Sharingan.
The realization struck Yugito a heartbeat too late.
Until now, Sasuke hadn't relied on it once. No crimson glare, no early intimidation. Nothing like the Uchiha she remembered from past wars, those who bared their eyes at the first exchange as if afraid to fight without them.
She had forgotten.
Or rather, she had ignored the possibility.
The moment their gazes met, dizziness slammed into her. Pain followed immediately, sharp and absolute, as if iron stakes had been driven through her limbs. Her retreat stopped dead.
Sasuke closed the distance in a flash.
Less than ten meters.
His eyes burned red, the tomoe turning with cold precision. Muscles tightened. Chakra surged.
He drew.
A roaring arc of flame erupted from the blade, vast and overwhelming, crashing forward like a collapsing wall of fire. It swallowed the space Yugito stood in, leaving no room to evade.
Far back, Naruto stared at the blaze, eyes wide.
He had sparred with Sasuke countless times. Bare hands. No weapons. And in those fights, Sasuke had never felt unreachable. Stronger, yes. But close.
This was different.
The Sasuke fighting now, blade in hand, moved like someone else entirely.
"…That's his real strength?" Naruto muttered.
Sakura could only nod, stunned. Neither of them spoke after that. Both understood what they were seeing.
High above, ANBU stood frozen.
"Is that… a genin?" one of them whispered.
Yamato didn't answer right away. His gaze never left the battlefield.
"Officially," he said at last, "yes."
The silence that followed was heavy.
If Sasuke turned that blade on them, only Yamato himself might walk away.
And worse still, the Cloud shinobi couldn't die here.
She was a jinchūriki.
Yamato exhaled sharply. "Get ready. We're stepping in."
The sea of fire exploded outward.
A massive surge of blue chakra erupted from its center, blasting the flames aside. From within emerged Yugito, her body wrapped in dense, living chakra. A single tail of blue fire burned behind her.
She was scorched. Not badly. But enough to leave marks.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Partial transformation.
He didn't lower his blade.
"You're weaker with lightning," Sasuke said calmly. Flames curled around him, the sword radiating heat as if answering his voice. "And your fire… isn't worth mentioning in front of an Uchiha."
The words were sharp, deliberate.
But beneath them, his focus tightened.
This Yugito was no longer careless. No longer arrogant. The presence before him was heavier now, steadier.
She inhaled slowly.
The wildness drained from her face. Her pupils vanished into pale white. Blue chakra traced across her burns, knitting flesh back together.
When she looked at him again, there was no contempt left.
"I underestimated you," she said. "Uchiha Sasuke."
She spoke his name properly this time.
"You deserve that name."
The ruins lay silent between them.
Both knew the fight had only just begun.