Poof!
A cloud of white smoke suddenly burst outward.
The Sasuke who should have been dead instantly turned into a chunk of rotten wood.
"This is… the Substitution Jutsu?"
Ruoza's eyes narrowed, then he nodded inwardly.
"Heh, figures. As expected of a core character of the Naruto world—dying was never going to be that easy."
"What did you just say?!"
A cold voice rang out from the distance.
Sasuke reappeared, his expression gloomy. In his pitch-black eyes, a single tomoe slowly emerged.
Staring at Ruoza with icy hostility, he hesitated for a moment before asking,
"Are you working with Itachi? Were you sent here to kill me?"
Ruoza didn't answer.
Instead, he opened his two-tomoe Sharingan, instantly locking onto Sasuke.
Seeing this, Sasuke let out a cold snort.
"Hmph. Stubborn bastard. I'll beat you down first, then interrogate you properly!"
No one knew where he found the courage—but Sasuke actually took the initiative to attack.
He assumed a stance, flicked both wrists, and hurled six shuriken in rapid succession!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
"You're overestimating yourself."
Ruoza shook his head calmly. With the Sharingan active, every attack was crystal clear to him.
He stepped forward, and a shuriken appeared in his hand.
"Break!"
His Sharingan functioned like a high-speed scanner, precisely locking onto every incoming projectile.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With a few casual flicks of his wrist, Ruoza knocked all the shuriken aside with ease.
Attacks at this level were child's play to him.
But at that very moment, Sasuke had already completed his hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball nearly two meters in diameter roared forward at blinding speed!
"Heh. I've been guarding against you the whole time."
Ruoza sneered.
He had already seen through Sasuke's plan.
The shuriken were just a feint—this Fire Release was the real killing move!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
At the same instant, Ruoza completed his own seals and released the same technique.
Only his fireball was clearly larger than Sasuke's.
Boom!
The two fireballs collided head-on.
Sparks exploded in every direction, and the area within five meters was instantly engulfed in raging flames, forcibly separating the two of them.
"Heh—my turn!"
Ruoza sneered. His Sharingan spun rapidly, instantly locking onto Sasuke's position through the fire.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
More than a dozen shuriken shot into the sea of flames, aimed straight at Sasuke!
"Damn it!"
Sasuke reacted quickly. Sensing danger, he dodged at once.
Puchi! Puchi!
Three shuriken grazed his arm, tearing through flesh.
Blood sprayed out immediately.
Yet despite the injury, Sasuke didn't cry out. Instead, he went straight into trash-talk mode.
"Tch. If this is all you've got, believe it or not, I can finish you in five minutes!"
…Unbelievable. He's actually posturing?
Ruoza was speechless.
As expected of Naruto's King of Trash Talk.
Saying the most arrogant lines while taking the harshest beatings—never stopping from start to finish.
In the original story, however much trash he talked was exactly how much he got beaten.
He even earned the honorary title:
[Strongest Pretender]
Suddenly, Sasuke clutched his wounded arm, twisted his body sideways, struck an absurdly cool pose, and looked down arrogantly.
"Hmph. As long as I feel like it, taking your life would be easy!"
[Ding!]
[Detected target activating "Pretending." Please interrupt immediately!]
What the hell—even the System noticed?!
Ruoza was startled.
"No—can't let him finish posturing!"
Once Pretending fully activates, it's basically a health-lock cheat.
No matter how hard you fight, he won't die!
"I have to break it!"
"Hahahahaha—!"
Ruoza suddenly let out a wild, unrestrained Uchiha laugh, forcefully interrupting Sasuke's momentum.
"What are you laughing at?!"
Sasuke's expression changed.
"I'm laughing at someone like you trying to dance in front of me."
Ruoza deliberately mimicked Uchiha Madara's tone, his pupils icy, his smile filled with disdain.
"Pathetic scraps—nowhere near worthy!"
"You—!"
For some reason, those words struck Sasuke like a knife to the chest.
His breathing faltered.
Bang!
Ruoza seized the opening and lunged forward, delivering a flying kick that sent the unprepared Sasuke crashing backward!
Puchi!
Blood surged up Sasuke's throat, but he forced it down and hastily formed seals while spitting flames.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
—but it missed.
The fireball flew past Ruoza and shot straight into the sky.
"Oh? Learned to use the environment now?"
Ruoza smiled faintly.
He immediately understood Sasuke's intention.
This was Konoha.
The moment an abnormality occurred in the Uchiha District, a large number of shinobi would rush over.
"Hmph. Get lost. I'll kill you someday—Itachi too!"
Sasuke left behind a harsh threat, confident in his judgment.
He was certain Ruoza would worry about Konoha's shinobi and flee immediately.
However—
Ruoza walked toward him step by step, with no intention of retreating at all.
"You… you're not afraid of being discovered?"
Sasuke finally panicked.
"Heh. Afraid? Of course not."
Ruoza chuckled, his expression filled with confidence.
"Did you really think I came here unprepared?"
"To be honest, I set up a barrier here a long time ago."
"No one outside can sense what's happening here—so just give up."
The moment those words fell, Sasuke's face changed drastically.
He looked up and saw that the fireball he had launched earlier was blocked by an invisible force and extinguished instantly.
It was over.
Completely over.
The moment the flames vanished, Sasuke's heart sank into despair.
[Ding!]
[Target's "Pretending" has failed. Eliminate immediately to prevent complications!]
"Heh. Time to end this."
Ruoza didn't waste another word.
He grabbed a shuriken and drove it straight into Sasuke's chest!
Puchi!
Sasuke's face was filled with unwillingness as he murmured weakly,
"How can I die… I haven't even taken my revenge yet… I…"
Ruoza remained unmoved and shook his head.
"Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time."
Crack!
Uchiha Sasuke—dead!
"Whew…"
Ruoza finally let out a long breath.
"Tsk, tsk. As expected of someone with protagonist protection—he really was hard to kill."
Originally, he had planned to summon several Jōnin and have them kill Sasuke outright.
But before doing so, the System warned him that characters with protagonist protection could only be killed by the host himself.
Left with no choice, Ruoza had to handle it personally.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission!]
[Rewards have been distributed!]
Ruoza casually opened his status panel.
[Host: Uchiha Ruoza]
[Strength: Special Jōnin]
[Identity: Uchiha Clan Head]
[Abilities: Sharingan (Two-Tomoe), Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu]
[Sphere of Influence: Uchiha Clan]
[Subordinates: 3,000 Jōnin]
[Prestige Points: 10,000]
"Tsk, tsk. Just as expected—once Sasuke died, I officially became Clan Head."
Seeing the updated panel put Ruoza in a great mood—until he frowned slightly.
"But… that's a bit disappointing."
"I clearly killed Sasuke myself. Why didn't my Sharingan evolve?"
After thinking for a moment, he understood.
To evolve the Sharingan, one must experience extreme emotional stimulation—
Intense grief.
Overwhelming shock.
Uncontrollable rage.
But as a transmigrator, what feelings did he really have for Sasuke?
Killing him was just killing him. There was no emotional fluctuation at all.
Naturally, the Sharingan wouldn't evolve.
"No… I need another way to evolve it."
Ruoza pondered silently.
Just then, the System notification rang out.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for killing a "Pretending Ninja" and unlocking the hidden achievement: Bane of the Pretender!]
[Reward: Three-Tomoe Sharingan!]