Four miles from the Hidden Grass
Sasuke Uchiha ducked under a high kick and parried a blow from behind that nearly landed on the back of his head.
Strikes came from all angles—hooks, uppercuts, spinning kicks—each delivered with a raw power that could shatter bone.
Sasuke dodged them all with well-practiced ease.
The two green beasts were fast. Incredibly fast, their speed enhanced by the sixth gate. Few could compete on such a scale, proof of their skill and the hours they had put into their training.
Sasuke was faster.
With a blur of movement, Sasuke vanished from sight, momentarily disappearing from the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in midair, poised above the younger of the two taijutsu masters. Directing a devastating strike, his left elbow crashed into Lee's ribs with bone-crushing force. The sickening sound of crunching bones filled the air, followed by a primal scream of pure white-hot agony that pierced through the battleground.
The cries of pain reached the ears of Lee's teacher, Maito Gai, filling him with a mixture of concern and dread. "Lee!"
Big mistake, Sasuke thought as he capitalized on the oversight, vanishing from sight and reappearing behind his adversary with lightning-like speed. His chakra-enhanced fist collided with the back of Gai's body, propelling him through a chaotic path of destruction—trees splintered, rocks shattered, and shrubs uprooted—as the impact reverberated through the environment.
He would deal with him later, first—
Sasuke closed the distance between him and Lee. He directed a concentrated surge of lightning chakra into his downed opponent. Despite his valiant efforts to remain conscious and escape, Lee's body went limp, succumbing to the depths of unconsciousness.
One down.
Sasuke's heightened senses tingled, alerting him to the Hyuuga prodigy's presence as Neji performed a body flicker, closing in with chakra-infused fingers aimed at his neck. He swiftly ducked under the incoming strike and executed a seamless spin, his leg extending in a swift arc that connected with Neji's lower body, sending him hurtling to the ground.
A barrage of kunai rained down from above. With the power of the Deva Path, he summoned a protective force field, the invisible barrier effortlessly intercepting and deflecting each projectile. The hail of kunai dissolved into mere sparks against the ethereal shield.
With the immediate threat neutralized, Sasuke shifted his focus back to Neji, who was already recovering from the leg sweep, determination etched upon his face. A quick strike was launched, aimed with precision, but Sasuke's honed reflexes allowed him to dodge the blow, evading Neji's probing attack.
Sasuke reached out, his hand snaking out to grasp the back of Neji's collar. He deftly pulled Neji to his right, disrupting his balance and leaving him vulnerable. With a decisive chop to the back of Neji's neck, Sasuke expertly targeted a vital pressure point, causing his opponent to crumple to the ground, succumbing to the realm of unconsciousness.
Two down.
"Wolf Fang over Fang!"
A rotating force of sheer power surged forward, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake as it barreled toward Sasuke. Once again utilizing the Deva path, Sasuke created a force field that put a stop to the destruction of the spinning force. The destructive power dissipated against the invisible shield.
Channeling a surge of lightning-infused chakra, he unleashed a torrent of lightning, directing it toward Kiba and his dog. Both of them landed with a thud on the hard ground, slipping into the world of dreams.
Four down.
Sasuke looked up at the female ninja who had previously thrown a large number of kunai toward him. Her face was etched with pure disbelief at the sudden turn of events. A smirk danced across Sasuke's lips as he sensed the raw terror that emanated from the woman. It's what they deserved to feel after they had tried to force him to obey.
No one would bend his will according to their whims. Not anymore.
Sasuke blurred.
Within an instant, he materialized behind the unsuspecting kunoichi, catching her off guard. With lightning-fast precision, he backhanded her, the force behind it propelling her through the air, her body hurtling several dozen meters before colliding with a tree, leaving her unconscious.
Five down.
"Hirudora!"
Sasuke turned towards the shout and what he saw made his eyes widen. A wave of high-pressure air in the shape of a tiger was rushing toward him, destroying all matter in its path callously.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes determinedly. His left eye blazing with otherworldly intensity, Sasuke drew upon the power of the Deva Path, releasing a near-fully powered 'Almighty Push.'
The Hirudora clashed with Sasuke's Almighty Push, resulting in a cataclysmic display of destruction. The ground beneath their feet cracked and split, trees were uprooted and sent hurtling through the air like projectiles. The surrounding landscape transformed into a scene of desolation as the earth trembled, rocks crumbled, and the air crackled with residual energy. Nature had taken its fair share of hits that day.
Eventually, with the Rinnegan's powers combined with Six Paths chakra and Sasuke's ability to keep the pressure for as long as his large massive reserves allowed it, he overpowered the taijutsu technique resulting in Gai being blown backward by the sheer force of the technique.
