Spring turned to autumn, and a year passed by in the blink of an eye.
On this day, in a classroom at the Konoha Ninja Academy, chalk dust floated in the sunlight.
Iruka-sensei stood at the podium, holding a nearly blank test paper, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
“Naruto Uzumaki!”
His roar made the windowpanes hum.
“This is the sixth theoretical exam this semester that you’ve scored zero on!”
“Hahaha!”
The classroom erupted in laughter.
Sakura covered her mouth and giggled, Ino pointed at Naruto unceremoniously, and even the usually shy Hinata couldn’t help but blush.
Only Sasuke snorted and continued flipping through the ninjutsu scroll in his hands without looking up.
“What does it matter!” Naruto nonchalantly picked at his ear.
“Anyway, I’m first in practical combat class! I even beat the upperclassmen last week!”
“Practical combat class is useless if you fail theory!”
Iruka slammed the table in anger.
“The most important thing for a ninja is to combine theory with practice! Starting today, you’ll sit with Sasuke, and he’ll teach you properly!”
“What?!”
Naruto jumped up abruptly, pointing at the black-haired boy in the front row.
“I’m not sitting with that arrogant Sasuke!”
Sasuke finally looked up, his dark eyes sweeping over Naruto coldly.
“I’ll give that back to you, dead last.”
Their gazes collided in the air, as if crackling sparks could be heard.
Seeing them like this, the Nine-Tails yawned lazily.
“Here we go again. These two brats give me a headache.”
Madara rested his head on the Nine-Tails’ head, his hands behind his head, observing Sasuke through Naruto’s eyes.
For some reason, that arrogant brat reminded him of some distant memories.
“Hmph,” he snorted, his tone carrying an inexplicable complex emotion.
Shortly after, Naruto grudgingly dragged a chair to sit next to Sasuke, deliberately making the chair and desk bang loudly.
Sasuke didn’t even bat an eyelid, merely subtly moving his belongings to the other side.
“Hey, move over there!” Naruto nudged Sasuke with his elbow.
“Touch me again, and I’ll break your arm,” Sasuke’s voice was as cold as ice.
“Bring it on! Who’s afraid of who!”
Iruka coughed heavily.
“Naruto! Open your textbook to page 35. Today, we’re learning chakra usage.”
The next half hour was a disaster.
Every time Iruka asked a question, Sasuke could answer fluently, while Naruto either scratched his head in confusion or gave completely irrelevant answers.
What was even more infuriating was that every time Naruto answered incorrectly, Sasuke would let out a contemptuous snort.
“Chakra has five natures, idiot.”
While Iruka turned to write on the blackboard, Sasuke lowered his voice and taunted, “You don’t even know this, and you want to be a ninja?”
Naruto’s face turned red.
“Don’t look down on me! I, I just…”
“Just have ramen in your head?” Sasuke curled his lips, his smile making him even more punchable.
Just as Naruto was about to pounce, Madara’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
“Naruto, he’s right. Chakra does indeed have five basic natures: fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water.”
“Dad?!” Naruto almost shouted in surprise, then asked with a tearful expression, “Why are you siding with him?”
“I’m not siding with him,” Madara’s voice was as arrogant as ever.
“I just can’t stand to see my son not even know this basic knowledge.”
In the afternoon practical combat class, Iruka announced a pairing that surprised everyone.
“Are you kidding me!”
Naruto was the first to jump up in protest.
“I’m not sitting with that arrogant Sasuke!”
Sasuke also said with a cold face, “I’m enough on my own, I don’t need a dead weight.”
Iruka smiled slyly.
“This is an order. If you refuse to cooperate, you’ll both clean the toilets for a month.”
The two immediately deflated.
“Ready—Go!”
As soon as Iruka’s whistle blew, Naruto “whooshed” out, his fist heading straight for Shikamaru’s face.
Shikamaru sighed and lazily dodged to the side.
“So troublesome…”
At the same time, Sasuke also moved—but he wasn’t charging at the enemy.
Instead, he kicked Naruto’s back.
“Don’t get in my way, dead last!”
Naruto stumbled and missed, almost face-planting into the dirt.
He angrily turned his head.
“Arrogant Sasuke! What are you doing?!”
Sasuke sneered, “You’re in my way.”
Kiba seized the opportunity to attack, Akamaru leaping from his shoulder.
“Ninpō: Beast Mimicry Technique—Human Beast Combination!”
Two “Kibas” lunged at Naruto from left and right, their sharp claws aimed at his throat.
Naruto hastily jumped back but bumped into Sasuke’s back.
Both of them lost their balance simultaneously and tumbled into a messy heap.
