Annoyed as he was, Sasuke knew Menma had been right about one thing: if Menma joined the fight, the situation would only get worse!
It was precisely because he realized this that Sasuke felt even more depressed.
This meant Naruto did not even need to use his full strength to defeat him. The outcome of this spar seemed to have been decided long ago, leaving no point in continuing.
"No, how can I lose to Naruto!"
Sasuke shook his head, driving the thought of simply admitting defeat and saving his Dojutsu from his mind.
Then he began considering his options.
Soon, he remembered the 'Cursed Seal' that had been resealed on his shoulder. At present, it seemed that borrowing the power of the 'Cursed Seal' was the only way he had even the slightest chance of turning the tables!
At the edge of the field.
Kakashi said, "Lord Hokage, should we call a halt to the match?"
Tsunade asked Jiraiya, "What do you think?"
Jiraiya pondered for a moment. "Taking advantage of this opportunity, we can find out the limits of Naruto's 'Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.' That will help us better assess just how far Naruto's strength has grown."
Kakashi said, "But Sasuke—"
Tsunade cut him off. "This was Sasuke's own choice. We only need to ensure that neither of them gets hurt!"
"Yes!"
Kakashi nodded helplessly.
He was worried that Sasuke would waste too much of his Dojutsu for nothing during the spar. Tsunade and Jiraiya, meanwhile, clearly wanted to use this opportunity to probe exactly how Sasuke had recovered his Dojutsu before.
Besides, as Tsunade had said, Sasuke himself had initiated this spar. If they interfered, Sasuke might not appreciate it.
Crack!
While Kakashi was distracted for an instant, a new change occurred on the field. Amid a burst