Whatever I am about to tell you, you must not be afraid

That evening, shortly after Sasuke returned home from a full day of training, a rapid "thump, thump, thump" sounded at his door.

Sasuke frowned and opened the door to find Naruto, who was panting heavily and looked as if he had just had a major scare.

"What is it?"

"Let's go inside, I'll tell you."

Once seated, Naruto spoke with a look of unease: "Sasuke, whatever I tell you, you must not be afraid."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and said, "Go ahead, I won't be afraid."

"I saw a ghost today!"

Naruto looked completely serious.

Sasuke leaned back slightly to get more comfortable: "Is 'Ghost' someone's codename?"

"It's not a codename!" Naruto shook his head, saying earnestly: "It's that ninja known for having the strongest taijutsu in Konohagakure."

"Might Guy?"

"Who is Might Guy? It's not him."

Naruto pondered for a moment, recalling the contents of the scroll he had read.

"It's that Konoha hero who passed away during the Third Shinobi World War."

Passed away during the Third Shinobi World War?

Sasuke asked, "Are you talking about Might Duy?"

Who was Might Duy?

Naruto shook his head hurriedly and shouted: "The strongest taijutsu ninja in Konohagakure! Sasuke, don't you know him? It's that Teacher Chen who created the Konoha Dragon God, died in the Third Shinobi World War, and is hailed by the village as a Konoha hero!"

Konoha Dragon God?

Teacher Chen?

You could have just said Chen Baojun.

Sasuke muttered to himself, then nodded: "Understood, go on."

"I found a scroll in the library today. It said that Teacher Chen's Konoha Dragon God taijutsu was incredibly powerful, but that he died in the Third Shinobi World War. However, it listed the location of his gravestone, so I decided to go pay my respects. Guess what I saw?"

At this point, Naruto's tone turned eerie, and he waved his hands excitedly.

"I actually saw the resurrected Teacher Chen!!!"

"He even picked up a rice ball from in front of his own gravestone and started eating it!"

Naruto's eyes widened, looking genuinely spooked.

Sasuke was silent for a moment before asking, "Is that it?"

Naruto froze, then shouted unhappily: "Damn it, Sasuke! I'm not joking with you!"

"Right, right, right." Sasuke replied dismissively: "How did you even confirm that he was Teacher Chen?"

"At first, I thought the old man was just a freeloader looking for a free meal. When he picked up the rice ball from in front of Teacher Chen's gravestone, I kicked it right out of his hand."

"And then?"

"And then, he beat me up very casually."

Naruto said with a dejected expression.

"Using taijutsu?"

"Yeah, taijutsu!"

"Oh." Sasuke said with a sudden realization: "Well, since his taijutsu is so powerful, and you're currently looking for ways to get stronger, why don't you just beg him to teach you?"

"That's true!" Naruto paused, then hesitated and whispered: "But, Sasuke, that old man might be a ghost. Teacher Chen died back in the Third Shinobi World War."

"As long as you can get stronger, who cares if he's a man or a ghost, or if he's actually Teacher Chen? Or are you scared?"

"Hmph!" Naruto, unable to resist the provocation, patted his chest and shouted: "I'm not scared! I'll go back there tomorrow and get to the bottom of this!"

"Good." Sasuke nodded and asked: "Anything else?"

"What do you mean?"

"If there's nothing else, you can leave."

"..."

The next day, somewhere in the mountains behind Konohagakure.

It was March, the heart of spring, and spring was truly a painting saturated with the vibrancy of life!

Looking into the distance, there was a row of willow trees. They weren't tall, but each one was graceful and charming; the slender willow leaves were like a young girl's hair, draped softly down as if a green-haired maiden were grooming herself. The area around the willows was filled with bright green grass and red flowers, displaying a myriad of soft and beautiful postures.

Sasuke stood in the center of the willow grove, holding a short blade made of chakra metal, carving continuously into a boulder half a person's height. The blade moved so fast it was nearly a blur, with flashes of electricity occasionally coiling around the steel, concentrating an immense, piercing power within.

Wherever the lightning blade passed, the stone reacted as if it had encountered a laser cutter; the scraps and waste from the edges and corners were constantly sent flying, with every cut left smooth and perfectly flat.

Lightning Style Sculpting Method!

Slowly, the entire stone sculpture embryo began to take on a rough shape, that of a human figure.

At this moment, Sasuke spun the short blade in his hand, performing a flourish, and the blade, which had been wreathed in streaks of lightning, suddenly turned intensely crimson, emitting wisps of white steam.

Fire Style Sculpting Method!

Sasuke's input of Fire Style Chakra was perfectly calibrated; it was neither so high that it would scorch or shatter the stone, nor so low that the lack of force would prevent him from carving the fine details and textures of the sculpture.

It was just right!

It is worth mentioning the look in Sasuke's eyes right now; although on the surface his gaze appeared completely fixed and motionless upon the sculpture, a closer look at his pupils would reveal that they lacked any focal point, appearing entirely unfocused.

This kind of gaze is usually only seen in the blind.

Five Senses Seal — Visual Sense!

Not far from Sasuke was Kurama Yakumo, who was currently holding an easel, wholeheartedly focused on sketching.

The change in Sasuke's eyes was naturally something he had asked Kurama Yakumo to do, because he knew that one day he would inevitably transplant and fuse the Mangekyo, and judging from the original events, it had taken Sasuke at least a month to progress from the transplant to the complete Eternal Mangekyo.

Sasuke was a person who was cautious, cautious, and even more cautious; the mere thought of being in a state of blindness for over a month in the future filled him with a sense of crisis.

Even if he had someone he trusted guarding him at that time, this sense of crisis would not diminish in the slightest.

Therefore, he had to prepare for that day now; even without his vision, he had to have the power to protect himself!

Moreover, after half a year of sculpting with his vision sealed, Sasuke felt that the improvement he gained after completing each sculpture was even greater.

Although Sasuke could not see the appearance of the stone sculpture in front of him, he used his hearing to listen to the sound and trace of every blade stroke against the stone, using this to judge the general shape of the sculpture.

It was precisely by relying on the hearing he had trained over the past half-year that he had been able to detect the abnormality in Sakura's heartbeat earlier.

Waves of charming warmth and a gentle spring breeze blew across Sasuke's face; at this moment, he felt as if he were immersed in nature.

With his hands and heart completely focused on the stone sculpture, he had been carving for nearly two hours, and the delicate control of his Chakra had initially left his spirit somewhat drained.

However, this inexplicable sense of harmony and closeness to nature actually caused Sasuke's mental energy to begin to revitalize.