Mamoru had already decided on the way here that he wouldn't hide his strength in this match. He had to make Sasuke clearly realize the gap between them. The purpose of doing this was to prevent Sasuke from feeling hurt or deceived later on if he discovered that Mamoru had been holding back.
Rather than creating unnecessary misunderstandings and breeding jealousy, it was safer to guide him toward a fighting spirit that wanted to catch up.
"Let's get one thing straight." Mamoru said, standing in the center of the clearing with a serious expression. "I might be a bit different from what you imagine."
Before he finished speaking, his pitch-black eyes were suddenly dyed an azure blue.
"Eyes... blue?" Sasuke's pupils constricted, a look of shock and suspicion flashing across his face. "That's not the Sharingan. Why are your eyes blue?"
"Who knows? Maybe... it's some kind of variant of the Sharingan."
Mamoru didn't explain in depth, simply adding in a relaxed tone, "Whether it's the Sharingan or not doesn't change the fact that it's very useful."
He casually raised his hand, pointing behind Sasuke. Before Sasuke could react, a visible blue sphere of light shot from Mamoru's palm, flying straight into the bushes behind him.
Boom!
The moment the thick tree trunk touched the blue light, it first collapsed inward eerily, then suddenly exploded as if crushed by an invisible giant hand, wood chips flying everywhere. With a tooth-grinding crack, the large tree crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"This is one of its uses." Mamoru lowered his hand and introduced calmly.
"This power..." Sasuke turned his head sharply, his pupils uncontrollably constricting slightly.
He had never imagined that the brother he had lived with for so many years was hiding such an amazing and unknown secret.
"You haven't even awakened the Sharingan yet. Do you still want to spar with me?" Mamoru looked at Sasuke with a calm gaze.
Sasuke forced himself to snap out of his shock, took a deep breath, and his gaze became firm again. "Even without the Sharingan, I won't give up easily."
"As expected. I knew you wouldn't give up so easily." Mamoru seemed to have anticipated this, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his lips.
"Then bring it on. Let me see how much of my strength you can force me to use."
Sasuke took a fighting stance, his sharp eyes looking straight ahead.
The battle was about to begin.
Seeing Mamoru raise his hand toward him, Sasuke immediately rolled to the side to dodge. Almost at the same moment he left his spot, the loud sound of a tree collapsing came from behind him.
He couldn't help but be bewildered.
No hand signs? What kind of strange ability was this?
His thoughts raced, but his hands didn't hesitate. Taking advantage of the dodge, he quickly pulled two Kunai from his ninja tool pouch and, with a flick of his wrist, sent them flying toward Mamoru as two streaks of dark light.
Facing the weapons arriving in an instant, Mamoru stood calmly in place, neither dodging nor avoiding.
However, when the two Kunai reached about a foot in front of him, they seemed to suddenly hit an invisible wall, coming to a sudden halt and eerily floating in mid-air.
With a slight thought, Mamoru deactivated Infinity. His hands moved like lightning, catching the two falling Kunai and throwing them back at Sasuke.
"Right back at you!"
The Kunai sliced through the air, heading straight for Sasuke's face with a sharp whistle.
Sasuke's pupils shrank, and he rolled to the side, disregarding his appearance.
Clang! Clang!
The two Kunai sank deep into the ground where he had just been standing, their ends still vibrating slightly. Still catching his breath, Sasuke's hands were already a blur in front of his chest.
Clone Jutsu!
Poof!
White mist exploded, and three Sasuke suddenly appeared on the field.
Meanwhile, Mamoru wasn't idle. The moment the white mist exploded, he had already pushed off the ground. He traced a sharp arc in the air, his right fist wrapped in a howling gale as he smashed it into the ground.
Boom!
The ground exploded, sending debris flying.
Caught off guard, all three Sasukes were thrown into the air by the impact of the explosion beneath their feet.
Mamoru's gaze was like lightning, piercing through the dust to accurately lock onto one of them. His figure approached like a phantom, and he threw a powerful punch.
"How..."
Sasuke's real body instinctively crossed his arms in front of his chest for protection. However, the massive impact transmitted through his arms was far beyond his imagination and impossible to neutralize. He felt his vision go dark as an irresistible force surged forward, sending him flying backward, crashing heavily into the dense bushes behind.
The other two clones vanished into white smoke with a "pop."
After a good while, Sasuke came out of the bushes, clutching his chest and stumbling slightly.
The first thing he said was, "How did you tell I was the real one?"
"I can see through the essence of jutsu." Mamoru said nonchalantly, pointing to his blue eyes.
"Higher-level techniques might take a little more time, but for a basic Clone Jutsu, it's clear at a glance."
"It seems it really is different from the Sharingan." Sasuke panted, staring intently at those blue eyes. "When did you awaken them?"
"Probably... the night of the massacre." Mamoru's voice lowered slightly, but he didn't explain much, immediately changing the subject. "Still want to fight?"
Sasuke was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. His gaze fell on Mamoru with complexity, his voice low. "Right now, I'm not your match."
The wind in the woods blew gently, swirling a few fallen leaves on the ground.
He lowered his eyelids, then quickly raised them, a flash of determination in his black eyes. "Once I awaken the Sharingan, spar with me again."
As he spoke, Sasuke clenched his hands, which were still trembling slightly. The impact of that punch just now had left him short of breath even now, and his arms were shaking as if they were out of control, making even a simple fist difficult to form.
Meanwhile, Mamoru, standing opposite him, had steady breathing and even a hint of bored laziness. This ease stung Sasuke's pride more than any mockery could. He knew clearly that continuing to fight would only be asking for humiliation.
Strong resentment turned into a piece of glowing iron in his heart, and it was this scorching pain that tempered his determination to work twice as hard.
"Anytime."
Mamoru nodded, the deep blue in his eyes slowly fading, returning to his usual bottomless pitch-black.
Seeing that what burned in Sasuke's eyes was not resentment, but a pure and extreme fighting spirit, the invisible stone in Mamoru's heart quietly hit the ground.
This kind of development was exactly what he wanted.