Saitama looked like he wasn't himself. As they moved through the upper paths, the young man kept nervously biting his lip and glancing back toward Konoha. Anko could only shoot sideways glances at the freshly minted Special Jonin, unable to understand what had happened or why the bald man looked so unsettled.
The previous evening, the young man and the girl had received a mission from the Hokage out of nowhere. B-rank. The two of them were required to catch up and provide support to Gai's team, which had its own mission escorting an architect to the Land of Waves. There had been some deliberate omissions on the client's part, making an attack from high-rank hired shinobi on Team Three a likely possibility. This information had been extracted from a Mist chunin personally delivered to Konoha by Gai himself. And so Hiruzen had dispatched Saitama and Mitarashi to reinforce Maito and his charges.
Though, knowing the thick-browed jonin, Anko wasn't certain he would need any support at all. The man was called the Green Beast for a reason — he was one of the strongest jonin in the Leaf, and his genin team was well-coordinated and quite capable. But as the saying went, caution never hurt anyone.
As for Saitama, he had initially been hoping to wiggle out of this strange assignment somehow. His "going out" costume still wasn't ready, he had only very recently become a Special Jonin, and on top of all that he was still new to the village. But the Hokage had been immovable. Hiruzen had even issued Saitama an entire month's jonin salary ahead of schedule, plus half the mission pay — upfront. A truly unprecedented case, since shinobi normally only received mission pay after the work was completed.
After that Saitama had no real grounds to refuse heading out into the wider world. He had even perked up somewhat, and for about two hours after their visit to the Hokage Tower he hadn't been able to wipe the blissful smile off his face.
However, today — after leaving the village — the bald man was visibly jittery. Sweat had appeared on Saitama's forehead. Given that the young man didn't sweat even in the afternoon heat, this was very strange indeed.
"What are you so worked up about?" Anko finally said. "First-mission jitters?" Mitarashi grinned, scanning their surroundings.
"Huh?" Saitama was pulled from his thoughts.
The kunoichi rolled her eyes and repeated her question.
"No," the young man began uncertainly. "It's just… yesterday I got money from the old man… but I left it at home under the mattress…"
Mitarashi raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, but a couple of moments later it clicked — she understood what Saitama was worried about. The girl laughed quietly.
"You think someone might rob you?"
The bald shinobi nodded, casting an anxious glance at Mitarashi.
"Saitama," Anko exhaled, "you live in the Sarutobi clan district. Sarutobi Hiruzen is our Hokage. No idiot is going to break into your home."
"Hm…" Saitama fell into deep thought.
Anko's words calmed him slightly. But only slightly. Memories of his recent stay in the apartment came floating to the surface — that little room had turned out to be something of a thoroughfare for local shinobi. Needles in the mattress, shuriken launching from the sink, surprises appearing from the toilet. No real harm done, sure, but…
Back then I didn't have a single ryō to my name, Saitama groaned inwardly.
Now, however, he actually had some money. And if one of those pranksters happened to look under the mattress…
"Anko, let's go back," Saitama said, dropping to the ground. He was already preparing to turn around and run back the old-fashioned way, without the ridiculous branch-hopping, when Mitarashi's hand landed gently on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Saitama. Your money is perfectly safe."
Saitama frowned and looked the kunoichi in the eyes. Whatever he saw there, after a couple of moments he did manage to pull himself together.
"Alright," he nodded, his face returning to its usual detached expression. "And if anything happens, the old man will cover it, right?"
Anko only let out a heavy sigh:
"We're on a mission. Let's move faster."
"Sure…"
A few minutes later they had passed the outermost ANBU posts of Konoha. Saitama noticeably picked up speed. Anko could barely keep up. Surprisingly, the freshly minted shinobi was following the correct heading precisely.
"Saitama, what's the rush?"
"Well, um…" the bald young man scratched the back of his head in mid-leap. "The faster we get there, the faster we finish the mission… and the faster I get home."
"You're still thinking about your pay? How long is this going to go on? You're an absolute paranoid!"
"Better to be paranoid with money than to be—"
"Saitama!" Anko hissed, cutting the bald hero off. "We closed this topic!"
"Fine," the jonin agreed, taking in the surroundings with an indifferent gaze mid-jump.
Saitama decided that he was probably worrying for nothing. He wasn't living in some dingy little room on the outskirts of the village — he was in the clan district of one of Konoha's most influential families. So the young man calmed down somewhat and decided to change the subject:
"By the way — do you have a bank here?…"
Naruto was feeling somewhat deflated.
