In the dark of night, Uchiha Tatsumi burst forth in a dazzling flash of light, his Chidori slicing through the air as he charged.
Sakamoto's expression turned grim. Judging by Uchiha Tatsumi's appearance, he couldn't be more than ten years old.
If someone had told him before that a ten-year-old genin could go toe-to-toe with a jōnin, he would've laughed in their face.
But now—he'd seen it himself.
And now that the kid had awakened the Sharingan with two tomoe...
The talent of this Uchiha child was terrifying.
Sakamoto had originally planned to kill him before the poison in his system took full effect. But now—he just wanted to retreat and let the toxin do its work.
Yes…
He was scared.
The blood-red tomoe spun rapidly, locking onto Sakamoto with chilling clarity. At the last moment, facing only a genin of Konoha, a veteran jōnin of the Hidden Sand found himself gripped by fear.
What a disgrace.
Not only laughable—but even he despised the thought.
"Damn it!"
Sakamoto quickly leapt to a safer distance and formed hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Surge!"
A deep rumble shook the forest floor. The once-flat terrain broke apart into fragmented slabs as the earth itself heaved like a rising tide.
Waves of terrain erupted and collapsed, all converging on Uchiha Tatsumi.
It was an A-rank Earth Style jutsu. If Tatsumi had his full faculties, he would've surely dodged it—after all, tactical movement was his specialty.
But the spreading poison dulled his clarity.
The only thought left in his mind was kill the Sand shinobi in front of him.
The ground crumbled violently, jagged rocks driving toward him from all sides.
Sakamoto panted, clearly exhausted after the massive chakra drain.
From the ground, thorns and spikes sprouted endlessly. Every step Uchiha Tatsumi took was met with more stone trying to impale him.
And still—ten minutes remained until the poison fully erupted.
His movement space was shrinking rapidly. Not just his feet—above, behind, in front—he was being encased by stone.
Under Sakamoto's control, the earth itself had become a beast ready to devour Uchiha Tatsumi.
Blood trickled down his limbs.
Just as the stone spikes were about to crush him—
"Chidori—!"
The shriek of a thousand birds echoed again from the depths of the earth.
At the very last moment, Uchiha Tatsumi drained the last of his chakra—
Even pulling from the storage in his sealing scroll.
The Chidori flared to life like a falling star, illuminating the night sky in blinding blue.
Arcs of lightning burst from his hand, the sheer intensity fracturing the surrounding stone.
Sakamoto's eyes widened in disbelief as his stone thorns—harder than tempered steel—were sliced apart like tofu.
Then, Uchiha Tatsumi shot out from the debris like a missile. His form stretched to its limit in a perfect linear strike.
Sakamoto's veins bulged in panic.
But—
His legs wouldn't move.
When did the genjutsu start?!
The more he struggled, the less he could move. His mind raced.
This sensation—
It resembled the Golden Binding Illusion, a high-level genjutsu that immobilized its target.
Could a mere genin really cast such a jutsu?
He shook his head—no.
Not with such limited chakra.
It had to be the Sharingan—a hybrid of ocular genjutsu and standard illusion.
To think this brat had just awakened the Sharingan and could already pull off combinations like this…
The thought sent chills down Sakamoto's spine.
In the next instant, Uchiha Tatsumi's lightning-cloaked hand slashed toward Sakamoto's face.
Move!
Faster!
Sakamoto's muscles strained, finally breaking free from the genjutsu.
Panicked, he swung up a short sword to defend himself.
But the Chidori met it head-on—
And sliced through the blade like paper.
In the next breath, Chidori tore across Sakamoto's face.
Blood exploded into the air.
The metallic scent overwhelmed Uchiha Tatsumi's senses.
He thought he had taken off Sakamoto's head.
But as he looked up, he saw—
The head was still attached.
The sword had managed to slightly divert the strike—Chidori had only grazed half his face.
Blood poured down, and the last remnants of Chidori fizzled out.
Tatsumi's Sharingan dimmed—he no longer had chakra to sustain it.
He staggered, eyes glazed, staring at the disfigured Sakamoto.
Against a normal jōnin, this blow would have been fatal.
But with his chakra almost drained, Chidori's power had been greatly reduced.
Sakamoto still clung to life.
Barely.
Only one minute had passed.
"I… won," Uchiha Tatsumi whispered, hand falling limp at his side.
A hoarse voice rose from the dying jōnin.
"Heh… you… haven't won yet…"
Sakamoto's remaining eye fixed on him.
"Come… with me… to hell!"
With blood-stained teeth, he grinned viciously at Uchiha Tatsumi—
And lunged.
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