In the archives, Shinji quietly flipped through a book detailing chakra principles.
The book's original author was the Second Hokage, meticulously describing the principles of chakra refinement in the human body and its various applications.
For such valuable knowledge, Shinji was naturally engrossed.
With his understanding of chakra and medical ninjutsu, he suspected much of the data in the book came from human experiments.
Of course, human experimentation wasn't inherently evil, as subjects could be prisoners, war captives, or even corpses.
Under the shinobi world's current moral framework, as long as one didn't target their own people, it was generally overlooked.
Suddenly, the sound of deliberately hushed, hurried footsteps reached Shinji's ears.
A ninja academy student, brimming with excitement, entered the archives and whispered to a friend, "Uchiha Sasuke's facing off against a Hidden Cloud ninja. Wanna go check it out?"
The student, who had been researching in the archives, quickly closed their book and nodded eagerly. "A show like that? Of course I'm going!"
Other students nearby, overhearing, grew interested, packed up their things, and followed the two out of the archives.
"Heh."
Shinji couldn't help but chuckle.
Due to practicing the Twelve Palaces, his senses had sharpened significantly, so even though the students spoke in hushed tones, he clearly heard their conversation.
Shaking his head, Shinji refocused and continued studying the book.
…
On the Street.
Sasuke's appearance instantly heated up the scene.
As one of the Hidden Leaf's only two remaining Uchiha, and one who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, his prominence was undeniable.
Upon hearing the news, participants from various villages rushed over, eager to see if Uchiha Sasuke, the Hidden Leaf's seeded contender, was as formidable as rumored.
In the crowd, Suigetsu sipped from his water bottle, teasing, "Tch, tch, what a crowd. The Hidden Leaf's really lively!"
Chōjūrō glanced around. "Where is she?"
Suigetsu pointed to a nearby rooftop. "There, up top!"
Chōjūrō looked and saw Ringo Ameyuri, arms crossed, standing on a rooftop with the Thunder Blade strapped to her back, coldly observing the scene.
…
On another side, Kankurō and Temari pushed through the crowd, clearing a path for Gaara.
The villagers they shoved aside grumbled but quickly shut up upon seeing Kankurō's menacing expression.
Kankurō snapped, "Get out of the way!"
Not wanting trouble with a ninja like Kankurō, the villagers reluctantly stepped aside.
Gaara said quietly, "Don't cause trouble."
"Got it!" Kankurō grinned and nodded at Gaara.
Kankurō and Temari weren't being domineering; they were used to playing the bad guys, dispersing anyone who might provoke Gaara to prevent unnecessary deaths.
…
In the Arena.
Darui slowly turned, facing Sasuke. Seeing the scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes, he immediately lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact.
Sasuke smirked. "Hmph, big talk! But don't forget, this is the Hidden Leaf, not your Hidden Cloud!"
Darui frowned slightly but said nothing.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, noticing his bruised face, and his expression darkened. "What happened?"
Naruto awkwardly recounted the incident.
While shopping with Kaede, the Seven-Tails jinchūriki from the Waterfall Village, they encountered Hidden Cloud ninjas. Kaede tried to be friendly, but the Cloud ninjas brushed her off.
Already familiar with Kaede, Naruto stepped in to argue, leading to a dispute and a fight.
"Useless!" Sasuke said, displeased, feeling Naruto had embarrassed the Hidden Leaf.
Naruto muttered, "If I could've used my tailed beast transformation, I wouldn't have lost!"
Ignoring Naruto, Sasuke turned to Darui. "Apologize to Naruto now, and I'll let you off today!"
Darui and the other Cloud ninjas' expressions shifted.
The watching ninjas from various villages lit up with excitement.
Some jeered gleefully, others just wanted to see the spectacle, but most aimed to gauge the strength of the Hidden Leaf's Uchiha Sasuke and the Hidden Cloud's Darui.
Omoi, standing behind Darui, stepped forward. "Hey, you're too arrogant!"
Darui raised a hand, stopping Omoi. "You're no match for him."
Omoi retreated, fuming.
Darui, keeping his gaze low, said to Sasuke, "You know I can't apologize in a situation like this, so let's just fight!"
"Hmph, I admire your courage!" Sasuke pulled his hands from his pockets. "Then let me teach you outsiders the rules of the Hidden Leaf!"
Naruto hesitated, then cautioned, "Sasuke, be careful. This guy's taijutsu is strong!"
Sasuke waved him off, signaling him to step aside.
The crowd parted, creating a wide open space.
In the standoff, Darui kept his gaze lowered, avoiding Sasuke's Sharingan.
Sasuke said, "Relax, you're not worth me using Sharingan genjutsu on! Stop stalling—I'm in a hurry!"
Unfazed, Darui flashed forward with a whoosh, charging at Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't back down, meeting him head-on.
Bang, bang, bang.
In an instant, the two exchanged blows, locked in combat!
"So strong!"
"No wonder he's the Hidden Leaf's Mangekyō Uchiha…"
"Didn't expect the Hidden Cloud's Darui to keep up with Uchiha Sasuke's speed. He's a tough opponent!"
The surrounding ninjas buzzed with discussion.
On the surface, their taijutsu seemed evenly matched, but that meant Sasuke was slightly at a disadvantage.
With his Mangekyō Sharingan, even in its three-tomoe state, Sasuke's dynamic vision far surpassed most ninjas. Not gaining the upper hand showed that, in pure taijutsu, Darui was superior.
"Damn it!"
Sasuke grew anxious.
With so many onlookers, failing to win overwhelmingly would be a huge loss of face.
Gritting his teeth, he flashed back, creating some distance from Darui. He reached into his ninja pouch, drew a kunai, and charged again.
Seeing this, Darui drew the long blade from his back.
Clang!
A piercing metallic clash rang out as Sasuke's kunai struck Darui's blade.
Zzt, zzt.
At that moment, Sasuke's kunai sparked with dazzling lightning. He smirked, ready to slice through Darui's blade and aim for his throat in one swift move.