NOVGO.NET Chapter 985: I really won, right?
At the Arena
After unleashing a Lightning Release assault with a wide area of effect, Sasuke struggled to catch his breath and resisted the dizziness and numbness he was feeling. The attack he used a moment ago, was obviously not without its consequences as his body is also a little numb from all the lightning. Additionally, his Chakra Reserves were nearly depleted at this point.
In contrast to his canonical counterpart, this Uchiha Sasuke lacks high Chakra reserves or a swift recovery rate, despite having awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan. The absence of the ‘Cursed Seal of Heaven,’ implanted in his body by Orochimaru in the Canon is the cause of this limitation.
Despite the fact that, that forbidden Kinjutsu corroded his soul and tainted his mind, it was, in essence, an application of Natural Energy and Senjutsu Chakra. Thus, it not only significantly increased one’s Chakra Reserves but also strengthened their body.
However, in the absence of the ‘Cursed Seal of Heaven,’ which indirectly supported him, the present Sasuke can hardly use Chidori two to three times a day. Pushing beyond this limit risks depleting his Chakra reserves entirely, potentially leading to fatal consequences.
Struggling to suppress the lingering dizziness and numbness, Sasuke looked at his opponent closely with his Sharingan.
Following the recent assault, even though the majority of Naruto’s Shadow Clones were obliterated, a total of seven figures remained in the arena, including the original Uzumaki Naruto himself.
As Sasuke observed these seven figures of Naruto, they, too, became aware of the loss of their counterparts. Reacting swiftly, all seven raised their arms in unison, in an attempt to weave the hand signs to create more Shadow Clones once again.
Fully aware that he lacked both the required Chakra to execute the same attack once again and the ninja tools to eliminate the newly formed Shadow Clones with Shurikenjutsu, Sasuke scrutinized each Naruto intently.
The upcoming moment held the decisive factor for victory or defeat. Success depended on whether he could discern the original Naruto among the seven figures. Being one step ahead would secure his victory. Conversely, a momentary delay, allowing Naruto to create more Shadow Clones, would undoubtedly lead to defeat.…
Among the Judges
Kakashi became nervous at this time. When he discovered that despite Sasuke unleashing a Lightning Release attack with a wide area of effect, there were still seven figures left in the arena, he had a premonition that Sasuke was going to be defeated.
There is hardly anyone in this Shinobi World who can accurately distinguish between the original and Shadow Clone, that’s why, if the original Naruto is not identified before he once again uses the ‘Multi Shadow Clone Technique’ Sasuke would probably end up losing the fight.
Therefore, Kakashi is really worried, ‘Come on Sasuke… you have got it under control so far, now all you have to do is find the original… do something about it!’
Kuroto looked at the nervous Kakashi and Sasuke with a playful grin, ‘Heh, with this, it should be Naruto’s win, right?’
Sasuke’s performance has been impeccable so far, but unfortunately for him, the current Naruto is definitely stronger than the current him. Naruto may not have such a developed repertoire of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Genjutsu in his arsenal as Sasuke, but his raw power which includes Physical strength, and Chakra Reserves at this time is definitely above that of Sasuke.
As long as Naruto succeeds in using the ‘Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu’ once again, the fight will be over in Naruto’s favor, and Kuroto knows that Naruto will succeed, “After all, I am the one who taught Naruto, there’s no way he would make such a low-level mistake as to give away which one is the orig––“ before he could complete his words, Kuroto’s expression froze as he noticed a small detail, “Uh ohhh…”
it wasn’t just him, Kakashi and Shisui sitting beside him noticed the same detail, and exclaimed, “This is it.” “Come on, Sasuke you have to seize this opportunity!”
And Uchiha Sasuke certainly noticed the same detail and seized this opportunity as he moved.
…
At the Arena
Sasuke ignored the other six figures of Naruto, and with lightning speed, he pounced on a particular Naruto in the arena. The grin on his face seemed to indicate that he was certain about his guess that ‘this’ Naruto was definitely not the Shadow Clone, rather, it was the original!
The reason Sasuke is so certain about his guess is that when he closely looked at the seven figures one by one, only ‘this’ Naruto deliberately avoided looking at his eyes directly, Sasuke did not ignore this detail, not just him, but Kuroto also noticed this ‘flaw’ exposed by Naruto.
The correct method of fighting against a Uchiha with Sharingan is to not directly look at his eyes, so, Naruto did not do anything ‘wrong’ by avoiding looking directly at his eyes, however, the inexperienced Naruto did not realize that this ‘right’ approach used by him actually exposed a ‘flaw’ and allowed Sasuke to identify the original.
Using the ‘Lightning Stimulation Technique,’ Sasuke crossed the distance and instantly appeared in front of Naruto who was about to complete the hand seal for the ‘Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.’ Naruto was takenaback by Sasuke suddenly coming in front of him “You!?”
In surprise and shock, Naruto fumbled halfway and performed the hand sign incorrectly, “Ah damn it…!”
Sasuke didn’t waste this opportunity, and quickly used the Sharingan’s Genjutsu on Naruto to put him to sleep.
Under the effects of Sasuke’s Genjutsu, Naruto suddenly fell into a trance state, his eyelids became extremely heavy, he couldn’t keep them open, and his body also went limp and fell to the ground.
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
As Naruto fell asleep, the remaining shadow clones turned into white smoke and disappeared from the arena.
“Haaah haaah… I won… I really won, right?” between heavy breaths Sasuke muttered with a doubtful and ecstatic expression.
The entire process of destroying one-third of Naruto’s Shadow Clones, then using the large-scale AOE-type Lightning Release assault to destroy the remaining Shadow Clones of Naruto in the arena, then instantly identifying the original Naruto among the remaining seven figures, and once again using a Genjutsu to putting him into sleep.
The entire process did not even take more than thirty seconds!
The offensive was as smooth as flowing water, fully demonstrating Sasuke’s fierce style and tactical skills style along with the subtle insight of his Sharingan.
For one reason or another, the fight played in Sasuke’s favor, and he was able to put Naruto to sleep using Sharingan’s Genjutsu.
Sasuke doesn’t believe Naruto would be able to wake up from the Genjutsu, because, there’s barely anyone among the trainees who is capable of releasing the Genjutsu at this point, Naruto shouldn’t be an exception to this rule, “Unless there’s someone who disrupts Naruto’s Chakra, Naruto will remain in Genjutsu.” muttered Sasuke.
It’s a pity that Sasuke forgot about the Tailed beast living inside Naruto’s body, and just when Sasuke least expected, Naruto suddenly opened his eyes with a shocked expression, “Okay, what was that thing?!”