Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 132: Meow~~Thank you for your patronage, that’ll be 200,000 ryo

Chapter 132: Meow~~Thank you for your patronage, that'll be 200,000 ryo

"Lee's teacher is this strong??"

On Mount Katsuragi, Sasuke glanced at Guy, who was fiercely battling Hagoromo Gengetsu, his face full of disbelief.

When Six Gates Guy broke through the sea of fire from the Fire Release: Majestic Demolisher Flame and swiftly kicked towards him, Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan could see it but couldn't react in time. If Hagoromo Gengetsu hadn't thrown him aside, Sasuke would have likely been taken down. He was already very surprised at that moment.

Now, seeing Guy seemingly holding his own against Hagoromo Gengetsu, he was even more shocked.

Others might not know, but he was fully aware of the true identity of his "clansman."

Even if this person hadn't exerted his full strength, Guy's current performance was something to be proud of.

Recalling the first time he saw Guy during the Chūnin Exams and thinking how ridiculous he seemed, Sasuke shook his head.

You can't judge a book by its cover, the old saying really holds true.

But...

"Lee's teacher is indeed a Konoha jōnin?"

"And Kakashi... Lee's teacher is considered his lifelong rival, that's no joke?"

Watching Guy's current performance and recalling Kakashi's past strength, Sasuke felt there must be some kind of misunderstanding here.

But there was no time to ponder over it now.

Having already opened the Four Gates, a miniature Guy, Rock Lee, charged towards Sasuke with a powerful gale.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

A spinning high kick came with tremendous force.

"Eighth Inner Gates..."

Sasuke's expression hardened. With his three-tomoe Sharingan, he quickly dodged the attack.

Compared to Guy, the not yet fully matured Lee was still quite immature.

Clang~~

Sasuke drew his Kusanagi-like ninja sword, crafted by the founder of the Ninja Craftsman Village, Seimei.

Infused with chakra, the sword was instantly activated with lightning power. With one slash, Sasuke forced Lee back and then swept it around himself.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

In a series of metallic clashes, the projectiles thrown by Tenten were all deflected.

Buzz, buzz, buzz~~~

The sound of countless insects' wings approached rapidly.

"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"

Shino spread his arms, and a massive swarm of kikaichū bugs emerged from his body, forming a cloud that engulfed Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned, quickly forming hand seals and then exhaling:

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

A massive amount of flame spewed from his mouth, transforming into a giant fire dragon. Under Sasuke's control, it first incinerated the approaching kikaichū swarm, then turned towards the others.

Boom~~~

The roaring flames created a barrier, separating the two sides.

Taking advantage of the break, Sasuke pulled out a soldier pill from his ninja pouch, ready to consume it.

Although his strength had increased significantly, his chakra reserves hadn't grown as fast. After the recent intense battles, his chakra was running low.

Just as Sasuke was about to swallow the soldier pill—

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

Suddenly, he found himself tightly bound by a large tree.

Previously silent and out of sight, Kurenai emerged from the tree, her slender fingers reaching for the back of Sasuke's head.

"Genjutsu?"

Sasuke snorted lightly.

Back in Konoha, even with his three-tomoe Sharingan, without the Uchiha clan's genjutsu training, he might have been caught by this jōnin's genjutsu.

But now, having filled this gap in his knowledge at Lockfront Village, Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

"Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change!"

In an instant, the tree binding Sasuke disappeared, replaced by Kurenai being bound by the same tree not far away.

"A Sharingan is truly a nightmare for genjutsu-type ninjas," Kurenai sighed with a calm expression.

Facing Uchiha Itachi, she could accept being overpowered by the Mangekyō Sharingan.

But now, even a three-tomoe Sharingan from a younger Uchiha was enough to reflect her genjutsu, proving again that Sharingan was the bane of genjutsu users.

However...

Even if Sharingan was the bane, it wasn't absolute.

Just then, Sasuke instinctively looked at Kurenai.

In that moment, her figure vanished like a bubble.

Having learned from Itachi's Sharingan, Kurenai wouldn't repeat the same mistake.

Demonic Illusion: Naraku Clone.

Sasuke's counterattack had only targeted her genjutsu clone.

Moreover, when the clone dispersed, beautiful cherry blossoms scattered from where it vanished.

Falling Petals Illusion!

To rise to jōnin rank, Kurenai's skills were certainly not superficial.

In an instant, the roles reversed. The experienced jōnin had tricked Sasuke. Seeing the cherry blossoms, Sasuke felt incredibly fatigued, yearning to sleep.

"Another genjutsu!"

Although Sasuke quickly broke the genjutsu,

In that split second, a hand emerged from the ground, grabbed his ankle, and pulled hard.

"Earth Release: Head Hunter Jutsu!"

Boom!

Sasuke's body plunged into the ground, leaving only his head above.

Kakashi, who had been underground, surfaced.

"Sasuke, reflect well after this."

Kakashi spread his fingers, ready to use a sealing technique to block Sasuke's chakra.

Sasuke calmly glanced at Kakashi.

In the next moment,

A violent tremor erupted.

As Kakashi's pupils shrank, Sasuke's head retracted underground, disappearing entirely.

Soon after, a large pit collapsed in an open space nearby. Emerging from it was a cat-sized mechanical drill, wielded by an orange tabby cat with an abacus around its neck, along with the previously missing Sasuke.

"Meow~~Thank you for your patronage, that'll be 200,000 ryo," the large tabby cat said, extending its paw toward Sasuke, eyes gleaming with greed.

"I'll pay you back when I return," Sasuke replied, knowing the tabby's love for money, as he swallowed the soldier pill he hadn't eaten before.

The tabby tilted its head, reluctantly nodding, "Given your good credit, I'll take the risk this time. Remember, no more than seven days, or the interest doubles, meow."

With that, the tabby waved goodbye in a maneki-neko pose, poofed into white smoke, and vanished.

Across the way, Kakashi, noticing this, frowned, "The ninja cat clan? When did Sasuke form a contract with them?"

Though aware that the ninja cat clan used to be the Uchiha clan's intelligence source, the Uchiha clan no longer existed.

In Kakashi's memory, Sasuke had never signed a summoning contract with them.

Thus, he hadn't considered the possibility of a summoning beast, causing his plan to fall short, allowing Sasuke to escape again.

"Also, when did Sasuke use the summoning technique? Was it during the Great Dragon Fire to obscure vision?"

The only time Sasuke was out of sight was after the Great Dragon Fire.

That must be it.