Still, the stubborn taijutsu master remained upright as he stared Sasuke down.
Sasuke's Sharingan pulsed as he observed the surge of chakra erupting from Gai's body, specifically his abdomen, a torrent of raw energy that distorted the air around him. The man's veins bulged, his skin flushed crimson, and an aura of evaporating sweat shimmered like steam around his form.
"Impressive," Sasuke remarked nonchalantly. "I've never seen this before."
Gai's muscles trembled, his breath ragged but controlled. "Then allow me to educate you, Uchiha!"
In an instant, Gai vanished, the ground where he had stood shattered from the sheer force of his takeoff. The man launched a devastating kick towards his face—
—only for Sasuke to sidestep effortlessly, his hidden Rinnegan tracking every micro-movement.
Gai pivoted mid-air, twisting into a spinning kick that would have shattered boulders. Sasuke leaned back, the wind from the strike grazing his chin.
"Too slow."
Gai's eyes widened. He had probably never seen anyone react this casually to his prized technique.
A flurry of blows followed, each strike faster than sound, each kick capable of leveling a forest. Yet Sasuke weaved through them all, his movements fluid, almost bored. A palm strike aimed at his ribs? Parried. A knee driving toward his gut? Deflected.
To Sasuke, all these 'fast' blows might as well be telegraphed.
Sasuke could feel Gai gritting his teeth, pouring even more power into his assault. The man looked ready to perform a devastating technique, seeing that his current speed and power simply could not match up to Sasuke's level.
Not ideal.
Using lightning-enhanced body flicker, he moved.
Within mere seconds, the distance between them closed, and Sasuke's hand shot out, clamping firmly around Gai's neck. He choke-slammed the annoying pest into the ground, the impact creating a colossal crater that echoed with the sheer force of the impact.
Sasuke glared at the man, who stared back defiantly through a whirlwind of pain, his form enveloped in a cloak of blue vapor.
Preta Path: Chakra Absorption.
"What are you doing?!" Gai screamed, in confusion and anger. The menacing red eyes of the Uchiha watched with an air of detached indifference as the blue aura surrounding Gai diminished, reduced to mere whispers of a dying flame.
"That's enough of you," Sasuke's monotonous voice spoke. He grabbed his opponent's collar, pulled him up, and forced him to look into his Sharingan.
Imposing a potent genjutsu upon Gai, Sasuke released his hold, allowing the defeated shinobi to slump to the ground, his consciousness ensnared within the confines of the created illusion.
Six down, one more to go.
He had saved her for the last. Some advice was long needed.
________________________________________________________________________
It had been a long time since she felt such fear, not since the Forest of Death at least.
Sakura couldn't stop the shudder that traveled down her spine as she glanced at her old teammate. Sasuke-kun stared at her with complete indifference, his eyes not showing a shred of emotion. His imposing stature radiated a confidence that struck her to the core, his posture rigid and unyielding, the cruel red eyes of the Sharingan holding her captive.
Sakura found herself trembling, shivering as she stared at Sasuke-kun who walked toward her, slowly. Her knees gave out as she fell to the floor, thoroughly exhausted.
Nothing she had done worked, hours and hours of training with Lady seemed utterly pointless against her crush-turned-love. Every punch, every feint, every poison was dismissed and dissipated with casual ease. Despite seeing him decimate her teammates and destroy that absolute monster of a technique Gai-sensei had released, she had tried to do something, anything against him; all of them were rendered useless.
There was only one thing she could do as tears rolled down her cheeks: beg.
"S-Sasuke-kun… please, come back to us. Even though there's nothing I can do, even though I'm too weak to stop you, just please listen to me! If there is even a sliver of care you have in your heart for me… I-I… I know things can be like old times someday and—"
"Sakura. Keep quiet."
Her mouth clamped shut.
"Even though you may not listen, let me make something clear. I will return someday."
Wide, hopeful eyes looked up.
Sasuke-kun crouched down, his presence casting a shadow over her trembling form. She felt herself quiver under the weight of his cold, unforgiving gaze.
"If I were to return, it would not be for you. I have no reason to like you, nor do you have any reason to like me other than this unnecessary obsession of yours."
Each word he spoke cut through her like a sharpened blade, leaving wounds that went beyond the physical. Despair settled deep within her, engulfing her heart in a bitter, painful embrace.
He got up and dusted off his clothes with a few swipes of his hand.
"So, stop your whining… your begging and get over this worthless, pathetic goal. Get over me."
She wanted to reach out, to yell that no, she would not—her blood, sweat, and tears would not be for naught. By the time she opened her mouth to speak, she found herself staring at nothing but a towering tree.