The subsequent Fang Over Fang directly hit both of them, and amidst the exploding dust, they were both sent flying backward.
“Idiot! Watch where you’re going!” Sasuke roared.
“You were the one who suddenly stopped!” Naruto bared his teeth.
The watching classmates burst into laughter.
Sakura covered her face.
“These two idiots…”
Meanwhile, in the seal space, the Nine-Tails was laughing so hard it was rolling around.
“Hahaha! Is this the ‘genius Uchiha’ you were talking about? Can’t even dodge a dog cub!”
Madara’s forehead bulged with veins.
“…Shut up.”
At this moment, on the training ground, taking advantage of the internal conflict between Naruto and Sasuke, Shikamaru quickly formed hand seals.
“Shadow Imitation Technique!”
Dark shadow threads spread rapidly across the ground, about to entangle Naruto’s ankles.
“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”
Sasuke suddenly turned and spewed flames, forcing Shikamaru to interrupt his jutsu and jump back.
“Hmph, at least you’re somewhat useful,” Sasuke glanced at Naruto.
“Who asked you to save me!” Naruto jumped up, forming hand seals.
“Watch this! Fire Style…”
“Fang Over Fang!”
However, before Naruto could use his ninjutsu, two whirlwind-like dark figures suddenly attacked!
Not only did they interrupt Naruto’s jutsu, but they also sent him flying with the shockwave.
Sasuke tried to intercept with shuriken, but Shikamaru had anticipated him.
“Your movements are too predictable.”
Three shuriken embedded themselves at Sasuke’s landing point, forcing him to change direction abruptly—which resulted in him crashing into Naruto.
Their foreheads collided with a solid thud, and stars spun before their eyes as they fell to the ground.
Sasuke gritted his teeth.
“You idiot, you weren’t watching where you were going…”
On the sidelines, Iruka held his forehead.
“This is probably the worst teamwork in history…”
Seeing this one-sided battle, Kiba’s confidence soared.
He was certain he could defeat these two geniuses!
He then combined with Akamaru to launch another attack.
“Fang Over Fang!”
A giant whirlwind blade roared towards them, and Shikamaru’s shadow also blocked their escape route.
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it—
“Sasuke!” Naruto suddenly shouted.
“Stop ordering me around!” Sasuke retorted verbally, but his body instinctively moved.
Naruto crouched down abruptly, and Sasuke leaped into the air, stepping on his shoulders, a rain of shuriken pouring down!
“What?!” Shikamaru hastily manipulated his shadow to defend, only to see Naruto suddenly form hand seals.
“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”
The strong wind spun the shuriken, making their trajectory completely unpredictable!
Kiba’s “Fang Over Fang” was directly dispersed, and Shikamaru was forced to abandon his shadow jutsu to dodge.
“Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!”
Sasuke changed his move in mid-air, and dozens of small fireballs spread with the wind, turning the entire training ground into a net of fire!
Seeing the situation around him, Shikamaru’s forehead beaded with cold sweat.
“They… can actually cooperate like this?!”
At the last moment, Naruto suddenly rushed below Sasuke and clasped his hands together.
“Get up!”
Sasuke stepped onto his palms without hesitation, leaping high into the air—
“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”
“Wind Style: Gale Palm!”
Wind and fire intertwined into roaring flames, charging towards Shikamaru and Kiba like a giant crimson dragon.
Shikamaru, unable to dodge, could only watch the fire dragon fly towards him, a helpless wry smile on his face.
“So troublesome!”
After the dust settled, Shikamaru and Kiba lay at the edge of the field, Akamaru whimpering pitifully.
The entire venue was silent.
“W-winner… Naruto and Sasuke!” Iruka, the first to react, announced the results.
Originally, they had expected Sasuke, as a clan prodigy, and Shikamaru and Kiba, to at least be able to use C-rank ninjutsu.
But they never expected Naruto to achieve it too.
Was this the reason the Third Hokage had paid so much attention to Naruto back then?
Naruto panted heavily, then suddenly grinned.
“How about that, arrogant Sasuke? Am I amazing?”
Sasuke turned his face away.
“…Passable.”
But as he turned, the corners of his mouth curved upwards slightly.
In the seal space, the Nine-Tails surprisingly didn’t mock.
It watched Naruto and Sasuke cooperate and couldn’t help but sigh.
“These two brats, they clearly didn’t get along at first, but they ended up cooperating so seamlessly.”
Madara, however, remained silent.
Because, looking at their backs, Madara inexplicably thought of himself and Hashirama.
____________________
Update: “Monday to Friday – Update 3 Chapters a Day”
“Saturday and Sunday – Off”