Laying It Bare? Beating Sasuke, a New Way to Play

"Is this the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan? Something about it seems off!" Uchiha Feng asked, though he already knew the answer.

Interrupted, Uchiha Sasuke shot him a fierce glare. The Uchiha had now become a laughingstock.

As Uchiha Sasuke glared over, he bared his teeth. His tightly pressed lips no longer sealed perfectly.

Through the gap, Uchiha Feng saw that he was missing four or five teeth. Now he understood why Sasuke always kept his lips tightly shut.

"What, have you seen other Sharingan?" Kakashi stared intently at Uchiha Feng.

"I'm a noble of the Land of Iron, from the Fujiwara Family! The Uchiha Clan had quite a good partnership with our family. More than half of your village's ninja tools came from the Land of Iron, didn't they? Konoha should be facing a shortage of ninja tools now, right?"

Uchiha Feng showed no fear. Instead, he revealed a few secrets and issued a few threats.

No wonder Sarutobi Ippei insisted on sending me to take this mission. So there was something else behind it. Kakashi formed his own guess. As he looked at Uchiha Feng before him, he felt a faint sense of familiarity.

Before this, the supply lines once provided by the Ninja Cat Clan and the Uchiha Clan had both stopped supplying Konoha with ninja tools, causing Konoha temporary difficulties. With Konoha's resources, though, it would soon find replacements.

This was all merely meant to put a little pressure on Konoha.

Uchiha Feng felt a trace of nervousness. Had Kakashi recognized him?

That should have been impossible, right? After receiving the talent boosts from several cards, the most obvious change was that he had grown more than fifty centimeters taller than he had been on the night of the clan massacre. He had even endured the pain of accepting Yajirobe's physique, leaving him somewhat chubby now!

How could Kakashi possibly recognize him?

"Let's begin the mission. I want to know your current level. Can you show me? Sasuke, spar with him." Kakashi spoke, getting straight to the point.

"Him? He won't do." Uchiha Feng shot Uchiha Sasuke a disdainful glance.

"Don't talk big. Before these eyes of mine, everything about you will be seen through." Uchiha Sasuke still carried an air of superiority.

After awakening his Sharingan, fighting several upperclassmen from the Ninja Academy had been like bullying children. Yet now, he was being looked down upon by the person in front of him.

"Then let's give it a try!" Seeing Sasuke like this, Uchiha Feng's feelings shifted as well. Was this the pride of the Uchiha Clan? Absolute confidence in the Sharingan?

Kakashi swept his gaze over the two of them and finally realized where that familiar feeling came from. Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Feng were somewhat alike in certain ways.

The two stood facing each other.

"Form the Seal of Confrontation... Oh, you aren't a ninja, so there's no need." Kakashi stood between them, about to announce something, but after glancing at Uchiha Feng, he stepped away from the battlefield.

Uchiha Feng calmly watched Uchiha Sasuke across from him, a hint of pity rising in his heart. Uchiha Sasuke had also suffered soul-piercing pain on the night of the clan massacre. No wonder he had awakened such a Sharingan.

What he did not know was that the Two-Tomoe Sharingan had been frightened awake by Dumpling.

Seeing that Uchiha Feng had yet to make a move, Uchiha Sasuke grew even angrier, believing that he was being looked down upon.

"Die!"

He pulled out two shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and hurled them at Uchiha Feng.

Yet Uchiha Feng seemed not to see them at all, standing motionless where he was.

The two shuriken flew past Uchiha Feng's body without hitting him.

How is that possible? He didn't even dodge? Uchiha Sasuke was filled with confusion.

Clang!

The two shuriken collided behind Uchiha Feng, changing direction.

One shot toward Uchiha Feng's abdomen, while the other flew toward his head.

Whoosh!

Uchiha Feng moved. With a vertical slash, both shuriken fell to the ground.

From afar, Kakashi watched the scene unfold. That judgment, that draw speed—neither was something Uchiha Sasuke could compare to.

In Kakashi's eyes, everything about Uchiha Sasuke had already been seen through by Uchiha Feng. That required not only strength, but also a thorough understanding of the Uchiha Style Throwing Technique, or at least a deep understanding of concealed weapons.

While Kakashi was momentarily distracted, Uchiha Sasuke flew into a rage from humiliation.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" His fingers interlocked as he began forming hand seals.

"Sasuke, stop!" Kakashi called out, but he had no intention of stopping him. He was merely making his stance clear.

Kakashi wanted to know just how far Uchiha Feng could go.

When samurai faced ninja, they were often restrained by ninjutsu. That was why ninja held the leading position in the ninja world.

Whoosh!

Uchiha Sasuke completed his hand seals, opened his mouth—with its missing front teeth—and spat out a ball of flame.

Facing the Great Fireball Jutsu, the signature technique of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Feng still showed no trace of nervousness.

"Slash!"

Step!

He stepped forward to meet it. Chakra coated his samurai sword, and he split the Great Fireball Jutsu straight down the middle.

The blade came directly before Uchiha Sasuke, only a few centimeters from his nose.

Stagger, stagger, stagger!

Uchiha Sasuke retreated several steps, then sat on the ground in despair.

He murmured, "How can I take revenge on that man like this? How can I seek justice for the Uchiha Clan?"

Hearing those words, Uchiha Feng felt a faint resonance in his heart. At this point, Uchiha Sasuke hadn't yet been brainwashed by the Will of Fire, nor had he been bound by so-called bonds. He was a victim too.

He sheathed his samurai sword, unwilling to look at Uchiha Sasuke as he was now. It was too disgraceful for the Uchiha Clan.

Kakashi was still immersed in what he had just seen.

A blade splitting flames—such strength could not be underestimated.

A samurai who had mastered chakra nature transformation could already be considered a special kind of ninja. Only samurai who had mastered ninja taijutsu could truly stand on the same level as ninja.

If it were purely swordsmanship, would I even be his match? Kakashi began to doubt himself.

"You really didn't hold back at all." Kakashi walked over to Uchiha Sasuke and pulled him up. "Go watch from the side!"

Then he took a fighting stance. "Now, I'll be your opponent."

A kunai had appeared in his hand at some point, chakra gathering along its blade.

"Have you already abandoned your identity as a swordsman?" Uchiha Feng said, but he did not relax in the slightest as he assumed a complete iaijutsu stance.

"I'm a ninja first, and a swordsman second!" Kakashi's expression darkened. The short blade left behind by the White Fang of Konoha appeared in his mind, already broken during a mission.

Because he no longer had the conviction of the White Fang of Konoha to support him, the short blade in his hand had broken as well.

At the side, Uchiha Sasuke pulled himself out of his sorrow, reopened his Sharingan, and watched the battle between the two intently.

Is this how they fight? Just the chakra nature transformation on their weapons is something I can't do yet. Uchiha Sasuke could not see the deeper gap between them, but he could still see the most obvious difference.

Both of their weapons were coated in a layer of chakra, making them harder and sharper. Kakashi's kunai was not even made of chakra metal.

Tap, tap, tap!

The two began to move.

Chakra erupted beneath Kakashi's feet, sending his body speeding forward as he used the White Fang's Secret Body Flicker Technique.

Chakra also erupted beneath Uchiha Feng's feet, though far less than Kakashi's. Instead, his muscles swelled instantly, making up for the lack of chakra output.