Water Dragon Jutsu on the Ocean

"Naruto, I'll take this guy!"

Sasuke Uchiha gritted his teeth. He understood what Ao meant—Ao was clearly looking down on him for being unable to bear the Uchiha Clan's former glory.

For Sasuke, who was determined to revive the Uchiha Clan, that was unacceptable. He had to prove to everyone...

That he would restore the Uchiha Clan and the Sharingan to their former renown!

Naruto Uzumaki glanced at Ao, then at Sasuke, who was poised to strike, and said softly, "This guy doesn't look like someone ordinary..."

"The more important his status is!"

Sasuke Uchiha charged forward with a kunai in hand, baring his teeth in a fierce grin. "The moment I kill him, I'll enjoy it even more!"

His feet skimmed across the sea, kicking up great splashes!

Clearly, Sasuke had miscalculated this time. The enemy before him was an unassuming taijutsu expert!

As fists and palms flashed back and forth, the kunai in Sasuke's hand was kicked away by Ao!

But that was not enough to frighten the young Uchiha. His Sharingan fixed tightly on his opponent's movements, analyzing where the next attack would land...

With the Sharingan's visual prowess, Sasuke finally caught an opening in Ao's assault. Chakra gathered in his fist as he drove a punch toward Ao's abdomen!

What he had not expected was for Ao to suddenly withdraw his arm, extend a hand, and seize Sasuke's fist!

"Kid, I've already seen through the path of your chakra flow..."

Ao had long since seen the route through which chakra was gathering inside Sasuke's body. As he caught Sasuke's fist, the fingers of his other hand came together and struck Sasuke's arm!

As a wielder of the Byakugan, Ao was also highly skilled at striking chakra points...

Once the chakra point in Sasuke's shoulder was sealed, he immediately felt his chakra stagnate, while weakness spread through his arm!

Sasuke's eyes widened as he desperately tried to force chakra through the sealed chakra point. "How is this possible..."

"Looks like you know very little about the bloodline limit in your own village!"

Ao's fingers landed on Sasuke's chest again, pinning every chakra point throughout his body and completely preventing Sasuke's chakra from circulating.

On top of that, Ao's fingers carried tremendous force, nearly enough to pierce Sasuke's body. The twelve-year-old boy finally could not help but let out a low groan...

When Kakashi Hatake woke up, he saw this scene, and his expression turned extremely grim. "That stolen Byakugan..."

"The Byakugan?"

"That's right. Only the Byakugan can see the chakra points in the human body."

Kakashi Hatake struggled to gather chakra, but because his chakra points had been sealed earlier, all his efforts were futile. He lowered his head and said, "The Byakugan bloodline limit that Konoha should have been least likely to lose... so one really was lost during the Ninja World War..."

Sakura Haruno covered her mouth in surprise. "The Byakugan... isn't that the Hyuga Clan, the largest ninja clan in the village..."

"Yes."

Kakashi Hatake had long heard a certain rumor.

Back then, the policies between the Hyuga Clan's Main Branch and branch families had not been particularly harsh. Only when a ninja sent out from the Main Branch passed their bloodline down to the second generation would the Caged Bird Seal be engraved.

However, during the Ninja World War, a Main Branch ninja died in battle, and one of his Byakugan was seized by an enemy. This incident completely intensified the conflict between the Hyuga Main Branch and the branch families.

After that, once the Hyuga Main Branch chose its direct heir, any branch family ninja abandoned by the Main Branch would immediately be branded with the Caged Bird Seal.

That stolen Byakugan had remained a mystery ever since.

So that Byakugan had indeed fallen into the hands of a Kirigakure ninja, and they had successfully transplanted it into Ao.

Sakura Haruno turned her head, her gaze settling on Sasuke Uchiha's rigid body. "Sensei Kakashi, can't Sasuke defeat him?"

"Sasuke has already lost."

Kakashi Hatake shook his head and watched Naruto Uzumaki, who had dealt with the last Hidden Mist Chunin and was walking toward the center of the battlefield. "If Naruto can't do it either, then we may really be taken back to Kirigakure by him..."

As a Jonin, Kakashi's judgment was flawless.

Sasuke's current condition was worse than they had imagined. With his chakra circulation stopped by the chakra point strikes, he did not even have a chance to escape.

And Sakura Haruno's strength was still insufficient to defeat an ordinary Hidden Mist Chunin, much less Ao, whose status was higher and strength greater.

