The next day, inside the Ninja Academy classroom.
"Sanada Kazama, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura—you four have been assigned to Team Seven. Wait here for your squad leader."
Hearing the announcement, Kazama's heart leapt. Finally, he had been placed in the same team as Naruto. His excitement was hard to contain.
Good. During our mission in the Land of Waves, I'll have the chance to absorb Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra… and after that, I can take my revenge on Danzō.
As Kazama's thoughts turned inward, Naruto had already wandered over to the door, chalkboard eraser in hand.
"Heh, wonder who our sensei is. Whoever he is, he's late! And anyone late deserves punishment, haha!"
Kazama smirked. "Naruto, instead of putting an eraser up there, you should set a kettle of hot water."
"A kettle? Isn't that… going too far?"
The two of them laughed and joked, but before long Sasuke strode toward them, eyes blazing.
"Kazama. Fight me. One on one."
"What?" Kazama sighed, a hand to his temple. Of all the things he wanted to deal with today, Sasuke's obsession with duels was at the bottom of the list.
"If I remember right, we've already fought once before. And the outcome was pretty clear."
"Shut your mouth!" Sasuke snapped. "That time, I wasn't at my best. If you have any courage at all, you'll face me again! I—Uchiha Sasuke—refuse to lose to a dead-last failure like you!"
"That's way too harsh, Sasuke!" Naruto butted in, stepping to Kazama's defense.
"You shut up too! You're just as much a failure as he is!" Sasuke shot back, then turned his glare back on Kazama. "Sanada Kazama, if you're a man, fight me again!"
Kazama let out a weary breath, eyeing Sasuke's trembling anger.
Didn't think Sasuke would be this unbalanced. One loss and he's already losing his mind.
Stretching lazily, Kazama stood."Fine. I was trying to let you keep some dignity, but if you're so eager to lose again, I'll oblige."
"Yeah, Kazama! Use your taijutsu ultimate art on him!" Naruto cheered.
"Taijutsu… ultimate art?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, confusion flickering across his face."Don't tell me… you've learned a technique stronger than the Lion Barrage?"
Kazama only smirked. "That's right."
The grin he shared with Naruto made Sasuke's stomach knot with irritation.
"Bastards! Don't think mastering some new taijutsu makes you invincible! My Uchiha clan will never lose to anyone!"
He snapped through seals, fingers moving quickly."Snake—Ram—…"
"Another Fireball Jutsu?" Kazama scratched the back of his head with a look of mild annoyance. "That won't even scratch me."
"Body Flicker!"
Before anyone could react, Kazama's form blurred and vanished. A heartbeat later, he was behind Sasuke, his voice low and mocking.
"And besides, your hand signs are way too slow."
"What?!" Sasuke's eyes widened as his half-formed jutsu collapsed. He hadn't even finished weaving the seals before Kazama was already at his back. This speed—so sudden, so ghostlike—was beyond belief.
But belief didn't matter. Kazama had already seized the upper hand.
"Now… here comes my taijutsu ultimate art—Thousand Years of Death!"
"Ahhh—!"
With a wail, Sasuke's body arced through the air in a flawless parabola before crashing down.
"You bastard! Using a disgraceful move like that!"
He scrambled to rise, desperate to maintain his cool, refined image. But his body betrayed him. Bent over in pain, Sasuke could only curl up on the floor, teeth gritted.
Kazama's smile was calm, unyielding."Doesn't matter what kind of move it is. If it defeats the enemy, it's a good move."
"Hahaha! Well said, Kazama!" Naruto roared with laughter, doubling over.
After all, he had never once seen Sasuke look this ridiculous.