Sasuke, I accidentally led enemies to you!" Naruto shouted urgently, feigning innocence.

"Super big idiot," Sasuke shot Naruto a look, then used a series of consecutive flying kicks to send the enemies in front of him flying, spitting bile. Seeing this, Haku retreated a few steps, attempting to form hand seals, but Sasuke quickly closed in again.

Rock Lee would call this expert level!

But less than a second later, a whole string of explosive tags and kunai flew towards Sasuke. Sasuke quickly dodged to the side and protected his vital areas with his hands.

"Bang!!!"

"Bang!!!"

The shockwave and debris from the explosions scattered everywhere, causing Sasuke to sustain injuries. However, he re-engaged Haku two seconds later—Haku, like Sasuke, was also slightly wounded.

Naruto's voice drifted from afar, "Forgive me, Sasuke, the Nine-Tails controlled my mind just now and made me want to kill you. Are you okay?"

Sasuke glared fiercely at Naruto, not saying a word.

But just one second later, a sinister red giant hand slammed down towards Sasuke. Sasuke's scalp tingled, and he narrowly dodged with several consecutive backflips. Haku was surprised but still seized the opportunity to begin forming hand seals at high speed.

Sasuke glared in Naruto's direction.

Naruto sighed helplessly, "Sasuke, what the hell are you doing..." He felt like he was really trying his best to stimulate Sasuke's potential.

"Naruto!" Sasuke roared in anger. You're not even pretending anymore, are you!

Who the hell ambushes their teammate during a fierce battle?!

But before Sasuke could settle the score with Naruto, crystalline, transparent mirrors suddenly rose all around him.

"Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!" Haku's tone was filled with infinite killing intent.

Naruto felt a sense of relief and was filled with emotion...

What a cheesy name!

Kishimoto really doesn't understand Naruto.

Anyway, let Sasuke suffer for a bit. Once he opens his eyes, I'll immediately unleash the Nine-Tails and end this fight. Hmm, maybe if Sasuke sees me dominating, his mentality will break, and his Sharingan will advance even further.

"Hiss... Honestly, aren't these ice crystals a bit thin?" Naruto muttered.

The continuous explosive tags had thinned the surrounding water vapor, which might be why the secret technique's effect was not optimal.

"Sigh, this useless thing," Naruto shook his head, feeling that Sasuke would soon forcibly break through Haku's secret technique.

But causing trouble now wouldn't be good; if Haku got scared and dispelled the technique, that would be bad.

"Looks like I need to cause some mental pollution." Naruto first summoned Shadow Clones to clear out the surrounding enemies, then he and the other clones jumped behind some large trees, just out of Sasuke's sight.

"My chakra is being consumed quite a lot... It looks like I'll have to dismiss the Shadow Clones after this. I hope the main body can arrive in time," Naruto whispered.

If he consumed too much chakra, the clones wouldn't be able to suppress the Nine-Tails.

He immediately performed the Transformation Jutsu with several Shadow Clones, turning into the appearance of Uchiha Itachi, then jumped onto a tree and used a few smoke bombs to make himself appear and disappear.

At this time, Sasuke, trapped within the ice crystals, had already endured two rounds of attacks and was covered in injuries like a small hedgehog.

"Hoo..." The 'Itachi' stood on the tree trunk, attracting Sasuke's attention with a heavy sigh.

Sasuke looked up, his eyes widening in disbelief, wondering if he was hallucinating from the abuse.

"My foolish younger brother~" the blurry 'Itachi' on the tree called out. "Why are you in such a sorry state now? Is it because you don't hate me enough? Is it because you're still lost in the illusory past of our clan?"

Sasuke's breathing became much heavier, and he even ignored Haku's movement to turn towards 'Itachi.'

Sasuke roared at 'Itachi,' "Stop spouting nonsense! The reason I've lived this long and trained so hard every day is so that one day I can completely kill you!!"

Itachi chuckled lightly, his figure disappearing—Naruto dispelled one of his Shadow Clones.

From another tree trunk, Itachi's low laugh emerged again: "Pathetic, laughable. You can't even surpass your own companions, yet you're always thinking about revenge... heh."

Naruto barely managed to swallow the latter half of his retort, "Go home and raise pigs!"

Sasuke froze, was Itachi talking about Naruto?

Itachi ignored Sasuke's confusion: "You know very well, I am merely a delusion in your mind. Yet you thought of Naruto in your delusion?" He paused deliberately, then sneered, "It seems Naruto is the shadow in your heart, isn't he, Sa...suke?"

Sasuke felt a surge of Blood Essence rush to his forehead, instantly turning his cheeks bright red.

Naruto? I'm actually afraid of Naruto?!

He's certainly strong now, but am I not strong? I worked just as hard as him, yet he was nothing but dead last!

But Sasuke quickly froze again. Naruto being dead last was only during their time at the Ninja Academy; that had nothing to do with him now!

Am I, right now, a complete and utter joke?

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" The Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals didn't pause because of Sasuke's internal turmoil. Countless flying needles locked onto Sasuke's surroundings, determined to kill him right here.

The flying needles shot out in unison!

Unnoticed by Haku, streams of Chakra began to uncontrollably pour into Sasuke's eyes, making his vision increasingly clear.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" After a barrage of flying needles, the area where Sasuke stood was empty.

He stood to the side, his eyes a vibrant crimson, a pair of tomoe swirling and solidifying within them.

A Two-Tomoe Sharingan!

Unlike the original story where he had one single-tomoe and one double-tomoe, Sasuke's strength had already surpassed Naruto's estimated limit.

At the same time, the Itachis vanished without a trace.

All of Naruto's Shadow Clones were dispelled!