Chapter 32: Zuo Hao Makes His Move! A True Uchiha!

Sasuke slid down the wall and dropped to one knee, his left hand gripping his right arm.

The sleeve on his forearm had been torn apart by the kick, exposing skin bruised purple and swollen like overproofed dough.

His Sharingan still spun wildly, the Two Tomoe whirling in his pupils as he tried to track that green blur.

But he could not see it.

He could not see it at all.

Sasuke clenched his teeth. Veins bulged at his temples, and sweat ran down his cheeks to drip onto the corridor's cold stone tiles.

Frustration and fury churned in his dark eyes, but more than either was a humiliation he had never felt before.

He had just declared that Uchiha meant invincible.

Now he could not even see his opponent move.

"Sasuke!"

"Take this!"

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

The kick swept toward Sasuke's head with devastating force. Air shrieked around it, and even the lamps hanging from the corridor ceiling shook violently.

Sasuke's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

He could not dodge.

Sakura covered her eyes and screamed.

Naruto charged forward, but he was nowhere near fast enough.

Tenten shouted from behind them, "Rock Lee! Stop! This is just a sparring match!"

Neji remained against the wall with his arms folded, watching it all with an indifferent Byakugan gaze.

Sahiro's twin brother was not even half as strong as Sahiro.

Just as Rock Lee's foot came within four inches of Sasuke's temple, a hand reached in from the side.

It closed firmly around Rock Lee's ankle and stopped the unstoppable Konoha Whirlwind dead in midair.

Boom!

A shockwave burst outward, shattering the windows on both sides of the corridor.

Rock Lee's pupils contracted sharply.

Someone had caught his leg?

Someone had stopped his Konoha Whirlwind with one hand?

"Who are you?!"

Rock Lee tried to pull his right leg back, but the hand clamped around his ankle like an iron vise and did not budge.

He looked down and met a pair of crimson Sharingan eyes.

Three Tomoe.

Black Tomoe turned slowly within the crimson pupils, like drops of blood spreading through a pool of ink. The pressure in that gaze sent a chill down his spine.

Sahiro Uchiha.

He stood in front of Sasuke, his left hand in his pocket and his right wrapped around Rock Lee's ankle. He looked as casual as if he had caught an apple falling from a tree.

Sahiro tilted his head, his usual lazy grin tugging at his lips.

"Hey, bushy brows. If you want a fight, I'll play with you."

Sasuke knelt on the floor and looked up at the back of the person standing in front of him.

His brother looked as careless as ever, with messy hair and an open collar. He hardly looked like someone who had come to take the Chunin Ninja Exams.

But at that moment, his back was like a wall, keeping every danger at bay.

"Brother..." Sasuke's voice was painfully hoarse.

Sahiro did not turn around. He simply flung Rock Lee's ankle to the side.

The force sent Rock Lee flying sideways. He flipped twice in the air before barely regaining control, then slid another ten feet after landing.

The corridor fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Naruto froze mid-charge, his mouth wide enough to fit a fist.

Sakura peered through her fingers, her pink eyes full of disbelief.

Tenten sucked in a sharp breath.

Her gaze locked on Sahiro's crimson Sharingan. Three Tomoe.

A twelve-year-old with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Rock Lee got to his feet and flexed his numb ankle. The eyes beneath his thick brows fixed on Sahiro. There was no fear in them, only excitement burning brighter than before.

"You're strong!"

His voice rang through the corridor, and his teeth flashed in the broken glass's reflection.

"Much stronger than him!"

Rock Lee pointed at Sasuke, who was still on his knees, and gave his judgment without a trace of tact.

Sasuke's fist clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palm.

Sahiro chuckled and finally glanced back at him.

"Little brother, get up."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke braced himself against the wall and struggled to his feet. His right arm was still trembling.

"Watch me." Sahiro patted Sasuke's shoulder. The blows were light, but each one struck at Sasuke's pride. "Remember this slap. Don't underestimate anyone, and don't think too highly of yourself. Uchiha aren't invincible."

