At the training ground, Sasuke trained alone.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three kunai struck the bullseye.
But there was no satisfaction in his eyes—only frustration.
It's not enough.
His progress was too slow.
After the Forest of Death trial, all the young ninjas had realized their weaknesses.
Everyone had thrown themselves into training.
But Sasuke… felt it the most.
That encounter with Orochimaru had exposed just how helpless he was.
The sheer gap in power was unforgivable.
He refused to experience that feeling of powerlessness ever again.
Never again.
Sasuke clenched his fists, his mind filled with rage and desperation.
His hands flashed through hand signs at lightning speed.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A deep inhale—
A powerful exhale—
A massive fireball roared to life, scorching the ground as it surged forward, incinerating the target in front of him.
But even as the flames burned, his frustration remained.
"I need more power…! At this level, how can I ever kill that man?!"
His gaze hardened as he stared at the charred ground.
Then—
Something clicked.
Blackened ground... Wait. That's it!
A sharp glint flickered in Sasuke's eyes.
He suddenly remembered—
Sakiya's technique.
It was overwhelmingly powerful.
If he could learn it, maybe even Orochimaru wouldn't be beyond his reach.
But…
Even with his Sharingan, he hadn't been able to copy it.
He replayed the memory in his head.
No hand signs.
No traditional chakra molding.
Instead—
A magic circle…
And that weird incantation.
Sasuke's expression darkened in thought.
Could it really work?
His eyes sharpened.
"Hn. There's only one way to find out."
Determined, he began recreating the magic circle from memory.
He didn't have special materials, so he gathered black soil and ash to draw with.
Half an hour later—
The intricate pattern was complete.
Sasuke wiped the sweat from his brow.
That was exhausting.
And he had only copied it.
How had Sakiya mastered something like this?
Unless…
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.
Could this technique be connected to her past?
He shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Now's not the time for that.
It was time to test the magic circle.
Steeling himself, Sasuke stepped into the center of the formation.
Sasuke stood in the center of the magic circle, silently feeling for any changes in his body.
He closed his eyes.
Inhale…
Exhale…
Nothing.
His brow furrowed.
Something isn't right.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
[No effect?!]
His mind raced.
"Did I mess up the magic circle? Maybe I drew it wrong?"
No, the pattern was perfect.
Then—
"Wait… that set of movements!"
He suddenly recalled Sakiya's bizarre warm-up routine before activating the technique.
At the time, it had seemed like pointless stretches—like some kind of radio gymnastics.
Sasuke smirked.
"Tch. I nearly forgot the most important part."
Luckily, he had memorized those movements too.
Taking a deep breath, he began following the same routine.
Arm swings. Leg stretches. Shoulder rolls.
As he moved, he noticed something strange—
There was a rhythm to it.
"...Why do I feel the urge to count—one, two, three, four…?"
Five minutes later, he completed the routine.
Then he waited.
And waited.
...Nothing.
His body felt exactly the same.
Not even a slight energy boost.
This wasn't even a decent warm-up.
His eye twitched.
"What am I doing wrong?!"
Taking another deep breath, he steeled himself.
There was one last thing he hadn't tried.
The incantation.
Sasuke raised his left hand to his eye, his right hand forming a claw-like gesture toward the sky at a 45-degree angle.
Then, with all the force he could muster, he shouted into the empty training ground—
"Break! The World! Death Burst!!!"
…
Silence.
A leaf drifted lazily across the training field.
A soft breeze ruffled his hair.
Sasuke remained frozen in place.
And then—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of applause broke the quiet.
Sasuke flinched.
Like a startled rabbit, he jerked his arms back, spinning around to face the intruder.
Standing there, hands calmly clapping, was Kakashi.
A relaxed smile peeked out from under his mask.
"Not bad, Sasuke."
He took a few steps forward, his single visible eye crinkling with amusement.
"Your performance was… quite spectacular."
Sasuke's entire soul left his body.
He saw everything.
"Y-You… you watched the whole thing?!" Sasuke stammered, voice rising slightly.
Kakashi shrugged.
"Mmm… yeah. Every second of it."
Sasuke went rigid.
His face slowly turned crimson, heat creeping from his cheeks down to the base of his neck.
He trembled, eyes wide in pure horror.
At that moment—
He desperately wanted to dig a hole and disappear forever.
Sasuke lowered his head, his tone dark and heavy.
"Sensei."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
Sasuke clenched his fists.
"You have two choices."
Kakashi blinked. "Oh?"
Sasuke slowly lifted his head, his Sharingan flashing red.
"One—kill me."
"Two—you commit suicide."
Kakashi's eye twitched.
"…Hah?"
Without warning, Sasuke drew a kunai, his grip tight.
Kakashi instinctively took a step back, waving his hands in alarm.
"Whoa, whoa! Sasuke, let's not be dramatic—I'm here to make you stronger, remember?"
Sasuke's face immediately returned to normal.
He eyed Kakashi with suspicion.
"…Really?"
"Really!" Kakashi assured him, sweat forming under his mask.
Sasuke's mood shifted instantly.
"Then let's start! I can't wait."
Kakashi glanced at the massive magic circle drawn on the training ground and scratched his head.
"Uh… Let's move somewhere else first. This place… feels a little cursed."
Sasuke frowned. "…Fine."
Meanwhile…
Sasuke was deep in training when—
"I sense… the aura of darkness!"
Sakiya's nose twitched as she scanned the air dramatically.
SMACK!
"Owwww!"
Ino, standing behind her with a raised hand, sighed.
"Sakiya, enough. We're already training."
Sakiya rubbed her head, tears welling up. "Promise me you'll train with me later!"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
In an instant, Sakiya's expression turned serious.
"Hmph. Training is good, but eradicating the darkness is more important."
With that, she spun around dramatically, making a scissor-hand gesture over her right eye while walking backward.
Ino let out a long sigh. "Please stop."
But then—
She froze.
Something about this training ground felt… off.
Familiar, yet strangely different.
Sakiya, noticing Ino's change in expression, finally turned around.
And then—
She saw it.
A massive black magic circle etched onto the training ground.
Sakiya's eyes widened.
"Huh? This…?"
Her head tilted in confusion.
She didn't remember drawing a magic circle here.
In fact—
Whenever she drew anything in public, she always cleaned up afterward.
And more importantly—
She was certain she had never drawn this specific pattern before.
A strange feeling crept up her spine.
Just as she started piecing things together, Ino had already stepped forward, staring at her expectantly…
Sakiya looked at Ino's suspicious glare and quickly waved her hands in defense.
"No, no! This definitely isn't my drawing!"
Then, as if struck by a sudden revelation, she placed a hand under her chin, her eyes narrowing in thought.
"Ah-ha! I got it! This is a world-line shift! We've fallen into another timeline—another dimension!"
Sakiya turned to Ino, her expression dead serious.
SMACK!
"Owwww!"
Sakiya clutched her head, tears welling up.
Ino, having just chopped her with a hand knife, sighed.
"Don't try to fool me, you idiot! You probably just forgot that you drew this thing here!"
Sakiya shook her head furiously. "No! I swear, it's the worl—"
BONK!
"Owww…!"
Ino let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"Whatever. Let's just clean this up and start training."
Sakiya, still clutching her head, nodded weakly with teary eyes.
But deep down, she glared at the magic circle, fuming.
"I don't know who did this, but they made me take the blame! Hmph! Just wait till I find you—I'll make you pay!"
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