After Sasuke's sharp left hook missed, Naruto reacted instantly and caught his wrist with precision.
Using the momentum of Sasuke's charge, he pivoted swiftly and drove through his waist and core.
With a whoosh, he hurled Sasuke straight back the way he had come, even faster than he had charged!
The sudden reversal was clean, crisp, and powerful, drawing gasps from everyone around them.
But Naruto deliberately held back.
The instant he threw Sasuke, he deftly bled off most of the damaging force to keep him from getting genuinely hurt.
They still had academic classes that afternoon. He couldn't let this kid end up in the hospital and miss class.
Like hell he would!
Sasuke hit the ground, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the shock and humiliation inside him.
An unacceptable thought surged wildly through his mind: Had this dead last... been hiding his strength all along?!
The thought gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.
If the guy I always called "dead last" actually had the strength to crush me...
Then what did that make me, beaten so easily by him?
His thoughts churned beyond his control as memories of the past resurfaced.
Whenever Naruto had looked at him before, there had been neither fear nor an attempt to curry favor, but a calm smile with a hint of... almost indulgent gentleness.
Then there were the countless times he had walked past Naruto, snapping impatiently and arrogantly, "Out of my way, dead last!"
Those memories intertwined with his crushing defeat, becoming the sharpest mockery and piercing straight through his pride.
Then... what did that make me?
Some pathetic joke who wasn't even as good as the "dead last"?
That realization filled him with suffocating despair.
Someone like me... so weak, so easily beaten...
How could I possibly take revenge on that man?!
When Sasuke remained on the ground, Naruto hesitated, then stepped closer, bent down, and offered his right hand to help him up.
But Sasuke violently knocked Naruto's hand away with the back of his own.
"Don't touch me!"
He snarled and raised his head.
The instant their eyes met, Naruto clearly saw that Sasuke's once-black eyes had turned scarlet, with black tomoe slowly revolving within them.
But their configuration was bizarre!
One eye held a single, solitary tomoe, while the other actually had two.
Naruto froze for a moment.
"Again! I haven't admitted defeat!"
Through sheer stubborn determination, Sasuke got to his feet, his mismatched Sharingan brimming with obsessive madness.
Watching from the sidelines, Might Guy immediately realized something was wrong. Both the state of Sasuke's Sharingan and the unstable chakra radiating from him warned of danger. He hurriedly shouted, "Naruto! Get back!"
But it was already too late.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Sasuke rapidly formed hand seals, his chest swelling before he blasted a searing fireball from his mouth, sending it roaring toward Naruto amid rolling waves of heat!
The instant Naruto heard Might Guy's warning, he used the two seconds Sasuke spent forming hand seals to dive into a hard sideways roll. He avoided the fireball's direct impact, its heat grazing his back.
Once he was up, Naruto immediately formed hand seals, intending to use a Shadow Clone to throw his opponent off.
But the newly summoned Shadow Clone wobbled like a crooked rag doll, its chakra scattered. It couldn't even stand steadily before vanishing with a poof.
Clearly, the Shadow Clone Technique had failed.
Crap!
Naruto's heart sank. He had forgotten that his four Shadow Clones were all at home studying Sealing Jutsu, and he couldn't summon a fifth yet.
Sasuke had already seized that opening to charge again, driving his right fist straight at Naruto's face.
Even in danger, Naruto kept his cool. He immediately rolled to Sasuke's side, then used that momentum on the ground to execute a fluid flair. Not only did he create distance, but he also spun smoothly to his feet, whipping his right leg out.
Konoha Whirlwind!
The fierce kick sliced through the air toward Sasuke's back.
But Sasuke's mindset had changed.
Now that I have the Sharingan, I'm not the same as before!
That thought filled him with tremendous confidence.
As soon as Naruto rolled, Sasuke used the exceptional dynamic vision granted by his Sharingan to recognize the attack. He spun around and brought up his forearm in a swift, precise block, stopping Naruto's kick head-on!
With his Sharingan activated, Sasuke's reactions really had become faster.
The frustration of being able to see an attack but not react in time had eased considerably.
Though the force against his arm still left it aching and numb, at least he was no longer a target who could only take a beating.
With his Sharingan activated, the world Sasuke saw was utterly different from before. That scarlet hue seemed to lift the veil on another layer of reality.
The entire world became clearer and more distinct.
He could even make out the delicate veins in distant leaves and the movements of tiny insects clinging to tree trunks, so small they would normally go unnoticed.
Every detail was magnified and captured, and even the colors seemed more vivid and nuanced.
But the most immediate change lay in his dynamic vision.
Before, Naruto's attacks had been so fast that his eyes could barely follow them and his body couldn't react at all. Now, through his Sharingan, their paths were clear and distinct.
He could see Naruto's muscles tense and predict where his attacks would land. Though keeping up physically still took effort, at least he was no longer blind with his eyes wide open.
A sense of power and control welled up from deep within his bloodline.
The corners of Sasuke's mouth lifted unconsciously into a slight smile, equal parts confidence and pride.
So... this is the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan?
He murmured the thought inwardly, tasting the sweetness of this power for the first time while faintly sensing the heavy destiny that came with it.
I, Sasuke Uchiha, carry the blood and hatred of my entire clan. How could I fail here... in a place like this?
That thought surged and roared through his chest like molten lava, burning away every trace of his momentary doubt and despair.
That heavy burden became an even stronger driving force.
His gaze locked firmly onto Naruto, his mismatched Sharingan turning slowly as he surveyed him with the lofty air of someone who had regained control of everything.
Naruto...
He admitted that this opponent he had always looked down on truly had concealed strength that surprised him.
You may be strong, but-
An almost instinctive arrogance rooted in his bloodline awakened alongside the power of his Sharingan.
Naruto, before these eyes that can see through everything, all your efforts are futile!
He could almost see the future already: using these eyes to unravel every one of Naruto's moves and utterly defeat him.