WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 30→2ch | 60→5ch | 100→8ch | 200→15ch | 400→25ch⏰ Resets Monday!
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Sasuke's rebirth was a stone cast into the pond of the ninja world. The ripples faded, and the surface calmed once more.
Until the next turning point arrived, the world would continue to spin along its grand, inevitable momentum.
Drip.
Deep within a cavern of stalactites, the members of the Akatsuki gathered as spectral projections.
Their nine crimson-cloud cloaks wove a tapestry of darkness in the gloom, exuding solemnity, menace, and profound strangeness. Their identities, power, and histories were no longer secret. Yet in an era where the Sage of Six Paths was still an ancient myth, the stage of shadows still held a place for them.
Zetsu's voice was a sly whisper. "Hmm-hmm. The full roster is here. The last gathering was seven years ago, when Orochimaru left us."
Deidara chimed in, eager. "I heard Orochimaru got his hands on a Sharingan. Itachi, was it your little brother's?"
Itachi's Sharingan stared calmly into the darkness. He said nothing.
Sasori's voice, filtered through his puppet, was cold. "Patience. We'll kill Orochimaru someday. Though… I can hardly wait." He paused. "Speaking of which, we have three years left. Can everyone meet the minimum quota?"
Pain's Rinnegan swept over the assembled figures. "Affirmative. Our goal… is to seize all the Tailed Beasts, including the Nine-Tails."
The projections vanished.
A thousand miles away, in the Land of Wind, two figures clad in crimson clouds and bamboo hats emerged from a sand dune.
The Jade Maiden of Akatsuki, Sasori of the Red Sand. The Azure Dragon, Deidara.
Akatsuki's current goal was fundraising. Before the true hunt for the Tailed Beasts began, members operated in two-man cells, taking on high-paying missions.
At the end of the meeting, Pain had given them a task: annihilate a minor nation in the southern desert of the Land of Wind.
They headed south.
"Orochimaru… That unpleasant name again." Sasori's voice, emanating from his puppet shell, Hiruko, was thick with resentment.
Deidara cocked his head. "Old man Sasori, I'm curious. What's the real beef between you and him?"
Sasori's tone deepened. "It is… mortal enmity. His research into the infinite prolongation of life is a blatant insult to my art of Eternal Beauty. How could I ever allow him to live?"
A sentiment most would find incomprehensible. But Deidara nodded fervently. "Hah! A heretic of a different art! Though in my view, 'eternal' is no art at all! Only the instant of explosion can be called true art!!!"
"Hmph. In any case, Orochimaru and I cannot exist in the same era. And the one to fall… will be him."
"Yeah. Orochimaru is a nobody. But that Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's brother… I really want him to experience my art of explosion!"
"You just want to settle the score with Itachi, don't you… Hm?" Hiruko stopped. A messenger bird landed on its arm. "A spy I left with Orochimaru…"
The bird dropped a scroll. He read it. Sasori's gaze sharpened to a razor's edge. "Got you."
"What is it?"
"Orochimaru. He will arrive at the Tenchi Bridge in the Land of Grass… tomorrow."
Deidara's eyes widened. "Hey… that means—!"
Hiruko's mechanical hand crushed the scroll. "I've waited a long time for this chance."
"Sasuke will be with him, right?!"
"Probably. I have no interest in brats."
"A brat's a brat, but he's Itachi's brat! I can't wait! Let's go!"
"No need." Sasori's voice was final. "I'll go to Tenchi Bridge alone. Akatsuki's mission cannot be delayed. A small nation of that level… you can exterminate it by yourself with ease."
"Damn it… Why'd the boss have to give that stupid mission now? Hey, old man, wait here! I'll make it quick and come back!!!"
"Absolutely not. I hate waiting. And I hate making others wait. We'll meet at the usual spot… after we're both done."
With that, Hiruko was already turning back, heading the way they came.
"Hey! Old man! Leave Uchiha Sasuke alive! He's my target!!!" Deidara shouted, but the figure was soon swallowed by the swirling sand.
"Who knows if he listened…" Deidara chuckled wryly, adjusting his hat.
BOOM!
He mounted a giant white bird of clay and shot into the sky, streaking south.
"Feel honored! The chosen nation… shall be sublimated in the instant of explosive art! Hmm!"
The next day. The Tenchi Bridge, Land of Grass.
FWOOSH! The vortex of the Flying Thunder God Technique swirled. Sasuke arrived at the northern edge of the bridge's forest, flanked by Orochimaru and Kabuto.
He'd only learned the identity of his first opponent last night.
Sasori of the Red Sand. He'd never met the man. He only knew of his existence from his past-life wife, Sakura. A puppeteer from Sunagakure, like Kankurō. A member of Akatsuki, codename: Jade Maiden.
As for Sasori's specific abilities… Sasuke had no idea. After all, who cared about the powers of someone already long gone from the world?
But the "Ten Battles" were designed to accelerate the absorption of the Cursed Seal. Orochimaru himself had chosen the opponents. Anyone deemed worthy would be an existence capable of forcing Sasuke into a life-or-death struggle at his current level of strength.
Sasuke felt no room for carelessness. His stance was ready, his focus absolute.
His purpose for this rebirth was singular. To get stronger. Stronger than anyone.
The same goal as his past life, but the core was different. No longer the shallow conviction of seeking strength for revenge. It was to protect this world from the gods. To make the future he'd envisioned under distant stars… a reality.
—"Orochimaru. Kabuto. Promise me. No matter what happens in the battle ahead, even if it seems like certain death… do not intervene."
The heat of his resolute fighting spirit made the very air around them feel scalding.
His resolve… is far deeper and firmer than I imagined. Kabuto thought.
"Very well," Orochimaru hissed. "I promise."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "He's coming…!!"
Birds took flight. Grass rustled. Wind swept across the bridgehead.
A figure shrouded in darkness emerged slowly from the trees on the far side.
SHHHHK—!
Sasuke shot forward, sword in hand. His speed was blinding. In the blink of an eye, he was on the bridge. Zzzzt! As he charged, the three tomoe of his Sharingan spun to life!
The sudden assault made Hiruko halt mid-bridge. From within, Sasori's eyes widened in shock. "Those eyes… You are…?!"
"UCHIHA SASUKE—I CHALLENGE YOU!!"
No other opening was needed. Just the declaration.
Sasuke leaped into the air above Hiruko. His blade, wreathed in crackling lightning, descended in a blinding flash!
"!!!"
From a hidden compartment in Hiruko's tail, a segmented, steel scorpion's tail lashed out with terrifying speed!!!
CLAAAAAAAAANG—!!!
The First Battle — Uchiha Sasuke VS Sasori of the Red Sand — EXPLODES!!
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