"Naruto Talent Entry: Awakened Legacy – Born of the Ōtsutsuki Bloodlin

"You have guts."

Izanami wasn't surprised by Uchiha Sasuke's choice, but on the surface, he still gave Sasuke a thumbs-up. This was actually beneficial for Izanami. A taijutsu-only duel wouldn't allow him to fully showcase his strength. Even if he won, the drop rate for talent entries would be significantly lower compared to a no-rules duel. That much, Izanami had already confirmed through experience.

When Hinata didn't use her Gentle Fist technique to inject chakra into his body, Izanami defeated her without gaining any entries. The difference in strength between them was just too great. While overwhelming battles could occasionally yield drops, Izanami hadn't encountered such a rare situation over the past year.

However, when Hinata went all-out with Gentle Fist, Izanami managed to obtain two entries from her within that year—one purple, one blue. These were: Bloodline Limit: Byakugan (Purple) and Chakra Control (Blue).

It wasn't that Izanami underestimated Sasuke. In fact, he knew the plot all too well and was himself extraordinarily talented. He had begun taking shortcuts at the age of three. Essentially, one cheat was leading another cheat by three to four years.

If Sasuke hadn't already mastered the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, he wouldn't have posed any threat to Izanami at all. But with it, the chances of an entry drop increased.

A no-rules duel was the optimal scenario.

"Then let's begin!"

Izanami took a few steps back to create some distance from Sasuke and raised his index and middle fingers. Seeing this, Sasuke also formed the Seal of Confrontation. Immediately, the two rushed toward each other.

As they neared, Sasuke threw a punch. Izanami swiftly dodged to the side and spun 180 degrees, raising his leg and aiming a kick at Sasuke's face. His flexibility was astonishing.

Sasuke, caught off guard, quickly raised his forearm to block. The kick sent him skidding backward a few steps. By the time he regained his footing, he was already in a defensive and passive position.

Izanami didn't give him a moment's rest. He charged forward, swinging both fists rapidly toward Sasuke's face and chest. The strikes weren't particularly powerful, but the speed overwhelmed Sasuke's ability to react.

He managed to block the first punch, but the second connected cleanly with his cheek. From that moment, Sasuke completely lost his rhythm and became little more than a punching bag. Izanami used Sasuke's raised arms against him, grabbing and pulling to upset his balance.

In contrast to Sasuke's deteriorating stance, Izanami's combo gradually became more rhythmic and methodical. It resembled the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palm—without chakra injection, the damage was minimal, but it left the opponent unable to respond.

After countless strikes, Izanami finally stopped. With a full-body spin, he delivered a powerful kick, sending Sasuke flying. The force of the kick left Sasuke breathless.

However, in that moment of vulnerability, something changed.

Sasuke, lying on the ground and gasping for air, was suddenly overcome by the memories of the Genjutsu world he had just escaped. For days, he had been trapped in an illusion, forced to witness massacre after massacre. In Izanami's silhouette, he saw the reflection of Uchiha Itachi.

The words Itachi had once said echoed cruelly in his ears:

"You are too weak now. Live ugly in the future and desperately try to survive…"

Sasuke's expression twisted in fury.

"Uchiha Itachi! I will definitely kill you! Fire Release… Great Fireball Technique!"

Mistaking Izanami for his brother, Sasuke performed hand seals and released a stream of flames from his mouth. The small spark quickly expanded into a massive fireball, hurtling toward Izanami.

"Just what I wanted—Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

Far from being surprised, Izanami was thrilled. He pretended to form hand seals and blew out a breath, which condensed into a scythe-shaped white wind blade. It slashed straight through the incoming fireball, splitting it down the middle.

The weakened wind blade continued forward, grazing Sasuke and drawing a line of blood as it tore through his clothing and scratched his skin.

Sasuke hit the ground, unmoving.

Izanami remained calm. He strolled toward Sasuke unhurriedly. Right now, anyone else could die, but not Uchiha Sasuke. Nor Uzumaki Naruto.

The Outer Path Demonic Statue being summoned from the Moon was surely already known to the Sage of Six Paths. He would certainly be aware that the second Rinnegan had appeared.

To prevent his mother from reviving prematurely—before the reincarnations of Indra and Asura matured—he would not allow their deaths. No matter how close to death they came, they would not be allowed to die.

And besides, if Sasuke could die from a C-rank Wind Cutter weakened by a collision with a fireball, then he wasn't worthy of being the male second lead.

When Izanami reached him, he confirmed Sasuke was still breathing. The attack had only torn his clothing and scratched his skin. The wound hadn't even touched bone.

Izanami crouched beside Sasuke and used basic Medical Ninjutsu to begin healing him.

Pa—

Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out—crisper than a balloon popping. Izanami's ears perked. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes.

Floating above Sasuke were bubbles—only visible to Izanami. Just as he looked, one of the bubbles burst, releasing a red beam that shot straight toward him.

"...Ah?"

Seeing the red beam rapidly enlarge in his vision, Izanami's usually calm expression shifted to one of rare shock.

Red?

How many red entries did Sasuke have? Was red the highest rarity, or was it purple? Before he could process the thought, a system prompt confirmed what he was seeing:

"Ding! You have obtained the talent entry [Immortal Eyes (Red)]. Fuse or decompose?"

"Fuse!"

Izanami responded instantly within his mind. At the same time, he instinctively wanted to smile—but suppressed the urge, knowing that someone might be secretly watching. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, giving him a strange, comical expression.

He was trying hard not to laugh out loud.

His emotions couldn't be put into words.

From his previous encounters with Hinata, Izanami had assumed it would take years of effort to obtain a red-tier talent from Sasuke. He had even resolved to regularly fight Sasuke over the next five years to improve his odds.

And if no red entry dropped before graduation, Izanami had planned to slow down his growth, matching Sasuke and Hinata's levels to encourage better drops.

But in this very first no-rules duel, the Immortal Eyes (Red) talent had dropped.

It was an outcome beyond his wildest expectations.

At that moment, Izanami finally understood what it felt like to be a lucky emperor—someone so favored by probability it seemed like destiny itself bent to them.

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