Night blanketed the world like ink.
The campfire crackled, its orange glow carving out a small pocket of warmth in the dark forest.
Orochimaru's men had already pitched the tents. Kabuto was cooking something beside the fire, and steam rose from the pot, carrying the faint scent of medicinal herbs.
Sasuke leaned against a tree in the distance with his back to the flames. His black hair fluttered in the night breeze, and his expression was hidden from view.
Teizawa sat beside the campfire. Temari leaned against his shoulder, already starting to doze off.
He held a branch in one hand and idly stirred the fire. Sparks scattered upward, flashing briefly before disappearing into the night sky.
"Kazekage-sama..."
Sasuke's calm, low voice came from behind him.
Teizawa did not turn around, nor did he stop stirring the fire.
"Oh? What is it?"
Sasuke walked over and stopped on the other side of the campfire.
The flames danced across his cold, handsome face. His dark eyes bore into Teizawa like a pair of fiercely burning, two-tomoe flames.
"I want to challenge you again."
Teizawa finally stopped moving.
He raised his head and looked at Sasuke, the corners of his mouth curling into an amused smile.
"The wind has stopped and the rain has cleared, so now you think you're a big deal again?"
He tossed the branch into the fire, dusted off his hands, and stood.
"You sure about this?"
Sasuke's face remained grim.
"I'm not the same person I was before. I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha."
His voice was quiet, but every word carried resentment that had been suppressed for far too long.
The last time they met, he had been no better than an ant pinched between someone's fingers.
He had not even been given the chance to resist. Teizawa's killing intent alone had forced him to the ground, leaving him unable to move.
It had been the most humiliating experience of his life.
Even more humiliating than being crushed by Itachi's Sharingan.
Itachi was his brother. Sasuke could at least tell himself that they were family and that his brother had simply reached a level he could not yet touch.
But Teizawa was an outsider.
He was nothing more than the Kazekage of Sunagakure, someone who had absolutely nothing to do with him.
What gave him the right to look down on Sasuke from such an untouchable height?
Teizawa glanced at Kabuto.
Kabuto was crouching beside the fire, stirring the soup with a wooden ladle. Steam had fogged up his glasses.
Sensing Teizawa's gaze, he raised his head and adjusted them, revealing an awkward smile.
"Don't look at me, Kazekage-sama. I'm just a passing medical-nin. As Sasuke is now, I couldn't stop him even if I tried."
His voice carried just the right amount of helplessness, as though he truly were nothing more than a powerless bystander.
"Is that so?"
Teizawa turned back to Sasuke, his smile widening.
"Looks like you really do think you're hot stuff again."
He rolled his wrist, causing his joints to crack.
"Then come on. Let me see how much stronger you've become."
Sasuke did not waste time talking.
His hands flew through a sequence of seals so quickly that they were almost impossible to follow.
In the blink of an eye, an enormous fireball erupted from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Orange flames exploded across the night sky, illuminating the entire campsite.
A scorching wave of heat swept over them. Even the dead leaves on the ground curled beneath the temperature.
The technique was considerably more powerful than when he had used it before.
Clearly, after that humiliating defeat, Sasuke had poured every ounce of time and energy into training.
Every day, he had pushed himself to grow stronger.
Teizawa stood his ground.
He raised one hand with his palm facing forward.
The scorching flames slammed into an invisible wall and stopped three paces away from him.
The fireball twisted in midair as though an unseen hand had closed around it. It shrank smaller and smaller until it dissolved into a wisp of smoke that scattered in the night breeze.
"Your Fire Release has decent power, but it's still not enough."
Teizawa's voice remained perfectly calm.
Sasuke did not lose heart.
His figure flickered like a ghost, appearing beside Teizawa. At some point, a kunai had appeared in his hand, its tip gleaming coldly as he thrust it toward Teizawa's ribs.
Teizawa twisted aside.
He moved so quickly that only an afterimage remained.
Sasuke's kunai struck empty air.
Using the momentum of his attack, he spun and drove his elbow toward Teizawa's face.
Teizawa raised an arm to block.
Their arms collided with a dull thud.
The impact forced Sasuke several steps backward, leaving his arm tingling and numb.
Teizawa had not moved an inch.
"Your taijutsu has improved too," Teizawa remarked, sounding as though he were judging a dish. "But it's still nothing impressive."
Sasuke said nothing.
His eyes began to change.
His black pupils turned scarlet, and three tomoe slowly revolved within each eye.
The Sharingan.
He stared at Teizawa, his gaze becoming sharp and cold, like two unsheathed blades.
Genjutsu was one of the Sharingan's greatest abilities.
Teizawa suddenly froze.
His gaze turned unfocused.
A smile tugged at Sasuke's lips.
It worked.
Clutching his kunai, he charged forward, intending to land the killing blow while Teizawa was trapped inside the genjutsu.
But just before the blade pierced him, Teizawa's eyes abruptly regained their focus.
An amused smile spread across his face.
"Not bad, but unfortunately, it's useless against me."
"My mental strength is far beyond yours. Using genjutsu on me is like whispering into an elephant's ear."
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply.
It was already too late to retreat.
Teizawa pressed his palm against Sasuke's chest.
The blow did not carry much physical force, but it contained a strange magnetic power that hurled Sasuke backward.
He spun several times through the air before crashing into the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.
Sasuke climbed back to his feet.
A thin stream of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, but he did not wipe it away.
He knew he had lost in taijutsu, genjutsu, and Fire Release.
But he still had a trump card.
He bit his thumb, formed another set of hand seals, and slammed his palm against the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a loud bang, a cloud of smoke exploded outward.
The shadow of an enormous snake emerged from within it.
The giant serpent was pitch-black from head to tail. Its scales gleamed eerily beneath the moonlight as its forked tongue flickered between its jaws. Its cold pupils reflected Teizawa's figure.
Sasuke stood atop the snake's head, looking down at him from above.
"This snake comes from Ryūchi Cave. It's even stronger than the ones you faced last time. Can you still stop it?"
His voice carried a trace of pride and anticipation.
Teizawa raised his head to study the enormous serpent, then smiled.
"A great serpent from Ryūchi Cave? Not bad. But..."
He raised his hand and slowly curled his fingers.
The enormous serpent suddenly released a shrill hiss, as though something had seized its most vulnerable point.
Its body began thrashing violently.
It tried to struggle and flee, but the force restraining it was overwhelming. An invisible hand seemed to have wrapped around its body and squeezed with merciless strength.
Standing atop its head, Sasuke was thrown off balance and nearly fell.
"What... What did you do?"
He could not hide the panic in his voice.
"Magnetism," Teizawa replied calmly. "A snake's body contains iron. I can use magnetic force to control its movements."
The serpent's struggles gradually weakened.
At last, it collapsed helplessly like an eel held by the throat.
Its massive body struck the ground with a thunderous crash, smashing through more than a dozen trees.
Sasuke leaped from its head and landed on the ground.
His expression darkened as he stared at the motionless serpent.
But he still had one final technique.
His strongest technique.
Sasuke formed another sequence of hand seals.
His chakra began surging rapidly.
Lightning Release currents danced across his body with a constant crackle.
Dark clouds gathered overhead.
Thunder rumbled through the heavens as bolts of lightning raced through the clouds like enormous silver dragons, waiting for the command to descend.
"Lightning Release: Kirin."
Sasuke's voice was hoarse with exhaustion, but it carried the determination of someone staking everything on a final attack.
Countless bolts of lightning descended from the sky at once, merging into a colossal mass of lightning that crashed down upon Teizawa.
It moved faster than the human eye could possibly follow.
Its power was great enough to flatten a small mountain.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]