"What—? !"
Sasuke suddenly realized Naruto had vanished from before his eyes and appeared behind him in the blink of an eye. The sheer speed of it shocked him.
He immediately tried to use a Substitution Jutsu, but Naruto's attack came faster than he could weave the seals.
Bang!
Naruto's fist slammed into him, hurling Sasuke through the air.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Sasuke twisted his body midair, landing with both feet against a tree trunk. He pushed off hard, using the rebound to launch a counterattack.
Bang! Bang! Bang! A seamless flurry of strikes from the Uchiha-style Taijutsu Flow— but every single move was blocked with effortless precision by Naruto.
"Damn it! " Sasuke snarled.
He couldn't believe it. His attacks—fast, sharp, practiced—were being neutralized as if by a wall of air.
At that instant, Naruto caught the tiny hesitation in Sasuke's movement— and with a single kick, sent him flying again.
In midair, refusing to admit defeat, Sasuke whipped out a handful of shuriken.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
They sliced through the air, the angles sharp and the speed impressive enough that even Iruka, watching secretly from the shadows, had to nod in approval.
But Naruto merely drew a few shuriken of his own, flicking them casually with his fingers.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Each of Sasuke's projectiles was knocked clean out of the air.
Then Naruto looked at Sasuke—panting, cornered—and felt a twinge of sympathy. He thought of the future, when they would one day be comrades who understood each other.
So he offered a few pointers.
"Uchiha Sasuke, " he said evenly, "your movements are too wasteful—too many openings. " "Your reaction speed's slow. " "And your shuriken—soft as noodles. "
With his current level of perception, analyzing Sasuke's weaknesses was as easy as breathing.
Sasuke's face darkened. He wanted to argue—but deep down, he couldn't. If it weren't for this annoying bastard Naruto, no one else in the entire Academy could rival him.
But he forced himself to think calmly. If someone stronger than him pointed out flaws, then correcting them could make him stronger too— strong enough to surpass even Naruto.
While Sasuke was lost in thought, Naruto's voice sounded again— from directly behind him.
"Oh, and one more thing…"
"In battle—never lose focus. "
Naruto's grin turned mischievous. Thud!
A quick chop to the neck.
Sasuke barely had time to curse—"Coward! "—before collapsing unconscious.
And just like that, the so-called Uchiha prodigy, second only to Naruto in the Academy, was defeated—utterly, effortlessly.
Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, as well as Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji—all stood frozen.
No one had expected such a one-sided outcome. They had always thought of Sasuke as a genius. But seeing the gap between him and Naruto firsthand—it was beyond belief.
Even if Sasuke had continued fighting, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
From the shadows, Iruka and the other Academy instructors observing the exercise were equally stunned. They had never imagined Naruto's strength was this overwhelming.
Just in terms of physical ability alone, he was leagues beyond his peers. Add in his composure and combat instincts— and it was like watching a fully trained shinobi fight a child.
Inside the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, peering through his crystal ball, was visibly delighted.
"Such incredible speed! " he murmured. "To think Naruto has grown this strong already…"
Even though he had already overestimated Naruto's strength based on his exam records, seeing him now, Hiruzen realized he had still underestimated the boy.
After easily defeating Sasuke, Naruto turned toward the Ino–Shika–Cho trio nearby.
"Well? You guys want to go next? " he asked with a grin.
As the team's strategist, Shikamaru took one look at Naruto's confident expression and immediately shook his head.
If the three of them fought Naruto alone, they might have a slim chance. But Naruto wasn't alone—Hinata, Kiba, and Shino stood behind him. Fighting would be pointless.
More importantly—it looked like a total drag.
"Forget it, " Shikamaru sighed. He conceded the match on behalf of his team. Neither Ino nor Choji objected.
"Yeah! !! " Kiba cheered loudly, punching the air. Akamaru barked excitedly atop his head.
Hinata smiled shyly at Naruto, while Shino, as always, stood silently in the background, expression unreadable.
And just like that, Naruto's team won first place in the forest exercise.
After the drill ended, life at the Academy returned to normal.
But for Sasuke, the loss had been a bitter one. He remembered Naruto's words clearly—his flaws, his weaknesses.
Every day after class, he began training harder than ever before. The battle had shown him the vast gulf between them. He couldn't afford to stay behind.
He had to catch up— he would surpass Naruto— and one day, he would have the strength to kill that man and avenge the Uchiha clan.
Meanwhile, Naruto's overwhelming performance during the forest drill— crushing even a member of the Uchiha clan— had caught the eye of Shimura Danzo.
The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, displaying talent that outshone the Uchiha? How could he not covet such a weapon?
Danzo once again petitioned the Third Hokage to hand Naruto over to Root. But after witnessing Naruto's power, Hiruzen refused even more firmly.
Naruto had already become the greatest trump card of the Sarutobi faction— there was no way he would hand him to Danzo's control.
Danzo could only grit his teeth. Even with the Sharingan arm he'd acquired, he didn't yet dare confront the Hokage directly.
Naruto, of course, knew nothing of the power struggles over his fate taking place within the Hokage Tower. And even if he did, he would have only scoffed.
A bunch of self-serving old men, squabbling over the scraps left behind by Hashirama and Madara— their Konoha, once proud and invincible, had decayed into politics and compromise.
The village founded by the First Hokage, once towering above all others, had been bled dry by endless wars. And those not loyal to the Hokage's line—like the White Fang, the Senju, and the recently destroyed Uchiha clan— were all driven to ruin.
Even the Hyuga clan, once proud, had been humiliated by the Cloud Village kidnapping incident— and instead of retaliation, Konoha's leadership chose appeasement.
It was enough to make the First Hokage roll in his grave.
But that was politics.
For Naruto, the focus now was training.
After returning to normal classes, he began a new phase of cultivation. He knew that in this world, there existed an energy even higher than chakra—
Natural Energy!
That's right. Naruto's next goal was to master the legendary power born from fusing with nature—
Sage Mode!
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