Sasuke vs. Kakashi (Part 2)

Facing the signature technique of a colleague who was once his equal, Kakashi's expression turned uncharacteristically solemn. He lifted the forehead protector covering his left eye, revealing the Three Tomoe Sharingan hidden beneath.

Is he getting serious?

Seeing Kakashi reveal his Sharingan, Sasuke thought to himself.

Although Kakashi had already activated his Sharingan, Sasuke's eyes remained pitch black.

It wasn't that he was being arrogant; he simply didn't want to use his Sharingan.

Once a normal Sharingan is awakened, the number of tomoe only increases, never decreases.

Since he had awakened with three tomoe, using it now would inevitably reveal that state.

It is common knowledge that the Second Hokage was the person who studied the Uchiha clan the most deeply; even many Uchiha themselves did not understand the Sharingan as well as he did.

The awakening of the Sharingan usually occurs only after an Uchiha experiences intense emotional stimulation, and it has little to do with their actual strength. The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had witnessed such transformations countless times.

The Second Hokage inevitably left behind records regarding the Uchiha clan for the Hokage who followed him.

Sasuke had only experienced such stimulation once: the night of the clan massacre. Aside from that, there had been nothing else.

What Sasuke needed right now was the appreciation of the Third Hokage, not his wariness. If the Third Hokage discovered that he had awakened with three tomoe, it would inevitably invite suspicion, or even draw the attention of Danzo.

Therefore, over the past few years, he had never exposed the fact that he had awakened his Sharingan. Even Kurama Yakumo only knew vaguely that Sasuke had awakened it, without knowing how many tomoe he possessed.

Perhaps in the depths of Sasuke's inner world, Kurama Yakumo had already guessed it, but she had never mentioned it.

"Kakashi-sensei, be careful!"

As the words fell, Sasuke and his clones erupted with full force. Accompanied by a surge of wild wind, they flickered and appeared right before Kakashi.

They surrounded him completely; the speed was so fast and the numbers so great that they looked like a dark, overwhelming shadow pressing in.

As expected of the Body Flicker Technique left behind by Shisui. Even my Sharingan can't distinguish between the afterimages, the entities, and the real body for a moment.

Kakashi sighed inwardly, his figure retreating rapidly. The short blade in his hand danced into a dense web of sword shadows, and the sound of steel clashing rang out incessantly.

Since I can't tell them apart, then...

Kakashi slashed his short blade with force, unleashing a bolt of lightning at extreme speed. After barely forcing Sasuke back, he quickly formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A waterfall-like volume of water surged up in front of Kakashi, forming a wall that blocked Sasuke and his clones. When the crimson blade met the water, it emitted a strange, sizzling sound.

"Lightning Release: Earth Flash!"

Just as Kakashi finished the Water Formation Wall and Sasuke attacked, he immediately followed up with a lightning technique. In an instant, he channeled electricity into the water, shattering Sasuke's clones into pieces.

The lightning continued to strike toward Sasuke's main body at an incredibly high speed.

However, Sasuke only retreated half a meter. With a twist of the hilt, the chakra-infused katana in his hand instantly turned from red to white, with streaks of lightning coiling around it.

Kakashi's aggressive Lightning Release: Earth Flash seemed to be drawn into the blade as if it had met a lightning rod, causing the light and electricity to flare brilliantly!

"Lightning Release: Lightning Return!"

Sasuke leaped into mid-air, holding the blade with both hands. Concentrating the fierce lightning and accompanied by a violent gust of wind, he slashed down, tearing through the air with terrifying momentum.

Lightning Return?

What kind of ninjutsu is that?

It's clearly just channeling my lightning technique into his blade.

Kakashi grumbled internally, but despite his thoughts, his actions were not slow.

Facing Sasuke's made-up Lightning Return, Kakashi did not dodge or retreat, instead quickly forming a few seals.

"Chidori!"

Blue lightning gathered in Kakashi's hand. The current was so strong and the momentum so great that it emitted a piercing sound like the chirping of a thousand birds!

Bang!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

A strange sound rang out. The lightning in Kakashi's hand actually cut directly through the electricity on Sasuke's blade, leaving a noticeable notch in the metal.

I've finally seen this move!

Seeing the technique he had dreamed of, Sasuke didn't have time to mourn his weapon; he simply flipped backward.

Before he could even land, he saw Kakashi moving rapidly, bringing with him a whistling wind, clinging to him like a maggot on a bone.

Sasuke was forced to counterattack, but this time, he no longer used Uchiha Style or Fire Release sword techniques, but rather the one that shared the same origin as Kakashi's—

White Fang Sword Technique!

Perhaps it was because their first meeting had left such a profound impression on him.

Perhaps the favors Sasuke had quietly cultivated had taken effect, and he was, after all, a clansman of Uchiha Obito and the sole survivor of the Uchiha.

Or perhaps, Kakashi simply found Sasuke more agreeable.

After all, looking at the original timeline, although Uzumaki Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage, in every respect, Kakashi paid more attention to Sasuke's education, even secretly giving him extra lessons in private.

Under Sasuke's deliberate approach, he had apprenticed under Kakashi a year ago to receive his guidance.

Because Sasuke excelled in swordsmanship, besides teaching him some ninjutsu, Kakashi also passed down the family's White Fang Sword Technique to him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of blades clashing rang out incessantly, with flashes of lightning and white light flickering across the edges. The two fought with rapid strikes, their speed creating a flurry of afterimages that was dizzying to behold.

"Alright, that's enough!"

Kakashi retreated, took a breath, and spoke up.

"Understood, Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke nodded, and after taking a few heavy breaths himself, he sheathed the katana in his hand.

Looking at Sasuke's calm expression, Kakashi fell silent for a moment before sighing, "Sasuke, your current strength has already surpassed what mine was at your age."

Kakashi had passed the jonin exam and become a jonin at the age of twelve, setting the record for the youngest jonin, though this was partly due to the war and the village's considerations regarding his father.

However, his own strength at the time was already close to the jonin level, or at the very least, the level of a special jonin.

The reason Kakashi was only considered close to a jonin back then was that shortly after becoming one, he encountered the Iwagakure jonin Kakkō and suffered a crushing defeat, losing his left eye and having his White Fang Short Sword broken.

It was only after the death of his close friend and the awakening of his Sharingan that he managed to have a sudden burst of power to kill the Iwa ninja, finally attaining true jonin-level strength.

Now that Sasuke was also twelve years old, Kakashi's words meant that the current Sasuke already possessed the strength to fight a jonin head-on.

This shows just how highly Kakashi regarded Sasuke.