Chapter 956

Especially that drooping left hand, seemingly dislocated and unable to lift, she gasped desperately, drawing oxygen into her chest, faint red chakra condensing without dispersing around her.

Compared to Naruto's dire state, Sasune clearly had the upper hand, or rather, she was merely gritting her teeth to appear stronger than Naruto.

After that night, Sasune was no longer the innocent girl she once was; though the pain had long passed, the scar in her heart would never fade.

Now, looking around the entire village, besides Naruto, she had no other "sickly pity" person to choose from.

So she turned all her negative emotions into the kunai she hurled wildly, her sole target now being Naruto, who was just as desperate as she was.

17

To be honest, Sasune even felt a little jealous of Naruto—Fourth Hokage was merely missing, with a high chance of returning someday, but what did she have left?

She recalled waking up alone in the hospital ward, then Third Hokage coming in and merely stating she would now be under Kakashi's tutelage.

"Naruto! Let your body respond to the call within your heart! Now—attack!"

Kushina's voice echoed across the training ground, snapping Sasune back to her senses; the black-painted, reweighted training kunai she held barely retracted as she crossed her arms into a defensive stance.

Hearing her mother's words, Naruto instinctively performed a series of impossible movements, lifting her kicked leg and slamming it hard onto Sasune's crossed arms.

"Boom!"

"Body Replacement Technique."

Amid a puff of white smoke, the "Sasune" Naruto kicked turned into a wooden post, wood chips flying everywhere.

Immediately, in Naruto's heightened senses, Sasune's chakra signature appeared behind her.

"That's the Body Flicker Technique!"

Kakashi on the sidelines was stunned—he never expected that in this war-torn era, someone still in their teens could use the Body Flicker Technique.

Sasune showed no mercy; her kunai stabbed unhesitatingly toward Naruto's lower back. When her brother had no time to train with her, she had endured countless sessions with Itachi; now, her single-tomoe Sharingan spun, her stance rock-steady, striking back instantly after the Body Flicker.

This high-difficulty maneuver was now second nature, and the kunai struck Naruto exactly as she intended.

"It's a Shadow Clone!"

Kakashi, who had just sat down, was stunned again; he instinctively glanced at Kushina, who was loudly coaching the two girls, then at the "Sealed Scroll" filled with forbidden jutsu—how many people in Konoha right now could even access it?

Mistress, are you serious? Teaching Naruto these jutsu from the scroll?

"Use everything you've learned! Shadow Clones aren't meant to be used as replacement targets."

The ground split open, four Narutos bursting forth, all targeting only Sasune's limbs.

Sasune knew Naruto's plan perfectly—both Body Replacement and Body Flicker had just been used; with her constitution, she couldn't possibly use them again so soon. She gritted her teeth, raised her hand, and prepared to bite her finger to draw blood.

"That's enough! Training time is over!" The temperature in the arena plummeted instantly; if moments ago it had been normal for the season, it was now as cold as the Winter Solstice.

Water Moon Mi, who had been observing from above via the Ice Crystal Mirror, emerged directly from the mirror's surface and landed between Sasune and Naruto, stopping their next moves with one hand on each.

"You're Mizu Komei?" Kushina instantly recognized her; Kakashi, meanwhile, focused more on the ice mirror still fading nearby.

"Uchiha Sasune, do you know what you were about to do?" Mi ignored greeting Kushina, merely nodded in acknowledgment, then turned her attention to Sasune, whose face had grown dark.

Refusing to communicate? Too bad—this trick doesn't work on me. Young Yuanzi's orders must be fulfilled; even if Sasune refuses to cooperate, Mi didn't care. She turned to Naruto—the girl stood aside, still slightly breathless. At this age, Naruto trying to tap into the Nine-Tails' power was clearly too much. Kushina was indeed too hasty!

"To instruct the Uchiha orphan, Uchiha Sasune, in the application of her bloodline and self-protection, the Third Hokage has specifically ordered me to oversee her progress in real time." Mi unrolled a scroll; though distant, Kakashi clearly read its contents.

"I'm sorry, but this differs from the orders I received." Kakashi raised his own scroll and unfurled it as Mi had done.

"Hmm, now the orders are the same." As Kakashi stared in shock and confusion, he vanished in an instant, reduced to ash within the flames of the Nine-Tails' chakra; Kushina, having struck while Kakashi's attention was fully on Sasune, spoke calmly.