Master Saitama had promised to spar with him and had set their training bout for today. It was remarkable that the sensei had agreed at all — doubly remarkable that he had suggested it himself. A great deal had come down on the bald instructor lately: he had become a jonin, settled in Konoha, gotten his own home, and Anko-senpai had been assigned to teach him general subjects — which Saitama-sensei almost certainly found disagreeable. Yes — that was probably exactly why he had offered Naruto a personal training session, so he could stop studying for at least a little while. But whatever the true reason, little Uzumaki was glad, because he was getting closer to his goal: becoming the strongest.
The blond had even skipped his morning training for this spar, doing only a light warm-up — after all, going up against Master Saitama required being at full strength. He had waited, he had hoped, he had been ready for real training with his master.
But the teacher and Anko-senpai had been suddenly called to a mission, and how long their assignment would last was unknown. Naruto did have a training plan and plenty to keep him busy for the immediate future, of course: he needed to refine his Fire techniques, master the Wind nature, go hunting in the Forest of Death — the rabbit meat and mantis meat would run out before long. He also needed to think about money. Master Saitama held money in very high regard and was extremely frugal about it. Therefore, in Uzumaki's view, a student should inherit his teacher's spirit. The boy had even written in his notebook a list of holidays when stores and the market had sales. As for where to save the money — the genin had decided to put it toward weighted training gear with Fūin seals. Such items were quite expensive, but training with them would be far more productive. The trouble was, D-rank missions alone wouldn't earn enough. Perhaps he should find additional work on the side? With his clones, that wouldn't be much of a burden.
I wish Master Saitama would hurry back, Naruto thought, walking unhurriedly toward the meeting point with the Team Seven instructor.
Despite the uselessness of D-rank assignments, Uzumaki had decided to show up for today's mission with his team in person — in the flesh, so to speak. Kakashi had said that these kinds of missions helped genin learn to work together and gain experience in teamwork. What advantages there could be in cleaning the Inuzuka kennels or working in vegetable gardens, Naruto wasn't sure — but a respected jonin wouldn't lie, would he?
Yes, he had his intense training hanging over him, but there was a whole day ahead, so he would still have time to get through his hellish body-strengthening routine.
This time the genin were once again faced with weeding garden beds. Creating a dozen clones, Naruto set to work alongside his teammates. Meanwhile his copies were busily poring through libraries and drilling ninjutsu. Periodically, when dispersed clones sent their information back, the original Naruto would wince and freeze for a moment, processing the returning knowledge and experience. His head ached, his temples throbbed, but blood hadn't dripped from his nose yet. And overall his condition was considerably better than the day before.
I think I'm getting tougher. Maybe I've already gotten stronger, dattebayo? Uzumaki pondered.
No, he thought, it's just that I haven't trained my body today yet…
A fresh massive wave of information on anatomy and the fundamentals of medical ninjutsu froze the blond like a statue, pulling him into a shallow meditation to better absorb the knowledge. Naruto became so absorbed in himself that he didn't even notice lunchtime approaching and Team Seven — along with his clones — finishing the task.
"Good work," Kakashi said with a wave, looking over the genin. "Finished even earlier than usual today. Well, until tomorrow…"
"Wait, Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. "What about the money?"
Hatake's eye widened:
"What money?"
"What do you mean, what money?" the girl began to heat up. "For the missions."
"Hm…" Kakashi scratched his chin, looking over the trio. Sakura and Sasuke looked tired. Naruto appeared bright and fresh but was on his own wavelength, his gaze fixed somewhere in the distance.
"I'm not sure what you're referring to, Sakura," the sensei showed his eye-smile and waved his hand. "Until tomorrow, everyone." The jonin dispersed with a pop. Sakura's eyelid began to twitch.
"Sensei, you scoundrel!" she burst. "Not only does he teach us nothing, he pockets our money on top of it…"
The Uchiha showed no reaction to her words — he was only gloomily watching Naruto, occasionally glancing at the blond's clones. The latter was also far away in his thoughts, seemingly not even noticing the jonin's departure.
Sakura, seeing herself ignored by both teammates, puffed up and sulked, folding her arms across her chest. The small kunoichi had more or less come to terms with Sasuke's behavior — he was, after all, an unreachable ideal, a dream. But the fact that Naruto wasn't paying her any attention… bothered her for some reason. She was about to say something when the usually silent Uchiha spoke.
"Naruto, how about a spar?…"
Sasuke Uchiha had been thinking about Naruto, occasionally casting jealous, brooding glances at the blond's clones.
He couldn't understand how this fool had achieved such results. Haruno remained skeptical about the blond's abilities, but the Uchiha understood…
Naruto had changed. And suddenly. In the Academy they had faced each other in Taijutsu practice bouts, and Sasuke had always won every one. In terms of intelligence the blond had never shown any particular brilliance either — quite the opposite. And overall, Uzumaki had been last at everything — the worst student of their graduating year.
Yet, thinking back to the bell test, Sasuke was astonished not only by the combat skills Naruto had shown, but by his analytical ability as well.
