When a voice suddenly appears behind you while you're stealthily hiding, it's quite startling. Sasuke, momentarily surprised, immediately grew serious and swung his right elbow backward without thinking.
Bang.
It felt like hitting a solid wall. Despite putting all his strength into the elbow strike, it couldn't move an inch further.
'This felt different.' Logan looked at his palm, which had blocked the elbow strike, 'It seemed my early help in planning the physical training for him was not in vain. His strength was not bad.'
Quickly recovering, Sasuke, feeling the rush of wind behind his head, lowered his body even further. Already crouched, he twisted to the right due to the elbow strike, his foot slipping as he dropped down, grabbing the original tree trunk with his left hand, while his right hand reached into his ninja tool pouch.
"Good reflexes." The shadow in front of him complimented, then swiftly kicked Sasuke in the stomach, faster than his right hand could react.
With a muffled grunt, Sasuke immediately fell to the ground. However, mid-air, a few flying weapons thrown upward surprised his teacher for the first time.
Ding, ding, ding...
Logan deflected the shuriken with a kunai. The sharp weapons cut through the air with a sharp, chaotic sound, embedding themselves into the surrounding trees. The surprise in Logan's eyes faded, replaced by a smile.
He felt a familiar sensation, reminiscent of those two brothers… Sasuke managed to throw shuriken while falling, showcasing a skill that overlapped with something from his past.
"Even though the task is for you to grab the bells, it's impossible if you don't show yourselves." Logan jumped down and stood in front of Sasuke, who had just gotten up and looked wary, "But it's not good to hide and hide all the time, right? I'm not familiar with that girl, Sakura, so I had to break the rules for you, Sasuke."
"Tch." Sasuke's expression showed disdain, "I was already prepared to attack you, Hattori-sensei."
"But just as you were about to, I beat you to it?" Logan teased.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, unable to retort, so he decided to attack directly.
Swish, swish…
The shuriken was thrown out generously, though the direction was odd, as it curved mid-flight.
'The two Jonin had already discovered where we were hiding and deliberately didn't reveal it...' After throwing out the shuriken with both hands, Sasuke rushed over from the front, realizing the truth in his heart.
It was an embarrassing fact, and the best Sasuke could do was put more force into his punches.
Bang.
Smoke puffed out as the shuriken hit a wooden stump.
With sharp eyes, Sasuke noticed the leaves of a tree shaking. He quickly threw a kunai in that direction.
However, after the kunai entered the foliage, there was no sound of it hitting anything.
Before Sasuke's doubts arose, his pupils shrank, and the thrown kunai returned at him with a speed several times faster than when it was thrown away!
He recalled the kunai thrown by that retired ANBU uncle during Logan's class at the Ninja Academy years ago. It had the same sharp and deadly feeling. The black blade whizzed toward him, causing his hair to stand on end. The difference in strength was evident, as even the kunai thrown had a completely different level of feeling. Sasuke could only turn sideways and use the newly taken kunai to block it.
Clang...
Sparks flew as the kunai deflected, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
It was dangerous yet exhilarating. Sasuke found himself breathing heavily, excitement bubbling up in his eyes after blocking the attack. From the kunai just now, he could tell that Logan had been serious in his attack, and he had managed to deflect it.
"Well, not bad." Logan walked out of the woods and said with a leisure smile.
"Hmph." Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little proud, but Logan's leisurely smile seemed off after a while. Realizing something, Sasuke's expression darkened.
The wind blew, and the bell hanging on the other party's waist swayed slightly, making a crisp sound.
'I still have to get the bell...'
It was tricky, no, it was very tricky. Sasuke took a deep breath but showed no signs of retreating as he charged forward again.
"Aren't you going to try using Ninjutsu?" After blocking Sasuke's attacks and easily seeing through his feints to grab the bell, Logan suddenly asked.
"What?" Sasuke's attack missed, and Logan's sidekick came at him. The seemingly light attack packed immense power, forcing Sasuke to use both hands to barely withstand it.
"Isn't the Uchiha Clan known for their Fire Release Ninjutsu? If you can maintain it for ten seconds, I'll give you the bell." Logan applied more force, causing Sasuke to tremble under the pressure, "How about it?"
After rolling on the ground twice, Sasuke was a little annoyed when he got up, "My Fire Release can last much longer than just ten..."
"Fire Release..." Logan started to form hand seals ruthlessly, and the fluctuations of his Chakra suddenly became obvious.
Just after Sasuke had exhausted himself and barely managed to get up, he was faced with the decision, 'Should I use Ninjutsu to block it?'
A sense of crisis enveloped him, leaving Sasuke no time to say anything else. The air grew hot with the surge of Chakra, and his hands instinctively began performing the familiar hand seals he had practiced countless times.
'The speed was not slow.' Logan matched Sasuke's pace, completing the hand seals at the same time as him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Boom!"
The two fireballs collided, causing a brilliant flash that illuminated the surroundings.
"Ten, nine, eight..."
Amidst the merging fire jutsu, sparks flew onto the grass, filling the air with the smell of burning vegetation. After he instinctively completed the technique, Sasuke recalled Logan's words and his eyes widened, seeing Logan's gaze through the flames.
"Seven, six, five..."
Having completed both tree climbing and water walking training early, Sasuke's Chakra Control is no longer weak. In the original work, he could already perform Fire Release Technique. The power of a technique varies depending on the user, and even the same person can show different levels of power at different times. And the size and reach of Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique showed now showcased the fruits of his years of effort. He is even studying other more advanced Fire Release Techniques.
'It is not easy to maintain a large fire ball for ten seconds.' Sasuke thought to himself with a mix of annoyance and determination.
The fireballs continued to roar, but with only three seconds left in the countdown, Sasuke noticed Logan blinking.
Boom-
The opponent's huge fire ball suddenly expanded, its orange-red glow intensifying, and a powerful heat wave surged forward. Seeing the massive fireball consume his own, Sasuke's expression faltered.
"Shameless..."
"I can't help it, I can't give you the bell." The overwhelming flames engulfed everything in sight. Logan's embarrassed mumble was inaudible to Sasuke, now lost in the blazing heat.