Sakura went to help Sasuke, but he roughly pushed her away.
Sasuke knew Sakura meant well, and that his anger was unjustified, but he was absolutely furious.
If he didn't vent this rage, he felt like he might explode on the spot.
Just a little bit more! At most ten seconds, maybe even less, and his spiritual energy, which had surged due to his body's suffocation, would have peaked. At that moment, awakening his Sharingan would have been a natural progression.
The Uchiha clan had no real understanding of the Mangekyō Sharingan or the Rinnegan that came after it. The sample size was too small, and there was no one to analyze. However, the transition from the One Tomoe to the Three Tomoe Sharingan was different—there were countless examples of that. As for clan members awakening their Sharingan from scratch, the records were innumerable.
One person awakened during battle, another upon hearing of a loved one's death.
Through analyzing these numerous samples, the Uchiha clan had identified commonalities and summarized some key insights into the awakening process.
Ordinary clan members didn't know this knowledge—it was kept within the main family to maintain their dominant position. But as the clan leader's son, Sasuke had memorized all the details about the awakening process, the changes it entailed, and how to handle them, from a very young age.
After being trapped in the Water Prison Technique, Sasuke noticed that as his body weakened, his spiritual energy surged exponentially. He didn't have any deep-seated grudge against Ino, and he still needed his body intact for his revenge. Losing once at school wasn't unacceptable, but he was literally risking his life to awaken his Sharingan.
Unfortunately, Sakura's intervention caused him to pull back at the most critical moment. His body regained vitality, and his spiritual energy plummeted. Now, not only was awakening his Sharingan out of the question, but even standing up was a struggle.
He knew he couldn't blame Sakura—she meant well—but the overwhelming sense of loss was inevitable.
Sasuke couldn't stand up, and Ino was also exhausted.
She waved to Hinata, who was nearby.
"Me?" Hinata looked to her left—no one. To her right—still no one. Was Ino calling her? Ino waved again, clearly indicating her. Hinata quickly jogged over.
"Ugh, help me up. I can barely stand," Ino said, half a head taller than Hinata, leaning heavily on her shoulder.
"Ino, are you okay?" Hinata asked softly.
Ino gestured to the battlefield, littered with explosions, flames, water currents, and various Shuriken, Kunai, and Senbon. "Does this look like 'okay' to you?"
Hinata immediately lowered her head, stammering, unsure how to respond.
Ino tried to steady her breathing. Her Chakra was less than a fifth of its usual level. Once Hinata supported her, she squeezed out a bit more Chakra from her cells and focused it on her eyes, using her sensory abilities to carefully observe Sasuke's current state.
Strange! The Indra Chakra she had sensed earlier, along with the portion of Chakra she had discarded, had completely vanished without a trace.
Had Sasuke absorbed that Chakra? Or had some unknown mutation occurred? She whispered into Hinata's ear, "While you're checking my injuries, take a look at Sasuke's Chakra. I suspect his Sharingan might have awakened."
"Huh?" Hinata looked at her in confusion. They were all classmates, so why the need for such secrecy? Opening it wasn't a big deal, was it?
"Hurry up!" Ino urged her.
"Okay, okay."
Hinata faced Ino and began forming hand seals in the sequence of Rat, Tiger, Boar, Rabbit, Ox, and Dog. It was clear that the young girl was nervous performing the seals in front of everyone, but the process was exceptionally smooth, almost like muscle memory. There were no mistakes, and Chakra quickly gathered in her eyes. Her spiritual energy surged rapidly, her eyeballs turned white, and the veins around her eyes bulged prominently.
"Byakugan!"
She used her Byakugan to observe the Chakra Pathways within Ino's body. She glanced once, then a second time, followed by a third. Ino pursed her lips, as if to say, "Why are you looking at me? Look at Sasuke over there!"
"Don't turn your head!"
"Doesn't your family boast a 360-degree field of vision?"
"Why are you so nervous? Just take a quick look."
Under Ino's repeated urging, Hinata's face turned bright red. She hunched her shoulders like a thief and cautiously "glanced" at Sasuke with her Byakugan.
"Ino..."
"What?"
"It seems Sasuke-kun's Chakra... there's nothing unusual. You mentioned the Sharingan awakening—how does it manifest in the Chakra Pathways? Are there any specific characteristics?"
"..." Ino fell silent. How would she know the exact manifestation of the Sharingan in the Chakra Pathways?
"Is there any abnormal Chakra?"
"What kind of Chakra counts as abnormal?"
"Never mind... Deactivate your Byakugan and help me over to that tree to rest for a bit."
"Okay, okay!"
Hinata helped Ino over to the tree to rest. Shikamaru and Kiba came over to check on them, and even the chubby Choji offered his potato chips to Ino.
Sasuke didn't receive such treatment. He sat in the mud, head down, his expression extremely grim. Only Naruto stood by his side.
"You can't handle one failure? I look down on you," Naruto said, standing tall with his fists clenched.
Sasuke immediately perked up. He raised his head, his eyes fierce. "What are you saying, dead last? You want to challenge me? Fine, bring it on!"
The tension between the two was palpable. Sasuke shakily stood up, seemingly ready to drag his injured body into another fight with Naruto.
At the critical moment, Sakura's intelligence surprisingly kicked in. She pulled Iruka over.
Iruka first scolded Naruto, who seemed to be trying to cheer Sasuke up but was actually infuriating him.
Iruka surveyed the battlefield and sighed inwardly.
It was clear that both Ino and Sasuke were inexperienced and rigid in their combat skills, making many mistakes during the fight. However, their application of Ninja techniques, Body techniques, and Ninja Tools was impressive, even to a Middle Ninja like him who had been on the battlefield. The Water Prison Technique at the end was particularly remarkable. If he were in Sasuke's position, he wouldn't have been able to break free either.
He cleared his throat.
"Ahem, well... Ino's Ninja techniques were used quite effectively, and Sasuke's responses were also very impressive. Everyone should learn from them..." Normally, this would be the time to have them perform the Seal of Reconciliation, but Iruka noticed Sasuke's pale face and twitching limbs, while Ino sat motionless under the tree. There was no point in forcing the seal now. He might as well just dismiss the class.
"Class dismissed! Everyone, disperse! Naruto, you clean up this area! Everyone else, head back to school!"
"Huh? What?!" Naruto pointed at himself, then looked around at the area that had been ravaged by fire and water, completely bewildered. They had just fought a big battle, so why should he be the one to clean up? What did this have to do with him?