Ignoring the boy's struggle, Ao tightly gripped Sasuke's neck. He slowly extended his other hand, intending to remove Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan!

During the past Ninja World Wars, the Uchiha Clan had fought Kirigakure more often than anyone else. Yet because they had been unable to defeat their enemies, they had rarely had the chance to obtain Sharingan.

If they could acquire a Sharingan, then even if it was only a Two-Tomoe Sharingan, it would be enough to send the village's higher-ups into a frenzy!

Back then, the Kaguya Clan of the Land of Water had launched a rebellion, plunging the entire country into civil war and causing many bloodline limits to be lost. Kirigakure had gradually declined, and the village had begun to value every bloodline limit that could strengthen its power.

The Sharingan was one of the finest bloodline limits!

Though outsiders faced restrictions when using it, it was no inferior to any other bloodline limit. Just look at Kakashi—wasn't he an outsider who had received a transplanted Sharingan?

It was said that Kakashi Hatake had mastered over a thousand ninjutsu, all because of the Sharingan's copying ability!

"Let go of him!"

Naruto Uzumaki rushed forward with a Rasengan gathering in his palm. The chakra vortex struck between the two of them, forcing Ao and Sasuke apart!

To avoid being directly hit by the Rasengan, Ao could only dodge aside and abandon Sasuke. He lowered his gaze to Naruto Uzumaki's palm, where another Rasengan was forming, and asked curiously, "A hand-signless ninjutsu, just as I thought? Is he some little genius?"

What greeted Ao was not one of Naruto's loud declarations...

But a small Rasengan Bullet!

Ao's Byakugan instantly saw through the Rasengan Bullet's trajectory. Rather than dodge, he formed hand signs. "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

A wall of water rose from the sea, blocking the swiftly flying Rasengan Bullet. Torrential spray burst in every direction as the entire water wall was nearly pierced through by the Rasengan Bullet!

Only a thin curtain of water remained, and they could even clearly see the tiny Rasengan Bullet gradually fading away.

Ao stared in shock as the Rasengan Bullet's chakra ran out. He had only wanted to test the technique's power, but he had never expected such a small-looking ninjutsu to nearly be enough to pierce the Water Formation Wall!

Yet when Ao turned his attention back to Naruto Uzumaki, he saw a Rasengan forming in Naruto's hand, its size continuously expanding...

The middle-aged Hidden Mist man could no longer hold back. Watching Naruto Uzumaki's movements, he launched an attack first. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A massive water dragon emerged from the towering waves!

In an environment like the ocean, Hidden Mist ninjas could cast Water Style ninjutsu with half the effort and twice the effect!

The enormous water dragon roared toward Naruto Uzumaki. The pressure from its sheer size was even greater than Elder Kosuke's Water Dragon Jutsu!

"Sealing Art: Devour!"

Naruto Uzumaki released the Rasengan and grabbed the head of the charging water dragon with one hand, devouring every bit of chakra it carried!

Seawater rained down from the sky, soaking his jacket...

"I was so foolish. So very foolish."

Naruto Uzumaki revealed those bright, lively eyes and continued, "I knew the Hidden Mist ninjas were shameless, using Chunin to bully us Genin. I didn't know their Jonin would bully us too..."

"Once I went out to sea, I started researching ninjutsu. I gave Sasuke a notebook and told him to practice walking on water. He was very obedient and listened to every word I said. After Sasuke left, I researched my own ninjutsu—the Rasengan Bullet, the Rasengan Barrage, the Rasenshuriken. Then I accidentally threw out the Rasenshuriken..."

"I hurriedly shouted for Sasuke to dodge, but he didn't answer. I jumped into the sea to look, but there was only a Forehead Protector. Sasuke from our class was gone. He would never go somewhere else to practice ninjutsu, so I looked everywhere, but sure enough, he was nowhere to be found..."

"I panicked and begged Kakashi and Sakura to help search. It was not until the afternoon that we found a jacket embroidered with the Uchiha Clan crest floating on the sea. Kakashi and Sakura both said it was bad—they feared he had run into a Hidden Mist Jonin..."

"When we finally reached Kirigakure, sure enough, both of Sasuke's Sharingan had been gouged out, but he was still clutching my notebook tightly in his hand!"

Naruto Uzumaki began sobbing after that, unable to form a complete sentence.

—Excerpt from Kakashi Hatake's My Foolish Disciples