"You… who are you people?!"
Naruto's words startled Kosuke Maruboshi. He stared closely at the two young men. Having followed the Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage into countless life-and-death battles, and surviving all the way from the Second Great Ninja War to now, he was certain he had no memory of either of them.
And besides… they were far too young.
"Should I go, or do you want to handle it?"
Seeing Kosuke's wary expression, Naruto turned his gaze toward Sasuke.
"I'll go first."
Sasuke's face suddenly turned solemn. He slapped the bracer on his left arm, and a katana instantly slid into his grip.
"The weather's clear today, but just a reminder—despite his age, his chakra reserves are still a third higher than yours. And his combat experience far surpasses yours too."
"Also, he's not like that kind-hearted kid from before—he won't hold back."
Naruto looked up at the cloudless sky and spoke slowly.
"I know. That's why I'm going all out from the start."
With that, Sasuke began striding forward, chakra surging. His steps quickened, growing wider and faster—until he broke into a run, charging straight at Kosuke.
"You're not attacking together?"
Kosuke watched Sasuke rapidly approach. Without hesitation, he drew a short blade from behind his waist and began lightly swinging his arm.
"Konoha Style: Willow!"
"Hmph. Cheap genjutsu tricks!"
Sasuke's Sharingan snapped open. When he was just ten meters from Kosuke, he flicked his left arm and sent five kunai whistling into the air. At the same time, his right hand gripped his katana, which now crackled with brilliant lightning.
"The Sharingan?!"
Kosuke's heart jolted, but he didn't hesitate. With a burst of speed, he lunged forward, his short sword drawing fierce, fluid arcs through the air.
Clang!
Just as Sasuke's blade clashed against Kosuke's, his expression changed—Kosuke had hurled the broken tip of his sword straight at Sasuke's chest.
Clang!
Sasuke swept it away with a horizontal slash—but Kosuke had already followed up with a powerful kick aimed at his abdomen.
"Chidori Current!"
A piercing screech of lightning exploded from Sasuke's body, surging outward in a burst of energy. Kosuke immediately retracted his leg and dropped low, spinning to grab the massive iron pot strapped to his back and raising it as a shield.
Sasuke's Sharingan tracked his every move. Confirming that the kunai he'd thrown earlier had landed exactly where he wanted, he flickered to the iron pot's front and slashed down with his lightning-charged blade.
BOOM!
The pot shattered into pieces, smoke and shrapnel blasting in all directions.
"Trying the same trick again?!"
Sasuke sneered. His sword swept the debris away, and he leapt backward, yanking a lightning-charged wire from his left hand. The wire snaked forward, lashing toward the smoke.
But as he landed, Sasuke frowned. Though the wire had caught its target… the enemy didn't seem affected at all.
And then—a rain of shuriken erupted from the smoke cloud.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke dispelled the lightning and inhaled. A massive fireball roared from his mouth, scorching the air and blasting through the wall of shuriken, leaving behind a burning trench in the earth.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A roaring water dragon crashed into the fireball, sending up a massive cloud of steam.
Sasuke flickered out of the smoke—but a glint of cold steel silently appeared in front of him.
He could've dodged it. He had more than enough time.
But he didn't move.
Shunk!
"Damn it!"
Kosuke's kunai plunged straight into Sasuke's chest—but he didn't look pleased. In fact, his face twisted in dread as he tried to withdraw.
Clap!
Sasuke ignored the wound, grabbing Kosuke's wrist with both hands.
ZZZZZZZT!
In a flash of light, Sasuke's entire body transformed into a surging bolt of electricity. Kosuke convulsed violently, smoke rising from his body.
At the same time, another Sasuke appeared behind him.
"Lightning Style: Thunderclap!"
A sharp black lightning spear shot toward Kosuke—but Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Kosuke dissolved into a puddle of water.
A Water Clone.
BOOM!
A heavy crash echoed. Sasuke turned and saw his true opponent pinned against the invisible barrier near the sea-facing dock.
"A barrier?"
