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The forest was unnaturally still. The wind had died down, and even the birds seemed to have vanished. MC stood in the middle of the clearing, his breath slow but heavy, eyes fixed on the figure in front of him — a masked enemy whose very presence felt like an oppressive weight.
They had been tracking this enemy for days, and now, finally, he had revealed himself. The man's voice was low, almost amused.
"So… you're the one who's been causing trouble for us. Let's see what you can really do."
MC didn't answer. His fists tightened, chakra flowing through his body like a rapid current. The first strike came without warning — a blur of motion as the masked man lunged forward, kunai aimed straight at his throat. MC parried, the metal ringing in the silence. Sparks flew as their weapons clashed again and again, each blow faster than the last.
The fight was not just about strength — it was a battle of wills. Every move the enemy made seemed calculated to push MC to his limits. He could feel his muscles screaming, his lungs burning, but he refused to back down.
Then, a feint. The masked man's blade scraped past MC's guard, leaving a shallow cut across his cheek. Blood trickled down, hot against the cold air. Something inside MC stirred. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, every sound magnified.
Flashbacks hit him in rapid bursts — Nawaki's smile, the laughter of his friends, the promises he had made to protect them all. He couldn't lose. Not now.
The enemy moved again, but this time MC's body reacted before his mind could catch up. His vision sharpened, the world slowing around him. He could see every twitch, every subtle shift of weight in his opponent's stance.
A strange heat surged behind his eyes.
And then — a flicker of crimson.
The masked man froze mid-attack, startled.
"Those eyes…" he muttered.
MC didn't need to be told what had happened. The air around him felt different, charged with power. His reflection in the kunai's blade revealed it — the Sharingan, awakened in both eyes, glowing like twin embers in the dark.
Every movement of the enemy now felt predictable, like a dance he already knew the steps to. MC sidestepped an incoming strike with perfect timing, his counterattack so precise it grazed the man's shoulder before he could dodge.
The masked man clicked his tongue and leapt back, clearly realizing the fight had changed.
"So… you're not just another shinobi. Interesting," he said before throwing down a smoke bomb. When the haze cleared, he was gone.
MC stood in the clearing, breathing hard, the adrenaline slowly fading. His hands trembled — not from fear, but from the sheer rush of what had just happened.
He had awakened the Sharingan.
It wasn't just a power. It was a responsibility — and a promise that from this moment forward, the battles would only grow harder.
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Author's Note:
So this was the moment you've all been waiting for — MC's first Sharingan awakening! I wanted to balance the intensity of the fight with the emotional weight behind it, so it wasn't just about power, but about the reason he fights. The enemy here isn't gone for good, so expect them to return later. Things are about to get a lot more dangerous for MC and his friends!
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