The Unrestrained Duel

"I refuse!"

"I'm the Uchiha Clan's true number one genius!"

The voice echoed throughout the entire arena!

"I refuse!!!"

"I'm the strongest rookie!"

As those words fell, the entire arena instantly fell silent.

All eyes turned toward the source of the voice.

Beside a large tree, a boy dressed in black slowly rose to his feet. His eyes were filled with stubborn defiance as he stared at Uchiha Zhige!

It was none other than Sasuke Uchiha!

[Naruto: What's going on?! Did that guy take the wrong medicine?! This is the first time I've seen him act so high-profile!]

[Sakura: It's understandable. Everyone's saying Zhi Ge is the Uchiha Clan's number one genius. That probably touched Sasuke's bottom line!]

[Shikamaru: No way! That weird-tempered guy isn't going to make trouble at a time like this, is he?]

[Choji: Yeah! Lord Hokage and Lord Kazekage are both watching. Sasuke is going too far by causing such a scene!]

[Kankuro: Things are getting more and more interesting! This is a perfect chance to gather more useful intelligence!]

[Naruto: Has that guy gone crazy? What is he doing?! Does he still want to provoke Uchiha Zhige?!]

At that moment, Neji Hyuga spotted the black-robed boy standing beneath the shade of the tree, and his face filled with astonishment.

He knew this boy. It was Sasuke! He knew Sasuke was one of the Uchiha Clan's most outstanding geniuses.

"Do you really want to challenge me?"

Uchiha Zhige's expression darkened to the extreme. He stared at Sasuke, his eyes full of deep surprise.

He had only one clansman left in the entire village. Even if they could not live together in harmony, there was no need for things to become this tense, was there?

Yet from the way Sasuke looked, he clearly had no intention of letting him save face.

"What, you don't dare accept? Aren't you supposed to be the Uchiha Clan's number one genius?"

Sasuke sneered and spoke calmly.

"Hmph!"

Uchiha Zhige snorted coldly, then turned to the chief examiner, Genma Shiranui. "This guy is too weak. I can't be bothered to fight him!"

Hearing that, Sasuke could not help sneering.

"Didn't you say I wasn't worthy of being your opponent? If that's the case, then I'd like to have a match with you!"

"No need to fight. Let's just say I lost, all right? With tens of thousands of people watching, you want to pit clansmen against each other? Maybe you're not embarrassed, but I am!"

Zhi Ge glanced at Sasuke and bluntly refused. He turned and walked toward the edge of the arena, leaving the audience stunned.

"What's going on?!"

"Zhi Ge gave up that easily? Isn't that too bizarre?"

"Zhi Ge is the Uchiha Clan's hope for the future. How could he fight Sasuke here? If he accidentally killed him, the Uchiha Clan would truly have only one survivor left!"

A commotion broke out among the spectators.

Uchiha Zhige had actually chickened out during a match!

And it was... because of Sasuke!

How was that possible?!

Other than being tall and handsome, Sasuke had nothing that Uchiha Zhige needed to fear!

Yet Uchiha Zhige had actually backed down!

What the hell was going on?!

"Don't think about running! You have to fight today, whether you want to or not!!!"

At that moment, Sasuke had already caught up to Zhi Ge. He grabbed Zhi Ge by the shoulder.

"What exactly do you want?!"

Zhi Ge demanded angrily.

"I want to fight you and prove that I'm not worthless!"

Sasuke shouted coldly, gripping Zhi Ge's arms tightly and shaking him hard.

"No! This is the competition arena. Randomly hurting others is not allowed! Sasuke, you received a bye in the first round! It isn't your turn to compete yet!"

Seeing their actions, Genma Shiranui hurriedly called for them to stop.

This was no joke. If Sasuke injured Zhi Ge, it would become a real disaster.

"So what if I got a bye? Didn't Zhi Ge already advance? Then his opponent afterward will definitely be me! We might as well settle it now and save ourselves the trouble!"

Sasuke stared at Zhi Ge domineeringly.

"Changing the rules temporarily requires Lord Hokage's approval! You can't change them with just a few words!"

Genma Shiranui hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"Then make Lord Hokage approve it!"

Sasuke waved his hand impatiently.

"This..."

Genma Shiranui froze, not knowing how to deal with the situation. He could only turn his gaze toward Lord Hokage.

Seeing the outrageous scene below, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could not help covering his face.

He had not expected Sasuke to be so impulsive!

"Let's persuade Sasuke to leave the arena for now. Don't let Lord Kazekage laugh at us from the side..."

The Third Hokage sighed helplessly.

"It's fine! I also want to see what kind of sparks will fly between the Uchiha Clan's two genius boys! Lord Hokage, grant Sasuke's request!"

Lord Kazekage looked at the Third Hokage as he spoke.

Hearing Lord Kazekage say this, the Third Hokage frowned slightly, but did not refuse.

"Fine! Then you can decide it yourselves! But don't go too far!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, signaling that the two could continue their match.

"See that? Even Lord Hokage has agreed! What excuse does a coward like you have left now?!"

"Hmph! In that case, I'll play with you for a while!"

Zhi Ge snorted coldly. His right foot stomped fiercely against the ground, and his entire body turned into an afterimage as he charged toward Sasuke.

Whoosh~!

The next moment, he vanished from where he stood and appeared before Sasuke.

Sasuke's expression turned grave as he hurriedly dodged aside.

Boom~!

A terrifying force from the punch grazed past his body and smashed a massive boulder to pieces, forcing the nearby spectators to retreat.

"What terrifying explosive power!"

"What kind of fist technique was that?"

Zhi Ge's display left everyone dumbfounded!

"Hmph! Sasuke, you're still far too weak. You're no match for me!"

Zhi Ge sneered. After missing with one strike, he attacked again.

Every punch he threw tore tiny cracks through the surrounding air with its force.

The might of this move was terrifying!

Yet Sasuke did not panic. His figure flickered as he continuously dodged.

Their fist shadows collided in midair, producing bursts of sharp, piercing sounds.

This was a direct clash!

The two were incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged dozens of moves.

Bang! Bang!

Thud! Thud!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their bodies clashed repeatedly across the arena. The surrounding spectators widened their eyes, afraid of missing even the slightest moment of the thrilling duel.

However, at that moment, Sasuke's figure abruptly vanished from the spot. When he appeared again, he was already behind Zhi Ge!

Whoosh~!