Obtained Flash Step

Naruto, hanging from the tree, watched Su Bai fight with all his might.

He saw Su Bai exchange several more rounds with Kakashi, yet Su Bai had been keeping Kakashi on the defensive the entire time.

Naruto suddenly fell silent.

They were both genin, so why could Su Bai suppress Kakashi-sensei?

And me? What am I doing?

He slowly recalled his own sorry state and was instantly ashamed beyond words.

"Damn it! Looking like this, what right do I have to say I'll become Hokage?!"

Naruto remorsefully pounded his head.

Su Bai's words suddenly surfaced in his mind: "If you don't have the strength to protect your friends and family, then I don't mind becoming Hokage in your place!"

Those words were like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely into Naruto's heart.

He clenched his fists, his whole body trembling as flames of anger and unwillingness ignited in his eyes.

"No! I can't admit defeat! I will become Hokage! I'll protect everyone!"

Naruto gritted his teeth as the emotions in his heart erupted like a volcano.

Along with that intense emotional surge, a terrifying chakra burst from within him.

Naruto's eyes slowly turned blood-red, and his pupils became slightly beastlike vertical slits.

The power of the Nine-Tails was awakening within him, transforming into towering fury as it awaited the moment to erupt.

At the other end of the battlefield, Su Bai and Kakashi's battle was still raging fiercely.

But as sharp as Su Bai was, he had already noticed the unusual change in Naruto.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and a flash of understanding passed through his eyes.

"Is it finally coming, Naruto?"

Su Bai secretly rejoiced, while also feeling gratified by Naruto's soaring fighting spirit.

He knew that Team 7's counterattack was about to begin.

At the same time, Sasuke, standing at another corner of the battlefield, had also fallen into deep thought.

He stared at the battle before him, as though simulating the worst possible outcome in his mind.

If all this was real.

If Kakashi-sensei truly was an enemy right now...

Then Su Bai might be killed right before my eyes!

Just like when the Uchiha Clan was slaughtered all those years ago!

"No! I absolutely can't let tragedy repeat itself!"

At that thought, Sasuke suddenly clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"I swear I'll protect my companions. I will never let them die in vain like my clansmen!"

Turbulent emotions churned in his chest, wrenching at his heart.

The pain and hatred that had been buried deep within Sasuke's heart for years were stirred by the scene before him, turning into raging fury that surged and roared through his veins.

At the instant that anger reached its peak, an unprecedented power awakened in Sasuke's eyes.

His blood-red Sharingan suddenly bloomed, its single tomoe clearly visible, heralding the light of the Uchiha Clan's revival.

Feeling the familiar yet unfamiliar power flowing from his eyes, Sasuke froze briefly before realizing that this was the power of the Sharingan.

This was the pride of the Uchiha, a treasure forged from the blood and lives of his clansmen.

Sasuke's gaze grew even firmer.

I will use this power to protect the people I care about!

With that thought, Sasuke slowly raised his head and fixed a razor-sharp gaze on Kakashi.

The single-tomoe Sharingan spun in his eyes, erupting with terrifying killing intent.

Naruto, bound to the tree, erupted with astonishing power.

A blazing light shone in his eyes, while terrifying chakra radiated from his entire body.

With a sudden kip-up, he actually tore apart the ropes binding him through sheer brute force and landed steadily on the ground.

Kakashi, who had been restraining Sasuke, sensed that something had changed and was secretly startled.

Sasuke's Sharingan had awakened, giving him an extremely precise grasp of the situation.

Taking advantage of Kakashi's brief distraction over Naruto's sudden change, Sasuke fiercely gathered all his strength and wrenched himself free from Kakashi's hold.

"What?! This power..." Kakashi stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

What was going on with those two brats?

Su Bai, who was locked in battle with Kakashi at the center of the battlefield, revealed a gratified smile at the sight.

"Finally, you've awakened too," he murmured softly, a faint pride in his tone. "Looks like all those grand speeches I gave earlier weren't for nothing."

Before the battle, Su Bai had subtly lectured Naruto and Sasuke on many grand principles.

Nothing more than things like, "If you want to protect your companions, you must become stronger," and, "A ninja must face danger head-on and never retreat."

