Naruto: The Teaching System - 185 (Patreon)

Chapter 185: Sasuke's Victory Without the Joy

"Hmm?"

Naruto, who was attacking Sasuke, naturally noticed Sasuke's change immediately.

"Two tomoe?"

Naruto didn't change his technique but pushed forward, directly covering his right hand with Armament chakra.

Sasuke, at the same time, smiled after activating the two tomoe.

Sasuke felt capable again!

Mainly because in his eyes, Naruto's movements seemed to have slowed down considerably.

He clenched his right hand, released Lightning Release chakra, and grabbed Naruto's attacking right hand.

Smack!

In the dust, Naruto's figure was sent flying backward.

This stunned Shikamaru and the others who were watching the battle.

As the dust settled, Shikamaru and his teammates discovered something remarkable.

'His Sharingan... it's already evolved to two tomoe.'

Neji regarded Sasuke with clear admiration in his pale eyes. The progress was undeniable. Sasuke had arrived with only a single tomoe, yet now his dojutsu had advanced to the next stage.

The Uchiha's Sharingan was different from the Byakugan. Each increase in tomoe represented significant progress.

Sawada watched Naruto and Sasuke in the arena and smiled. Pressure forced people to improve.

If that wasn't enough, he'd provoke them every day.

Whoosh!

Without any hesitation, Sasuke directly drew several shuriken and shot them at Naruto.

Then, taking advantage of Naruto's dodging, he charged at Naruto again.

BANG!

Relying on the Inch Force Eight Gates, Naruto engaged in back-and-forth combat with two-tomoe Sasuke.

However, Sasuke's newly evolved two tomoe Sharingan, boosted by his enhanced perception and the activation seal, gave him the edge he needed to suppress even Naruto's exceptional taijutsu skills.

"Tch, that arrogant teme is basically cheating," Naruto complained under his breath.

After creating distance between himself and Sasuke again, Naruto grimaced while massaging his sore shoulder. During their recent clashes, he'd already taken multiple hits from Sasuke. The bastard was reading his moves like an open book, turning every blocked attack into a perfect counter opportunity.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Naruto immediately formed hand seals, creating three shadow clones that scattered in all directions.

"I knew you'd use this move!" Sasuke said with a smile, as if he could see through all of Naruto's actions.

He wouldn't be defeated by the same method twice!

"Chidori!"

Today's second Chidori was directly utilized by Sasuke.

However, this time Sasuke didn't attack Naruto with Chidori.

Instead, he dispersed it, expanding its range.

"Chidori Current!"

Buzz buzz buzz!

In an instant, Sasuke was enveloped by a humming protective shield formed by Chidori.

Naruto's clones were shattered by Sasuke's Chidori the moment they charged.

This move completely stunned Naruto.

He really hadn't expected Sasuke to disperse Chidori like this.

Although the power was greatly reduced, this was a very practical method for directly countering his Shadow Clone Technique.

Whoosh!

Naruto immediately raised both hands and shouted loudly, "Sensei, I surrender in this match!"

Sasuke, who was preparing to charge forward, stumbled, his face full of anger as he roared at Naruto, "Loser! Who told you to surrender?!"

Every time, he was either beaten to a pulp by Naruto or defeated.

This time, he hadn't even enjoyed the process, and Naruto had directly surrendered!

"No choice. I thought about it. Rasengan probably wouldn't be much use against you either, so I might as well surrender directly."

Naruto spread his hands with a cunning expression, as if he didn't really want to surrender but had simply run out of moves.

Seeing Naruto like this, Sasuke felt veins bulging on his forehead.

Damn it, this kind of victory had no enjoyment of the process at all.

This was definitely not what he wanted!

Well done, kid!

In the Sealed Space, the Nine-Tails exclaimed loudly.

Watching the Uchiha brat being played by his Jinchuriki like this, the Nine-Tails felt refreshed in body and mind.

Sawada also smiled and shook his head. Naruto had really been influenced by Shikamaru now.

He made this direct surrender seem so natural.

But this was also a kind of growth.

'Match over. Sasuke wins,' Sawada declared, moving between the two combatants.

He had to step in now before Naruto's persistence drove Sasuke to unlock his three-tomoe Sharingan. Though honestly, if it were that easy to trigger, that would be perfect.

Hearing Sawada say this, the angry Sasuke could only helplessly give up.

He turned and walked directly toward their usual resting place.

His expression was gloomy.

Shikamaru, Ino, and the others, having spent so long with Sasuke, exchanged glances with each other, then all smiled quietly.

Ino laughed for a while before stopping. She didn't want to congratulate Sasuke for defeating Naruto at this moment.

"Sasuke, don't get too cocky. I'll definitely defeat you next time!"

Naruto looked at the sulking Sasuke, waving his hands and shouting loudly.

As if he wasn't the one who had lost.

Smack!

Sawada irritably patted Naruto's head and said, "Naruto, since you lost this time."

"I have reason to suspect you've been slacking in your recent training, so your homework will increase tonight."

"Ah?!"

Naruto's originally smug expression instantly froze. He hadn't expected his sensei to stab him in the back like this.

Sasuke, not far away, finally smiled upon hearing this.

Loser, this is the result of your smugness.

Sawada certainly wasn't deliberately making things difficult for Naruto. It was just that Sasuke's progress was indeed very fast.

Whether it was his genjutsu or the incomplete Chidori Current from earlier, it all clearly showed Sasuke's recent progress.

"You should have seen Sasuke's ninjutsu just now. How long has it been since I taught him Chidori?" Sawada said to Naruto.

Hearing this, Naruto was also stunned.

Yes, he had learned Rasengan much earlier than Sasuke had learned Chidori.

But until now, there had been no progress. The idea he and Sensei had discussed about combining breathing techniques with Rasengan at most only increased the attack power a little, but he still mainly relied on the number of clones to win.

"Sensei! I understand! I'll speed up and keep improving!"

Naruto nodded to Sawada and said loudly.

"Alright, go rest first."

Sawada patted Naruto's head.

Rasengan's progress was different from others. Whether Naruto could continue to maintain this momentum remained to be seen.

However, even if he succeeded, this would still be a challenge.

After all, without Sage Mode enhancement, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken ninjutsu would inevitably cause major damage to enemies while also causing major damage to the user.

Unless...

Thinking of this, Sawada couldn't help but look toward Naruto's abdomen.

The Nine-Tails' help might be able to solve this problem.

[Disciple Uchiha Sasuke's strength improved, bloodline advanced to two-tomoe Sharingan!]

[Rewards obtained: Chakra +3000, Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song (Mastery), Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning (Mastery)!]

Wow, Sasuke's growth reward this time was actually quite good. He gained chakra enhancement and two A-rank ninjutsu.

Moreover, Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning was a composite of ninjutsu and elemental chakra, combining Fire Release's scorching high-temperature lethality with Earth Release's physical coverage characteristics.

Simply perfect!