From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

Sasuke stood up, dusted himself off, and, under the expectant gazes of the two, replied, "One of the important rules of ninjas is intelligence! To be fair, you can go to the village first to gather information about Kakashi-sensei. Apart from a few classified pieces of information, most things about Kakashi-sensei are not secrets in Konoha. After you've gathered the information, we'll meet in the afternoon, and I'll tell you whether the information you've gathered is right or wrong."

Naruto said with a disgruntled look, "Huh? Why make it so complicated?"

Sakura nodded thoughtfully and agreed, "Sasuke is right. Information is very important. I guess the test may have started just now. Kakashi-sensei gave us a day to prepare, partly to test our ability to gather information. Naruto, we should listen to Sasuke."

"Alright then," Naruto said helplessly, then his eyes lit up again, and he shouted, "Let's meet at Ichiraku Ramen after we've gathered all the information!"

After agreeing on the matter of gathering information about Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto hurriedly left.

After the two left, Sasuke stayed on the rooftop for a while, gazing at the scenery, before slowly descending the stairs with his hands in his pockets.

It's March now, and there are still four months until the Chunin Exams.

Orochimaru had been keeping an eye on him for a long time, something Sasuke knew as soon as Kabuto appeared.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Orochimaru will likely approach him during the Chunin Exams four months later and take the opportunity to carry out the Konoha Crush plan, putting on a show of filial piety with his mentor, the Third Hokage.

Although he was somewhat envious of the Cursed Seal's power, Sasuke would never allow Orochimaru to plant the Cursed Seal on him.

Orochimaru's cursed seal is similar to the lich's casket. Once the cursed seal is placed on someone, they will gain immense power, but their soul will also be eroded by the soul fragments planted by Orochimaru. Once the host weakens, Orochimaru can easily possess them.

Not to mention the various hidden tricks Orochimaru left in the cursed seal; in the original timeline, Orochimaru probably didn't have high expectations for his first successful Reanimation Jutsu.

Or perhaps Orochimaru, in his weakened state at the time, simply wasn't confident he could handle the young and strong Sasuke.

This is just to lull Sasuke into a false sense of security. Once Sasuke is weakened, the second use of the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique will be the real trump card!

Unfortunately, the moment the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique appeared, it was pierced by Itachi Uchiha's Totsuka Blade, permanently sealing it into a dreamlike genjutsu world, causing Orochimaru to question his very existence.

If Itachi Uchiha hadn't been there at the time...

Um......

Orochimaru will probably be able to meet Indra directly, and even the Sage of Six Paths, the ninja sect he has been longing for.

At that point, Orochimaru wasn't just questioning his existence; he was literally splitting open.

Chapter 53 Planning.

'But I still show no signs of awakening the Kaleidoscope.'

Sasuke's gaze darkened slightly. After four years of meditation and sculpting training, he could indeed feel a significant improvement in his mental strength, if he wished.

It can maintain the three-tomoe Sharingan state for a long time under normal circumstances, and can even enter the Nine-Tails cage inside Naruto's body through Sharingan genjutsu.

This was something the original owner of the body could only accomplish after three years of service under Orochimaru's careful guidance and training in various secret techniques, along with various human modifications.

But Sasuke still didn't sense any signs of awakening his Mangekyou Sharingan.

The best thing to deal with Orochimaru is undoubtedly the Mangekyou Sharingan!

Kakashi's assessment of Sasuke's current strength is that of a Jonin. Sasuke himself estimated that if he used the Sharingan, he would be considered an elite Jonin.

The current Sasuke is on the same level as the Sasuke three years later in the original timeline, and he might not be able to beat him in a fight.

After all, Sasuke at that time possessed far more secret techniques and combat experience than he does now.

However, both are theoretically at the level of elite Jonin.

Even so, Sasuke doesn't think that just because the original body's elite Jonin-level strength and three-tomoe Sharingan defeated Orochimaru in the original timeline, he can now be fearless of Orochimaru.

Orochimaru is currently at his peak, with a healthy body and a complete soul. In contrast, the Orochimaru Sasuke killed in the original timeline was in a state of extreme weakness, with his soul missing, his hands sealed, and his body on the verge of collapse.

