Although Uchiha Sasuke had long been the third person he'd selected for development, his original plan had been to slowly build up Sasuke's favor after the exam ended. He hadn't expected this to happen when the exam had only just begun.
"Could it be because I stepped in to stop Naruto's attack, and Sasuke has come to acknowledge me?"
Akisui considered it, then decided there had to be more to it than that.
Saving Sasuke had certainly earned him gratitude, but the more important reason was probably Naruto's overwhelming strength in that fight. It had shattered Sasuke's usual pride, and Sasuke knew full well that Naruto had only come this far because of him.
Akisui didn't dwell on it. He clicked yes without hesitation.
He secretly hoped that, since binding Naruto had granted him Otsutsuki blood and Hinata had given him the Byakugan, this time he might extract the Sharingan from Sasuke. That would be a huge windfall.
[Successfully bound SSS-grade high-quality talent Uchiha Sasuke. Current development relationship level: 1]
[Received binding reward — Two-Tomoe Sharingan]
[The player's high-quality talent development roster is full. One additional slot has been added.]
The next moment, a searing pain surged from deep within Akisui's eye sockets, as though his eyeballs were being scorched by flames. He instinctively shut his eyes. Perhaps because his body had already fused with Otsutsuki blood, the pain came fiercely but faded just as quickly. It lasted no more than a few seconds.
He slowly opened his eyes. There was no visible change, but as he looked around, every tiny movement within his field of vision seemed magnified. His brain began involuntarily analyzing the paths of those movements, stirring a strange urge to imitate them.
Akisui was delighted. He hadn't expected the system to give him a pair of Two-Tomoe Sharingan outright. He praised the Conscience System again for living up to its name.
Compared to the basic One-Tomoe, the Two-Tomoe Sharingan was far more powerful.
First, its dynamic vision was greatly enhanced. It didn't just let him see an opponent's movements clearly; it could track fast-moving objects and even predict an attack's trajectory just before the opponent struck by observing the tiniest quivers in their muscles. It could also vaguely sense the flow of chakra. Though it was nowhere near as precise as the Byakugan, it could still roughly distinguish whether an opponent was about to use Taijutsu or ninjutsu.
Second, it granted a rudimentary ability to cast genjutsu. Simply meeting someone's gaze let him send his chakra into their nervous system and interfere with their perception. It was nowhere near as unbeatable or powerful as Tsukuyomi, but it could make an opponent daze for a moment or suffer a visual distortion—more than enough to create an opening in battle.
Third, and most importantly, the Two-Tomoe Sharingan formally unlocked the ability to copy ninjutsu.
Akisui felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He'd been worrying about how to use the various ninjutsu abilities the system had rewarded him with without arousing suspicion. Ninjutsu wasn't something you could just learn because you wanted to. Ordinary ninja either completed missions and saved up contributions to exchange for a decent technique, hoped their Jonin leader might teach them one on a whim, or got lucky and found a suitable technique on an enemy's body after a fight.
Now that problem was solved. He had blue eyes to begin with, so if anyone asked where he'd learned his ninjutsu, he could simply say he'd awakened a Kekkei Genkai. The excuse was crude, but there was nothing obviously wrong with it.
The Shinobi World was full of strange and marvelous things, and all sorts of bizarre Kekkei Genkai emerged one after another. Besides, Danzo's Root hadn't helped during the Nine-Tails' disaster and had later hidden Yamato, who had successfully received an implanted Wood Release ability. Root was no longer as powerful as it had once been, and Danzo no longer held a position second only to the Hokage. Orochimaru had also defected years ago after his human experiments came to light, so Akisui didn't need to worry about being dragged off for experiments. Konoha was short on capable people right now. Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen heard about it, he would probably be glad the village had gained another talent.
"You don't have to thank me. It's what a teacher should do." Akisui smiled warmly and nodded to Sasuke. Then he announced loudly, "The winner of the first match is Naruto Uzumaki."
But after he spoke, the room fell silent.
The students watching seemed unable to recover from the astonishing fight they'd just witnessed. They stood there dazed, their gazes moving between Naruto and Sasuke as they struggled to process what had happened.
Before the match, almost everyone had been sure there was no suspense. Even when Naruto used the Shadow Clone Technique, few believed he could win.
But the result had proved them all wrong.
Naruto Uzumaki had not only used the Shadow Clone Technique; he had controlled more than a dozen clones at once and launched equally fierce attacks, leaving Sasuke completely unable to fight back. If the teacher hadn't intervened in time, Sasuke might have suffered far worse than a simple defeat.
"Sasuke-kun, are you all right?" Sakura Haruno was the first to react. She practically ran to Sasuke, her face full of concern and worry.
She couldn't believe her eyes. Sasuke, who had always seemed so dazzling and powerful, had actually lost to someone like Naruto.
Ino Yamanaka froze for a moment, then went over too. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Sasuke didn't seem quite as handsome as he used to.
But Uchiha Sasuke seemed not to hear them. His gaze passed over the crowd and landed directly on Naruto.
"Naruto, have some chips." Choji Akimichi generously offered him a whole bag of his treasured chips.
"Naruto..." Shikamaru Nara walked over lazily, his hands in his pockets, but his voice carried genuine surprise. "We've only been apart for a month. When did you get so strong?"
"Naruto-kun..." Hyuga Hinata stood at the edge of the crowd, twisting her fingers together without realizing it. She wanted to go congratulate him too, but seeing Naruto surrounded by everyone and smiling, the shy girl thought it over and quietly stayed where she was.
Naruto Uzumaki felt as if he were floating, his grin nearly stretching from ear to ear.
Being acknowledged by everyone, praised by his friends, and treated differently—he could hardly believe such a moment had really come to him.
He knew it was all thanks to Teacher Akisui.
Every day, Akisui had sacrificed his own time to train him and guide him without ever tiring. That was what had led to today's victory.
Before, Sasuke wouldn't have just refused to fight him with ninjutsu; he probably wouldn't even have spared him a glance.
Another message appeared in front of Akisui.
[The high-quality talent Naruto Uzumaki's favorability toward you has increased]
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