"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Sasuke quickly formed hand signs, opened his mouth, and a massive fireball roared out, its scorching heat distorting the air!
However, facing this B-rank Ninjutsu, Shinnō didn't even bother to dodge.
He let out a low growl, pulled back his right fist, his muscles bulging like dragons, then unleashed a powerful punch!
"Body Transformation: Crushing Fist!"
"Boom!"
The sheer physical force of his punch actually shattered the Great Fireball Technique in mid-air!
The exploding flames swept to both sides, but couldn't harm Shinnō in the slightest!
"This level of Ninjutsu isn't even enough to tickle me!"
Shinnō broke through the flames, closing in on Sasuke again, and aimed a punch directly at Sasuke's face, the wind pressure making it difficult for Sasuke to breathe.
Sasuke's pupils contracted, his Sharingan predicting the attack's trajectory, and he narrowly tilted his head to dodge!
Shinnō's fist grazed his cheek and slammed into the wall behind him, instantly pulverizing the hard rock.
Amidst the flying debris, Sasuke seized the opportunity, and his ninja sword glowed with intense lightning.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Blade!"
He thrust forward at high speed, his kusanagi sword, imbued with high-intensity Lightning Release Chakra, piercing directly into Shinnō's chest.
"Pfft!"
Blood splattered as Shinnō's chest was penetrated, the blade even emerging from his back, crackling with lightning.
However, Shinnō's face showed no concern; he even broke the ninja sword with his bare hands and casually pulled out the blade that had pierced his chest.
His monstrous muscles twisted and writhed, not only sealing the bleeding wound but also healing at a visible rate.
"What?!"
For the first time, an expression of unbelievable shock appeared in Sasuke's eyes!
His Chidori Blade hadn't caused any damage?
"Surprised? This is the perfect body brought about by the Dark Medical Ninjutsu I've researched!" Shinnō laughed triumphantly, then swung his fist back and slammed it into Sasuke's abdomen!
"Ah!"
Sasuke felt as if his internal organs had been displaced by that punch, the intense pain almost making him faint, and his body once again flew backward like a broken sack, rolling over ten meters on the ground before stopping, blood continuously gushing from his mouth.
It must be said, the Sharingan is indeed suited for dark and brutal situations.
For three years, Sasuke lived in the peaceful Konoha Village. Although he constantly remembered his hatred for Itachi and trained diligently, becoming a Jonin early on, strong enough to stand on his own, he ultimately didn't betray the village or have the Cursed Mark power-up. Not to mention the distance Naruto had pulled ahead, even compared to the rogue ninja Sasuke in the original story, he was far behind.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Just then, Sakura's cry of alarm came from the passage.
She was worried about Sasuke acting alone and eventually followed him, only to witness the tragic sight of Sasuke being utterly defeated.
"Another girl looking for death."
Shinnō glanced at Sakura, not even bothering to act personally. He simply waved his hand casually, and a powerful Chakra shockwave was unleashed remotely!
Sakura had no time to react before she was fiercely struck by the shockwave, letting out a scream, hitting the wall, and immediately falling unconscious.
Sakura Haruno hadn't become Tsunade's student and had followed Kakashi, who was reading adult books with Tenten, making her even weaker.
"Sakura!!"
Seeing this, Sasuke's eyes widened in fury, and a strong sense of anger and powerlessness surged through him.
The two-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun wildly!
The three-tomoe was about to appear!!
In the original story, Sasuke awakened the one-tomoe on the night of the Uchiha Clan massacre, evolved to two-tomoe during the Chunin Exams battle against Orochimaru, and awakened three-tomoe during the Final Valley battle against Naruto.
Because in this Fire Shadow World, Sasuke didn't betray Konoha Village and didn't have his fated duel with Naruto in the Final Valley, he hadn't awakened the three-tomoe for three years.
Now, Sasuke was finally about to awaken his three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Shin—nō—"
Sasuke growled, struggling to get up, but the intense pain in his body and the disorder of his Chakra made it difficult for him to do so.
"Boring bonds." Shinnō watched all this indifferently, slowly walking towards the struggling Sasuke. "Now, no one will disturb us. Let me extract your Chakra, and by the way—take those precious Sharingan."
Several pale yellow, Zero-Tailed tentacles, made of pure dark Chakra, suddenly extended from his back, like living venomous snakes, emitting an ominous aura that devoured life force, and rapidly shot towards Sasuke, who was lying on the ground!
Sasuke endured the intense pain and once again activated Lightning Release!
"Chidori Stream!"
He tried to repel the tentacles with a burst of lightning current, but those pale yellow tentacles were truly like bottomless pits, completely devouring the azure lightning wrapped around Sasuke's palm.
The noisy "chirping" echoing in the hall instantly subsided.
"How can this be—"
Looking at the vanished Chidori in his palm, Sasuke, his face scarred and blood at the corner of his mouth, was momentarily stunned.
"Hahahahahahaha, don't resist stubbornly, Uchiha Clan boy."
"I will use the power of the Zero-Tails, and with the revived Sky Fortress, declare war on the Five Great Nations and completely revive the Land of Sky!"
Shinnō's thick hair fluttered, and he spread his arms, laughing wildly and triumphantly.
"Swish!"
The Zero-Tailed tentacles directly penetrated the lightning, tightly coiling around Sasuke's limbs and neck.
In an instant, Sasuke was hoisted up by the Zero-Tailed tentacles, feeling his body's Chakra gushing out like a flood through an open gate, uncontrollably sucked away by those tentacles!
An intense feeling of weakness and a cold sensation of his soul being extracted swept through his entire body.
"Ugh... Ah—"
Sasuke tried to struggle, but his strength was draining too quickly. Even his Sharingan couldn't be maintained due to Chakra depletion; although the faint outline of a third tomoe had appeared, it reverted to normal black eyes.
Despair!
Deep despair, like a cold tide, drowned Sasuke's heart.
Why is he so strong?
Why are my attacks completely ineffective?
Why can't even my Sharingan see any hope of victory?
I can't even protect my comrades—
Is this how it ends?
The Uchiha's hatred, the revival, just like this...
Sasuke's consciousness began to blur, his vision darkened, and his body grew colder.
Shinnō's face, with its cruel smile, grew closer in his gradually blurring vision.
The absolute disparity in power made this Uchiha boy, who had always considered himself a genius, taste true, utterly helpless defeat and despair for the first time.
No, it should be the second time.
The first time was in the Death Forest, when facing Orochimaru.
He gave his all, yet couldn't even make the opponent serious, as powerless as a baby facing a giant.
Just as Sasuke's consciousness was about to completely sink into darkness, and Shinnō's hand was about to touch his eyes—"Hey! Sasuke-kun, you've gotten weaker, not just by a little bit!"
"How about it, do you need my help?"
A casual, almost playful voice suddenly came, echoing in Sasuke's and Shinnō's ears.
"Who's there?"
Shinnō's fingers, poised to gouge out Sasuke's Sharingan, paused, and he looked in the direction of the voice, discovering a blonde teenager who had appeared at the entrance of the hall at some unknown time!