"I know," Sasuke said, clenching her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white as she bit her lip.
"But I can't help it. Without any Jonin guidance, I have no choice but to train on my own, relying on the scrolls left by my clan. I know it's slow, but it's the only way I have!"
Looking at the girl in front of her, her fists clenched and teeth gritted, Uchiha Sogetsu knew the timing was right.
This was the moment they had been waiting for!
"If you don't mind, I can guide you for a few days."
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled gently, their warm and kind expression made Sasuke feel like she was looking at the "sun," and suddenly, her heart was illuminated by a beam of light.
"Really? You can?!"
Sasuke's eyes sparkled with hope, but there was still a hint of worry. She whispered, "Will it be too much trouble for you?"
"No, it's nothing," Sogetsu replied with a soft laugh, waving her hand. "It's just my way of thanking you. You let us stay at your place yesterday and even prepared a meal for us."
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled lightly, shaking her head. "And I can tell you're truly talented. Watching you waste time like this… I can't just stand by and do nothing."
"Then... please teach me, Mr. Uesugi!"
Without hesitation, Sasuke straightened up and bowed deeply. "Thank you for agreeing to guide me!"
"There's no need to rush," Sogetsu said, narrowing her eyes with a smile. "Before we begin, there's something I need to make clear."
"Please, go ahead!" Sasuke responded eagerly.
"My training might be a bit... tough," Sogetsu warned.
"That's fine, I can handle it!" Sasuke puffed out her chest, grinning. "Don't worry, no matter how hard it gets, I won't give up easily!"
"That's good."
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled.
Looking at the smile on his face, Sasuke suddenly felt uneasy, a sense of foreboding rising within him.
"Before I officially guide your training, I need to understand your current situation in detail."
Uchiha Sogetsu raised his hand, bringing his two fingers together. A perfect circle was left in the air within a one-meter radius around him.
He smiled and said, "If you can force me out of this circle within an hour, you win. Do you understand the rules?"
"Very clear!"
Sasuke smiled. A one-meter range? That should be easy.
"Good. You can start anytime."
Uchiha Sogetsu stood with a relaxed posture, as if he had no defenses whatsoever.
Whoosh!
Sasuke dashed forward in a straight line.
She was very confident in her speed. After all, she had been trained by Shisui. Even her previous instructor had nearly lost to her.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke rose, and Sasuke instantly transformed from one person into four.
"Not bad, this is a jutsu that only elite ninjas can master," Uchiha Sogetsu said, watching Sasuke come from all four directions. He showed no signs of panic. Instead, he nodded and complimented her, "For your age, being able to master this jutsu so proficiently shows your great talent."
"Be careful, Mr. Uesugi!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a dull sound of air being sliced through echoed!
Several shuriken, like flowing light, dragged dark shadows behind them, resembling a large fishing net, sealing off all of his escape routes.
However, Uchiha Sogetsu stood still, his feet seeming rooted to the ground. With just a slight movement of his upper body, he dodged all the incoming shuriken.
"Such strange movement!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. She had never seen such an odd style of footwork.
It was like a swallow moving with the wind, light and ethereal, impossible to predict the next move.
"Then how about this move?!"
Creak!
Sasuke suddenly pulled both hands, and a thin thread appeared out of nowhere.
At the other end of the thread, the shuriken was instantly pulled back, following a bizarrely twisted path, as it returned to fly towards its target!
Now, he should be forced out of the circle, right?!
Just as she imagined the outcome in her mind, what happened next completely shattered the young girl's understanding.
Several shurikens suddenly disappeared!
When they reappeared, they were already pinched between his fingers.
What just happened?!
Sasuke swore she didn't get distracted. It was just a blink of an eye, and yet, her shurikens were suddenly in his grasp.
But blinking takes only about 0.3 seconds. How could he have caught all of them in that short amount of time?
A series of questions flooded Sasuke's mind.
Clang, clang.
The shurikens fell to the ground, and Uchiha Sogetsu tilted his head, looking at her. "Is it over?"
"Of course. No, it's not!"
Sasuke gritted her teeth. Although she didn't understand what happened, she knew that without attacking, she wouldn't gather more information!
At her command, two shadow clones rushed forward.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
"Leaf Great Wind!"
The two shadow clones spun, using the momentum to attack with upper and lower strikes.
The remaining shadow clones targeted the only opening, forming giant windmill shurikens and threw them out.
In an instant, three areas—top, middle, and bottom—were all under attack.
This time, the situation was slightly different, but the result was the same.
Sasuke barely saw his figure twist and blur for a moment, like a frame being skipped. Then, the two shadow clones were destroyed, and the windmill shurikens returned along the same path!
In fact, they were even faster than when they were thrown!
The shadow clone didn't have time to react before the windmill shuriken sliced through its middle, and its surprised face turned to white smoke.
The forced dissolution of the shadow clone sent the memory of its death back to the original body. Sasuke's face went pale from the pain.
"I originally had high hopes for you, but now... it seems I overestimated you."
Uchiha Sogetsu deliberately showed a displeased expression, frowning as he spoke.
"If this is all you've got, I think it's pointless to continue the training. You should go back to your basic training. It's just a waste of time otherwise."
Clearly, Sasuke had fallen for his provocation. Her forehead bulged with veins. "No, the next move will show you my true strength!"
Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Once again, there were four shadow clones, but this time they were clearly more cautious.
They didn't charge straight in. Instead, they moved around, creating a large smoke screen.
Swish, swish, swish!
It was still shurikens and kunai, suddenly shooting out from the smoke.
As Sasuke had expected, the movements were almost invisible, and the shurikens and kunai were immediately knocked down.
"If I'm not wrong, he must have used some kind of ninjutsu." Sasuke gathered the information in her mind and analyzed: "Maybe it's a genjutsu? Or perhaps a type of acceleration ninjutsu, but limited to a certain range. In that case… I'll use ninjutsu!"
While throwing several shurikens, she exhaled a burst of intense flames from her mouth.
The shurikens, mixed with the scorching flames, scattered like blooming flowers of phoenix grass, heading straight for the target!
Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!
However, this time, Uchiha Sogetsu did not intend to use "Word Soul: Time Zero."
He suddenly raised his foot and stomped down, the massive force causing the ground around him to crack.
The shattered stones, carried by the violent wind, shot out like flying weapons, making sharp sonic booms in the air.
Several flaming shurikens were directly knocked down by the flying stones.
Seeing this, Sasuke felt waves of shock inside. The power of that kick was terrifying. Just how powerful was Mr. Uesugi's taijutsu?!
Perhaps only someone like Guy, the Jonin, could compete with him?
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