Even though he had accepted Amado's modifications, integrating numerous Scientific Ninja Tools into his body, Nagato still believed deep down that shinobi were stronger than machines. Machines might make a person stronger, but a true shinobi could never be surpassed by mere technology.
Watching the five elemental jutsu sweeping towards him, Nagato raised his hand, instantly activating his Rinnegan to begin absorbing their energy. Normally, this kind of chakra absorption should have been relatively slow, but Nagato's current absorption speed was astonishingly fast. It felt like he had absorbed everything in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Sasuke was momentarily stunned. That absorption speed… it was comparable to what Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki had been capable of. But Momoshiki possessed a unique dōjutsu, the Takamimusubinokami in his Rinnegan, which allowed him to rapidly absorb chakra, amplify it, and redirect it. Nagato, however, merely possessed the Rinnegan without such a specific, special ability.
So this is the difference after being modified, Sasuke mused, observing Nagato. After absorbing his chakra, Nagato's ocular power seemed to have significantly intensified. The oppressive feeling radiating from his gaze grew stronger.
Simultaneously, Nagato formed Black Receivers in his hand, but they seemed fused with some kind of special metal, gleaming with an unusual silver-grey luster.
Sasuke paused, momentarily taken aback. Even he had to marvel now. 'Scientific Ninja Tools… they truly are incredible things! Can they even alter Black Receivers like this?'
As surprise flickered through him, Sasuke slowly drew the Kusanagi Sword from his side. At the same time, a thought struck him.
That's right!
His own ability—the one that could strip powers not just from living beings but even objects—could it potentially nullify the capabilities of Scientific Ninja Tools as well?
At this thought, Sasuke's eyes lit up, eager to test his theory.
Meanwhile, Nagato sensed a sudden surge of excitement radiating from Sasuke, as if something had just ignited within him. Nagato frowned, looking directly at him.
"You are indeed proficient in all five basic nature transformations. In terms of ninjutsu, I am completely overwhelmed. Truly an all-around ninja," Nagato conceded. "However, as an all-around ninja, your taijutsu must also be exceptional. So… I'm still not convinced. I refuse to believe my taijutsu is inferior to yours!"
With that declaration, Nagato pushed off the ground, charging towards Sasuke, gradually accelerating.
Back at the Kara organization's base, Amado watched the data stream across his monitors.
"The ninjutsu data collection is almost complete," Amado announced. "Based on this data, if we purely evaluate ninjutsu potency… out of the more than seventeen thousand shinobi data sets we've collected to date, he ranks number one!"
"Take Fire Style, for example. The power of Sasuke's Fire Style jutsu is equivalent to thirty-seven times the power of a Jonin who specializes solely in Fire Style!"
Hearing this figure, even Jigen, standing behind him, couldn't help but show a flicker of surprise.
"As expected of Uchiha Sasuke," Jigen murmured.
On the screen, the taijutsu clash between Sasuke and Nagato had already begun.
Gripping the silver-grey staff, Nagato performed several consecutive leaps, his body spinning rapidly in mid-air. Using the rotational acceleration, he brought the staff crashing down from above with ferocious force.
CRACK!
The ground erupted upon impact, shattering instantly. Fissures spiderwebbed outwards, stretching seven or eight meters across the fractured earth.
Yet Sasuke, with merely a slight shift of his feet, sidestepped the blow effortlessly. In the same fluid motion, he raised his hand, placing the Kusanagi Sword directly against Nagato's neck.
Nagato froze.
He turned his head, staring at Sasuke. This wasn't just taijutsu anymore. It felt as though this man had completely seen through his intended movements…
The moment Nagato looked at Sasuke, their eyes met.
He saw Sasuke's Sharingan! Eight tomoe, arranged in three concentric circles – inner, middle, and outer – spinning slowly. The pattern resembled the ripples of the Rinnegan.
Nagato had never seen such a Sharingan before; he hadn't even heard whispers of its existence.
Simultaneously, the image of Sasuke's unique Sharingan appeared on the main screen in the Kara base. The instant they saw those eyes, Amado shot up from his chair. A look of profound shock also crossed Jigen's face.
Silence descended for several seconds, broken only by the soft ticking and whirring of the computers in the lab.
After a long moment, Amado finally spoke, his voice hushed.
"So this… this is why Uchiha Sasuke is so different!"
Hearing this, Jigen, standing nearby, looked puzzled, sensing Amado might have known something beforehand. "Do you know what's going on with his Sharingan?"
Amado gave a slight, knowing smile. "Previously, we captured a member of the Uchiha clan and used them for research on the Sharingan."
"However, that subject only possessed four tomoe."
"At the time, I theorized it was merely a mutation, albeit one heading in a terrifying direction!" Amado's eyes gleamed as he gazed at Sasuke's image on the screen.
"That Uchiha test subject back then… after his eyes developed into a four-tomoe Sharingan, his ocular power increased dramatically! His perceptive abilities were insanely enhanced! You could almost say… it was like he could glimpse the future!"
"...I can't even begin to imagine the terrifying level of dōjutsu, the frightening degree of insight, possessed by an eight-tomoe Sharingan!"
Just adding one more tomoe seemed to have almost doubled the Sharingan's power entirely. Did Sasuke's current eight-tomoe Sharingan mean his eyes had undergone eight distinct enhancements? Eight power-ups?
And if each enhancement was indeed multiplicative… then Uchiha Sasuke's eyes were likely… arguably the most fearsome eyes in the entire shinobi world.
"Eight tomoe…" Amado breathed. "Perhaps this isn't even the limit. Maybe they can eventually evolve into a nine-tomoe Sharingan!"
Nine tomoe!
If his eyes truly reached that stage, what kind of power would Sasuke ultimately wield? Even Jigen, now, found it difficult to fathom.
CLANG!
Back in the fight, Sasuke's Sharingan remained locked onto Nagato. The next instant, they clashed again.
Despite having the Rinnegan, the legendary eyes of the Sage, Nagato seemed like a mere child in Sasuke's hands. He was utterly powerless to resist. Every single move was effortlessly predicted by Sasuke, whose unparalleled taijutsu, combined with his supreme insight, left Nagato completely exposed. Just these two abilities layered together were enough to overwhelm ninety-five percent of the shinobi world. The remaining few could likely only manage to barely hold their ground, not truly fight back.
"Now this is the presence of the shinobi world's finest!" Amado exclaimed, watching the screen. Sasuke wasn't even using his left hand, relying solely on his sword.
Yet he rendered Nagato completely helpless. Every effortless slash from Sasuke was impeccable not only in angle and speed but also possessed terrifying, brute strength. Each time their weapons met, Nagato was sent staggering back several meters before managing to regain his footing.
CLANG!
Suddenly, with a flick of his wrist, Sasuke sent Nagato's weapon flying. The Kusanagi Sword pressed firmly against Nagato's throat. Its razor edge broke the skin, and a single drop of crimson blood trickled down his neck.
"Well?" Sasuke asked coolly. "How do you feel now?"
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