16: Sasuke’s Change

The leaders of the major hidden villages weren't fools.

The Uchiha clan was a prestigious ninja lineage that had lasted for over a thousand years. After Wood Release was lost to time, the Sharingan became the most powerful kekkei genkai in the entire ninja world.

Countless people longed for just a single three-tomoe Sharingan. After all, even Kakashi Hatake, with only one three-tomoe Sharingan, earned titles like the Copy Ninja and Konoha's Technician for allegedly copying over a thousand jutsu.

And copying ninjutsu? That was just the ability of a two-tomoe Sharingan.

The three-tomoe Sharingan was known as the Eye of Illusions.

But outsiders could never bring out the full potential of the Sharingan.

Only Uchihas who awakened the full three tomoe could use it to its fullest extent — and each of them was an elite jonin, invincible in one-on-one combat.

There were definitely more than a dozen such powerhouses in the Uchiha clan.

Along with those, there were other Uchihas who had awakened one or two tomoe, and countless ordinary clan members who hadn't awakened the Sharingan at all. To kill all of them in a single night — even if Itachi had the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan — it shouldn't have been possible.

And even if it was possible, there should've been some commotion.

But somehow, the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out overnight, and Itachi Uchiha, the alleged perpetrator, successfully escaped from Konoha.

Clearly, there was far more beneath the surface.

There was no doubt that Konoha's high-ranking officials had played a role in this.

To erase an entire top-tier clan in one night — such power, such methods, and the sheer ruthlessness and indifference to consequences — was enough to shock every hidden village.

In response, the other villages simply sent spies into Konoha to collect intelligence. When those spies failed, they didn't pursue the matter further.

The Third Great Ninja War had left every major village with severe losses. None had truly recovered.

Even Kumogakure, known for its aggressiveness, chose not to kick Konoha while it was down.

Instead, they all maintained the current balance, quietly preparing for the next Great Ninja War.

Izayoi didn't know the specifics — but he could guess some of it.

Having read the original story, he knew that the next few years would be relatively calm.

This was the perfect time to grow stronger.

---

…

After being trapped in the Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu, Uchiha Sasuke remained unconscious for an entire week before finally waking up.

When he returned to class, his entire demeanor had changed.

The old Sasuke, when surrounded by girls, would just look annoyed — but he never said hurtful things, and never lashed out physically.

That soft attitude only made the girls cling to him more.

But now, even the girls who once lit up at the sight of Sasuke dared not approach.

Because the current Sasuke… his eyes and his aura were downright terrifying. Kids his age couldn't even bear to look at him, let alone come close.

Only Izayoi could see through him — that the current Sasuke was both fragile and stubborn.

He was wounded deeply, in desperate need of love and healing.

But his personality wouldn't allow him to accept anyone's pity.

Only someone who had suffered through countless lifetimes, and whose fate in this life was equally tragic — Naruto Uzumaki — would be able to break into his heart and gain his recognition.

---

After school that afternoon, the scene Izayoi had long been waiting for finally happened.

Following the usual taijutsu sparring matches, the students split up into small groups as always. Some lingered around the academy, others left together, while a few went home alone.

Sasuke had always been the last type — walking home alone.

But today was different.

Sasuke didn't head home by himself. Instead, he approached Izayoi and repeated the exact same words Izayoi himself had once spoken:

"Izayoi, wanna have a match?"

Hearing that, Izayoi — who had deliberately sent his real body to class today and hadn't gone home with Hinata — let out a quiet laugh in his heart.

He'd been waiting like a hunter at a rabbit hole all along.

But on the surface, he feigned surprise, looking at Uchiha Sasuke — whose expression was still somewhat dark and clearly not fully recovered — and couldn't help teasing:

"You weren't interested when I challenged you back then. What, now you suddenly are?"

"Cut the crap. Don't tell me you're scared?"

Uchiha Sasuke didn't answer directly but responded with a provocative glare.

Back then, he only wanted to train alongside Uchiha Itachi, so naturally, he had no interest in wasting time on others.

Now, with the annihilation of his clan, his sole purpose in life had become killing Uchiha Itachi and reviving the Uchiha clan.

To kill Itachi, he would need overwhelming power.

To revive the Uchiha clan, he needed to show the world the clan's strength and glory — he couldn't afford to lose to anyone.

Thus, Izayoi became Sasuke's immediate target.

If he could defeat Izayoi, it would prove that he was stronger than anyone else his age.

Izayoi, of course, had no idea what Sasuke was thinking.

But seeing Sasuke hide his pride behind a taunting challenge, Izayoi decided to play along. Smiling, he nodded:

"Alright then. Let's fight."

"Good. Let's head to the training field," Sasuke said, eyes burning with battle intent.

"No need to go there. Let's pick a different spot," Izayoi replied with a shake of his head and a grin.

"I'll take you somewhere."

With that, he began walking toward an abandoned training ground, with Uchiha Sasuke close behind.

The Uchiha clan had already been wiped out for a week.

As for Uchiha Obito, other than visiting Rin Nohara's grave, he probably wouldn't be wandering around Konoha again.

Izayoi had even taken the time to note the date of Rin's memorial, just to make sure he never trained outdoors during that period in future years.

So, a few days ago, Izayoi had resumed his training in the wild.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the usual training site where Izayoi and Hinata practiced.

The ground and trees there were covered with marks from countless strikes and ninjutsu.

Seeing those signs, Sasuke's pupils shrank slightly. His mind was in turmoil.

If all these marks were left by Izayoi…

Then didn't that mean this guy, like him, had also mastered all five elemental chakra natures?

If memory served, Izayoi was an orphan.

Sasuke had a father to guide him — but Izayoi had taught himself everything alone.

Sasuke's eyes flickered with realization.

He finally understood why this guy had always been a step ahead.

It wasn't luck.

It was because he worked harder.

That thought only made Sasuke's fighting spirit blaze even hotter.

To grow stronger, he needed to fight opponents like this.

To prove his strength, he needed to defeat opponents like this.

"How do you want to fight?"

Izayoi asked calmly as he looked at Sasuke.

"Taijutsu only? Or a no-rules duel?"

The so-called no-rules duel meant anything goes.

Substitution jutsu, transformation jutsu, body flicker techniques, ninja tools — even elemental ninjutsu, which wasn't taught at the academy — were all allowed.

And this type of fight was extremely dangerous.

The ninja academy did have no-rules duels — but only as part of the sixth-year curriculum.

Even then, such duels required a supervising teacher as referee and a medical-nin on standby.

After all, in this kind of fight, accidents were easy to happen.

One slip-up could even lead to death.

If Iruka Umino were here and heard what Izayoi just said, his expression would've changed drastically — and he would've immediately stopped them with a scolding.

But Uchiha Sasuke didn't hesitate at all.

"No-rules duel!" he declared.