The Gap

Sasuke Uchiha, his speed and power vastly increased, defeated the kunoichi Kin in an instant. He then used the Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique to coat his shuriken and launched another assault on Zaku. The attack was so swift that Zaku had no time to dodge; he could only counter with a Cutting Air Wave, attempting to blow the flames away. However, he was struck squarely by the shuriken hidden within. Before the terrified Zaku could react, Sasuke had already closed the distance. For Zaku, whose primary combat method relied on air waves, close-quarters combat with Sasuke was a nightmare. In a heartbeat, his arms were seized and locked behind his back, pinning him to the ground.

The battle ended with a speed that exceeded everyone's expectations. Feeling the thrill brought by his newfound power, Sasuke couldn't help but laugh aloud. His cruel and merciless demeanor was a stark departure from his usual self, and the Cursed Seal was unconsciously stoking the darkness hidden deep within his heart.

Seeing his two teammates taken down, Dosu also chose to submit before the formidable Sasuke. Ultimately, Dosu knelt to beg for mercy, handed over their scroll, and left with the arm-injured Zaku and the unconscious Kin.

"Sasuke Uchiha, although you are strong, I am no weakling either. If we were to fight to the death, the outcome would be far from certain. If we happen to cross paths again, that will be the time to settle this."

If any of the three Sound Ninja possessed even a shred of lingering kindness, it was undoubtedly their captain, Dosu. In the original story, Dosu had repeatedly prevented his teammates from engaging in senseless slaughter. To save his comrades, he did not hesitate to kneel and beg Sasuke for mercy. During the Chunin Exams, he even showed restraint toward Choji Akimichi. Thus, among the three Sound Ninja, Dosu was the one most like a normal person. Among the deviants who emerged from slaughter and strife, he was a rare exception.

The only thing Dosu could not reconcile was that the Orochimaru he revered had treated him as nothing more than a whetstone for Sasuke Uchiha. His last shred of hope as a discarded pawn was to defeat Sasuke Uchiha fair and square during the Chunin Exams to prove his own worth.

"It is not yet time. I must verify a few things first, and then I will come to fight Sasuke to the death."

As the Sound Ninja retreated, Sakura Haruno breathed a sigh of relief. But it would be too early to rejoice if one thought everything was over.

The power granted by the Cursed Seal was constantly influencing Sasuke Uchiha, and its erosion of his body and soul was no laughing matter. Completely unlike his usual cautious mindset, Sasuke longed to vent every grievance he had ever suffered, and his immense power gave him the confidence to do so.

"You cowards hiding in the shadows, come out if you have the guts." Sasuke did not hesitate to taunt the uninvited guests he sensed lurking nearby.

Since they had been discovered, Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten stepped out without ceremony.

"So it's you lot. Perfect." Sasuke, who had been harboring a grudge ever since he was left unable to fight back against Rock Lee not long ago, finally had the power to retaliate.

"We aren't here to fight you; we just saw Sakura being bullied, so we came to..."

Before Rock Lee could finish his sentence, Sasuke launched a sudden, brutal combination of strikes that knocked him to the ground.

"Your movements are much slower than they were before the exams."

Rock Lee, having underestimated the suddenly empowered Sasuke, was caught completely off guard. Furthermore, it seemed the opponent had no intention of holding back, injuring Lee with just a few blows.

The opponent he once could not resist had become a defeated foe in the blink of an eye. His confidence swelling to the breaking point, Sasuke could no longer restrain himself and flashed behind Neji Hyuga.

"I hear you're the top student from last year, and they call you the strongest genin in Konoha. Let me test your skills."

Just as Sasuke was about to treat Neji the same way he had treated Rock Lee, he suddenly found he could not move.

"This is why newcomers never understand their place." Neji turned around calmly and assumed the standard stance of the Gentle Fist. The chakra surging around his body had already sealed the surrounding space. Sasuke, knowing nothing of the Hyuga clan or the Gentle Fist, had arrogantly walked straight into Neji's trap.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Although Mizuki looked down on the Hyuga clan's use of the Byakugan, mocking them for using a machine gun like a sledgehammer, the Byakugan's lethality in battle was truly astonishing under certain circumstances. It exerted immense suppression on opponents whose strength was clearly inferior to one's own, and once caught in the rhythm of the Gentle Fist, there was little one could do to turn the tide. Sasuke Uchiha was a pathetic fool who acted recklessly without a basic understanding of the Hyuga, and he was soundly defeated before he could even display his true strength. Neji's Gentle Fist landed solidly on Sasuke's body.

"How is this possible?" The defenseless Sasuke was pummeled, the massive disparity in strength instantly dousing the hot-headed fervor that had clouded his mind.

"Foolish brat. Did you think you were invincible just because you won one fight against a careless Rock Lee? You have no idea of the gap between newcomers and us." Neji ruthlessly punctured Sasuke's illusion of strength. He then stepped forward and took the scroll that the Sound Ninja trio had just surrendered from the body of Sasuke, whose meridians were sealed, chakra flow halted, and who was left completely immobile.

"We'll take this as our spoils of war. Until next time—I hope you can make things more interesting. Honestly, that little workout just now didn't even compare to my usual training sessions with Rock Lee."

Circumstances dictate the outcome; facing Neji's cold sarcasm, Sasuke had no way to retort.

"Oh, and one piece of advice: whether I am the strongest genin is debatable, but even the strongest genin is still just a genin." With that, Neji, Tenten, and Lee helped the injured Rock Lee and departed.

"Damn it!" Once he calmed down, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a wave of frustration. Was I too impatient? As the Cursed Seal receded, the side effects of his physical overexertion hit him all at once, and Sasuke's body swayed with exhaustion. Sakura rushed over to support him.

"Are you alright, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked with concern.

"I'm fine. I just can't use my chakra for a short while; I have no combat capability for the moment."

"That's good." Sakura replied upon hearing this. As long as he was safe, nothing else mattered to the love-struck girl. Even her worries about Orochimaru and the Cursed Seal that had covered his body could be set aside for now; once the exams were over, she was sure Kakashi would be able to resolve everything.

Not long after everything had settled, while Sasuke and his two teammates were resting, more people suddenly arrived.

"Why is it you lot?" It was the Ino-Shika-Cho team.

"It seems you aren't doing much better than us." Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara assessed each other's dire situation at a single glance.

Just as the protagonist's team joined forces with the Ino-Shika-Cho squad, the two teams, both suffering the same plight in the Forest of Death, ultimately chose to cooperate. Meanwhile, in the nearby jungle, a reflection flashed off a pair of lenses—it was Kabuto Yakushi, who had been watching everything with absolute clarity.