The Hunter of the Sharingan

On the streets of Yugakure.

The young thief was not particularly fast.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had come out a little late, but they still caught sight of the thief's direction and stayed close on his heels.

That notebook was very important.

Well, only to Naruto.

It contained a great deal of information Naruto had collected himself, as well as his opinions of his two teammates, including a few diary entries.

Out of trust, Naruto apparently did not mind sharing his notebook. Sasuke Uchiha would occasionally flip through it as well, checking whether he had missed anything.

Naturally, that meant Sasuke would sometimes see things Naruto should not have written, instantly putting him in a foul mood.

This strange teammate of his had secretly recorded his embarrassing history from when he was twelve. Was he planning to laugh at him when they were one hundred and twenty?

Honestly, as far as Sasuke was concerned, it would have been better if that notebook had been lost.

Sasuke had more or less memorized the important information in it. If they could not catch the thief, he would help Naruto write it all down again after they returned.

However, after Naruto Uzumaki patted his pockets, his face immediately turned even uglier. "The scroll Sensei Kakashi gave me was stolen too!"

That scroll contained Ao's corpse.

It held a Byakugan from the main branch, something exceedingly rare in the entire ninja world!

Sasuke Uchiha gritted his teeth, staring at the young thief ahead as he shouted in a low voice, "Keep chasing him from behind. I'll take a shortcut and cut him off!"

"As expected of Sasuke! You can even remember the streets of Yugakure!"

"Idiot, do you think everyone forgets things as easily as you do?!"

Sasuke Uchiha cursed. His teammate was strong, but his memory was worse than Sasuke's, which gave him the slightest bit of comfort. "Don't worry. I'm fast! I'll definitely get that scroll back for you!"

"And the notebook!"

Naruto quickly reminded him.

Sasuke Uchiha vanished from Naruto's side and darted into a narrow street, leaving behind only an impatient reply. "I know!"

Sasuke's move was correct.

At least, partly correct.

As the young man passed through an intersection, Sasuke Uchiha suddenly rushed out from a side street and grabbed him by the collar!

Just as Naruto Uzumaki thought the chase was about to end, the young man suddenly drew a ninja blade from his leg!

The sharp blade swept past Sasuke's forehead!

Several strands of hair drifted before Sasuke's eyes!

A chill suddenly rose in Sasuke's heart. To avoid the ninja blade, Sasuke Uchiha had no choice but to release his grip.

The young thief leaped onto a rooftop, glanced back at Sasuke and Naruto, then continued fleeing toward the forest outside Yugakure.

A Rasengan suddenly formed in Naruto Uzumaki's palm, rapidly compressing in his hand. "That guy's a ninja from an enemy country... Rasengan Bullet!"

A small chakra bullet shot toward the young man!

However, he was extremely fast. He sprang down from the rooftop and dodged the Rasengan Bullet. It struck the roof instead, blasting a large hole through it!

The young ninja turned back to look at them once more before fleeing out of Yugakure.

Naruto Uzumaki frowned, staring in the direction of his escape. "Sasuke, is that guy trying to lure us over there?"

"If we let him escape today, we may never get another chance to catch him." Sasuke Uchiha clenched his fists and charged after the young man. "And he just had to show up tonight, when I wanted to practice my ninjutsu..."

As the black-haired boy gave chase, he did not forget to warn his teammate, "Naruto, go back to the inn and check on Sakura first. Don't fall for a diversion!"

"No need. We're going together!"

A girl's voice reached their ears. A pink-haired girl wearing light clothes ran over and called out when she saw Naruto, "I saw everything just now. What happened to you two? Was that guy a thief?"

"That guy stole my notebook, and he also stole the scroll Sensei Kakashi gave me." Naruto Uzumaki leaped after Sasuke. "Anyway, let's catch up to him first!"

In the forest outside Yugakure.

A half moon hung low, barely illuminating several shadows.

Someone spotted the young thief and repeatedly asked in a rough voice, "Did that Uchiha brat follow him?"

The young man nodded. "Yeah. There was a small complication. The other two Genin on his team seem to have followed as well."

"They're just Genin."

The burly man threw back his head and chuckled. Moonlight shone upon his Forehead Protector, revealing the symbol of Kumogakure.

The burly Hidden Cloud ninja quietly instructed his two subordinates, "Go deal with those two Konoha Genin. I'll capture the Uchiha brat. Then we'll return to the Land of Lightning immediately!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Behind the burly man, two equally large Hidden Cloud ninjas stood up and each drew a ninja blade.

The young Hidden Cloud ninja took out a scroll and handed it to his superior. "Captain Bukai, I also found a sealing scroll in one of the Genin's pockets. The inscription on it appears to be for sealing corpses."

"Hm?"

Bukai, the Kumogakure jonin, took the scroll from him. Chakra gathered at his fingertips as he was about to unseal it when the sound of shuriken slicing through the air rang out!

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Claw!"

Diamond-shaped shuriken wrapped in flames flew toward them!

The fire illuminated the faces of the enemies!

After releasing the Fire Style Ninjutsu, Sasuke Uchiha raised his hand and stared coldly at the Hidden Cloud ninjas. "Hey. Hand over what you stole, and maybe I'll let you go today..."

"..."

The Hidden Cloud ninjas exchanged looks, their expressions strange as they stared at Sasuke Uchiha. They had not expected a mere Genin to speak so arrogantly in front of them.

"What outrageous arrogance, brat!"

The burly Kumogakure jonin stepped forward with a laugh, swinging the ninja blade in his hand and continuously knocking aside the incoming flaming shuriken!

Clearly, this was not something an ordinary ninja could accomplish!

As expected of a Kumogakure jonin skilled in Lightning Release Ninja Taijutsu, both his attack speed and movement speed were astonishingly fast.

"Scared now, Uchiha brat...?"

The Kumogakure jonin smiled disdainfully and walked toward Sasuke step by step. "If you come with us obediently, you won't have to suffer too much..."

"Tch. You know I'm an Uchiha, yet you still dared set this trap..."

Sasuke Uchiha's eyes suddenly lit up. His scarlet Sharingan looked chilling beneath the moonlight. "So you really came for the Sharingan?"

"No, that's just a bonus!"

The burly Hidden Cloud ninja stomped the ground and shot into the air. His hand clenched into a fist as he punched toward Sasuke!

Sasuke Uchiha looked up, his Sharingan fixed tightly on his enemy's body as he sneered, "Idiot, I've already seen through your movements..."

"But do you think you can evade my speed?!"

The burly Hidden Cloud ninja's fist crashed down. Though Sasuke barely dodged it, dirt and stones immediately exploded from the ground!

Using the rising dust as cover, the burly Hidden Cloud ninja reached for Sasuke with one hand!

Second update.

November 2nd, clear, Konoha.

Sasuke had been working harder and harder, but I felt like he was putting his effort in the wrong direction.

November 15th, overcast, at sea.

Sakura got seasick and threw up badly.

Sasuke did not get seasick at all. That made me feel awful.

November 18th, rain, at sea.

Sasuke's Sharingan can see through my movements. I need to find a way to increase the power of my ninjutsu, so he can see through it but still be unable to dodge.

—Excerpt from Naruto Uzumaki's Genin Diary