“It’s not a problem yet.”
Uchiha Sasuke’s voice was steady, though he was sweating slightly. Despite his oppo being a siderably weaker kunoichi from the Otogakure, her sound-based genjutsu forced him to rely on chakra refio activate his body and dispel the illusion to secure victory.
Refining and gathering chakra naturally caused the curse mark to bee active again.
However, the active curse mark only inflicted pain; it didn’t impair his movements or corrode his body and sciousness.
Link nodded and silently waited in the background as the eight remaining partits went to draw lots.
The final matchups were as follows:
1. Naruto Uzumaki vs. Temari
2. Rock Lee vs. Gaara
3. Sasuke Uchiha vs. Shikamaru Nara
4. Shino Aburame vs. Dosu Kinuta
In other words, if Naruto won, he would face the victor between Rock Lee and Gaara. If Sasuke won, he would face the winner between Shino and Dosu.
It was a knockout format.
“This is pletely out of order…”
Link pared the matchups to his knowledge of the inal story and couldn’t help but find the situation somewhat amusing.
“What a hassle…” Shikamaru Nara sighed, his expression exasperated. Fag the most famous prodigy of this year’s batch was clearly going to be troublesome.
Rock Lee, oher hand, jumped iement, evidently thrilled with the matchups.
“What’s this supposed to be—”
Naruto Uzumaki, however, was visibly dissatisfied. Fighting a girl, even if she was a kunoichi, felt awkward to him.
Sasuke Uchiha showed ion, stepping bato the crowd. He had little to no iion with Shikamaru and only remembered him as the zy cssmate who often avoided trouble.
After being effortlessly defeated by Link during training at the practice field, Sasuke had pletely lost i in oppos of simir rank.
His long-term goal was to kill Itachi Uchiha; his short-term goal was to catch up to Link.
“Well then, everyone, good work. See you in a month—dismissed.” The Third Hokage’s annou marked the end of the meeting, and the ninja dispersed in small groups.
Sakura Haruno gnced worriedly at Sasuke as he walked away with Link.
“Sasuke…”
…
Ten mier, in the medical room.
“My chakra… it’s disappearing—”
Sasuke Uchiha reported, his tone calm.
So, part of the Mystical Palm Teique’s ability is to dispel natural energy. The sensation of repelling something was actually chakra infused with natural energy.
Link pressed his palm against the curse mark, a look of realization crossing his face. After a few minutes of testing, he firmed one aspect of the Mystical Palm Teique’s capability.
Merely pg his hahe mark caused it to bee i. The initial sensation he felt with Anko’s curse mark, as though something was being pushed away, turned out to be the repulsion of natural energy. Sasuke’s feedback about his chakra disappearing crified everything.
Natural energy asu chakra were not the same. Link abahe hypothesis that his hand could touch high trations of natural energy.
Natural energy was om but imperceptible to him. Even if the Mystical Palm Teique dispelled it, he wouldn’t notice. What he had been sensing all along was senjutsu chakra, chakra infused with natural energy.
Additionally, his ability to sehis wasn’t derived from the Mystical Palm Teique itself but from his innate half-sensory ninja skills.
In summary, the Mystical Palm Teique’s partial ability was to forcibly dispel natural energy asu chakra.
“This really seems like a teique designed for dealing with Sage Mode users…”
Link’s first thought was this, though he suppressed his emotions. He jured a chakra scalpel, ready to proceed.
Though the curse mark might aid in further developing the Mystical Palm Teique, the priority was to destroy Orochimaru’s means of resurre. There were plenty of people with curse marks to study ter, including Jūgo, who was naturally capable of entering Sage Mode.
“!”
Sasuke Uchiha’s eyes widened slightly when he saw the chakra scalpel, though he remained much calmer than Anko had, not even fling.
“This type of chakra scalpel won’t touch your physical body,” Link expined as usual before starting to cut into the curse mark’s chakra structure. In a calm tone, he asked, “Sasuke, why do you seek power?”
After half a month of training together, a foundation of friendship had beeablished between them. It was time to delve deeper.
If he didn’t act quickly, both Orochimaru and Itachi Uchiha would set their sights on his newly recruited “shield.”
“Revenge,” Sasuke replied suctly. “I want to kill that man—”
“Itachi Uchiha, correct?” Link deliberately mentiohe name, noting how Sasuke’s muscles tensed.
“Are you ied in hearing a story?” he asked in a lighthearted tone.
Sasuke remained silent.
“Before the founding of the Konohagakure,” Link began, having already prepared his words, “there was an era of endless war, where the Senju and Uchiha s, the twest ninja s, were stantly at odds.”
Sasuke’s head lifted slightly, his eyes filled with curiosity. The story’s beginning already felt unusual to him.
This young ninja, even youhan him, seemed to know things about that era. Was it pure fabrication?
As Sasuke looked at him, Link removed the st trace of chakra from the curse mark, stepped back, and said, “Try gathering chakra now.”
Sasuke focused on refining his chakra, then touched the now-i curse mark. “I ’t feel it at all anymore.”
“Do you want to hear the rest of the story?” Link asked with a smile.
After a moment’s hesitation, Sasuke remained seated. “Go on.”
Link took a seat across from him and tinued reting the tale of the Senju and Uchiha s—how they cshed, how Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha formed a bond, and how Hashirama chose to spare Madara, sacrifig himself to preserve their friendship.
As he spoke, it felt as if Link had withe events firsthand, standing behind history.
Sasuke listened quietly.
The story of the Senju and Uchiha uniting to form the Konohagakure wasn’t a secret. However, the circumstances surrounding the Uchiha’s inclusion in the alliance left him feeling uneasy.
Still, he refrained from interrupting or objeg.
When it came to those he cared about—his rades—his tolerance was much higher. For now, avenging the Uchiha’s honor was sedary to his goal of killing Itachi.
