A special thank you to all my patrons.
The List of My "Wandering Reader":
-Cain
-Goha21
-Splendid
-Varun Madhu
-Mp Gaming
-Austin Levy
-TylerD
-Orion Chung
-Patrick Darmon
-SATIONAS
-Gonzalo Sumalavia
-Sethos
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
—————————————————————
Beep—
With the sound of the whistle, Ryūsei and Sasuke moved almost in perfect sync, their hands darting into their kunai pouches before flicking three shuriken each toward the other.
Six shuriken collided midair, sparks scattering in their wake.
Whoosh—
Before the shuriken could even hit the ground, Ryūsei and Sasuke's figures blurred, vanishing from their original positions in an instant.
Two afterimages streaked toward each other at speeds barely discernible to the naked eye, clashing violently.
Appearing face-to-face in the blink of an eye, Ryūsei and Sasuke, each gripping a kunai in reverse grip, slashed and stabbed at one another with blinding speed.
Their attacks were swift, yet each strike was either deflected by the other's kunai or absorbed by the iron plates on the backs of their gloves.
As they struggled for dominance, their legs lashed out in rapid kicks, each seeking an opening.
Whenever one found a flaw in the other's defense, Ryūsei or Sasuke would instantly employ the Body Flicker Technique or the Substitution Jutsu—one of the Three Basic Shinobi Arts—to evade the incoming strike.
The battle between the two was a dazzling spectacle, leaving the onlookers in awe and making them acutely aware of the gap between themselves and the top two students in the class.
Whether it was attack speed, movement speed, combat experience, or battle IQ… they were simply on another level.
Even Iruka and the female instructor, who had nearly intervened multiple times fearing fatal injuries, were left speechless.
Without a doubt, in terms of fundamentals alone, both Ryūsei and Sasuke were already capable of graduating from the Ninja Academy.
When they were children, they had been just like the students watching now—utterly incomparable to these two prodigies.
But in the next moment, Iruka and the female instructor's expressions changed drastically.
The observing students were equally stunned.
After another fierce exchange, Sasuke—unable to land a single scratch on Ryūsei—suddenly leaped back to create distance. Midair, a triumphant grin spread across his face as his hands formed the Snake hand seal.
"You lose! Fire Style… Great Fireball Jutsu!"
His hands flew through a rapid series of seals before his cheeks puffed out, a small flame escaping his lips.
The flame rapidly expanded, morphing into a massive fireball that hurtled toward Ryūsei.
The orange-red blaze cast its glow across every face in the training ground.
At that moment, every student felt the terrifying heat radiating from the technique.
"Not good!"
Iruka's face paled as he prepared to flicker in and rescue Ryūsei.
But in the next second, his jaw dropped.
Ryūsei's hands were already weaving through a sequence of seals—faster than Sasuke's—before he calmly uttered:
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A surge of water erupted from his mouth, rapidly forming a towering barrier that resembled a massive watery hand, slapping down on the incoming fireball.
Sizzle—
The sound of boiling water filled the air as thick steam billowed outward, engulfing both Ryūsei and Sasuke.
The dense white mist lingered for over ten seconds before finally dissipating.
As the fog cleared, the figures of Ryūsei and Sasuke reappeared before everyone's eyes—along with the decisive conclusion of this no-rules duel.
Sasuke stood frozen in place, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Meanwhile, Ryūsei was already behind him, a kunai pressed against his neck.
Beep—
The whistle blew.
Iruka, the first to snap out of his daze, immediately announced the result:
"The match is over! The winner is… Hoshina Ryūsei!"
"In… incredible!"
"Nin… ninjutsu! Both Sasuke and Ryūsei actually used ninjutsu! Is this their true strength?"
"If they can already use ninjutsu, doesn't that mean they're ready to graduate early?"
"..."
Iruka's voice snapped everyone back to reality.
In an instant, the training ground erupted in chaos.
Gasps and excited chatter broke out from all directions.
Yet Ryūsei and Sasuke remained where they were.
Sasuke was still reeling from the shock, unable to accept that despite mastering Fire Style, he had still lost to Ryūsei.
'How did he get behind me when the mist blocked our vision? Does he… have a sensory technique?'
Meanwhile, Ryūsei's attention was drawn to the sudden, blinding red light that erupted from Sasuke's body.
After the visual effect faded, a crimson beam shot out from Sasuke, landing on the ground and forming a floating red orb of light.
Once the orb automatically flew into Ryūsei's body, he finally snapped back to the present.
"Good match."
Suppressing his urge to immediately inspect the red orb, Ryūsei approached Sasuke and extended his index and middle fingers in the traditional sign of reconciliation.
Hearing this, Sasuke finally regained his composure.
His expression was complicated as he mirrored the gesture, pressing his fingers against Ryūsei's.
After completing the Seal of Reconciliation, Sasuke turned and walked away without a word.
In the past, every time he lost, Sasuke would wear an expression of bitter frustration before vowing to surpass Ryūsei.
But this time, he remained silent.
Clearly, this defeat—one where there were no restrictions, where he had fought with everything he had—had dealt a devastating blow to the pride of this genius.
Until he mastered a new jutsu or awakened his Sharingan naturally, Sasuke likely wouldn't be able to regain the arrogance and confidence he had shown earlier.
Returning to the group, Ryūsei half-heartedly responded to the excited chatter of his classmates while his attention remained elsewhere.
In truth, he was staring at the virtual interface only he could see, focusing on the red orb now stored in his inventory.
A new tier has appeared!
Over the years, Ryūsei had "dropped" several items, but they had all been white orbs—containing the most basic rewards.
The most valuable had been the Sensory Technique he obtained from Haruno Sakura, one of her most significant improvements in recent years.
It was thanks to this technique that Ryūsei had been able to pinpoint Sasuke's location in the mist and flicker behind him.
White (Common) – Mostly ninjutsu and certain skills, things that could be acquired through training.
Blue (Rare) – Innate talents or abilities that could be altered through effort or external means.
Gold (Legendary) – "Divine" artifacts capable of defying fate itself.
This was how Ryūsei categorized the three colors he had encountered so far.
But now, a new color and tier had appeared.
Was it above blue? Below it?
It couldn't possibly surpass gold—after all, the greatest treasure Sasuke possessed was the Indra chakra, which at most placed him on par with Naruto.
With that in mind, Ryūsei inspected the red orb's information.
The moment the details appeared, his heart surged with wild excitement, nearly causing his expression to crack.
The description of the red orb read:
[Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Red)]