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Bang!
A heavy thud sounded upon landing.
Having taken a hit to his back, Sasuke grunted quietly.
Then, in the next second, Menma's figure closed in right before him. Menma's imposing posture and the cold gleam reflecting off the kunai in his right palm made Sasuke's breath catch involuntarily.
The next second.
Buzz!
Under Sasuke's own control, the power of the Cursed Seal was successfully retracted, restoring him to his previous normal mode.
Seeing this, Menma naturally understood that Sasuke was admitting defeat in this manner.
He flicked his fingers and put the kunai away directly.
Sasuke slowly stood up from the ground. Compared to Menma, who was almost unscathed save for some torn clothes and dust, Sasuke looked quite wretched.
Not only were his chest and thighs cut by Menma's kunai, but his abdomen and back had also suffered a certain degree of trauma just now. Most importantly, his right palm was a bloody mess, even though the Rasengan's power had been largely canceled out by Chidori and Menma had slightly pulled his punch at the last moment.
After all, this was an A-rank jutsu. And ninja were generally a high-attack, low-defense group. Aside from slightly stronger recovery abilities, their flesh and blood bodies weren't much different from ordinary humans.
Under the grinding force of the Rasengan, Sasuke's right palm was mangled. The slight trembling was proof enough that the pain was intense.
However, for a ninja, this could only be considered a light injury, not a serious one.
"Your control over the Cursed Seal's power isn't proficient enough. By now, you should have a basic understanding of what the essence of the Cursed Seal is. You can't just blindly use this power; more importantly, you need to improve the strength of your physical body to guide it to adapt completely to this power.
Also, regarding the use of the Sharingan—it shouldn't be limited to just observation and copying, don't you think? Sasuke.
Additionally, regarding jutsu training, I suggest you learn more ninjutsu. Often, they don't necessarily need to cause massive destruction; induction and restraint are also very important. In this regard, Orochimaru-san has plenty of resources."
Menma knew very well what Sasuke needed.
So-called comforting or humble words were nonsense, and certainly not what Sasuke wanted to hear.
Failure was failure.
Sasuke naturally couldn't accept it. But compared to the very beginning, the current Sasuke could view his failure somewhat more normally.
However, there was a major prerequisite: he had to see the dawn of progress, the possibility of becoming stronger, and it had to be realizable in the short term.
Compared to Menma, Sasuke seemed to have a greater sense of urgency. It was unclear if this was truly only directed at Itachi Uchiha.
"Mm, I understand," Sasuke replied with a silent nod.
Failure in this confrontation was expected.
No matter how proud or confident Sasuke was, after seeing Menma's performance at the Valley of the End, he wouldn't be arrogant enough to think he could beat the current Menma.
He just wanted to see the gap between them.
But looking at it now, the gap was still too big. So big that Menma could suppress him without even using the Nine-Tails' chakra. Although he saw his current problems, mentally, Sasuke could still hold it together... like hell he could!!!
Menma defeated him without even using the Nine-Tails' power.
If Sasuke could accept that, he wouldn't be Sasuke.
The emotions were clearly written on his face.
Menma could see it clearly, so he shook his head with a smile and said, "Impatience is no good, Sasuke. Besides, I am the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and by bloodline, I'm from the Uzumaki clan. My clan is different from your Uchiha clan; our talent and gifts are manifested in physical strength, which allows for more direct improvement. You need to distinguish where your own advantages lie. There's no need to force a comparison between your shortcomings and someone else's strengths."
Menma looked at Sasuke with a peaceful expression.
"The Uzumaki clan?"
Sasuke's eyes flashed. It was unclear if he truly accepted Menma's words, but at least his expression was much calmer than before.
This gave Menma a slightly weird feeling, like he was coaxing a child.
But Sasuke had this kind of personality.
Even in the original story, right up to the end, this "Sunny Boy" seemed like a puppet on strings. All his thoughts, actions, and resolutions were arranged by others—first his biological brother Itachi Uchiha, and later his so-called "personal ideals." As for how much of those "ideals" were truly his own, that was a big question mark.
At least compared to a character like Naruto, Sasuke's actions rarely felt like they were entirely his own thoughts and ideas.
"You still need to focus on developing those eyes of yours. You should be clear that this isn't your limit, nor is it the limit of your clan. With the Sharingan's power, you've only scratched the surface," Menma said in a calm tone.
Compared to the Mangekyo Sharingan, the tomoe Sharingan was indeed lackluster.
Setting aside the exclusive jutsu like Susanoo and Yasaka Magatama available after evolution, just the qualitative change in ocular power was a difference of an entirely different dimension.
The Mangekyo Sharingan was the eye that could truly suppress and even control Tailed Beasts!
If possible, Menma really hoped to see Sasuke gain stronger power in the shortest time, and evolving his Sharingan was the most direct method.
And there was no need to worry about ocular power consumption.
After all, Itachi had already prepared the final and most critical step for the "Eternal Eyes."
As long as Sasuke could successfully awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan...
Leaving aside what came later, another peak Super Kage ceiling based on the Madara Uchiha template would be right in front of him.
"Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Sasuke murmured these words in a low voice.
His brother Itachi's face subconsciously surfaced in his mind.
Especially those crimson and pitch-black Mangekyo Sharingan.
The moment that scene from his childhood flooded his heart again, a look of extreme resentment appeared on Sasuke's face.
But only a second later, he quickly suppressed it.
Having experienced many things during this period and grown quite a bit, Sasuke could now actively control his mindset to some extent.
"So, is this why you took Kakashi's Sharingan and obtained the Sharingan research data from Orochimaru?"