From the Very Beginning

If this had been the old Sasuke, his eyes would certainly have been able to follow the trajectory of these sudden senbon attacks, but his body would never have reacted quickly enough.

But with Lightning Chakra stimulating his cells and boosting their activity, he easily dodged the lethal attacks.

Seeing his Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu, which he had always been so proud of, Yuki Haku felt a little surprised. But after seeing Sasuke's scarlet Sharingan, he thought it all made perfect sense!

"I can't copy this guy's Ninjutsu or hand seals..." Sasuke frowned as he watched the senbon melting around him.

"The Yuki Clan was once a powerful Kekkei Genkai clan in Kirigakure, one that could stand alongside the Uchiha Clan. Though the Sharingan is said to be able to copy almost any Ninjutsu, it still can't replicate Secret Techniques tied to someone else's Kekkei Genkai..." Nanfeng's eyes were already two-thirds pale purple, but his bangs kept the others from noticing.

Perhaps this was the first time Nanfeng had truly understood how powerful the Sharingan (Modified) was. He could replicate Ninjutsu that Sasuke couldn't.

He could already reproduce Yuki Haku's one-handed hand seals and Ice Release Secret Technique if he wanted to. But they would consume three times as much Chakra as an ordinary Ninjutsu, and their power would be greatly reduced. He could never match Yuki Haku, who possessed Yuki blood.

"Looks like I need to put my plan into action as soon as possible..." Nanfeng's pale purple eyes swept over everyone present as the Genjutsu he had prepared in advance swiftly took hold.

What was the most dangerous thing about the Sharingan? It could draw enemies into a realistic Genjutsu without their realizing it. The caster had almost complete control over when the Genjutsu began and what it showed. And since no one doubted that Nanfeng's eyes were a Sharingan, he could easily plant the Genjutsu during their initial eye contact.

But with so many people... the Chakra cost was enormous. That was why Nanfeng's face had been so pale for a while now.

"Hey, are you okay?" Seeing how pale Nanfeng looked, Naruto asked with some concern.

"I'm fine. I've been training these past few days and helping you all recover your meridians, so I'm a little low on Chakra. But you know how much Chakra I have. Even running low, I still have about as much as Kakashi-sensei." Nanfeng said it casually, describing a situation that made Kakashi die of envy.

If not for his lack of Chakra, would Kakashi still be just an Elite Jonin? He'd have become a Quasi-Kage long ago! But things never went according to what-ifs.

"Look out!" Seeing another wave of senbon rushing toward them, Naruto quickly kicked Nanfeng into a corner. Ice senbon pierced Naruto's back.

Blood dripped from his wounds, one drop at a time. The searing pain jolted Naruto's nerves. As his consciousness began to fade, a fiercely violent emotion surged from deep within him.

"Accept my power, brat. Do you really think you can do anything against an opponent with Jonin-level strength?" Inside Naruto's mind, a gigantic fox spoke in a voice full of temptation.

"Naruto!" Seeing Naruto lying motionless on the ground, Sasuke's eyes seemed to be struck by something. His Sharingan, with one tomoe in one eye and two in the other, changed completely, becoming Two Tomoe in both eyes!

The Sharingan's evolution brought a powerful increase in ability. Sasuke's senses sharpened, and he could even detect the movements of the air around him. But the sensation lasted only a moment before fading back to normal.

He was about to rush over and check on Naruto when Nanfeng hurried over and stopped him, his expression grave. Sasuke didn't understand why Nanfeng had stopped him, but when he looked at Naruto again, he saw a layer of eerie red Chakra completely covering his body!

An indescribable, violent emotion and intense heat melted all the surrounding ice. The Chakra brimmed with vitality, healing Naruto's wounds completely. When Naruto rose to his feet and opened his eyes again, even his pupils had become beastlike.

His canine teeth had grown sharper, and the three whisker-like marks on each cheek had thickened. Naruto now looked like... a fox turned into a human.

"So this is why the village hated Naruto... The Demon Fox..." Nanfeng said, unable to hide the pity in his voice, as he watched Naruto erupt with Nine-Tails Chakra.

He hadn't had many chances to spend time with Naruto when they were little. He'd only gotten to know him when he was six, but even then, he'd already seen how the villagers treated Naruto. As for what Naruto's life had been like before the age of six, Nanfeng could guess.

"Why... is there a Demon Fox inside Naruto's body?" Sasuke asked, swallowing hard, his voice dry.

"He was just trying to save the village. Grow up, friend. Get used to this damn world as soon as you can. We still have an enemy right in front of us!" Nanfeng patted Sasuke on the shoulder. But despite his words, his tone was just as angry.

"Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals!" The moment he saw Naruto erupt with Nine-Tails Chakra, Yuki Haku moved at his fastest. Eight ice mirrors rose from the ground, facing one another, and he quickly merged into them, trying to regain the incredible speed he'd shown earlier.

But Nine-Tails had amplified Naruto's battle instincts to the extreme. He barely needed to react; his body instinctively used Chakra to smash the supposedly indestructible ice mirrors. He slapped Yuki Haku to the ground. Just as he was about to kill him, Naruto's expression twisted with struggle.

"What happened over there?" After sensing the Nine-Tails Chakra, Zabuza and Kakashi both looked troubled.

As Jonin, they knew all about Jinchuriki. Zabuza's expression grew even darker. He'd thought dealing with the last Uchiha alone would be troublesome enough, but it turned out Kakashi was also a Jinchuriki's mentor!

"But the Chakra only appeared for an instant. It looks like Naruto's condition has temporarily stabilized. Do I need to report this to the Hokage when we get back...?" Kakashi thought as he quickly forced Zabuza back with a kunai. This was where his thinking began to change.