"The Sharingan?"
The cry of astonishment from below the stage made even Hatake Kusuo pay a little more attention. He hadn't expected the shock he'd given Sasuke to be so immense that it would cause him to awaken his eyes prematurely. In the original story, Sasuke only awakened his single-tomoe Sharingan during the clan massacre.
It seems that because of me, the original plot has slowly begun to change... he thought. He wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing.
However, he quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
With his crimson Sharingan blazing, Sasuke leaped back onto the stage. This time, his face was filled with unparalleled confidence.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to awaken these eyes."
"As thanks, I will defeat you. Just watch, Hatake Kusuo. You are about to witness the power of our Uchiha clan's Sharingan."
After awakening his eyes, Sasuke was brimming with confidence.
Faced with the Sharingan, a dojutsu renowned throughout the ninja world, Kusuo finally became a bit more serious, even if it was just a single tomoe.
Swoosh!
A figure flashed past. Unexpectedly, Sasuke's abilities had improved significantly after awakening his eyes. His sheer presence was far greater than before.
"But if this is all you have, then this is as far as you go."
A faint smile appeared on Kusuo's face as he keenly tracked Sasuke's movements. He casually lifted the sword at his waist.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
The sound of metal clashing rang out. In an instant, the two of them collided. Sasuke wielded a sharp kunai, while Kusuo held his sword's scabbard.
With his awakened eyes, Sasuke's perception was clearly much sharper, and he managed to block Kusuo's attack.
"You still won't draw your sword?!" Sasuke roared, his eyes widening in fury. Seeing Kusuo act so arrogantly even after he had awakened the Sharingan, his anger intensified.
"Hehe, after awakening your eyes, your overall abilities have improved quite a bit. You can even keep up with my speed. It seems the Uchiha clan's reputation is well-deserved," Kusuo praised him lightly. "However... to deal with you, you're not yet worthy of my blade. You should be proud that I'm willing to use even my scabbard against you."
With that, Kusuo's right hand, which held the scabbard, suddenly exerted immense force. An overwhelming power pressed down on Sasuke like a collapsing mountain.
"Dammit!" Sasuke yelled. He couldn't believe that even after awakening his eyes, he was still being completely overpowered. His heart filled with frustration.
Slowly... his legs began to give way, and he was forced to kneel on the ground, suppressed by the tremendous force Kusuo was applying.
"Alright, this little game of house ends here."
Kusuo gave the immobilized Sasuke a calm glance and kicked him off the stage.
POW!
Sasuke once again crashed heavily onto the ground, imprinting a human-shaped crater.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Everyone stared at each other, the entire venue deathly quiet.
"Hiss!"
"Th-that... Kusuo is just too fierce!"
"So strong."
"Even Sasuke with his Sharingan awakened is no match for him!"
Countless sounds of swallowing could be heard. Everyone now looked at Kusuo with a sense of reverence. In the face of true, absolute power, they couldn't even muster up jealousy.
"The battle is over! The winner is Hatake Kusuo!" Iruka Umino announced loudly after looking at the fallen Sasuke with a complicated expression.
Hatake Kusuo, with incomparable, crushing force, had defeated Sasuke and secured a complete victory.
And with that, the title of this year's top student naturally fell upon his head.
"YEAH!"
The entire crowd cheered. Everyone was proud of Kusuo. Many children from ordinary families now saw Kusuo as their idol, feeling a deep sense of pride for him.
Smiling as he accepted everyone's well wishes, Kusuo stepped down from the stage and was immediately surrounded by countless classmates. They were all excited but also hesitant, seemingly too intimidated to get close.
He, however, waved to a solitary Hinata in the distance. He walked over to her and playfully pinched her cheek.
Hinata's little face flushed "swoosh" and turned beet red.
"K-Kusuo..." Hinata was also very happy, but with so many people watching, she couldn't bring herself to speak up. "C-congratulations, Kusuo," she finally managed to say in a voice only she could hear, long after he had walked away.
For Kusuo, the final exam was merely a minor interlude.
Upon returning home, he continued his monotonous, day-after-day training. The process of mastering the sword was just that: endless swings of the blade, with no shortcuts.
...
"System, check role-play percentage."
[Current Role-Play Percentage: 49%.]
Drenched in sweat, Kusuo wiped his face with a towel and nodded in satisfaction at the panel.
"I'll be able to unlock the next Sun Breathing sword skill soon. I can't wait!"
After being improved by the system, the Sun Breathing techniques were far more powerful, but their stamina consumption was also terrifyingly high. The amount of training he could do each day was limited, so he spent a great deal of time practicing Total Concentration: Constant.
"If only I had those three little helpers from Demon Slayer. Then I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting to use Total Concentration Breathing while I sleep." But that was impossible; the system wasn't going to reward him with living people.
"So, how do I solve this problem?" Kusuo wondered, stroking his chin in deep thought.
Images of several people floated through his mind: the charming Ino, the always-shy Hinata. For some reason, Naruto's face also popped into his head.
"Naruto?"
"Ugh, gross!"
Kusuo shook his head violently. The thought of having Naruto watch over him by his bedside in the middle of the night was simply horrifying.
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