Aoba: "..."
Although Sasuke's appearance hadn't changed much, almost not at all, from the way the corner of his mouth twitched from time to time like he was holding back a grin, he could still tell that Sasuke had probably gained another huge boost.
Just like in the original story, after receiving Otsutsuki Hagoromo's Yin power, one of Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan evolved.
The three tomoe first appeared on their own, then shifted into the shape of a Mangekyo and spun nonstop, finally turning into a Rinnegan with six tomoe.
Aoba also wasn't very clear on the difference between this tomoe Rinnegan and a normal Rinnegan.
He had a Rinnegan too, but because it was too ugly, he usually showed the Tenseigan instead. Anyway, he could still use the Rinnegan's abilities without revealing it.
Still, even though Sasuke only had one Rinnegan, it had all the abilities it should have, and was even much stronger than Nagato's.
Especially with Amenotejikara, a skill that could practically be called bug-level.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo's "power transfer" also ended quickly.
But Naruto and Sasuke didn't speak right away. They were still immersed in it, carefully feeling the changes in the power inside their bodies.
The sudden surge in strength made it hard for them to adjust for the moment.
Especially Sasuke. He couldn't help clenching his fist.
This kind of power, something he had never felt before, gave him an indescribable sense of satisfaction. He almost couldn't keep his emotions under control.
Very soon, he broke into that familiar loud laughter.
"Ha~ hahaha~ HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
At this moment, he even felt like nothing in the world could stand against him.
"?"
Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked at Sasuke with a face full of confusion.
'W-What happened to him all of a sudden?'
'Why does he suddenly look like he is having some kind of episode?'
Hagormo only spent a day watching Sasuke, so of course he didn't know Sasuke had this habit of bursting into laughter.
Naruto, on the other hand, had his thoughts interrupted by Sasuke's laughter and immediately rolled his eyes.
"Sasuke's starting again."
"Starting what?"
Otsutsuki Hagoromo was a little curious about Sasuke's current state.
"Just watch, old grandpa."
Naruto didn't explain, and Hagoromo quickly found out anyway.
"Aoba! I challenge you!"
After stopping his laughter, Sasuke stared straight at Aoba with those strange-looking eyes.
"?"
Otsutsuki Hagoromo froze for a moment. He hadn't expected Sasuke to be this stubborn.
Who was Aoba?
Even he couldn't beat him, yet Sasuke wanted to challenge him right after awakening the Rinnegan. If this wasn't being hard-headed, what was?
Hagoromo originally wanted to say something to stop him.
There was no need for Sasuke to challenge an opponent he couldn't defeat right after awakening the Rinnegan and end up hurting his confidence.
But before he could speak, Naruto stopped him, "Don't worry, old grandpa. We're already used to it."
Naruto crossed his hands behind his head, then added with a grin, "If Aoba doesn't beat him up once, Sasuke definitely won't look at people properly after this."
"I won't lose this time. I'll win."
Hearing Naruto's gloating comment, Sasuke didn't care. He just glanced at him with that Rinnegan.
He felt like he was unbelievably strong right now.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo: "..."
'Why does that sound so familiar?'
Right, it was exactly what he had said before before getting floored by Aoba.
That same embarrassment came back again.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo silently stepped back several paces.
'Forget it. Young people really do need to suffer a little and get knocked around now and then.'
'Otherwise, how would they shoulder the responsibility of the ninja world in the future?'
"..."
Aoba looked speechless when he saw the old man backing away.
Still, looking at the battle-hungry Sasuke in front of him, he knew that if he refused, this guy would probably keep looking at people sideways forever.
So he decided to finish it quickly and treat it as a lesson to keep Sasuke grounded.
"Alright then. Let's try it."
Aoba smiled, then looked at Otsutsuki Hagoromo again, "I'll leave the barrier to you. Don't let the outside get caught up in it."
"Fine."
Otsutsuki Hagoromo nodded, then followed Aoba's request. He pressed his palms together and created a barrier made from sage arts around the outer edge of the training ground.
As long as the battle inside didn't reach the level of the Ten-Tails, it should be enough.
After Hagoromo finished setting everything up, Aoba finally looked toward Sasuke, who had already run out of patience.
"Come on."
"Come!"
Sasuke quickly retreated and stopped at a farther distance.
This was just a spar between friends. There was no need to start with a close-range sneak attack.
But after both sides took their positions, with all the experience from his previous challenges, Sasuke didn't choose to test the waters with other techniques. He directly used his trump card.
A gigantic Complete Body Susanoo appeared opposite Aoba, dark purple all over with lightning patterns wrapped around it.
Judging from the armor and weapons, with the support of the tomoe Rinnegan, it was indeed much more imposing than before.
But since Sasuke was using his ultimate move from the start, then he could go talk to the Buddha statue.
Aoba clapped his hands together. Thick vines burst from the ground one after another, and a Thousand-Hand Buddha several times larger than Sasuke's Susanoo appeared out of nowhere.
"?"
'What is this thing?'
'Why have I never seen it before?'
Standing on top of the Susanoo's head, Sasuke blankly looked up at the giant Buddha towering above him, unable to even see the top. His mind was full of question marks.
All those thoughts of being unbeatable after awakening the Rinnegan disappeared at once.
And when those fists started raining down, there wasn't even a trace left of Sasuke's earlier arrogance.