Was he pretending in the Academy? But why?
Unclear. Many considered Sasuke a genius. But compared to Naruto, he was merely a capable kid — nothing more. The Uchiha vividly remembered the fight against Kakashi. The jonin had made the gap in their strength abundantly clear, neutralizing the brunette practically immediately. Naruto, meanwhile, had given Kakashi a serious run for his money, demonstrating genuinely remarkable skills. Walking on vertical surfaces and water — with complete confidence and certainty. A strange cloning technique that had prevented their sensei from identifying the real Naruto for a long time. Fire techniques launched by his copies, which, while weak, Uzumaki had apparently been able to produce in large quantities without any difficulty — the blond's chakra seemed almost limitless. The weapon duplication had been interesting too. And the explosive tags inside the clones was just… unfair, though incredibly effective; that kind of idea could only come from either an idiot or a genius. Had Sasuke been in Kakashi's place, he would have simply died in the blast with no glory. The indecent harem technique — undoubtedly a useless jutsu — and even that Uzumaki had managed to use to brilliant effect.
But most importantly, Naruto had predicted Kakashi's actions and identified the true meaning of the test. From the very beginning. In the forest of the training ground, he had calculated everything in advance and let the Uchiha in on his insane plan.
And in general, Naruto's behavior had changed lately. He was no longer as loud. Today he hadn't said a word, turning something over intently in his mind.
Perhaps Naruto had found an instructor. That version seemed far more plausible to Sasuke than the idea that he had been putting on an act in the Academy.
But who? Who had sufficient competence to train even someone like Naruto? And would that shinobi be willing to take on one more student? If anyone could help Sasuke achieve his goal, it was such a teacher. His goal was revenge for his clan — and to accomplish it, he had to get stronger. Even if he had to temporarily admit his own weakness. Even if he had to set aside the pride of the last scion of a Founding clan and ask another shinobi to make the Uchiha stronger.
I need to find out how Naruto got this strong… Sasuke decided inwardly.
"Naruto, how about a spar?…" The phrase hadn't come easily to the Uchiha. But he had to say it.
Sakura only blinked in surprise. Uzumaki, meanwhile, was deep in thought and apparently hadn't caught what the brunette had said — hadn't even realized someone was addressing him.
Damn Naruto… flashed through Sasuke's mind.
He moved a little closer to the blond and, with a dignified air, repeated his question.
"Huh?" Naruto finally turned his gaze to the Uchiha. "A spar?"
Uzumaki scratched the top of his head, then broke into a smile:
"Sasuke-dumbass, are you finally considering me a worthy opponent?…"
"Naruto-baka," Sakura wedged herself into their conversation. "Sasuke-kun is the best at everything. You won't even last a second against him."
"Be quiet, Sakura," the brunette said darkly. "So — what do you say?"
"I'm up for it, dattebayo," Naruto shrugged. "Since Master Saitama left on a mission and our spar got cancelled, going at it with you sounds good. Heh-heh…"
Master Saitama? That's his teacher?
"This Saitama — he's your instructor, right?" Sasuke voiced his assumption.
"Yep," the blond grinned again, scratching his head. The Uchiha mentally named this pose "Naruto's pose." Or the pose of the smiling fool. Though right now, despite the surface goofiness, Sasuke regarded Uzumaki quite seriously and had no intention of underestimating him.
So that's how it is, Sasuke thought with a slight nod. That explains a great deal…
Now the boy understood where Naruto's progress had come from. A personal instructor was a tremendous asset in training. Sasuke remembered when his father had taught him… and his brother.
Itachi. He clenched his teeth and forced the untimely memories away.
For the past several years Sasuke had trained alone. Teachers had little to offer the last of a Great clan. Or rather — they hadn't tried to teach him anything new, and he hadn't asked out of pride. The standards required of students in the Academy had been laughable, and the Uchiha met them with ease. But Sasuke understood that in terms of talent he was only a pale shadow of his brother. They called him a genius, but compared to Itachi, that "title" was almost a joke.
"Master Saitama is the strongest," Naruto continued, pulling Sasuke from his thoughts. "And someday I'll become just as strong as him. Actually, no — I'll become even stronger than Master Saitama! And after that I'll become Hokage! That is my ninja way, dattebayo…"
"Yes, we got it," Sasuke gave a barely perceptible eye-roll, adding mentally: Why repeat it hundreds of times? The first ten were plenty… But this Saitama. Is he really as strong as Naruto describes?
"But I should warn you, Sasuke," Uzumaki smirked cunningly. "I'm not the same as I was in the Academy."
The Uchiha only snorted at that, though a thought flickered through his mind:
I'm counting on it. Maybe through Naruto I can get acquainted with his teacher…
The trio of genin walked with steady strides toward Training Ground 66. Sasuke and Naruto had agreed to hold a training bout there and test each other's skills.
