Chapter 21: Want to Learn It? I'll Teach You
"What was that seal-less ninjutsu—the blue mini-typhoon that appeared in your hand?"
"It pierced straight through that massive tree in one hit."
Sasuke swallowed hard.
Right now, his thirst for power was infinite.
Even if someone told him to swing a sword,
he'd be willing!
As long as it made him stronger,
what was swinging a sword?
Even becoming Uchiha Sako—he'd accept it!
Damn it…
Seeing his goal achieved,
the corner of Naruto's mouth curled into a wicked smile.
He held up one of Jiraiya's lifelong masterpieces in his hand.
"Want to learn it? I'll teach you."
Sasuke's eyes couldn't hide his longing.
"Naruto—teach me now!"
"I can teach you… but you have to call me boss."
Naruto said casually.
Things that come too easily
are never cherished.
If he didn't add some difficulty for this edgelord,
Sasuke might think he was just a free experience-giving nice guy.
Sasuke froze.
Call him boss???
Naruto seemed younger than him.
And every year he was the dead-last of the class.
Make him—a genius ninja—call him boss?
But reality was stronger than pride.
Sasuke still couldn't fully accept it.
When exactly did Naruto become this strong?
Or… had this guy been deliberately acting like dead-last from the beginning?
Just to trick him, to disgust him—this honor student?
Every time he showed off in front of his peers—
throwing shuriken, using ninjutsu they couldn't—
Sasuke felt a certain pride deep inside. The pride of the Uchiha clan.
But Naruto?
One Rasengan from Naruto
did far more damage than his Great Fireball.
One was AoE crowd control, the other single-target burst.
Keep enemies at range with Great Fireball—close range, just Rasengan!
Humiliation?
Was it more humiliating than having his entire family slaughtered,
living every day under the shadow of revenge he couldn't yet achieve?
"Bo… boss… I can't say it."
Sasuke bit his lip,
his tone carrying the last shred of stubbornness.
That was the final remnant of his Uchiha dignity.
He couldn't let anyone trample it further.
Naruto glanced at him.
"You know this genuine training book from one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya—cost me hundreds of gold coins to get?"
"I'm giving it to you for free, and even telling you such a huge secret."
"And now you won't even call me boss. What do you think I'm after?"
Naruto spoke righteously,
his tone powerful and imposing!
It made Sasuke feel instantly ashamed.
Naruto had spent so much money to acquire this authentic training book.
And he was giving it away for free.
If he didn't call him boss,
it would really hurt Naruto's feelings.
Sasuke bit his lip again, sounding almost girlish as his voice weakened:
"Bo… boss…"
"Huh?? I didn't hear clearly."
"Enough nonsense—hurry up and give me the book!"
Sasuke shouted, face burning red.
Too damn embarrassing.
Calling Naruto was one thing.
If it were anyone else, he'd rather die.
"What a pain. Here—take it."
Naruto casually tossed the book to the kid.
Sasuke caught it happily, his heart fluttering.
He was finally going to get stronger!
Itachi Uchiha—just wait! I'll kill you with my own hands!
"Eh…"
Sasuke's gaze drifted to the black bag at Naruto's feet,
curious about what was inside.
"Naruto, what's in that bag?"
"Kids don't need to know too much."
"You're a kid too, aren't you?"
"I may look like one on the outside, but my soul is that of a weathered, world-weary true man who's seen through everything."
As Naruto spoke, he used his foot to pull the cloth cover back over the bag.
Sasuke blinked.
He looked back and forth between the book in his hand and the black bag.
For just a split second earlier,
he had glimpsed what was inside.
It looked exactly like the training book he was holding.
What the hell?!
Don't tell me the bag is full of Jiraiya's training manuals too?!
"Naruto—show me what's in there right now."
Sasuke lunged forward aggressively.
With strength from who-knows-where,
he tried to snatch the bag from Naruto.
But the currently frail Sasuke was no match at all.
To be blunt—
Naruto could knock him down with one finger.
"Shut up!"
"A book costs hundreds of gold coins—my money doesn't grow on trees. How could I afford more?!"
"Get lost and train. I'm leaving."
Naruto kicked the bag up into his hand.
With a graceful sidestep,
he dodged the starving tiger pounce from the edgelord.
Little punk.
No skill and you still want to play robber?
Keep practicing, kid.
"Give it to me—or I won't train!"
"Train or don't—that's your choice. Guess someone doesn't want to get strong for revenge after all. Always talking big about revenge—how embarrassing."
"You…"
Watching Naruto walk away,
Sasuke's anger boiled over.
He gripped the book tightly.
Slam—
(⊙o⊙)… He hurled it to the ground.
I, Uchiha Sasuke—even if I train until I die, until my last drop of chakra is gone!
I will never beg you, Naruto!
But that pink-covered book lying on the ground…
It seemed to radiate infinite magic.
Especially those two words: Paradise!
A paradise for gathering chakra?
Or reaching the highest realm of training—paradise?
Less than a minute later,
Sasuke embraced the law of true fragrance.
He picked up the book from the ground.
Brushed off the dust.
"Hmph… that guy may act carefree all the time, but he never lies when it comes to important things."
"I'll trust you just this once. Don't let me down…"
He casually flipped open a few pages.
Sasuke's brows furrowed lightly.
What the hell is all this about?
So weird.
Do I really have to train according to what's written here?
In Konoha—before the age of internet and television—
people were simple and pure.
Even thirteen- or fourteen-year-old kids
didn't know much about matters between men and women.
Plus, every family was focused on raising their children into excellent ninjas.
Daily training in basics and chakra control already took up all their time.
Who had spare energy to study this?
Fortunately, the publisher of Jiraiya's books had some conscience.
They included a few illustrations.
That was how Konoha's population kept growing generation after generation.
Bang—
After reading a third of it,
Sasuke's face flushed red. He slammed the book shut!
"Where's the training part?! Or do I have to follow the hand seals in here?!"
"Damn it, Naruto—come back! You still haven't taught me how to train!!!"
---------------------------
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkroxx