"Next, the third match of the Preliminaries—Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha versus Yuki Haku of Kirigakure!" The moment Gekko Hayate finished speaking, the sidelines fell silent.
"Oh?!"
"Uchiha versus Yuki. Now this should be interesting."
"Bloodline against bloodline. This should be worth watching."
"We finally get to see what the Uchiha orphan can do. Don't disappoint us."
"Exactly! We're talking about an Uchiha here."
Everyone's eyes focused on the entrance—Haku walked slowly into the arena, wearing a ninja uniform patterned with subtle Kirigakure markings. His black hair hung over his shoulders, his face as delicate as ever. A girl?!
But his black eyes held none of their usual gentleness, only a bone-deep gravity.
My opponent is Sasuke Uchiha?!
As soon as Haku stepped into the Arena,
he clearly sensed the chakra surging around Sasuke—a sharp, lightning-natured presence with a trace of cold darkness, even stronger than the rumors suggested.
Especially when his opponent's eyes had been closed earlier,
the faint three-tomoe patterns at their corners had sent a chill all the way to Haku's fingertips.
The Uchiha orphan... Haku thought grimly, his right hand quietly pressing against the senbon inside his sleeve. Those eyes, and that oppressive chakra... I can't afford to be careless.
We've been through much the same thing.
We're both survivors of bloodline families. But I'm sorry. I don't want to disappoint Lord Zabuza.
"The Uchiha are invincible."
Sasuke was already standing in the center of the arena, the breeze stirring his short black hair. The instant he opened his eyes, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked onto Haku. His scarlet eyes showed not the slightest ripple of emotion, only focus on the coming battle.
His arms were crossed over his chest, tiny sparks flickering around his fingertips as he gathered Lightning Release chakra,
clearly intending to hold nothing back