The sun was blazing without mercy. As if by spite, not a single cloud dotted the sky. Sakura trudged along behind the boys, shooting a displeased look at Naruto's back. She had decided to watch the genin fight. And although she had no doubt about the outcome — the Uchiha was her ideal in everything — the girl still couldn't simply let her object of adoration out of her sight.
Her stomach gave occasional rumbles, hinting to its owner that this was lunchtime. But Haruno bore the inconvenience stoically. Even the general weakness — from the work and the hunger — couldn't dampen her desire to follow her beloved.
"Well, here we are!" Uzumaki announced cheerfully.
"What in the…" came Sasuke's voice.
The Uchiha stopped dead. Sakura almost walked straight into the brunette's back, but caught herself just in time and halted.
Maybe I should have walked into him and then fallen? Then Sasuke-kun would have helped me up… taken me by the hand… the fantasies that visited her head made the girl flush pink. But she shook her pink hair and pushed the daydreams aside, peering out from behind the Uchiha's back.
"Oh… those are my clones training. Pay it no mind," Naruto said matter-of-factly, continuing toward the center of the training ground.
At the sight before them, Sakura's mouth fell open involuntarily, her eyes widening in astonishment.
The training ground was packed with Naruto clones. At a rough count, about a hundred were drilling fire jutsu — the smell of scorched grass drifted across the ground, even though most of the blond's techniques were aimed upward. Another fifty or so were sitting in the lotus position, with piles of leaves in front of each of them. Looking closely, one could see the Naruto copies taking a leaf, slicing it by force of will, picking up the next one and slicing it again — and so on endlessly, or at least until they ran out of leaves or chakra. On top of that, several dozen blonds had paired off and were sparring while standing on the lake's surface.
"Is this some kind of illusion?" the Uchiha frowned.
Uzumaki laughed cheerfully at the question.
"No, Sasuke," he turned to his teammates. "The clones aren't illusory — they're shadow clones. This training method was suggested to me by Saitama-sensei. It turns out shadow copies can transfer knowledge and experience back to the original. Shadow Clone Technique is the best jutsu, dattebayo…"
Sakura was only half-listening to the blond, absorbed in looking at the training ground's surroundings. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Naruto had traditionally been considered the worst graduate. But right now the genin was demonstrating something extraordinary. Fire and Wind jutsu training, walking and fighting on water. And that number of clones — to create so many, you would need a virtually unimaginable amount of chakra.
Sakura, out of the three of us, you are the weakest and most useless. I don't know why you even became a shinobi… Sakura remembered her beloved's words. Those words and the Uchiha's contemptuous gaze had wounded her deeply at the time. She had thought that the most useless of the three of them was Naruto. But what was happening here was no illusion — even Sasuke was taken aback. And what the blond had shown during the bell test was no fluke either. Haruno had arrived at an uncomfortable conclusion: she was the weakest and most worthless member of Team Seven, despite all her achievements at the Academy.
But what could Sakura do? How could she become useful and strong? She was clanless — she had no personal instructor, Kakashi-sensei wasn't teaching them anything and clearly had no plans to. She trained every day herself, for thirty minutes, sometimes even an hour, to stay in shape. She also had no access to any special techniques, and on top of that Sakura had a relatively small chakra reserve, making ninjutsu clearly not her path. The Academy teachers had often praised Haruno for her excellent chakra control, but beyond that and her superior academic knowledge, she had nothing.
The small kunoichi was pulled from her self-reproach by Naruto:
"So, Sasuke — shall we warm up?"
The Uchiha shook off his surprise and gave a grim nod:
"You're not planning to dispel the clones?" the brunette smirked, looking at the training crowd at the far end of the ground. "That confident, are you?"
"No," Uzumaki grinned in anticipation. "We agreed on a Taijutsu spar. But if you decide to use everything — I won't hold back either…"
"Taijutsu is enough for now," the Uchiha cut the blond off. "After all, I don't want to accidentally kill you."
Naruto laughed good-naturedly, scratching the top of his head. In the past he would most likely have gotten angry and charged into a fight at words like that. But Sakura had noticed that over the past ten days or so, Naruto had changed considerably. And she was no longer quite so certain of her beloved's victory.
Uzumaki backed up a little, beckoning the brunette toward him with a hand.
"Pff…" the Uchiha said, following his teammate.
Sakura stood with her fists clenched and her lip bitten.
Surely this fool can't beat Sasuke-kun? flashed through her mind.
Of course not. Sasuke-kun is the best, her inner voice chimed in.
Naruto stopped. His body was relaxed and appeared completely open. Sasuke, meanwhile, had settled into an unfamiliar combat stance a few meters away from the blond.
"Alright, Sasuke," Uzumaki bared a predatory grin, studying his opponent. "Attack…"