The match began, and Yuto stared at the Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke on the other side, strategizing in his mind.
'Should I start by trading Amaterasu with the opponent?'
'Probably not necessary.'
But that didn't mean Yuto wasn't planning to make the first move.
Against Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke, the first thing to watch for was whether the opponent would switch blades.
After all, Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke was a dual-form Ninja… one for close combat and one for ranged attacks. The approach to each form was different.
If you assumed the opponent would play the ranged Flame Blade, but they suddenly dashed in with the Lightning Blade, things could get messy.
So Yuto waited to see what the opponent would do.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, following his usual habits, immediately switched to Flame Blade, preparing to attack from a distance.
Clearly, Sasuke wasn't very comfortable with the aggressive playstyle of the Lightning Blade and opted for the safer Flame Blade opening.
Hearing the sound of the opponent switching blades, Yuto didn't hesitate. He activated the first skill, Susanoo Skeleton, and then... ran to the opponent's side of the screen!
Seeing Susanoo Sasuke suddenly appear from off-screen, Sasuke panicked and immediately used the skill he had been planning to test the waters with.
At the same time, Yuto had his Susanoo Skeleton tank the first slash of Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke's Flame Blade skill and pressed the basic attack button for a slash!
The slash interrupted Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke before he could land the second hit.
Yuto had secured the first move!
Sasuke was stunned, "Huh? It can be played like this?"
Watching Susanoo Sasuke's sharp slash, Sasuke was speechless.
Of course, he didn't rush to substitute immediately. He knew that Susanoo Sasuke's second skill, Kagutsuchi, also had a recovery animation.
'Maybe... I could substitute during that and catch the recovery!'
Just as Sasuke was thinking this, Yuto stopped moving. He was waiting, waiting for Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke to substitute.
At this moment, Susanoo Sasuke had just finished the slash from the first skill and was in the middle of a sheathing animation.
During this animation, Susanoo Sasuke was in a skill state and couldn't be interrupted by basic attacks.
Of course, Yuto wasn't waiting for the opponent's basic attack… he was waiting for the substitution.
As soon as the opponent substituted, he would immediately summon his panda!
This was what you called a counter-summon!
Soon, Sasuke couldn't hold back. He saw Susanoo Sasuke neither attacking nor moving...
But instead... performing a sheathing animation?
Sasuke had never seen this in the training mode, so he immediately substituted.
Of course, Sasuke didn't rush to use Flame Blade's second skill. After his previous match against Yuto's Hawk Sasuke, he had learned... when playing Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke with only one substitution bar, you should never casually use skills or ultimate Jutsu.
Otherwise, he'd be in trouble.
But just as Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke substituted, Yuto saw that Susanoo Sasuke's sheathing animation was about to end, and a flash of lightning erupted from the scabbard.
So he pressed the basic attack button!
From both players' perspectives, Susanoo Sasuke unleashed a Chidori Blade, dashing away with an ultra-long displacement!
Sasuke was confused. "Huh? That's... Chidori Blade? Isn't that Hawk Sasuke's skill?"
Sasuke was baffled, echoing Naruto's earlier sentiment when fighting Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke, "Wait, why don't I have this move when I play him?"
Yuto, seeing Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke preparing to use Kagutsuchi to initiate against Susanoo Sasuke's Chidori Blade, began his confident play.
"Heh, Susanoo Sasuke has a very interesting trick that I kept in the game."
With that, Yuto suddenly activated his secret scroll… Scatter!
The scatter didn't hit Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke, which left Sasuke, the player controlling Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke, utterly confused.
"Wait, the scatter didn't even hit? And even if he wanted to use it to counter my skill, it's too early for that. Did he panic?"
That was the only explanation Sasuke could think of.
However, he was about to see his Kagutsuchi initiate against Susanoo Sasuke, and then he could switch to Lightning Blade. One skill could be used to gain substitution bars, and the other could be saved for escaping or baiting substitutions.
Sasuke had already planned out his next moves.
But once again, something unexpected happened.
Susanoo Sasuke, who had just used Chidori Blade, after using scatter... used Chidori Blade again!
Two stages of Chidori Blade instantly displaced Susanoo Sasuke out of Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke's Kagutsuchi range!
"Dammit! What the hell is this?!" Sasuke couldn't help but curse under his breath.
A skill that was about to hit had just... whiffed like that!
With no other choice, Sasuke quickly switched back to Lightning Blade.
Both of Flame Blade's skills were on cooldown, so whether it was for offense or defense, the two Lightning Blade skills that weren't on cooldown could handle both.
Even though he was clearly at a disadvantage, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a bit proud.
After all, while Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke might have long cooldowns, he had two completely independent skill sets!
This allowed him to maintain his position even when at a disadvantage, having failed to gain an advantage twice in a row, without losing further ground.
This is Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke!
However, before Sasuke could bask in his pride for too long, he saw another Kagutsuchi flying in from off-screen.
Sasuke looked at the empty Kagutsuchi and smirked disdainfully.
'Just this lottery skill? And it has a second stage, right? As long as I don't walk into it... how could that second stage possibly hit me? Dream on!'
Then, Sasuke noticed that Susanoo Sasuke was constantly probing toward him?
Yes, probing, moving the camera to confirm his position.
Sasuke was puzzled, 'The opponent didn't have any skills left, so why take the risk to probe?'
If it weren't for the fear of the Kagutsuchi on the ground suddenly activating, Sasuke would have seized this opportunity to initiate with a skill.
But then...
Sasuke saw that Kagutsuchi, that had been lying peacefully on the ground... start moving.
And... it was moving straight toward his position.
This scared the hell out of Sasuke.
"What the-! This Kagutsuchi is moving! I'm out!"
Sasuke thought he was dealing with some kind of ghost and quickly used Lightning Blade's second skill to dodge.
But he was a bit too slow.
He got knocked up by the moving Kagutsuchi.
"Huh? This thing can move?"
Sasuke was completely disgusted by the information gap with Susanoo Sasuke.
"Wait, why didn't I see any of this in the training mode just now?"
His substitution was still on cooldown, so Sasuke could only watch helplessly as the opponent closed in for a combo.
Sasuke hadn't tested Susanoo Sasuke's basic attacks in the training mode, so he silently prayed in his heart, 'Please let Susanoo Sasuke's basic attacks not be too stable.'
But once again, to his utter surprise…
Susanoo Sasuke closed in with a 12a combo, followed by a small displacement with 3a and another combo...
"Wait, these basic attacks are exactly the same as Hawk Sasuke's? What?"
Sasuke was baffled once more. He realized that he had missed way too many things in the training mode...