An indescribable agony brutally tortured his inner self.
Although he genuinely didn't like Naruto that much, no matter what, Naruto was his friend! Witnessing the death of his friend and doing nothing about it— he couldn't do that, even merely watching caused his heart to feel as if it was being pierced by needles.
It was in that moment he fiercely charged out; he could feel his eyes swelling slightly, yet bizarrely, he discovered that he could see very clearly.
He could easily grasp many details, and under such circumstances, he could precisely take down this guy and thereby save Naruto!
However, after seeing that Naruto was unharmed, although he breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze became even sharper.
Because after willingly revealing his position, his situation also became dangerous.
Five enemies were already heading his way, and two were being held back by Kakashi. Although Kakashi had been pressing the two in battle, clearly, he couldn't extricate himself.
"If that's the case…"
The Kunai in Sasuke's hand was gripped even tighter; he was now also slightly nervous, knowing that what followed would undoubtedly be a fierce battle.
Obviously, he couldn't rely on Naruto, and Karin's abilities were more supportive in nature. Therefore, the pressure of the attack naturally fell upon himself.
"Those eyes. Kill this brat, charge!"
Those Stone ninjas had absolutely no unnecessary words; when they were less than ten meters away from Sasuke, they decisively gave the order and subsequently exploded with even greater speed.
"Ninjutsu · Adamantine Sealing!"
At this moment, Karin, who had been hiding, suddenly leapt up. Her hands formed seals and a mass of steel cables emerged from behind her, brutally shooting toward those Stone ninjas.
The reactions of these five Stone ninjas weren't particularly slow, but Karin's timing was just too good— two unlucky ones couldn't react in time and were directly ensnared by the steel cables.
"Well done, Karin!"
Seeing this scene, Sasuke's eyes instantly brightened; his eyes immediately found a suitable angle, and then the Kunai in his hand was directly shot out.
At the same time, his hands began to form seals, and the chakra within him surged rapidly.
"Fire Release · Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Orange flames, like touch-me-not seeds that fly out upon touch, rapidly scattered in all directions, fiercely assaulting the enemy.
After executing all of this, Sasuke immediately controlled the flames with his chakra on one hand, and quickly followed up on the other.
"Damn it!"
A Stone ninja, who had long jumped into the air, watched the rushing Kunai; he cursed under his breath and then shot out his own Kunai.
"Cling!"
Kunai clashed in mid-air, but he could not avoid the following flames at all.
He could only watch, eyes wide open, as the orange flames fiercely crashed into him, rapidly igniting his entire body.
Sasuke didn't bother to witness that scene; he had completely entered a state of combat.
Leaping up, he somersaulted in the air, his hand catching a recoiled Kunai.
Simultaneously, upon landing, his Kunai stabbed towards a Stone ninja who had just dodged the flames!
"Squish!"
The Kunai mercilessly pierced through the guy's body, blood ceaselessly flowing from the edges of the Kunai, quickly soaking his clothes and also dripping onto the ground.
This time, Sasuke seemed much calmer, perhaps because he had become accustomed to bloodshed, or perhaps the current situation simply didn't allow him any discomfort.
However, he quickly furrowed his brows, because this guy, just before dying, grabbed Sasuke's arm tightly, making it impossible for him to withdraw!
"Damn brat, die!"
What made Sasuke feel even more endangered was that the last freely moving Stone ninja behind him, after dodging the Fire Release, immediately charged towards him.
Faced with this situation, Sasuke could only grit his teeth and try hard to withdraw his hand, but after all, he was still just a ten-year-old kid.
Even if his current strength could definitely allow him to graduate smoothly, becoming a quite capable Genin, or even try to become a Chunin.
But due to his age, his physical development was simply not up to par, plus, as an Uchiha, his physical growth had always been relatively slow.
He simply could not wrestle with someone who seemed to be fourteen or fifteen years old, or even older in actuality.
Especially since this guy was counterattacking in the face of death, that kind of will to die erupted, and it was an entirely terrifying strength, aimed at dragging Sasuke down to hell with him.
"Oh no!"
Sasuke vigorously attempted several times but simply could not free his hand. His expression darkened a shade more at this moment.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Yet, at this most critical moment, he suddenly felt a burst of chakra erupt from behind, causing him to immediately turn his head to look.
