Sasuke's Mistake

Having lost their weapons, the two Hidden Mist ninja panicked.

Su Bai pressed the attack, landing a fierce kick squarely in one ninja's abdomen and sending him flying.

Seeing this, the other ninja turned to flee.

Su Bai sneered and used a Flash Step to block his path, chopping toward his shoulder with a hand strike.

The ninja barely avoided a fatal blow, but blood still poured from the wound.

Su Bai advanced step by step, his attacks sharp and relentless. The two ninja were completely outmatched and could only struggle to defend themselves.

Although Su Bai held every advantage, he was in no hurry to win.

He enjoyed this kind of real, close-quarters battle and wanted to keep fighting a little longer to savor it.

Sasuke had intended to help, but seeing Su Bai effortlessly handle two ninja alone left him both astonished and frustrated.

"Damn it, this guy is way too strong."

Sasuke clenched his teeth, thinking, I have to get stronger fast. I absolutely can't lose to him!

The two Hidden Mist ninja exchanged terrified glances, their eyes filled with despair.

"What kind of monster is this kid? His strength and speed are far beyond ours!"

"We can't possibly beat him. If this keeps up, we'll both die here."

"Damn it! If we'd known we were up against someone like this, we never would've taken this job."

"It's too late for regrets. We need to retreat first. Staying alive is what matters."

"You're right. Kill the target first, then escape in the confusion."

The two silently came to an understanding. They knew this mission was likely doomed.

Their top priority now was to end this quickly. Otherwise, they might not even get the chance to return alive and report back.

Realizing they were no match for Su Bai, the two Hidden Mist ninja decided to abandon the fight. They would complete their mission of assassinating Dazna, then flee immediately.

One held Su Bai off while the other charged straight at Dazna.

Just as the enemy was about to succeed, Sasuke stepped in front of the Hidden Mist ninja.

Su Bai faced one opponent while Sasuke took on the other.

Sasuke glanced at Su Bai and silently competed with him. Let's see who takes down their opponent first.

He threw himself into the fight with complete focus.

Sasuke formed hand seals and shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball hurtled toward the Hidden Mist ninja.

The ninja twisted aside and narrowly dodged it.

But Sasuke's assault had only just begun.

He charged forward, sending shuriken and kunai flying.

The Hidden Mist ninja was forced back again and again.

Seizing the opportunity, Sasuke leaped into the air and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.

The ninja crashed heavily onto the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He forced himself back to his feet and glared viciously at Sasuke.

"Kill!" The Hidden Mist ninja let out a hoarse roar and charged Sasuke again.

The two traded blows, locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle.

After a brutal fight, Sasuke finally defeated his opponent.

Sasuke panted heavily, still shaken as he thought, This Hidden Mist ninja really wasn't ordinary. Every move was ruthless, aimed straight at vital points. That killing intent was far stronger than anything we faced during training at the academy. Even though I was stronger than him, it still took real effort to beat him.

He looked at Su Bai, who was still fighting the other ninja, and felt a little smug. Still, I beat mine before he did this time.

Several more exchanges passed, yet Su Bai still had not defeated his opponent.

Sasuke sensed that something was wrong.

With Su Bai's strength, he should have won long ago.

He had been able to fight two opponents at once with ease just moments ago.

Why was the battle still going?

Sasuke began watching carefully.

Before long, he spotted the clue.

"This guy is deliberately stalling for time! He wants to fight the other guy longer and enjoy the battle to the fullest!"

Sasuke suddenly understood.

That was right. Su Bai was fighting with complete ease. He was clearly toying with his opponent.

"Damn it!"

Sasuke was deeply frustrated.

He understood Su Bai's intention.

"This Hidden Mist ninja may be weaker than me, but he was fighting with the genuine intent to kill me. A sparring partner this good should have been used like Su Bai did, to improve myself!"

Sasuke looked down at the ninja he had knocked to the ground and shouted, "Hey, get up! Keep fighting me!"

With that, he tossed a kunai to him.

The ninja caught the kunai and suddenly smiled strangely.

He pressed the kunai to his own throat and slashed hard.

"Stop!"

Sasuke's face changed dramatically. He tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

Blood gushed out as the ninja collapsed to the ground, never moving again.

"Damn it! I made another mistake."

Sasuke slammed his fist into the ground in frustration.

He remembered what his father had once told him: ninja who lived on the edge of a blade were usually loyal unto death to their village and employer.

Once they failed and were captured, they would rather die than submit. They would choose suicide.

Over on the other side, Su Bai's battle also seemed close to ending.

His opponent knew Su Bai was toying with him, but there was nothing he could do.

No matter what techniques he used, he was no match for Su Bai.

Even if he tried to run, Su Bai's speed and footwork were too fast for him to shake off.

The ninja despaired. He knew he would die today.

Following his companion's example, he raised his kunai toward himself.

Just as he was about to kill himself, Su Bai used a Flash Step to appear in front of him and drove a heavy punch into his abdomen.

The kunai clattered to the ground, and the ninja rolled his eyes back and passed out.

Watching Sasuke and Su Bai each deal with an enemy, Naruto was utterly stunned.

They were clearly around the same age, so why was the gap between them so enormous?

Faced with a sudden attack, the two of them remained calm and handled it with ease.

Meanwhile, he had been so terrified that his mind went blank, leaving him frozen in place.

Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his unwillingness plain to see.

Sakura looked at Su Bai with even greater admiration.

This cool, handsome genius had once again displayed extraordinary strength, making her heart race once more.

Only after the two enemies had been subdued did Kakashi leap down from a nearby tree.

"Kakashi-sensei, how could you scare us like that?!"

Sakura puffed up her cheeks as she complained.

In her eyes, a teacher should protect their students, not stand by and watch from the sidelines.

Kakashi wore an apologetic expression and answered Sakura's complaints with a bitter smile.

He then stepped before everyone and began evaluating them one by one as their teacher.

"Sasuke, your performance just now was decent enough, but the way you handled your enemy was still a little too simple and rough."

"As for Su Bai, your performance this time was commendable. You not only seized a good opportunity in battle and used your enemy as a whetstone to temper yourself, but also captured him alive cleanly and efficiently. You perfectly demonstrated the professionalism expected of a ninja."

Kakashi also praised Sakura's reaction.

She had not panicked in a crisis. Instead, she had instinctively chosen to protect their client, which was worthy of commendation.

However, when it came to Naruto, Kakashi's assessment was far less pleasant.

His performance this time had truly been rather disappointing. Kakashi hoped he would improve next time.

As Dazna listened to Kakashi's evaluation of everyone, he showed no surprise. It seemed he had already expected someone to come and assassinate him.

Su Bai paid no attention to the commentary. The exhilarating fight just now had left him thrilled.

The system notification sounded again. As a large amount of experience poured in, the fusion progress finally reached the 4% mark.

[Ding! Ninja battle detected nearby. Obtained 2,000 experience points.]

[Ding! Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto template fusion progress: 4%. Current experience: 2000/500000.]

Another system prompt immediately appeared in his mind.

[Kidō unlocked. Hadō #4: "White Lightning" unlocked!]