Chapter 16: Sasuke Uchiha's Challenge, Unrestricted Duel

Chapter 16: Sasuke Uchiha’s Challenge, Unrestricted Duel

The leaders of the Great Ninja Villages weren’t fools.

The Uchiha Clan was a prestigious bloodline that had existed for millennia, and the Sharingan was the strongest Kekkei Genkai in the Shinobi World after the loss of the Wood Release.

Countless shinobi would kill for even a single Tomoe Sharingan. Kakashi Hatake, after all, had earned his title as the “Copy Ninja” and “Konoha’s Genius” solely through possessing one.

And copying techniques was only a second-tomoe ability.

The Tomoe Sharingan was known as the “Eye of Illusions.”

Outsiders could never harness the Sharingan’s true power.

Every Uchiha capable of fully awakening the Tomoe Sharingan became an elite jonin, undefeated in one-on-one combat.

There were dozens of such warriors within the Uchiha alone.

Even if Itachi Uchiha possessed the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan, there was no way he could have annihilated the entire Uchiha Clan in a single night—including those with nascent first-tomoe or second-tomoe Sharingans, not to mention the countless unawakened ordinary clan members—without raising any alarm.

And yet, the Uchiha were gone. Itachi had vanished from Konoha without a trace.

Something was deeply, deeply wrong.

There was no doubt the Konoha elders had played a role.

To wipe out the village’s most powerful clan required a level of ruthlessness and strength that chilled the other villages to their cores.

In response, the other villages merely sent spies to gather intelligence. After their failures, they withdrew, unwilling to provoke further.

The Third Shinobi World War had left all villages battered, still struggling to recover. Even Kumogakure chose not to exploit the crisis.

All were maintaining the fragile balance, preparing for the next inevitable war.

Izayoi didn’t know the full story, but he had his suspicions.

Having read the original narrative, he knew the next few years would remain eerily calm.

This was the perfect opportunity to grow stronger.

—

Uchiha Sasuke, trapped in the Mangekyō Sharingan’s illusion, had lain unconscious for an entire week before awakening.

When he finally reappeared in class, he was a different person.

Before, surrounded by adoring girls, he’d merely seemed annoyed—never cruel or violent. That polite indifference had only emboldened them.

Now, the girls who once eagerly approached him hesitated to draw near.

His gaze and aura were simply too intimidating. His peers couldn’t bear to meet his eyes, let alone stand close.

Only Izayoi saw the truth: beneath the cold exterior, Sasuke was fragile and defiant.

He was scarred, aching for warmth and healing, yet too proud to accept anyone’s pity.

Only someone who shared his tragic fate—Naruto Uzumaki, reborn with a thousand lifetimes’ worth of memories—could ever hope to reach him.

—

That afternoon, as classes ended, Izayoi finally saw the moment he’d been waiting for.

After their usual taijutsu sparring, the students clustered together—some lingering at the academy, others departing, and a few heading home alone.

Sasuke had always been the last.

Today, however, he didn’t leave. Instead, he approached Izayoi and said the words Izayoi had once spoken himself: “Izayoi, want to spar?”

Hearing this, Izayoi—who had deliberately skipped his usual routine with Hinata Hyuga to stay behind—smiled inwardly.

On the surface, he feigned surprise, studying Sasuke’s still-recovering, brooding expression. “You weren’t interested before. Why now?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You scared to lose?”

Sasuke didn’t answer, only throwing down the gauntlet.

Before, he’d trained only with Itachi. Now, with his family gone, his sole purpose was to kill Itachi and revive the Uchiha Clan.

To achieve that, he needed power.

To restore the Uchiha’s glory and ensure their legacy, he couldn’t afford to lose to anyone.

So Izayoi became his target.

Defeating him would prove he was the strongest of their generation.

Izayoi, unaware of Sasuke’s deeper motives, saw through the provocation and nodded. “Fine. Let’s fight.”

“Good. We’ll use the training field.”

Sasuke’s eyes gleamed with determination.

“No need. Let’s go somewhere else.”

Izayoi shook his head and turned toward the abandoned training grounds.

Sasuke followed.

The Uchiha Clan had been gone a week now. Obito Uchiha would rarely return to Konoha—save for Rin Nohara’s anniversary.

Izayoi had already marked that date in his mind. He’d avoid the woods every year on that day.

So, days earlier, he’d resumed training outdoors.

Soon, they reached the secluded training ground Izayoi and Hinata often used.

The ground and trees bore scars from countless techniques.

Seeing them, Sasuke’s eyes widened.

If these were all Izayoi’s doing…

Didn’t that mean this guy had already mastered all Five Chakra Natures?

He vaguely recalled that Izayoi was an orphan.

Sasuke had been taught by his father. Izayoi had trained alone.

The realization hit him: Izayoi’s edge wasn’t luck—it was relentless effort.

His resolve hardened.

Only fighting such an opponent would make him stronger.

Only by defeating him could Sasuke prove his strength.

“So?” Izayoi asked. “Taijutsu only, or Unrestricted Duel?”

Unrestricted meant anything—Three Body Techniques, invisibility, Shunshin, tools, even the Five Chakra Natures the academy forbade.

Unrestricted Duels were dangerous affairs.

The academy only allowed them in sixth year, with a proctor and a medic present.

If Iruka Umino had heard this, he’d intervene immediately.

But Sasuke’s reply was instant:

“Unrestricted Duel.”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end