When fire and steel failed, the gap between worlds was finally revealed.
"Sasuke—stop!!!"
Iruka's shout came far too late.
Blinded by rage, Sasuke Uchiha had no intention of holding back. The final hand seal snapped into place, chakra surging violently toward his mouth.
"Fire Release—Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A scorching torrent erupted forward, condensing into a massive fireball that roared straight toward Alaric.
"He can actually use ninjutsu already?!"
"Wow—so strong!"
"Sasuke is amazing!"
Cheers instantly broke out among the girls watching from the sidelines. None of them had expected a first-year student to already command a proper jutsu.
Unlike them, Shikamaru Nara straightened slightly, the laziness fading from his eyes.
"…This is bad."
Under countless gazes, facing the blazing fireball—
Alaric didn't dodge.
He didn't even flinch.
His expression remained one of utter disdain, as if what rushed toward him was nothing more than a flickering spark.
Iruka's heart nearly stopped.
Sasuke using a C-rank jutsu on the Hokage's grandson was already insane—but Alaric standing there without so much as a step back?
"Damn it! Alaric—move!"
"BOOM!!!"
The fireball slammed directly into him.
Flames surged skyward. Thick smoke swallowed the training ground whole.
Alaric's figure vanished completely.
Iruka's eyes went empty.
Hit head-on by a Great Fireball… even survival would be a miracle.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"Useless trash!"
Seeing Alaric fail to dodge at all, Sasuke burst into manic laughter.
Sarutobi clan.
Hokage's grandson.
All of it meant nothing before the pride of the Uchiha.
What Sasuke didn't notice—
Was that more figures had silently appeared around the training ground.
ANBU.
Root operatives, darker still.
And rushing in from the distance—Fugaku Uchiha himself.
The moment Fugaku took in the scene, his vision nearly went black.
His son had fired a Great Fireball…
At the Hokage's grandson.
And it had landed.
Nearby, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura arrived as well.
Neither showed the slightest panic.
Moments earlier, members of the Hyūga clan had already confirmed it—
Alaric was completely unharmed.
Only then had the two elders relaxed.
Still, their gazes slowly—and simultaneously—shifted toward Fugaku.
Fugaku's heart sank.
Then—
"So that's it?"
A lazy, contemptuous voice drifted out of the smoke.
With a casual wave of his hand, the dense smoke was blown apart.
Alaric stood there, perfectly intact.
Not even a scratch.
Sasuke's laughter cut off instantly, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"That's impossible!"
"How are you not hurt?!"
The Great Fireball had done nothing more than smudge Alaric's clothes.
Watching Sasuke freeze in shock, Alaric calmly brushed the ash from his sleeve.
"You?"
"What do you think you are?"
"You bring out garbage like that and think it matters?"
"What did you say?!"
Sasuke snapped.
Rage flooded his eyes, bloodshot and shaking—yet the Sharingan stubbornly refused to awaken.
If ninjutsu was useless, then fine.
He reached out, flipping two kunai into his hands.
Both eyes locked onto Alaric.
You asked for this.
"Whoosh!"
The kunai shot forward—one aimed straight for the eye, the other for the heart.
And once again—
Alaric didn't dodge.
The blades struck him—
And shattered.
Metal snapped and crumpled, clanging uselessly to the ground like scrap.
"What…?"
"No way…"
"Is that even a human body?!"
Stunned silence swallowed the training ground.
Not just Sasuke—
Everyone stared at Alaric as if they were looking at a monster.
Hiruzen and Danzo exchanged a glance, their eyes blazing.
They had thought yesterday's display of strength was impressive enough.
Apparently—
That hadn't even been the beginning.
"Well?"
"Is that everything you've got?"
When Sasuke failed to move, Alaric began walking toward him—slowly, casually.
Sasuke stood frozen, his mind replaying the scenes of fire and steel failing again and again.
By the time he snapped back to reality—
Alaric was already standing in front of him.
"Alaric Sarutobi—you… what are you trying to do?!"
Fear cracked through his voice.
Alaric lost interest instantly.
Under countless gazes, he lifted a hand—
And lightly patted Sasuke's face.
"Compared to your brother…"
"You're pathetic."
"You're not even worth making me move."
He turned away without another glance.
And at that exact moment—
[Ding! Publicly humiliated Sasuke Uchiha.]
[Fusion Rate +8%]
Power surged through Alaric's body.
Not just strength.
Not just defense.
Something else ignited—
Super Speed.
Alaric's lips curled slightly.
So this was it.
Targeting the so-called protagonists really did pay off.
The fusion rate was skyrocketing.
As he returned to stand beside Hiruzen and Danzo, an ANBU operative appeared beside Sasuke, steadying the boy whose eyes had gone completely unfocused.
Moments later, Fugaku stepped forward, stopping before the two elders.
"Hokage-sama… Danzo-sama…"
His voice was steady—
But the chill running down his spine was anything but.
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