Yuto's sudden decision to spar with Sasuke wasn't because he had a death wish or wanted to get stomped.
After all, what kind of perverted level of reaction abilities do these Ninjas have?
Everyone uses Chakra to train their reaction ability. So for Ninjas, operations such as reacting to shells or bullets in the game seem as easy as breathing to them.
There are two reasons Yuto dared to spar with a Ninja. Firstly, he had the advantage of information asymmetry.
This advantage was absolute because no one understood the Naruto Mobile better than he did (except for Jiraiya, with his Intel).
Secondly, over the past few months, Yuto had drawn dozens of 'Reaction Enhancement Potions' from the gacha.
Although the effect of these potions diminished over time, Yuto's current reaction speed was… dozens of times faster than that of an average Ninja!
Even Madara with his Rinnegan couldn't match Yuto's reflexes.
But this game wasn't just about reflexes, and it also required skill.
And in that regard, Yuto didn't have any 'Skill Enhancement Potions' to rely on.
However... he had gone to extreme lengths by using over a hundred 'Puppet Mastery Proficiency Book' on himself.
Now, even if you handed him a pile of junk, Yuto could assemble a top-tier puppet and control it with the utmost precision.
The last person to be this skilled with puppets was Sasori.
At this time, Sasori had already easily reached the highest rank in the game, making him a true 'mechanical monster.'
If someone could master puppets, how hard could a game be?
Therefore, while Yuto didn't show off much, he was undoubtedly the most skilled player in the game.
The only downside was that he wasn't a regular player. If he wanted to climb the ranks, he'd have to manually adjust his rank in the backend...
But that wasn't the point. The point was... Yuto really wanted to try out Hawk Sasuke, which is why he invited Sasuke for a 'friendly match.'
Poor Sasuke didn't know any of this. All he knew was that the beloved manager was going to teach him some techniques.
Additionally, Sasuke was curious about Yuto's skill level.
Sasuke stuck with the same lineup he had used against Naruto earlier.
Yuto, on the other hand, chose Hawk Sasuke and paired him with two C-Rank Ninjas: Dosu and Zaku.
Sasuke felt a bit underestimated and couldn't help but say, "Are you underestimating me? I won't go easy on you."
Yuto just smiled without responding.
The match began. First round: Hawk Sasuke vs. Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke.
Sasuke quickly switched forms at the start, but seeing that Yuto wasn't making any moves, he couldn't resist maneuvering his character and testing Yuto's position.
Yuto's Hawk Sasuke stood completely still, as if waiting for Sasuke to make the first move.
"Tsk, trying to act mysterious." Sasuke muttered under his breath. He then pulled his character out of Yuto's line of sight, repeating this a few times to confirm that he would have to make the first move.
Sasuke positioned himself out of sight, currently in Flame Blade mode, and activated the first skill.
Sasuke had already mastered the difference between tapping and holding the Flame Blade's first skill.
A quick tap would result in two fast slashes, while holding it down would... perform the first slash quickly, but the second slash would require a brief charge before unleashing a faster and longer-range sword wave.
Holding the skill was better for initiating attacks from off-screen.
Sasuke held the first slash against the wall, making it invisible to Yuto, while the second, longer slash was aimed directly at Yuto's Hawk Sasuke!
Yuto, watching the sword wave gradually enter the screen, had already predicted this move.
So, at the perfect moment, he activated the second skill, Chidori Blade...
As usual, Yuto had released all the Ninjas at their peak strength, and Hawk Sasuke was no exception.
At his peak, Hawk Sasuke's Chidori Blade not only had a longer range but also a longer invincibility frame duration!
So, facing this incredibly fast sword wave, Yuto effortlessly used the invincibility frames of Chidori Blade to dodge it.
Not only that, but he also managed to catch Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke during his recovery frames.
This left Sasuke completely stunned.
'Wait... initiating from off-screen?'
'How come I didn't notice the range was that long earlier.'
But Sasuke also knew that now was the perfect time to substitute.
'Hawk Sasuke's second skill had a small delay after the first dash and the second stab. If I could catch that delay...'
Sasuke thought to himself, 'If I can catch that delay, I can turn defense into offense, flipping the script!'
So he decisively substituted down, and just as he did, Yuto used the second stage of his second skill, the stab!
Sasuke quickly tapped his second skill, thinking, 'Chance!'
But what happened next completely caught him off guard....
Hawk Sasuke... after the second stage of the second skill, the stab, actually backflipped and spat fire.
'Wasn't that supposed to be a combo from the first skill into a basic attack?'
Sasuke was completely caught off guard. He had planned to use this move to deal with Edo Tensei Tobirama, but Yuto had beaten him to the punch and used it against him instead.
Well, it was just a matter of being outplayed by superior knowledge... but did Yuto really think that was all Sasuke had?
Sasuke only had one substitution bar left, and he knew Yuto still had his own substitution. So Sasuke didn't dare to follow up his second skill with an ultimate.
Doing that would mean instant defeat.
But he could still pressure with a summon!
Sasuke summoned the Two-Tails, aiming to catch Yuto's Hawk Sasuke off guard.
Yuto glanced at the screen and smirked, "Oh? The Two-Tails? Using the Two-Tails to catch Hawk Sasuke? That's some next-level audacity."
Without hesitation, Yuto activated his first skill and followed up with the third stage of his second skill, unleashing a combo!
The hitbox of the original version of the combo skill... was far more terrifying than it is now!
Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke was a full two character lengths behind Yuto's Hawk Sasuke!
At that distance... even three Edo TenseiTobiramas lined up wouldn't be able to catch him!
But Hawk Sasuke could!
At this moment, it was just like back then... Yuto felt as if he had returned to that year, a lighthearted melody playing in his mind.
"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
Hawk Sasuke on the screen shouted, and then... the Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke, two character lengths away, was successfully grabbed out of the Two-Tails' attack range!
Even the Two-Tails' fire breath couldn't reach him!
Watching Hawk Sasuke's cool stance as he pinned Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke against the wall and unleashed Chidori Sharp Spear, Sasuke felt a strange sensation.
'Wait... isn't this a bit... audacious?'
By the time Sasuke used his second substitution, Yuto's Hawk Sasuke's second skill had already cooled down.
Yuto immediately used the second skill to create distance. At this point, Sasuke was still in Flame Blade mode and directly activated his first skill!
Seeing the attack about to land, Yuto decided to go all out!
Summon! He summoned the Two-Tails!
Then he immediately activated his ultimate!
Three-stage grab, securing the kill!
[You can never escape this Jutsu.]
After seeing himself get finished off by the ultimate cutscene, Sasuke was still in a daze.
'Wait... I had so many skills left unused, and I didn't even touch him once?'
This sheer display of skill left Sasuke completely convinced.
Sasuke was puzzled and asked, "How are you... so strong?"
Clearly, he had forgotten that Yuto was the game's developer.
But Yuto just smiled mysteriously and said, "That's because my Hawk Sasuke… is like an old friend."