Chapter Three: Twisted Sasuke!

Sasuke thought for a moment, then chose the second option without hesitation. Of course, it wasn't as if he hadn't doubted Haoyun's motives for helping him, but all his hopes now rested on killing Danzo and bringing his brother back… As for everything else, even if he had to sell his soul to the devil, what did it matter?

Once he got a definite answer, Haoyun promptly sent Sasuke out to join his squad on a mission... As for himself, he stayed home to research the cells of Hashirama Senju. When it came to studying the Sage Body, he didn’t even need to steal corpses—after all, he himself possessed the Sage Body!

In the days that followed, Sasuke continued to support Haoyun while completing missions with his team. Along the way, he also fulfilled the chakra control exercises Haoyun assigned him, such as climbing trees, walking on water, and slicing leaves with chakra.

Meanwhile, after Sasuke endured Kakashi’s trials and completed dozens of C- and D-rank missions—just as his patience was wearing thin—Haoyun finally discovered what set the Sage Body apart from ordinary ninja. The difference lay in their genes: Sage Body holders had one extra gene segment compared to ordinary ninja. If an ordinary ninja could make up that segment, they too could be upgraded to possess a Sage Body.

To be sure, he'd cultivated cells to test this. Using Sasuke’s cells and supplementing the segment, the new cells he grew were not only bursting with vitality, but their internal energy reserves were dozens of times greater than normal. In all respects but human testing, the experiment was a success! As soon as Sasuke received a gene injection, he would ascend to the Sage Body, matching Hashirama Senju in chakra reserves.

That day, when Sasuke returned from a mission, Haoyun shared the good news.

“Sasuke, the experiment succeeded. You can become a Sage Body now, and there are no side effects!”

“Really?”

Overjoyed, Sasuke rolled up his sleeve before Haoyun could say another word. He was no longer so naive; Haoyun had made it a point to tell him the story of Hashirama Senju and how he was different from others…

Plus, sharing a team with Naruto Uzumaki and being constantly confronted by the vastness of Naruto’s chakra, Sasuke had long coveted the Sage Body.

“Want to inject now? Though I’d advise you to take two days off first—you’ll need time at home to adapt to your new body.”

Haoyun picked up the syringe and cautioned Sasuke before injecting him.

“Well…”

Sasuke hesitated, a hint of pride in his voice as he asked, “Could we wait a few days?”

“Hmm? Don’t want revenge anymore?”

“Of course I do!” Sasuke retorted at once. “It’s just that I got a mission this afternoon—we’re supposed to escort someone to the Land of Waves to build a bridge.”

“Oh, the Land of Waves mission.”

Haoyun clicked his tongue, recalling the storyline… Haku—male or female, after all?

“No worries, just get the injection. I’ll join you on this mission.”

Since arriving in the world of shinobi, how could he ignore one of the great unresolved mysteries—Haku’s gender? He’d thought it would be a few more days, but since the chance had come to him, of course he’d get involved.

“What? You’ll come too?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened. Team missions weren’t supposed to have outsiders, were they?

“Of course. If I don’t go, what if something happens? Don’t worry, I’m strong—your teacher isn’t even my match. I won’t hold you back.”

“But… team missions… outsiders aren’t allowed…”

Sasuke hesitated, voicing the requirements of ninja missions. Perhaps, deep down, he simply didn’t want more people to know about Haoyun.

Hearing that, Haoyun cared even less. In the ninja world, everything was decided by force. Whoever had the bigger fist made the rules.

“Relax. Just go ahead. I’ll join you once you’re out of the village.”

With that, Haoyun stopped arguing, pulled Sasuke’s arm over, and injected the prepared gene serum!

Sasuke felt a blaze ignite inside him, surging up to his eyes… Deep within, a cold energy entwined with the rising heat, forming a perfect cycle within his body.

As the energy gradually calmed, Sasuke sensed vast potential slowly awakening inside him! And in his eyes, he was already at the pinnacle of the three-tomoe Sharingan, gathering power for a breakthrough!

He took a step forward… The floor shattered to dust. Haoyun walked over to assess him, then laughed and pushed him out to the training yard.

“Better get used to your new body! Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll have trouble even walking or eating!”

Shaking his head, Haoyun headed back to the bedroom. He had to admit, Sasuke really was a child of destiny—the gene serum hadn’t just given him the Sage Body, it had transformed all his chakra into Sage Chakra. From now on, every jutsu he used would likely become Sage Art automatically.

By the next day, Sasuke had finally mastered his strength well enough to go about daily life.

At the village gate, Naruto Uzumaki bounced around excitedly, unable to keep still for a moment. Sasuke rested his hand behind his head, wondering when Haoyun would show up. Sakura, as always, was infatuated with Sasuke, and Kakashi was absorbed in his yellow book.

Their client, discreetly protected in the center, made the squad look like nothing more than an ordinary team out on a standard mission.

Hidden in the shadows, Haoyun quietly kept pace, silently disposing of several Root operatives. Just as he was about to reveal himself, he noticed a puddle in the middle of the road.

Well, no need to guess—these were the expendable Chunin assassins.

Swish, swish!

As Kakashi and his team passed the puddle, two ninja suddenly sprang out, swinging chained blades and slicing Kakashi into three pieces!

“Sensei!”

Sakura cried out, instantly drawing a kunai and taking position to protect their client.

On the other side, before Naruto could react, Sasuke instinctively stomped down, gouging a deep pit in the earth, and smashed both fists into the ambushing Chunin’s guts!

When the dust settled, Naruto, Sakura, the client, and even Kakashi—hidden nearby—were all horrified to see the two attacking Chunin lying broken in half, blood and entrails spilling everywhere!

Sasuke stood there in a daze, drenched in blood… Had he really done this?

Just overnight, he’d become strong enough to instantly kill two ninja?

“Sasuke… you…”

Kakashi emerged from hiding and checked the two corpses. Then, turning back, he gazed at Sasuke with a look of utter complexity.

These Chunin might have been wandering ninjas, not as strong as those from the great villages—but still, they were Chunin! How could they be killed in a single blow?

And weren’t the Uchiha supposed to specialize in ocular techniques? When did their taijutsu become this monstrous?

Beside them, Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth, too frightened to meet Sasuke’s gaze… For the first time, she began to doubt whether her feelings for him had been a mistake.

Could she really marry someone so ruthless? If they argued in the future, would he kill her with a single punch?