Kosuke lay panting on the ground, clearly shaken from the impact. Sasuke glanced into the distance—Naruto stood silently, watching.
Sasuke frowned. Kosuke was tough. If he'd encountered him alone, the outcome would be uncertain. If not for Naruto's preparation, Kosuke could've easily escaped.
My Sharingan's insight still isn't good enough.
Replaying the fight in his mind, Sasuke's crimson eyes gleamed with resolve. His left hand sparked with lightning.
"Lightning Tiger Net!"
A howling bolt of electricity shot forth, morphing into a tiger-shaped beast that charged Kosuke. The old man was still dazed, and the lightning wolf crashed into him with a snarl.
Poof!
Kosuke turned into a wooden log—Substitution Jutsu—and reappeared at another corner of the dock.
Sasuke raised his sword, crouched low, and launched himself like a bullet.
Clang!
"Fast!"
Kosuke crossed two kunai in an X, barely catching Sasuke's sword. Sparks flew, and Sasuke's blade crackled with lightning again. His left hand surged with chakra and thrust toward Kosuke's chest.
Shunk!
Sasuke's arm pierced straight through him.
Splash!
Kosuke again dissolved into water. Sasuke's Sharingan spun—Kosuke was already behind him, slashing with a kunai.
Sasuke twisted and counterattacked in a flurry of afterimages.
"His speed and strength… they're increasing!"
Kosuke was shocked. The faster Sasuke's attacks, the harder they were to block. He was losing ground.
His chakra reserves were still good, but there was another enemy watching—and he was trapped inside a barrier.
This isn't Uchiha Itachi—but I need to get out of here. I have to warn the village the Uchiha clan still has other survivors…
Just then, the enemy abruptly retreated and formed a strange hand seal.
Kosuke's body froze. He couldn't move.
"My shadow?!"
Kosuke looked down and saw his shadow linked directly to the enemy's. The next second, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
He looked down—a crackling hand of lightning had pierced clean through his heart.
"…To think, after all these years as a Genin—I'd die like this."
BOOM!
Kosuke let out a bitter laugh before collapsing. Blood pooled rapidly beneath his body.
"This time it's not a clone!"
Confirming the kill with his shadow clone's Chidori, Sasuke didn't celebrate. He simply exhaled in relief.
He had activated the First Gate of the Eight Gates—the Gate of Opening—to push his body to 100% output. While Kosuke was overwhelmed, Sasuke had prepared a shadow clone for the finishing blow.
He hadn't expected Kosuke to suddenly lose focus—but he didn't waste the opportunity. With Shadow Imitation Jutsu, he froze him—and the clone finished the job.
It was a valuable experience—but Sasuke knew he'd won by a stroke of luck.
When Naruto walked over, Sasuke deactivated the Sharingan and dispelled the clone. Then, he ended the intense brain-state from the Eight Gates.
Clink!
Sasuke staggered back two steps. If not for his sword to brace himself, he might've fallen.
"How was your first time opening the Eight Gates? I was ready to jump in if needed."
Naruto lifted Kosuke's shirt, eyes flashing as he began etching a seal onto the body.
"He's already dead. What's the point of putting a seal on a corpse?"
Sasuke, still panting, reopened his Sharingan and questioned him.
"There's plenty of point," Naruto said calmly. "You'll understand later. In the shinobi world, the dead can sometimes be more useful than the living."
"And this isn't just any corpse—he was valued by multiple Hokage. If we don't make good use of that, we'd be wasting his potential."
"Besides, I told you… this time, more than two people will die because of him."
With that, Naruto finished the seal.
"What now? Use his corpse as bait to lure more Konoha ninja?"
Sasuke had already memorized the two seals Naruto used with his Sharingan. One was a basic Binding Curse Seal—he'd seen that before.
But the other was a new, octagonal seal resembling a bagua diagram—Naruto had never used that one.
"Why would we use it just for bait?"
Naruto stood up and smiled.
"Wouldn't it be better to return the body to Konoha ourselves?"
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