"What?!"
Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly appeared behind him in a flash.
He was caught off guard by the sudden burst of speed.
Immediately, he attempted to use the Substitution Jutsu.
But Naruto's strike was already one step ahead.
With a loud bang, Naruto's punch landed squarely, sending Sasuke flying.
Sasuke gritted his teeth from the pain, twisting mid-air with practiced agility.
Planting both feet firmly on the trunk of a tree, he launched himself back at Naruto in a sharp counterattack.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Naruto effortlessly blocked Sasuke's swift, flowing taijutsu—a signature of the Uchiha style.
"Damn it!"
Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes.
His attacks—so refined and well-practiced—were completely nullified.
At that moment, Naruto took advantage of Sasuke's momentary distraction and landed a powerful kick that sent him crashing back again.
Still mid-air, Sasuke refused to accept defeat.
He reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a handful of shuriken.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The deadly projectiles screamed through the air, their speed and sharp angles drawing admiration—even from Iruka-sensei, who was observing in secret.
But Naruto, calm and focused, pulled out his own set of shuriken.
With a quick flick, he sent them flying.
The two volleys clashed mid-air with a series of crisp metallic sounds, completely neutralizing Sasuke's attack.
Naruto's gaze fell on Sasuke, who now seemed at a loss.
He couldn't help but think of the bond they would one day share.
So, he gave a few casual pointers.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Your movements aren't clean. Too many openings."
"Your reactions are too slow."
"And your shuriken… they're too soft."
With Naruto's current insight, spotting Sasuke's weaknesses was trivial.
Sasuke instinctively wanted to argue.
If it weren't for Naruto—this annoying guy—he'd easily be top of their class.
But he held his tongue. Naruto was stronger than him. That much was undeniable.
And if Naruto could identify his flaws so clearly…
Then maybe—just maybe—fixing them would help him surpass Naruto one day.
As Sasuke lost himself in thought, Naruto reappeared behind him without a sound.
"Oh, one more thing—"
"Don't get distracted during battle."
Naruto's playful voice came from behind.
Before Sasuke could react, Naruto delivered a precise chop to the back of his neck.
Sasuke managed to shout, "You bastard—!" just before blacking out.
And just like that…
Uchiha Sasuke—the number two at the Ninja Academy—was handily defeated by Naruto.
From the sidelines, Hinata, Kiba, Shino—
Even the Ino-Shika-Cho trio: Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji—
All stared in stunned silence.
None of them had expected the genius of the Uchiha clan to be so utterly outclassed.
Even if Sasuke were given another chance, it was obvious now—he couldn't win against Naruto.
Hidden in the shadows,
Iruka-sensei and the other instructors observing the sparring session were equally shocked.
Naruto's strength had far surpassed anything they had anticipated.
In terms of raw physical ability alone, he was already leagues ahead of his peers.
Not to mention his combat instincts and adaptability…
Up in the Hokage's office,
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched through his crystal ball and couldn't help but be surprised by Naruto's progress.
After settling things with Sasuke, Naruto turned to the nearby Ino-Shika-Cho team.
He grinned.
"Wanna take me on together?" he said, flashing a confident smile at Shikamaru and the others.
Shikamaru, the brains of the trio, took one look at Naruto's relaxed posture and unwavering confidence…
And immediately shook his head.
If the Ino-Shika-Cho trio fought Naruto together, they might have had a chance.
But Naruto wasn't alone—Hinata, Kiba, and Shino stood at his side.
Starting a fight would just be a waste of effort.
More importantly—
Fighting was too troublesome for Shikamaru.
That was the real reason.
So, on behalf of his team, Shikamaru decided to forfeit the match.
Ino and Choji didn't argue with his decision.
"Yeah!!" Kiba shouted excitedly, pumping his fist at their victory.
Akamaru barked along from his head, tail wagging wildly.
Hinata looked at Naruto, a shy smile tugging at her lips.
Shino remained quiet, his usual stoic expression hiding any thoughts. He always seemed like he wasn't even there.
…
Naruto and his team had officially secured first place in the forest exercise.
With that, the drill came to an end, and everyone returned to their regular classes.
But for Sasuke—who had lost to Naruto—it wasn't over.
Naruto's comments during their fight echoed in his mind.
After school, he began pushing himself harder every day.
That battle had shown him clearly:
There was a gap between them.
A wide one.
He needed to train harder than ever before—
To catch up to Naruto.
To surpass Naruto.
He couldn't afford to lose again.
Because he had his own goal—
To kill that man and avenge the Uchiha clan!
Meanwhile—
News of Naruto overwhelming Sasuke during the exercise reached Danzo.
The performance of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki far surpassed expectations. To Danzo, Naruto's potential now even overshadowed the Uchiha.
Once again, Danzo petitioned the Third Hokage to hand Naruto over to Root.
But after witnessing Naruto's growth for himself, Hiruzen's stance became even more unshakable.
There was no way he'd let Danzo have Naruto.
To Hiruzen and the Sarutobi faction, Naruto had become their strongest future asset—a trump card to maintain control over Konoha.
Why would he ever hand that over to Shimura Danzo?
Danzo, faced with Hiruzen's firm refusal, had no choice but to back down.
Not even Danzo—armed with a dozen hidden Sharingan and resurrection schemes—could afford a direct confrontation with the Third Hokage.
Naruto, of course, knew none of this.
There had already been several power struggles over his fate inside the Hokage building.
But even if he had known, he would have shrugged it off.
To him, they were just a bunch of self-serving bureaucrats.
The same kind of people who had let the Konoha built by the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara crumble.
Konoha was once powerful. Invincible.
And now?
After so many Shinobi World Wars, its younger generation was practically wiped out.
And those who remained—if they didn't belong to the "Hokage's circle"—like the White Fang, the Senju, and the recently annihilated Uchiha…
They were all either silenced or dead.
Even the Hyuga weren't spared.
Take the incident where Hinata was kidnapped by a ninja from Kumogakure.
Instead of retaliating, Konoha's higher-ups handed over Hyuga Hiashi's twin brother as a scapegoat.
That was how they protected their "alliance."
It was like handing the offender a roll of toilet paper to wipe their hands clean of guilt.
Seeing this, how could the other noble clans of Konoha not feel anxious?
Who would still believe in the Hokage's leadership?
If the First Hokage saw what had become of the Hyuga clan—loyal protectors of the village—being humiliated like this under Hiruzen's reign…
He'd probably rise from the grave just to curse them out.
But that's enough about that.
After the joint exercise ended, everyone went back to their usual routine of school and training.
Same for Naruto.
Only now—
He was ready to move on to a whole new level of training.
In this ninja world, there was a power even greater than chakra.
A force drawn from nature itself.
Natural energy.
That's right.
Naruto had made up his mind—
He was going to train in Sage Mode.
The path of absorbing natural energy to evolve beyond his limits.