Sasuke lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing that Sasuke did not talk back, Sahiro knew the beating had knocked some sense into him. He let the matter drop and turned to face Rock Lee.

"Bushy brows, you said you wanted to challenge an Uchiha?"

Rock Lee clenched his fists and tensed every muscle, ready to unleash his full strength at any moment.

"Yes! I'm going to prove—"

Before he could finish, Sahiro moved.

"Heh. Then let me show you what a true Uchiha is!"

It was not the Body Flicker Technique. There was no ripple of chakra, not even a whisper of wind.

He simply took a step toward Rock Lee. It was slow, as unhurried as a stroll.

Yet that single step made every hair on Rock Lee's body stand on end.

Because he saw Sahiro's eyes.

The Tomoe in those Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyes suddenly began to spin faster and faster, until the three marks blurred together into a crimson pinwheel.

Then Rock Lee's world collapsed.

The corridor vanished. His companions disappeared. The ceiling and floor shattered together, and the world beneath his feet became an endless abyss of blood.

He looked down. Countless black chains bound his body, their ends plunging to the bottom of the abyss as though an invisible giant held them in its grasp.

He tried to break free, but every struggle only tightened the chains.

He tried to scream, but no sound came from his throat.

The black chains climbed from his ankles to his knees, from his knees to his waist, and from his waist to his neck. At last, they wound around his head, coil after coil, covering his eyes.

He could see nothing.

Only darkness.

Endless darkness.

And that voice.

Sahiro's voice was lazy, as though it came from somewhere very far away and spoke directly inside his mind at the same time.

"The genjutsu I cast with my Three-Tomoe Sharingan wouldn't be easy for even a Kage Level fighter to break. Do you really think a Genin who only knows Taijutsu can withstand it?"

But the people in the corridor saw something else entirely.

Sahiro took one step toward Rock Lee and looked him in the eye. Rock Lee froze on the spot. The eyes beneath his thick brows lost focus, his pupils dilated, and his lips turned blue.

Then he toppled over, stiff as a board.

Like a felled log.

"Rock Lee!"

Tenten rushed forward first. She knelt beside Rock Lee and checked his breathing.

He was still breathing.

But his eyes remained open and unfocused, as though something had torn his soul from his body.

"Genjutsu..." Tenten's voice trembled. "It's an extremely powerful genjutsu..."

"Rock Lee! Rock Lee, wake up! Open your eyes and look at me!"

Rock Lee did not respond.

His eyes remained open, his pupils unfocused. The round eyes that had once burned with fierce determination now held nothing but hollow darkness.

His lips faded from blue to gray-white, and his breathing grew weaker, as though something deep within his mind was snuffing out the flame of his life, little by little.

Tenten finally panicked.

She looked up and shouted, "Neji! Come take a look! Something's wrong with Rock Lee! His breathing is getting weaker!"

Neji had already come over. His Byakugan was active, veins bulging around his temples.

His gaze pierced Rock Lee's body and saw the chakra flowing within.

Then his expression changed.

"Those black chains... They aren't an illusion. Sahiro used his Sharingan to inject chakra into Rock Lee's chakra network. That black chakra is spreading toward his heart, and it's moving fast."

Tenten's pupils contracted sharply. "How can that be? How could genjutsu..."

Sahiro did not answer. He merely slipped his hand back into his pocket. Reflected in the broken glass, his crimson Sharingan gleamed coldly.

"No." Neji's gaze sharpened. "Your chakra is still inside Rock Lee. This isn't ordinary genjutsu. It's a continuous seal. The chakra will keep eating away at his heart until it stops beating."

Tenten shot to her feet and glared at Sahiro. "Bring Rock Lee back! Release the genjutsu, now!"

Sahiro tilted his head, that lazy smile still on his lips. "What's the rush? He won't die yet. He's got five minutes at most before it finishes eating through his heart."