Kusagakure Ninja!

With the sword gifted by Itachi, Sasuke found it much easier to practice the Uchiha Style: Gale Sword. Whether it was day or night, whenever he had a spare moment, Sasuke would draw his blade and slash wildly, swearing to condense that massive blade of flame.

In the blink of an eye, twenty days passed quietly amidst Sasuke's frantic training.

As dusk approached, in the training ground within the Uchiha Clan's forest, a blade of flame suddenly erupted in mid-air, then struck a giant tree with a terrifying whistling sound.

"BOOM!"

Instantly, with a violent explosion, the giant tree was split in two, and scorching flames began to burn across its surface.

Landing back on the ground from mid-air, Sasuke looked at the destroyed tree with a slightly pale face, his eyes filled with irrepressible ecstasy.

After twenty days and countless repetitions, he had finally managed to execute this Nintaijutsu, the Uchiha Style: Gale Sword.

Although the flame blade just now was not as large as the one Shisui had displayed, Sasuke believed that as long as he was given enough time, he would certainly be able to practice the Gale Sword to perfection; by then, the power of this technique would likely be even more terrifying than it was now.

"Swoosh!"

Just as Sasuke intended to sit down and recover the chakra he had consumed, he suddenly sensed an outsider approaching. Immediately after, a middle-aged man covered in blood and wearing a look of terror scrambled toward him.

"Are you a ninja of Konoha?"

Upon seeing the symbol on Sasuke's forehead protector, a wave of wild joy surged into the middle-aged man's heart.

"Who are you?"

Sasuke did not deny it, then asked in return.

"I am an envoy from the Land of Grass. Please, deliver this to the Hokage."

After a brief introduction, the middle-aged man immediately pulled out a box and handed it to Sasuke.

"An envoy from the Land of Grass?"

Sasuke frowned. He remembered that the Land of Grass was located to the west of the Land of Fire, near the Land of Earth, quite a distance from here.

Besides, why was this special envoy in such a wretched state? It looked as if he were being hunted!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

However, just as Sasuke questioned the middle-aged man's identity and considered whether or not to take the box, a series of wind-breaking sounds reached him.

"Not good!"

Sensing danger, Sasuke could not afford to think too much and hurriedly retreated.

The moment Sasuke moved away, several Kunai were instantly embedded in the ground around the middle-aged man, with explosive tags attached to their handles.

"The box must be delivered to the Hokage, I beg you!"

Seeing the explosive tags, a flash of horror crossed the middle-aged man's face, but knowing he could not escape, he tossed the box toward Sasuke and shouted.

"BOOM!"

Following the middle-aged man's shout, a massive roar echoed through the entire forest! Immediately after, thick dust and flames spread out from the center of the explosion.

Catching the box, Sasuke turned his gaze toward the site of the explosion. As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, the scene of devastation and the corpse of the middle-aged man appearing in his line of sight sent a slight chill through Sasuke's heart.

If Sasuke hadn't reacted quickly just now, he would likely be lying there just like that middle-aged man.

"Hey, brat, hand over the box!"

Just as Sasuke felt a slight sense of relief, a low voice came from the air, and then two figures wearing forehead protectors suddenly flew down from the trees and appeared before him.

The one on the left was burly, with a broad back and thick waist, looking every bit like a power-type ninja.

As for the other, he was relatively lean, and his unremarkable face was covered in crisscrossing knife scars.

"Are you from the Land of Grass?"

Seeing the elongated pattern on their forehead protectors, Sasuke immediately knew they were ninjas from Kusagakure.

"Heh heh, I didn't expect a brat like you to have such a sharp eye?"

The burly ninja smiled faintly.

It seems that middle-aged man really was an envoy from the Land of Grass, but why would Kusagakure ninjas hunt him down? Could there be some important intelligence inside this box?

Seeing that they did not deny it, Sasuke immediately pondered to himself.

"Heh heh, Okada, no need to waste words with him, just kill him!"

Knowing that a brat like Sasuke had no combat power, the lean ninja let out a strange laugh, sounding somewhat impatient.

"Asai, don't be careless. Look, this brat is also wearing a forehead protector; he is a ninja too. To become a ninja at such a young age, he must have some ability."

Okada was clearly not a simple-minded brute, so he offered a warning.

"Haha, no matter what ability he has, he will die under my secret technique!"

Laughing loudly, Asai pulled out a Kunai, stomped his foot hard on the ground, and immediately launched an attack on Sasuke.

The Kunai transformed into a cold, white shadow, stabbing toward Sasuke's throat with cunning and malice.

Facing Asai's vicious attack, Sasuke first took a step back, then drew his own Kunai to deflect the onslaught completely.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

As the two moved, every clash of their Kunai sent sparks flying and rang out with a crisp sound.

After tangling with Sasuke using only basic attacks for a while, Asai finally realized that this brat was indeed as capable as Okada had claimed.

"Heh heh, resistance is futile!"

A cold, sinister arc slowly crept onto Asai's lips. He tossed the Kunai from his hand toward Sasuke and immediately brought his hands together to begin forming seals at high speed.

Watching the Kunai fly toward him at a tricky angle, Sasuke hurriedly leaned his body backward, his feet stomping against the ground with a sharp sound as he utilized his agile footwork to dodge the attack.

After evading the strike, Sasuke frowned deeply as he watched Asai, who had already finished his hand seals.

"Ninja Art: Grass Binding!"

Following Asai's shout, four grass chains instantly coalesced from the grass beneath Sasuke's feet, rapidly binding his ankles.

Sasuke leaped into the air, attempting to snap the grass chains. However, the chains were incredibly sturdy; even though he had reached mid-air, the elastic tension pulled him right back down.

What a bizarre ninjutsu!

A thought flashed through his mind in alarm, and Sasuke hurriedly drew the sword from his back to hack away at the grass chains binding him.

Seeing Sasuke quickly sever all the grass chains, Asai, who had been holding his seals for quite some time, suddenly let out a ferocious laugh: "Brat, it's all over. Today, I shall let you witness my secret technique!"

"Advent of the Grass Demon!"

Hearing Asai's sinister laughter, Sasuke's expression shifted slightly; he had not expected Asai to possess an even more formidable technique.

"Roar!"

Just as Sasuke was feeling apprehensive, a towering giant formed entirely of grass suddenly appeared behind him, and the giant used its thick arms to tightly choke Sasuke's neck.

"This... how is this possible?"

A look of disbelief shone through his pained expression; Sasuke simply could not believe that the grass giant behind him could manifest so quickly.