Not long after Naruto's spiritual power had skyrocketed—
time flew by like an arrow, the days and months slipping swiftly past.
Before anyone realized it, Naruto and his classmates had completed their second year at the Ninja Academy.
During that second year, they had learned the basics of shurikenjutsu and kunai techniques, as well as a large variety of survival skills, trap setting, environmental analysis, and concealment tactics.
As for Naruto himself—
Up to this point,
he had created the Stargate Meditation Cultivation Method,
developed the Chakra version of the Six Forms of the Immortal Thief,
and even invented a shinobi-world variant of Observation Haki.
He had mastered the Rasengan, Giant Rasengan, Ultra-Giant Rasengan, and Planetary Rasengan,
as well as perfected the Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation.
With that, he created:
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Giant Rasenshuriken, and Ultra-Giant Rasenshuriken,
alongside an original jutsu—Wind Release: Sky Dance Technique,
which allowed him to fly freely under his own power.
He had also mastered the Divine Mechanism Art: Control of Tools,
which let him manipulate any ninja weapon at will,
and his spiritual strength had reached the point of granting him complete immunity to genjutsu.
Oh—and during the second-year final exams,
Naruto had once again taken first place in both theory and practical combat,
firmly holding onto his spot as top student.
That extraordinary result
left the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, utterly delighted.
During the break, Naruto finally allowed himself a rare, complete vacation,
spending joyful days together with Hinata and the others.
But good times always pass quickly.
Soon, the third year at the Ninja Academy began.
On the very first day of the new term,
Iruka stood at the front of the classroom, his expression serious as he addressed the class.
"This time," he said, "I won't be checking whether you reviewed last year's lessons."
At that, the room instantly erupted in cheers.
But in the next moment,
Iruka's next words made every student freeze in surprise.
"Because this year, you'll be learning something different."
"Starting now, you'll be participating in a one-month forest combat exercise at the training grounds!"
The class fell silent for a beat.
Then came a wave of exclamations.
"What?! A whole month in the forest? You're trying to kill us, Iruka-sensei!"
"Sensei, what are we supposed to eat? Where do we sleep?!"
"Yeah! I'm not doing this exercise!"
The students all voiced their protests one after another.
However—
Iruka wasn't asking for their opinion.
He was informing them.
His expression grew even sterner as he clapped his hands twice on the desk.
"This is a mandatory exercise. No exceptions.
Anyone unwilling to participate—can go ahead and apply for withdrawal from the academy right now."
At those words, everyone realized just how serious Iruka was about this.
Compared to quitting school and giving up on becoming a ninja forever,
a mere month of hardship in the forest suddenly didn't sound so bad.
Iruka nodded with satisfaction as the class fell silent.
"Good. Now follow me to the forest training ground.
The exercise begins today!"
Iruka led Naruto's class to the Forest Training Grounds,
a massive woodland area designated for field exercises.
Konoha had no shortage of forests—if anything, that was what it had in abundance.
Its founder, the First Hokage, had chosen this location precisely for its rich natural resources,
and had used his legendary Wood Release to create even more forests around the village.
Thus was born the lush and resource-rich Village Hidden in the Leaves.
At the gates of the training ground, Iruka began his briefing.
"This month-long exercise will test your abilities in intelligence gathering, trap setting, ambush, and other survival skills.
Use everything you learned last year—those skills will be essential."
"Each of you will receive a numbered tag.
If your tag is taken, you're eliminated."
"Those who keep their tag and endure until the end will be the winners."
"To ensure fairness, you'll be grouped into teams of four.
If three are eliminated but one remains standing at the end, that team is still considered victorious."
When he finished, Iruka signaled his colleagues to distribute the tags.
Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino each received one—and by coincidence, the four of them were assigned to the same team.
"Tch, didn't think I'd end up on your team," Kiba muttered, frowning at Naruto.
He was friends with Naruto, sure—but he'd been hoping for a real chance to challenge him.
Now, that chance was gone.
Naruto only smiled.
Hinata, on the other hand, blushed furiously, secretly feeling lucky to be on Naruto's team.
Noticing her shy expression, Naruto couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair gently.
"Don't worry," he said with a grin.
"As long as I'm here, everything will be fine."
Since Hinata was on his team,
he naturally wouldn't let her get eliminated.
As for Shino Aburame, quiet as ever, he said nothing—and was promptly ignored by everyone.
Elsewhere, Sasuke had been placed on a team full of background characters—
ordinary civilian students without any talent to speak of.
But he didn't care.
To Sasuke, everyone in the class was dead weight—everyone except Naruto.
His sharp eyes locked onto Naruto's back, blazing with fighting spirit…and the deep hunger for revenge.
Of course, Naruto wasn't the one he sought revenge against.
But Naruto was the top of the class,
the strongest of their generation.
If Sasuke wanted to one day kill that man,
he needed power greater than anyone else's—
and that included the strength to defeat Uzumaki Naruto.
From that moment on,
Naruto became the opponent Sasuke had to surpass.
Meanwhile, Naruto, chatting casually with Hinata and the others, had no idea
that Sasuke had already set his sights on him.
Sasuke Uchiha silently made his decision—
he would defeat Uzumaki Naruto during this forest exercise!
To ensure fairness at the start,
Iruka directed each team to enter the forest from different entrances,
so no group would crowd together in the early stages.
Soon, once all the teams were in position,
Iruka's voice echoed across the field:
"The one-month forest combat exercise—begins now!"
At that command,
Naruto's team and all the others dashed forward,
racing deep into the forest training ground.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 50 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/TheShadowMonarch