Uchiha Sasuke: The Rise of a Hidden Genius

"Chakra is probably halfway back!"

"Sure enough, improvement in battle is the biggest!"

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, looking ahead.

Feeling the amount of Chakra in his body, although it hadn't fully recovered yet, Sasuke noticed that through the battle with Zabuzan just now, his Chakra had increased by about one-fifth out of thin air.

There were also noticeable improvements in strength and speed.

It was clear that the fight had given Sasuke this boost.

It seemed that the current Sasuke should focus more on fighting rather than just training.

The battle brought about too many improvements.

"Kunai! Sixteen left, twenty shurikens, one detonating talisman, and steel wire."

"That guy's speed is incredible, and his strength should be at the Jōnin level."

"And he is likely at the Elite Jōnin level!"

"If I want to kill him, it won't be easy!"

Sasuke analyzed calmly.

Chasing all this way, except for the brief pause that lasted a few minutes, Sasuke had been rushing the entire time.

The speed of the enemy was completely beyond that of a typical Jōnin.

Although not as terrifying as Blast Thunder, the opponent was at least two-thirds of that level.

But it had taken Sasuke so long to catch up, which showed just how terrifying the enemy's strength was.

The enemy might even be stronger than Mr. Kakashi!

Sasuke moved forward cautiously, trying to control his breath as much as possible.

After passing through a line of bushes, Sasuke finally saw an open field of moderate size.

The trees here were sparse compared to other areas of the forest, with only a few that were as tall as two people.

On the grass, under the shade of a tree, Dazna was lying there, unconscious.

There was no one else around.

The situation looked like a trap.

A very obvious trap.

This made Sasuke even more alert.

You had to be extremely confident in your own strength to set up such a detailed trap and wait for your enemy to approach.

It seemed that the opponent was trying to attract someone.

Deliberately capturing Dazna didn't seem to be the enemy's goal.

At this moment, Sasuke was puzzled.

If the opponent was a ninja hired by Gato, there was no need to take Dazna away!

Wouldn't it be easier to just kill him and complete the mission directly?

Without the construction of the Dazna Bridge, the Land of Waves would always be under Gato's control.

Why did he have to take Dazna away?

'Not good! This is the bait, just to make us... chase after it!'

The moment Sasuke thought of that, a black shadow slowly emerged behind him. At the same time, a hand reached out towards Sasuke's shoulder.

Though Sasuke didn't feel the presence of the other party, he instinctively sensed the incoming danger.

"Flash!"

In a split second, Sasuke unleashed the flash fire technique at the fastest speed.

His body turned into a bolt of lightning, quickly jumping away into the open space.

He turned around to look at the spot he had just vacated, and as expected, the enemy was standing there, where he had been moments before.

Sasuke frowned, immediately reaching into his ninja bag to pull out a handful of kunai.

His eyes locked on the figure before him.

The two-hooked Sharingan slowly began to spin.

The other party looked up into Sasuke's eyes and said, "What beautiful eyes."

Eyes?

Could it be that the other party is after his Sharingan?

This doesn't make sense; no ninja in the original story was after Sasuke's Sharingan at this point.

Who is this guy...?

Suddenly, Sasuke saw the enemy's body move like a snake, winding around a tree trunk, twisting, then accelerating toward him.

He leapt directly in front of Sasuke.

Now Sasuke understood.

'This guy is... Orochimaru...'

What is he doing here?

Why is Orochimaru here at this time, and why did he capture Dazna just to lure him in? This doesn't make sense!

In the original story, the big snake didn't show up here!

Moreover, Orochimaru should be busy preparing for his plan to destroy Konoha!

Why is he suddenly appearing here now?

"Are you scared?"

Sasuke's face went pale. Orochimaru must have sensed that Sasuke was frightened.

But hearing this, Sasuke quickly regained his composure. He raised the kunai in his hand and stared back at Orochimaru.

This is bad.

Orochimaru!

The strength of the opponent completely crushed Sasuke with ease.

Defeating Orochimaru was beyond Sasuke's reach.

The only option now was to escape with Dazna.

If Sasuke had fled alone, the lightning would have already started. But Dazna was still here. If he escaped now, Orochimaru would be even more confused.

After finally finding Dazna, running away without doing anything would seem suspicious, and such an abnormal move would only make Orochimaru pursue him even harder.

But if Sasuke stayed to fight, defeating Orochimaru was virtually impossible. It was a terrible choice.

No!

Even against Orochimaru, I still have a chance!

If Orochimaru is after my body, then I still have a chance to try something!

But if Orochimaru only wanted Sasuke's eyes, then there was no hope. Sasuke would be as good as dead.

Yet giving up wasn't Sasuke's style. He wouldn't resign himself to defeat without a fight.

His left hand grabbed another handful of kunai.

Seeing Sasuke's movement, Orochimaru smiled.

"Are you going to try using kunai to deal with me?"

The boy was too naive.

In Sharingan mode, Sasuke's insight and control over his body were significantly enhanced. Though it seemed like just throwing kunai, Sasuke's kunai weren't ordinary!

In an instant, Sasuke hurled all seven kunai in his hands.

Orochimaru was momentarily caught off guard.

The kunai Sasuke threw didn't follow a straightforward path—each one curved in mid-air.

Moreover, the trajectories of the kunai collided and shifted multiple times in mid-flight.

At this range, less than two meters away, Orochimaru couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing angles.

What an exquisite throwing technique!

But in the next second, Orochimaru instantly formed a seal with both hands.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

A gust of wind shot out, deflecting all the kunai with ease. Sasuke's attack was overpowered by pure force.

Before Sasuke could react, Orochimaru appeared directly in front of him.

With kunai in hand, Sasuke didn't hesitate and launched a close-quarters attack.

Even if I die, I'll make sure to leave a mark before I go!