He had done so to stir up their fighting spirit, so they could unleash their true potential at a critical moment.

Now, watching Naruto erupt with the power of the Nine-Tails out of anger and Sasuke awaken his Sharingan out of unwillingness, Su Bai knew that his earlier setup had succeeded.

With the awakening of those two to aid him, the next phase of the battle would surely turn around and lead straight to final victory!

Faced with the terrifying aura suddenly erupting from Naruto and Sasuke, alarm bells rang in Kakashi's heart.

He realized that if he let this continue, the situation would probably spiral completely out of control.

"This is bad! Things just got troublesome..." Kakashi inwardly cursed as his hand instinctively reached for his forehead protector.

He knew that to completely suppress these two monstrous brats, he would likely have to use the Sharingan.

Su Bai keenly caught that small movement from Kakashi.

He knew Kakashi possessed the Sharingan.

However, this development was also within his expectations.

From what Su Bai knew of Kakashi, although the man was lazy and laid-back, he had an extremely strong sense of responsibility.

Even against a group of genin, he would never casually reveal a trump card like the Sharingan.

The Sharingan was Kakashi's ultimate trump card.

Once overused, it could easily drain all his chakra, forcing him to spend a good while recuperating in the hospital.

If he truly used the Sharingan to deal with a few genin, then even if he won, word getting out would leave him utterly humiliated and turn him into a laughingstock among his colleagues.

Therefore, Su Bai was almost certain that Kakashi would not use the Sharingan.

Sure enough, after a brief hesitation, Kakashi finally withdrew his hand without removing his forehead protector.

"Good." Understanding dawned on Su Bai, and an almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Su Bai refocused on the battle.

The situation was developing in their favor. The key now was to seize the right moment and deliver a fatal blow to the enemy!

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke charged forward with unstoppable momentum, attacking wildly as they swore to reclaim the initiative.

The two Kakashis had no choice but to stand back-to-back, bracing themselves for the incoming onslaught.

Su Bai also took the opportunity to retreat and rest, recovering his stamina.

Naruto formed a cross-shaped hand seal with his index and middle fingers, once again using the ninjutsu he was most proud of.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a loud shout, bolstered by the small amount of chakra leaking from the Nine-Tails, Naruto's clones poured forth in overwhelming numbers, instantly filling the battlefield to the brim.

Sasuke gathered chakra and swiftly hurled the kunai in his hand.

The kunai tore through the air, hurtling toward Kakashi's vital points like a meteor shower.

At the same time, his hands rapidly formed seals as he spat out one Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique after another, coordinating with the kunai's trajectories to bombard the enemy fiercely.

Faced with attacks as dense as rain, even the battle-hardened Kakashi could only struggle to keep up.

The two clones were stretched thin, doing everything they could to fend off the attacks coming from every direction.

Watching the battle turn increasingly unfavorable for him, Kakashi could not help but inwardly groan.

But Naruto and Sasuke only grew more courageous as they fought, coordinating seamlessly and constantly finding openings to attack.

For a time, the situation looked exceptionally favorable for Team 7.

Su Bai, lingering outside the battlefield, did not rush to join the fight.

Su Bai woke Sakura, who had been controlled by genjutsu.

After Sakura woke up and saw Naruto and Sasuke still fighting, she immediately went to support them again.

Kakashi was attacked from both front and back.

Meanwhile, Su Bai exerted himself to absorb the experience points spilling out from the battle.

As the battle continued, the powerful force erupting from Naruto and Sasuke flowed into Su Bai's mind like an endless supply of nourishment.

Feeling the constantly changing numbers in the system, a satisfied curve gradually formed on his lips.

His experience points were skyrocketing at a visible rate.

"Finally, it's time for the harvest."

"This is what I wanted!"

[Ding! Ninja battle detected nearby. Obtained 5000 experience points.]

[Ding! Ninja battle detected nearby. Obtained 5000 experience points.]

As experience accumulated, Su Bai's fusion rate with Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto also rose.

Very quickly, it increased from the original 2% to 3%.

Then, a brand-new notification appeared in his mind:

[Ding! Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto template fusion progress: 3%. Current experience points: 5000/100000. Successfully unlocked "Mao Spiritual Arts Academy Basic Flash Step."]