[Sakura Haruno: Uh… is that twenty-meter-long scalpel for real?]
[Tsunade: Kabuto can actually use the Chakra Scalpel to this extent…]
[Shisui Uchiha: Such fluid movements. I didn't expect even Sasuke's Sharingan to struggle to keep up.]
[Orochimaru: Kabuto… it seems your training at Ryūchi Cave has paid off.]
Sasuke was sent flying and crashed heavily onto the ground.
But he immediately sprang back to his feet, formed Chidori in his hand, and launched it forward in an instant.
"Chidori Spear!"
Kabuto swung his Chakra Scalpel and shattered the attack with a single strike.
"Sasuke-kun, let's not waste time on parlor tricks. Why don't you show me the power of your Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"As you wish."
The three tomoe in Sasuke's eyes transformed into a six-pointed star.
"Chidori Spear!"
Sasuke fired the same technique again. Kabuto knew Sasuke wouldn't cast the same jutsu twice without reason. He cautiously crossed his arms in front of his chest in an X-shaped guard.
At that moment, Sasuke murmured—
"Amplify."
The Chidori Spear suddenly thickened threefold, its speed tripling as well.
"What?!"
Kabuto was blasted backward, skidding more than ten meters before stabilizing himself.
"An ability that amplifies techniques…?"
Sasuke charged in with the Sword of Kusanagi. He had to defeat Kabuto in close combat at least once.
Kabuto hurriedly countered with his Chakra Scalpel.
But this time, empowered by the Mangekyō Sharingan's enhanced dynamic vision, Sasuke gradually began reading through Kabuto's movements.
After more than a dozen exchanges, Kabuto was steadily forced back.
Seizing the opening, Sasuke activated Chidori Blade, slashing toward Kabuto's blind spot.
The unexpected strike landed cleanly, carving a deep gash across Kabuto's body.
Yet Kabuto calmly grabbed the Sword of Kusanagi and kicked Sasuke away.
Sasuke noticed the wound rapidly closing.
"Yin Healing Wound Destruction."
By anticipating the exact location of Sasuke's strike and activating medical ninjutsu just before impact, Kabuto minimized the damage to near nothing.
"Your Mangekyō Sharingan truly is impressive, Sasuke-kun. In that case…"
Sasuke's expression grew solemn. He knew Kabuto was about to get serious.
Kabuto closed his eyes, sensing the surroundings. Purple chakra began to rise from his body.
"Sage Mode."
A single horn protruded from his forehead. Purple markings formed around his eyes. Several translucent, serpent-shaped streams of chakra coiled around his body—manifested chakra resembling a Jinchūriki's Tailed Beast cloak.
Yakushi Kabuto—Sage Mode—had entered the battlefield.
Smiling faintly, he said, "All right, Sasuke-kun. Let's begin round two."
[Jiraiya: Th-That's a perfect Sage Mode?!]
[Minato Namikaze: Yes, Jiraiya-sensei. And Kabuto entered Sage Mode almost instantly.]
[Jiraiya: Says the guy who enters it in a flash himself!]
[Minato: Ah… haha, sorry, Jiraiya-sensei. I forgot.]
[Madara Uchiha: So this is the power of Sage Mode? It doesn't look like much.]
[Tobirama Senju: Hmph. I wonder who it was that lost to my brother's Sage Mode back then.]
[Madara: ...]
[Kurama: ...]
Sasuke attacked first.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kabuto gathered chakra in his throat and spat forward a massive sphere of water far larger than the fireball.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Amplify."
The fireball instantly tripled in size and speed.
Boom—hiss!
Steam billowed as fire and water collided.
With Sage Mode's heightened sensory perception, Kabuto instantly pinpointed Sasuke's position and launched a surprise attack with his Chakra Scalpel.
Sasuke perceived Kabuto's rapid approach with the Mangekyō Sharingan and countered in close combat using Chidori Blade once more.
Clang! Clang!
They clashed fiercely.
But this time, Kabuto's sensory abilities and physical strength far surpassed his normal state. Even with the Mangekyō, Sasuke struggled to track his attack patterns—and even when he read them, blocking was difficult.
Sasuke was steadily forced backward. As he neared a corner, he quickly covered his body in lightning.
"Chidori Current!"
Kabuto simply coated his hand in chakra, thrust it through the lightning discharge, and slapped Sasuke hard across the face.
Sasuke was sent flying, his mind momentarily blank.
The serpent-like chakra around Kabuto began to writhe.
"Sage Art: White Extreme Attack!"
The purple chakra serpents surged forward at blinding speed.
"Bishamonten."
With his right eye, Sasuke instantly perceived the technique's underlying structure.
"Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi — Dragon Flame Technique!"
Black flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth, shaping into a dragon's head that charged toward the serpents.
Just before impact, the serpents attempted to merge into one massive snake—but Sasuke gave them no chance.
"Amplify — Speed."
The black flame dragon accelerated fivefold, scattering the serpents in an instant.
Sensing danger, Kabuto immediately infused life into the surrounding inorganic matter and seized control.
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
Stone spikes erupted from the ground, blocking the attack.
"So you saw through it… Is this your other Mangekyō ability, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke was beginning to grasp the true nature of his eyes. His left eye could selectively amplify fewer attributes—but the increase would be far greater than when enhancing multiple aspects at once.
Ordinarily, tripling a technique's power would require far more than triple the chakra due to the extreme precision needed for perfect control.
But his left-eye dōjutsu required only the normal chakra cost of the technique, plus a portion of Yin Release chakra.
Having discerned the underlying formula of techniques with his right eye, Sasuke's confidence surged once more.
"Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi."
He coated the Sword of Kusanagi in black flames and rushed forward. Kabuto met him with his scalpel.
As they closed in—
Sasuke suddenly locked eyes with Kabuto.
"Sharingan Genjutsu."
"Not good!"
Kabuto's body trembled, freezing in place.
Sasuke smirked. "You only have yourself to blame for daring to meet my Mangekyō Sharingan's gaze."
He stepped forward and raised his blade—
Suddenly—
"Chakra Scalpel!"
Kabuto struck Sasuke square in the chest.
"—!"
Sasuke spat blood and collapsed.
He tried to rise—but found his body completely unresponsive. In desperation, he gathered Yin Release chakra midair to form Kagutsuchi flames.
Kabuto walked over and dispelled the black fire with a swipe of his scalpel.
"Don't struggle, Sasuke-kun. I severed your muscles and disrupted your chakra pathways. You can't move at all now.
Unfortunately… you've lost again."
Unwilling but acknowledging defeat, Sasuke allowed his Mangekyō Sharingan to revert to its normal state.
Kabuto crouched down and treated Sasuke's injuries with medical ninjutsu.
Once healed, Sasuke avoided looking at Nagi.
The last time he fought Sasori, he had suffered from overconfidence as well.
He hadn't expected that even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, he would repeat the same mistake again.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
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