Chapter 35 (Patreon)

The black markings spread rapidly across Sasuke's body, while the purple chakra surrounding him flared more intensely.

“Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!”

His hands flew through the seals. In less than a second, he breathed out a dozen fireballs, sending them straight at Naruto.

“Sasuke, stop!” Sakura shouted.

He ignored her.

The commotion drew Neji's team and the Ino–Shika–Chō trio from nearby. They stayed hidden at a distance, watching Sasuke in surprise.

Naruto had already prepared his own hand seals.

“Wind Style: Hurricane!”

A hurricane surged from his hands and met the incoming fireballs.

The wind tore the flames apart, revealing the shuriken concealed inside them. An instant later, the cutting gusts shattered those too.

But Sasuke hadn't expected the fireballs to hit Naruto. They were cover for his approach.

He appeared behind Naruto in a blur, slashing his kunai toward the back of his neck.

Clang!

Naruto spun around and caught the strike against his own kunai.

“You really aren't holding back, Sasuke!”

He looked Sasuke in the eye, plainly irritated.

“This time, I'm going to beat you!” Sasuke replied coldly.

With his left hand, he drew a second kunai and thrust it at Naruto.

“Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!”

Two hands burst out of the ground beneath Sasuke, seized his ankles, and dragged him into the earth. Only his head remained above the surface.

Naruto immediately swung his right foot toward it.

Boom!

Purple chakra erupted from Sasuke, throwing Naruto backward before the kick could land.

Sasuke sprang free of the ground and charged after him.

Still airborne, Naruto showed no sign of panic.

A dozen shadow clones appeared around him. Their hands moved together, forming the same seals as they fell.

The moment they landed, they called out in unison.

“Wind Style: Hurricane!”

Sasuke sneered.

That technique had beaten him several times before. He wasn't about to let it happen again.

He darted clear of the attack and circled behind the clones. His hands flashed through another set of seals, and a dozen fireballs burst from his mouth.

The clones had no time to dodge.

Fire struck them, and they vanished in successive puffs of smoke.

But Naruto wasn't among them.

Sasuke immediately leaped away.

Naruto dropped from a nearby tree, driving a powerful kick toward him in midair.

The kick struck a log with a heavy crack.

He had escaped with the Substitution Jutsu at the last possible moment.

But a substitution offered little protection against Naruto's senses. The instant Sasuke moved, Naruto detected where he had gone and used a substitution of his own to follow.

Sasuke landed in a nearby tree. Seeing Naruto still in the air after kicking the log, he snorted and hurled both kunai at him.

They struck.

And the Naruto they hit turned out to be another substitute.

“You lost again, Sasuke!”

Naruto's voice came from behind him.

A kick slammed into Sasuke's side, knocking him away.

Pain shot through his waist, and his face twisted. Even now, he refused to concede.

He turned his body in midair, formed hand seals, and breathed a stream of dragonlike flame at Naruto.

“Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!”

At the same time, he cast out two thin ninja wires, winding them around a nearby tree. Using them to catch himself, he swung between the branches.

Naruto leaped onto another branch to avoid the flames.

The moment he landed, Sasuke swung behind him and drove a vicious kick into his body, returning the blow he had just received.

With a sharp pop, Naruto vanished in smoke.

A shadow clone?! Have I been fighting one of his clones this whole time?

Sasuke barely had time to register the thought before wind began roaring around him.

“Wind Style: Hurricane!”

Dozens of shadow clones had surrounded him without his noticing. Together, they unleashed hurricanes from every direction.

Sasuke searched for a way out.

There wasn't one.

Wind swept toward him from above and below, cutting off every escape route. Trapped on the branch, he pressed his back against the trunk and raised his arms to shield his face and neck.

The hurricanes struck.

His body rocked under the assault as blades of wind cut across him. When it was over, he collapsed unconscious.

The purple chakra faded. The black markings retreated across his skin, returning to the Cursed Seal of Heaven on his neck.

“Sasuke-kun!”

Sakura rushed over and gathered him into her arms, then began bandaging his wounds.

Seeing him covered in injuries, she wanted to blame Naruto. But Sasuke had challenged him first, and he hadn't shown Naruto any mercy during the fight either.

She held back her reproach.

At a distance, Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, and the Ino–Shika–Chō trio stared in amazement.

They hadn't expected Sasuke to become so powerful after releasing that purple chakra.

And they certainly hadn't expected Naruto to be strong enough to defeat him so decisively. His strength had gone well beyond what they had imagined.

Neji snorted and clenched his fists.

He had always considered himself the best. Seeing Naruto's strength gave him a rival he now had to take seriously.

“I hope I get to face you in the third test, Naruto,” he murmured.

Then he turned and left with Lee and Tenten.

Before following, Lee glanced back at Naruto, his determination to fight burning brighter than ever.

As far as Lee knew, Naruto wasn't a genius and possessed no powerful bloodline. Yet he had become much stronger than Lee.

That meant Lee would simply have to work even harder.

“What a pain... I've got a bad feeling about this year's Chūnin Exams,” Shikamaru muttered before leaving as well.

Chōji followed, still puzzled.

“When did Naruto get so strong? Wasn't he always skipping class with us at the Academy?”

Ino watched Sakura holding Sasuke, jealousy burning in her eyes.

But she was no more eager to risk herself than her teammates. She hadn't been on good terms with Naruto before, and now she was afraid he might attack them and take their scroll.

In the end, she could only turn away and reluctantly follow the others.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have defeated Sasuke for the seventh time.]

[Long-Term Achievement Complete: Defeat Sasuke Seven Times.]

[Reward: Uchiha Clan Kekkei Genkai.]

I knew it!

Naruto clenched his fists, inwardly shouting with excitement.

The shinobi world's strongest bloodlines were concentrated in the clans descended from the Ōtsutsuki: Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, Hyūga, and Kaguya.

And then there was Dust Release, the kekkei tōta used by the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki—another power worthy of that list.

Seven victories in a row against Sasuke had earned him a powerful kekkei genkai. The effort had been more than worthwhile.

He wished the system would give him a few more missions like that.

Better still, with the system's Bloodline Upgrade Scrolls, he could awaken his Sharingan and immediately upgrade it to the Mangekyō level.

What kind of Mangekyō Sharingan would he awaken?