"Bold move."
Izayoi wasn't surprised by Uchiha Sasuke's choice.
However, on the surface, he still gave Sasuke a thumbs-up.
This choice was also a good thing for Izayoi.
In a Taijutsu Duel, it was impossible to unleash one's full strength, and even if he won, the drop rate was much lower compared to an Unrestricted Duel.
This was something Izayoi had confirmed.
When Hinata didn't use her Pressure Point Strike to channel Chakra into her body, Izayoi had defeated her without dropping any Talents.
The gap in strength between her and Izayoi was simply too vast.
Although it was possible to drop Talents even in a one-sided battle, the probability was extremely low, and Izayoi hadn't encountered it in the past year.
But when Hinata used her Pressure Point Strike and went all out, Izayoi had managed to drop two Talents from her in the past year—one purple and one blue.
These Talents were Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Purple) and Chakra Control (Blue).
It wasn't that Izayoi looked down on Uchiha Sasuke, but as someone who knew the plot and had astonishing talent, he had been taking shortcuts since he was three years old.
A cheater had a head start of three to four years over another cheater.
If it weren't for the fact that Sasuke had already mastered the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, he would have posed no threat to Izayoi at all.
And the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique could increase Sasuke's drop rate.
An Unrestricted Duel was the best choice.
"Let's begin!"
Izayoi took a few steps back, creating distance between himself and Sasuke, then raised his index and middle fingers.
Seeing this, Sasuke also formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Immediately, the two charged at each other.
As they closed in, Sasuke threw a punch.
Izayoi sidestepped while simultaneously lifting his leg and spinning 180 degrees, delivering a kick aimed at Sasuke's face with astonishing flexibility.
Sasuke didn't have time to dodge and could only raise his other arm to block with his forearm, but the force of the kick sent him stumbling back several steps.
By the time he regained his footing, he was already in a severely passive position.
Izayoi closed the distance, his arms swinging left and right, aiming punches at Sasuke's face and chest.
The power wasn't overwhelming, but the speed of the attacks made it difficult for Sasuke to react.
Just as he blocked the first punch, the second one found an opening and landed on his face.
After taking the first hit, Sasuke completely lost his rhythm, becoming little more than a moving punching bag.
His raised arm was even exploited by Izayoi, who used it to grapple and pull, disrupting Sasuke's balance.
In contrast, Izayoi's combos started off chaotic but gradually became more rhythmic.
It was like the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palm—without channeling Chakra into the body, the damage wasn't significant, but during the combo, the opponent was completely unable to fight back.
After who knows how many hits, Izayoi finally stopped his assault, spinning 360 degrees to deliver a powerful kick that sent Sasuke flying.
The force of this kick was even more devastating than the previous combo, making it difficult for Sasuke to breathe.
But as he looked at Izayoi, who had retracted his leg, Sasuke—who had been trapped in a Genjutsu space for days, repeatedly reliving the massacre of his clan—suddenly saw the reflection of Uchiha Itachi in Izayoi.
The words of disdain Itachi had spoken echoed in his mind.
'You're too weak now. Live on in disgrace, struggling to survive with all your might…'
Uchiha Sasuke's expression suddenly twisted.
"Uchiha Itachi, I will definitely kill you! Fire Release... Great Fireball Technique!"
He mistook Izayoi for Uchiha Itachi, then formed hand seals and spat out a small flame from his mouth, which rapidly expanded into a massive, high-temperature fireball, hurling toward Izayoi. "Perfect timing, Wind Release... Wind Cutter Technique!"
Instead of being alarmed, Izayoi was delighted. He pretended to form hand seals and exhaled a breath, which suddenly materialized into a transparent, sickle-shaped wind blade, colliding with the incoming fireball.
In the next second, the enormous fireball was sliced diagonally, and the weakened wind blade continued forward, landing on Uchiha Sasuke.
Rip—
With the sound of fabric tearing, blood spurted from Sasuke's body.
As Sasuke fell to the ground, he instantly became motionless.
Izayoi, however, remained calm and walked over unhurriedly.
At this point, anyone could die, except for Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.
The news of the Gedo Statue being summoned from the moon must have already reached the Sage of Six Paths.
He would undoubtedly know that the second pair of Rinnegan had been born.
To prevent their mother from reviving before Indra and Asura had fully matured, the Sage of Six Paths would never allow the reincarnations of Indra and Asura of this generation to die easily.
Moreover, if Sasuke were killed by a weakened C-rank Wind Cutter Technique, he wouldn't deserve to be the second male lead.
When Izayoi reached Sasuke's side, he indeed still had a pulse.
The wind blade had only torn his clothes and left a scratch on his body, without reaching the bone.
Izayoi crouched down and used basic Medical Ninja Techniques to treat him.
Pop—
At that moment, Izayoi seemed to hear a sound, clearer than a bursting balloon.
Following the sound, he focused intently.
Only Izayoi could see the bubbles floating around Sasuke's body.
He happened to catch sight of a bubble that had just burst, and the red beam of light flying toward him.
"Huh?"
Seeing the rapidly enlarging red beam of light in his vision, Izayoi rarely showed a stunned expression.
Red... red? How many reds did Uchiha Sasuke have?
Was red the highest known level, or was it purple?
But the prompt that immediately echoed in his mind told Izayoi that he wasn't seeing things.
He had hit the jackpot! "Ding! You have obtained the Talent [Sage Eye (Red)], fuse or dismantle?"
"...Fuse!"
Izayoi quickly shouted in his mind, barely suppressing the urge to grin in excitement.
But unsure if anyone was secretly watching, he forced himself to hold back, causing his lips to twitch slightly, looking somewhat comical.
At this moment, Izayoi's emotions were indescribable.
With Hinata as an example, Izayoi had thought it would take a long time to extract a red Talent from Uchiha Sasuke.
He had already prepared himself to spar with Sasuke whenever he had time over the next five years.
If he still hadn't obtained a red Talent by the time they graduated from the ninja academy, Izayoi planned to slow his growth and match his strength to Sasuke and Hinata's level.
To everyone's surprise, in Izayoi's very first Unrestricted Duel, he managed to trigger Uchiha Sasuke's Sage Eye (Red).
Such an incredibly low probability event, and yet he encountered it.
At that moment, Izayoi finally understood the feeling of those who were blessed by extreme luck.
(End of Chapter)