Looking over to the other side, the battle between Karin and Shion was just as spectacular.
Neither of them needed to form hand seals. With just a thought, they could generate complex and exquisite arrays out of thin air.
These arrays collided and intertwined with each other, sometimes canceling one another out, sometimes one side analyzing the structure of the other's formation and cleverly countering it.
To outsiders, all they could see were all kinds of strange arrays constantly appearing around the two of them, only to shatter one after another.
The air itself was filled with glowing runes, flickering in midair. They tangled with each other like living creatures, fighting, invading, and clashing.
The whole scene looked incredibly bizarre, making it impossible to tell what kind of formations they were actually using.
However, for Rengoku, who was proficient in sealing techniques, the fierce battle before him was completely clear.
His eyes easily saw through the mysteries hidden inside those complicated arrays, allowing him to perceive the shifts in tactics and the ebb and flow of power between the two sides.
Everyone had chosen to compete through sparring, a relatively mild way of fighting, so they were all holding back to some extent.
But on Naruto and Sasuke's side, they were the first to use their signature techniques, Rasengan and Chidori.
However, something unexpected happened. Both of them missed.
It turned out that Naruto had been disrupted by Sasuke's genjutsu at the critical moment, causing his Rasengan to veer off target.
And the one struck by Sasuke's Chidori turned out to be nothing more than one of Naruto's shadow clones.
At this moment, Rengoku, who had been watching the battle from the side, showed a hint of approval on his face.
Although it was only a sparring match, with his powers of observation Rengoku could already roughly judge the true level of strength of everyone present.
After observing and analyzing for a while, Rengoku realized that Sasuke's current strength was much lower than Naruto's.
After all, Naruto still hadn't used the Nine-Tails Mode.
Not only that, Rengoku thought to himself, 'I wonder whether Naruto has mastered Sage Mode on top of possessing the power of the Nine-Tails?'
Among this group, if one were to talk about those at the bottom in terms of strength, it would probably be Ajisai and Hinata.
Fortunately, both of them belonged to the category of functional-type ninja. For ninja like them, whether their combat strength was at the very top didn't really matter.
Rengoku didn't demand that either. Even among geniuses, there were still differences.
As long as they were better than the vast majority of people, that was already enough. And right now they were all still very young, with endless room and possibilities for growth in the future.
Just then, Rengoku suddenly shouted, "Alright, stop!"
With that command, the few people who had been fighting fiercely immediately withdrew and ceased fighting.
After all, it was only a friendly sparring match. If they kept fighting like this, someone might actually end up getting hurt.
"Alright, we'll end it here for today! Everyone performed very well. You all deserve praise! This month, everyone's pocket money will be tripled!"
Before his words even finished, cheers immediately erupted from the crowd.
Shion was the first to jump up excitedly, shouting, "Wow! That's awesome! Karin, now we can go eat a huge barbecue feast!"
However, Karin looked at her with surprise and asked, "Shion, how did you already spend all the money Aunt Miroku gave you again?"
Hearing that, a trace of embarrassment appeared on Shion's face, and she explained awkwardly, "What? I just bought two new outfits…"
As the heir to a shrine maiden, Shion should traditionally wear shrine maiden robes.
But she was still young and full of energy and curiosity, so naturally she preferred trying out new and fashionable clothes.
So whenever she had a bit of money in hand, she would immediately go buy new clothes, often spending everything she had.
Miroku didn't strictly force Shion to follow traditional dress rules.
However, in order to help Shion develop better spending habits, she still kept some control over the money Shion had.
So whenever Shion wanted to buy something she liked, she usually had to either earn the money herself or rely on the small amount of pocket money distributed by the Uchiha clan.
Compared with Shion, Sasuke had absolutely no worries about money.
The reason he was so enthusiastic about this sparring match wasn't simply to show everyone how much his strength had improved over the years. More importantly, he wanted to gain his master's recognition and approval.
However, what disappointed Sasuke was that Rengoku had not kept his attention focused on him alone the way he had hoped.
Sasuke shook his head hard, then quickly walked over to Rengoku with renewed energy. His face was full of anticipation as he said eagerly, "Shishou, look. After all this time training, haven't I become a lot stronger?"
As he spoke, his face carried a clear expression that seemed to say, 'Praise me, hurry and praise me.'
Rengoku slightly frowned, as if carefully choosing his words in his mind. After a moment, he slowly replied, "During the years I was away, you really did put a lot of effort into your fundamentals. Your training is quite solid."
Hearing his master's acknowledgment, a trace of joy instantly bloomed on Sasuke's face.
But before that joy could fully settle there, Rengoku's next words immediately suppressed it.
"Unfortunately…"
Rengoku's tone shifted as he continued.
"Although your strength has improved, your combat intent is somewhat scattered. You've only reached the level you were supposed to reach."
The Sasuke standing here had never carried the blood-soaked hatred of a destroyed clan on his back, nor did he hold a firm belief that he must take revenge.
Although he had endured many hardships in his training, the lack of an unwavering fighting will meant that his achievements were inevitably limited to some degree.
An Uchiha with a tragic past and an Uchiha raised in a comfortable environment were two completely different things.
Even stranger was that the obsessive and somewhat mad temperament shared by most Uchiha clan members had completely disappeared in Sasuke.
Rengoku himself couldn't quite understand it either. What exactly had caused Sasuke to become so different from the others in his clan?
At this moment, Sasuke's face showed a bit of confusion.
After all, Rengoku's words clearly hadn't been praise.
Sasuke frowned slightly, a puzzled look in his eyes, and asked, "Shishou, what exactly do you mean by 'scattered combat intent'?"
At that moment, Rengoku raised his right hand and gently pressed it downward, signaling Sasuke to calm down and not be in such a hurry.
Then he turned his gaze toward Naruto beside them and asked calmly:
"Naruto, why did you only create five shadow clones in this match? Were you deliberately holding back?"
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