He saw many Narutos charging in succession toward the Stone ninja, swiftly transforming into clouds of smoke after being struck.
This strategy indeed delayed the Stone ninja's offensive, yet the guy didn't stop at all.
He stared hard at Sasuke, especially into Sasuke's eyes, his own eyes erupting with a readiness to die—it seemed as if he was determined to take one down with him in his limit!
"Dream on!"
But, as he continuously shattered Naruto's shadow clones with his Kunai, Naruto's actual body suddenly leaped high, followed by a furious roar.
In Naruto's hand, a blue, spinning chakra ball had fully formed, with terrifying power recklessly spreading.
"Rasengan!"
He moved quickly, and the moment he descended, the chakra ball directly struck the chest of the Stone ninja.
In an instant, Sasuke seemed to hear the sound of bones breaking, and the struck guy screamed, then was blown away, flying backward.
His body heavily collided with a tree, blood ceaselessly flowing from his mouth, and finally, he lowered his head and moved no more.
Sasuke, stunned, watched all of this unfold, especially eyeing that blonde fellow, a slight smile also appearing at his own mouth corner, though his face quickly turned sour again.
Because that blonde fellow suddenly turned his head, then revealed a sunshine-filled smile, and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Next time, don't be so careless, idiot."
"You all did quite well, huh. It was somewhat beyond my expectations. However, each of you still has many issues."
Kakashi, squinting one eye, gazed at the three little ones in front of him with a faint smile, while beneath his feet lay two Rock Hidden ninja tied up from head to toe.
Obviously, the battle just now wasn't much trouble for him, although he used his Sharingan to ensure an absolute advantage in the fight.
However, even without utilizing that power, he could still achieve victory, but then he would not be able to extricate himself to protect these three little ones in a real crisis.
Fortunately, even though their battle seemed riddled with various issues, in the end, their performance was somewhat beyond even their expectations.
Strictly speaking, their basic skills and raw talent were notably inferior compared to Kakashi's own generation of classmates, but they were indeed quite commendable.
Especially that little one, Sasuke; his performance was truly dazzling.
Even though he ended up in danger due to lack of experience, no matter what, this was his first face-off against an enemy.
And most importantly, the kid actually activated the Sharingan!
Given such a performance, Kakashi was genuinely happy for him—this young one, if developed properly, would certainly become another excellent Uchiha clan member in the future.
As for Naruto and Karin, each had their strengths, and each also had their respective flaws.
Naruto's initial performance could only be described as unsightly, but he came to his senses at the last moment and assisted Sasuke, which was truly commendable.
Especially the young one's Shadow Clone and Rasengan, truly impressive, it was apparent that the boy under the Hokage's training, was quite adept.
It was just a lack of combat experience and added nervousness that made him behave that way.
As for Uzumaki Karin, overall, she was quite good and very calm, but it was exactly because she was too calm that sometimes her performance seemed rigid.
Kakashi could sense her unease and tension when her teammates were in danger, but at that moment, she was somewhat mechanically hesitant to act, instead continuing to look for opportunities.
By the time she realized Naruto was in serious trouble and wanted to take action, Sasuke had already made a move.
Still, fortunately, she subsequently provided excellent support for Sasuke, and her secret techniques also played their intended role—overall, it was decent.
Kakashi gave a bit-by-bit critique of their issues, and his words made all three of them involuntarily lower their heads, obviously feeling dissatisfied with their own performances.
However, Kakashi didn't have such thoughts. He smiled, clapped his hands to get their attention, and continued speaking with a smile.
"For a squad that has just entered the battlefield, your performance has been quite good, and the necessary cooperation is there.
But your biggest issue is still the insufficient control over your own emotions. There's actually nothing I can do about this situation; what you need to do is slowly adapt.
However, you must always remember one thing: in war, facing any enemy is a you-die-or-I-die struggle.
The very essence of a ninja is to be born for battle, to continuously adjust one's mindset. Only in this way can you survive in the midst of war.
At the very least, you won't hold back your teammates."
Kakashi's words were all factual, yet for each of the three individuals, they also seemed somewhat heavy, causing all three to involuntarily fall silent.
//
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