053 Naruto Mobile Game

The first thing he did after waking up in the morning was play a round of Ninja Mobile Game to clear his mind.

This had become Sasuke's daily routine these days.

He sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, hands resting on his knees, leaning forward slightly as the glow from his phone screen illuminated his face.

At that distance, you'd believe it if someone said he'd been using the Mangekyō too much!

Shu-ta! (Sound of a successful match.)

Ninja Mobile Game had finished updating, and the forbidden ninja selection screen was filled with many new faces.

However, Sasuke didn't pay much attention to that. As usual, he immediately banned [Jiraiya] and [Hatake Kakashi].

He believed that [Hatake Kakashi] was no weaker than [Might Guy]—in fact, Kakashi's opening moves were even stronger.

After all, [Might Guy] had already been taken off the roster, and by now, everyone should know how to fight that ninja.

He entered the match.

Sasuke glanced at his ninja pool and casually selected [Uchiha Sasuke·Sharingan], [Uchiha Sasuke·Curse Mark], and [Uchiha Sasuke].

That's right—his triple main lineup!

As a proud member of the Uchiha clan, he refused to use other ninjas when his own were available.

Unless it was in something like the Unlimited Class Tournament, where he had no choice.

As the battle screen loaded, Sasuke's eyes sharpened. One of the opponent's chosen ninjas caught his attention.

[Uchiha Itachi] + Ghost Lantern.

"No Cutting Technique, huh," Sasuke muttered.

Speaking of which, Wood Style: Cutting Technique was the First Hokage's jutsu. When it first appeared in Ninja Mobile Game, it caused quite a stir among players.

Later, people realized that this Secret Scroll couldn't just be equipped mindlessly—it needed specific ninjas to synergize with it.

And so, its popularity gradually faded.

However, thanks to yesterday's firsthand demonstration by Itachi, many players using [Uchiha Itachi] started equipping Wood Style: Cutting Technique again.

But this opponent had chosen something else.

"Naive fool!" Sasuke sneered.

He had never used Cutting Technique, never planned to, and didn't care to. As for [Uchiha Itachi]—that ninja? He wouldn't even draw for him!

No matter what Secret Scroll you bring, the difference in skill is like heaven and earth!

"Battle start!"

Sasuke moved his ninja to the edge of the platform, occasionally shifting up and down to misalign their Y-axis.

He reasoned that [Uchiha Itachi]'s Amaterasu had limited range; the only thing his opponent could open with was Exploding Clone.

Sure enough! The clone rushed toward him!

Having anticipated it, Sasuke dodged perfectly. The clone missed him entirely, making his smirk deepen.

"Sharingan!"

[Uchiha Sasuke·Sharingan] activated his second skill, buffing himself, then charged straight at the opponent.

This was a recently released ninja; his moveset was similar to the standard [Uchiha Sasuke], and Sasuke had already mastered him.

Seeing Sasuke closing in, his opponent immediately deployed a Ghost Lantern at his feet.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The enhanced first skill from [Uchiha Sasuke·Sharingan] hit [Uchiha Itachi] squarely, dealing full damage.

But thanks to Ghost Lantern's protection, the opponent predicted Sasuke couldn't continue the combo, so he didn't substitute.

"You can endure, huh!" Sasuke snorted.

But just then, an Itachi clone suddenly dashed forward. Quick on his reflexes, Sasuke instantly triggered his Secret Scroll—Returning Shuriken Technique.

It absorbed the first hit from Exploding Clone, letting Sasuke pull back to dodge the follow-up blast.

His Returning Shuriken also landed a hit on the opponent.

Unfortunately, the Ghost Lantern was still active, preventing him from rushing in—unless he used his Summon.

"Just a puppet Uchiha Itachi... and you think I need to use a summon?" Sasuke muttered.

His tone was confident—but what followed became one of the greatest torments of his life.

[Uchiha Itachi]'s clone spam never ended; even if the clone missed, it didn't matter. He'd just follow it up, shielded by Amaterasu and Ghost Lantern.

This ninja had been turned into a defensive type... no, a tower defense type!

A pure endurance fighter.

Can't land normal attacks?

Who needs them anyway! If one misses, so what? Once you stand back up, my cooldowns are ready again.

The opponent was incredibly patient—but Sasuke, being the one suffering through it, was on the verge of losing his mind.

"What is this?! Every other ninja alternates skills and attacks—you're chaining skill after skill?! Infinite cooldowns now?!"

Sasuke's fair, handsome face flushed completely red, his Sharingan unknowingly already active.

No choice left—he couldn't save the Summon any longer...

"Tsukuyomi!"

It no longer mattered what Summon he had equipped—the opponent's Tsukuyomi came right at his face, forcibly consuming it.

No one in the entire Ninja World knew this technique better than Sasuke himself—he had plenty of "firsthand experience" with it.

When the Tsukuyomi ended and the opponent used Amaterasu to pull him off the ground again, Sasuke's eyes went dead.

His first ninja was gone.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Sasuke took deep, rapid breaths, forcing himself to calm down as quickly as possible.

He still had a chance. There was still a chance.

The opponent had no skill, relying purely on ninja strength. How could such a player ever defeat him?

Ninja Mobile Game was a 3v3 mode—losing one ninja wasn't the end. As long as he stayed calm, he could turn it around with the remaining ones.

It happened in many duel arenas.

Sasuke was no different. He believed in himself. He believed in the power of the Uchiha.

He still had two more Sasukes. Once his main ninjas united, he would be invincible!

[Why are you so weak... is it because your hatred isn't deep enough...?]

The Ultimate Scene unfolded—

Itachi pinned Sasuke against a wall, leaned close, and whispered softly into his ear...

"U! Chi! Ha! Ita! Chi!!"

Sasuke clenched his fists so hard that sparks burst between his fingers, and with a violent jerk, he tore the phone apart.

Teeth gritted, he spat out that name—each syllable like a blade slicing the air.

His chest rose and fell like a bellows, every breath revealing his raging turmoil.

Before the screen went gray, the bold, piercing word Defeat appeared—stabbing straight into Sasuke's heart.

And the Ultimate Scene.

The special Easter egg Ultimate Scene between Itachi and Sasuke.

The pride he'd boasted about at the start was now utterly shattered—in such a humiliating fashion.

When Mikoto knocked on the door and peeked in, she saw her son sitting there blankly, the phone split clean in two and thrown across the room.

She sighed quietly and stepped out.

If your goal was to study the phone by dismantling it, your plan had failed.

But if it was to vent the fury from the duel arena... well, then that device had served its purpose perfectly.

That day, Kuroda spread phones all across the Ninja World—people found them everywhere.

Some even picked up so many that they had no place left to store them... so they just buried them in their yards.

Sasuke took up a shovel, digging shallow and deep pits alternately, lips tightly pressed, saying nothing.

He had calmed down.

Normally composed and restrained, the young master of the Uchiha had lost his temper like never before—it was deeply embarrassing, in his own eyes.

But there would not be a next time.

Sasuke silently made his resolve.

This pain, this hatred... he would remember them completely—until the day he unleashed them all upon that man!

As he dug, he unearthed a phone buried in the dirt. Just as he bent down to pick it up, a ray of sunlight fell directly into the small pit.

A dark, matte new phone lay there quietly, as if waiting for someone to awaken it.

Sasuke picked it up, slipped it into his pocket without another glance, and lifted his gaze forward.

Today was likely to be a fine day. That dazzling golden light was a bit too bright, making him squint slightly.

Deep in his eyes, two tomoe slowly rotated...