Thus, Sasuke in the original timeline almost capsized when he was "killing" Orochimaru.

Furthermore, many Naruto fans from the previous generation believed that Orochimaru had "poor" resistance to genjutsu.

But Sasuke thinks that this difference should also be put in quotation marks.

The story is that Orochimaru was instantly killed by Itachi Uchiha's genjutsu. The argument is that Orochimaru has been reincarnating for many years in order to achieve immortality, so Orochimaru's soul is very weak. It can be said that Orochimaru's soul is his weakness.

This leads to the conclusion that reincarnation techniques inevitably weaken the soul, thus explaining why Orochimaru is countered by genjutsu.

However, while it is true that Orochimaru was instantly defeated by Itachi Uchiha's genjutsu, there is no official record of Orochimaru being countered by genjutsu.

There is no such fantastical idea from netizens that the soul becomes weak due to long-term reincarnation, which deviates from the original work's arguments.

Some of them are just formula books with Orochimaru's Gen 10 data written on them.

The fact that Orochimaru was instantly defeated by Itachi Uchiha's genjutsu only shows that Itachi's genjutsu was strong, not that Orochimaru's resistance to genjutsu was weak.

This can also be seen from another genjutsu Jonin, Kurenai Yuhi, who is also a Genjutsu Jonin of Genjutsu Level 10. As one of the best genjutsu users among Konoha Jonin, Kurenai Yuhi was instantly killed in one round when facing Itachi Uchiha in his three-tomoe form.

Orochimaru, caught completely off guard, met the gaze of the Mangekyou Sharingan, specifically the Mangekyou Sharingan of Itachi Uchiha, a master of genjutsu.

There's no need to elaborate on Itachi Uchiha's genjutsu prowess; in short, even Madara Uchiha's application of genjutsu might not be stronger than Itachi's.

In fact, Sasuke himself has been training in genjutsu all these years. Although he has three tomoe, his training in genjutsu has been very effective, and he can be said to be a genius in genjutsu.

However, his genius level in illusion techniques was insufficient compared to true geniuses in illusion techniques, a fact he discovered by comparing the original owner's memories with those of Itachi Uchiha.

Perhaps due to his innate talent and his straight Sharingan, Sasuke discovered that his progress in taijutsu and ninjutsu was significantly faster than his progress in genjutsu.

If a typical ninja's talent in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu is 1, then Sasuke's talent would be genjutsu 5, taijutsu 8, and ninjutsu 10.

Over time, Sasuke began to spend more time and effort on taijutsu and ninjutsu, while in genjutsu, he did not seek to make it his strength, but only to avoid making it his weakness.

'It seems that emotional stimulation is essential to accelerate the awakening of the kaleidoscope.'

Despite practicing meditation and yoga for over four years, Sasuke still showed no signs of awakening his Mangekyou Sharingan, but he was already very satisfied.

After all, the yoga he practices is not some kind of divine skill or secret religious teaching; it is simply a form of exercise for mental and physical well-being found in yoga studios on the streets of modern times.

Being able to increase one's mental energy and improve physical fitness is already a remarkable effect and an unexpected delight.

Sasuke then set his sights on the upcoming trip to the Land of Waves. Zabuza was a good opponent, a litmus test, and an enemy who could pose a death threat to him.

Sasuke wanted to test whether he could awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan under the pressure of a life-or-death crisis.

Perhaps, if Sasuke trains for a few more years, his spiritual energy will overflow, and he will naturally awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. But time waits for no one, and Sasuke doesn't have much time left.

No matter what twists and turns there are in the mission to the Land of Waves, he is determined to do it!

Of course, in the month leading up to the mission to the Land of Waves, Sasuke didn't plan to do the basic tasks of catching cats, farming, and collecting trash that he did in the original timeline.

Instead, he wanted to undertake some bloody missions to avoid lacking practical experience. It would be ridiculous if he failed to awaken his Mangekyou Sharingan and instead ended up losing his ship.

If Sasuke fails to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan during the Land of Waves mission and fails to awaken it even as the Chunin Exams approach, then he will have no choice but to make a last-ditch effort.

That is the Sasuke Ido within you!

Only by awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan could he have a trump card to fight Orochimaru in the Chunin Exams and ensure that he would not be cursed with a cursed seal.

Orochimaru was the most important part of his plan after he awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan!

While pondering silently, Sasuke had already reached the stairwell on the first floor of the Ninja Academy.

As they passed the teachers' office, Shui Mu was whispering something to his fiancée with a gentle expression.

Judging from Xiaochun's flushed face, something must have happened between the two of them yesterday that would be very popular with the general public.

Mizuki, who noticed Sasuke passing by, didn't say anything, but just smiled gently. Sasuke calmly looked back and nodded slightly.

The two had exchanged greetings.

'I guess I did do a good deed.'

As Sasuke walked out of the ninja academy, he gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Back at the clan's territory, one of Sasuke's shadow clones prepared lunch, while the remaining nine shadow clones continued their arduous training as usual.

The path of cultivation values ​​perseverance; strength is built upon arduous training that is unimaginable to ordinary people.

After Sasuke transmigrated, he didn't have any system or cheat codes, even though he became one of the chosen ones of this world.

However, they also need constant training during the growth process, and they can only become strong by taking one step at a time.

Chapter 54 Sakura is right!

Perhaps with his transmigration, the Indra chakra in his body has disappeared, and the Sage of Six Paths may not necessarily come back to give him a power-up in the future.

But Sasuke had no regrets. In his previous life, he went from being a poor rural boy to an elite and successful person in a big city. He never relied on anyone's charity; he relied entirely on his own efforts.

Moreover, the Sage of Six Paths' cheat code might not have been without its hidden tricks.

Perhaps fearing the emergence of another Madara Uchiha and the resurrection of Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths suppressed the corresponding Yin and Yang attributes of Naruto and Sasuke while giving them power-ups.

It wasn't until the final battle at the Valley of the End that one of them lacked Yin and the other lacked Yang.

Sasuke, on the other hand, awakened the Yang Release attribute after studying medical ninjutsu for a period of time.

It's clear that Sasuke's guess might not be entirely without some truth to it.

That afternoon, at Ichiraku Ramen.

The three of them each ordered a bowl of ramen and sat down. Sasuke then spoke up directly: "Tell me, what information did you two gather today?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who looked bewildered, then turned to Sakura beside him and said, "You go first, Sakura."

“Okay, Sasuke.” Sakura nodded, took out a notebook, opened it, and said with a serious expression:

"Let's talk about Kakashi-sensei first. Our Kakashi-sensei is no ordinary person. It is said that he was the most famous genius ninja in the village back then. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of 5, became a Chunin at the age of 6, and became a full-fledged Jonin by passing the Jonin Exams at the age of 12. Now he is also one of the best among the elite Jonin in the village. So Kakashi-sensei is very strong. We need to be careful in tomorrow's test."

"Naruto, what about you?"

As they were talking, Sakura looked at Naruto, wanting him to add something, and Sasuke followed her gaze.

Seeing his two companions looking at him, Naruto broke out in a cold sweat. After a moment of hesitation, he said in a muffled voice, "I think Sakura is right!"

This guy.....

Sakura frowned and continued, "According to the information I've gathered, Kakashi-sensei is a cold-blooded and ruthless ninja who only cares about completing missions and disregards the safety of his comrades. But I've discovered something different..."

Changing the subject, Sakura's eyes flashed with a sly glint. She raised a finger and explained in a seemingly serious manner, "I asked the seniors who were eliminated by Kakashi-sensei in the past two years. Based on their accounts, I deduced that the core of Kakashi-sensei's assessment rules should be—teamwork!"

"From a cold-blooded, ruthless ninja who only cared about completing missions to a teacher who values ​​comrades and teamwork, hehe..."

Sakura, with a gossipy look on her face, said mysteriously, "It seems that our Kakashi-sensei is a man with a story."

Sakura's gossip-loving spirit ignited, and after she finished speaking, the two of them looked at Naruto at the same time.

Naruto nodded, looking completely bewildered: "Sakura, you're right."

What an idiot!