Naruto had successfully mastered the Rasengan, and he had long since completed the Wind Release chakra nature transformation.
Naturally, training for the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was next on his schedule.
However, with the new school year just beginning and the Rasengan only recently mastered, Naruto calmly decided to give himself a week’s break.
He intended to simply enjoy the start of the new school year.
There wasn’t much to enjoy, really, but at least it would be a chance to relax for a while.
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“Damn those Uchiha!”
On his way to the Ninja Academy, Naruto received the usual cold, resentful stares from the villagers.
But this time, he also heard many people cursing the Uchiha clan.
Clearly, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha had reached a critical point.
In the original story, the Uchiha Massacre would occur sometime between Sasuke’s second and third years at the Academy.
From then on, Sasuke would become consumed by revenge.
Eventually, in pursuit of greater power, he would defect from Konoha, travel to Otogakure, train under Orochimaru, and ultimately become Orochimaru’s intended replacement body.
Truthfully, Naruto now possessed some ability.
If he interfered, he might be able to create a small ripple.
But changing the outcome was still impossible.
The conflict between the Uchiha and the village had been building for years.
The village had continuously suppressed the great ninja clans, and the Uchiha—being the foremost of those clans—naturally bore the brunt of that pressure.
To make matters worse, the Uchiha themselves were deeply divided.
There were hawks, doves, moderates, surrender advocates, village loyalists…
Every faction imaginable existed within the clan.
Even more troubling was the fact that the clan’s strongest members—Shisui, Itachi, and Fugaku Uchiha—were far from united.
Only two truly stood with the clan.
As for Fugaku, despite appearing neutral, he constantly sought compromise with the village.
On top of that, there were undoubtedly spies working for Konoha inside the Uchiha.
Otherwise, news of the planned coup would never have spread so widely that even many elite jōnin—and certainly the other noble clans—already knew about it.
Naruto wasn’t the original Naruto.
He couldn’t even talk-no-jutsu Kurama into complete trust, much less persuade an entire clan of emotionally unstable Uchiha.
As countless fans online had joked, Sasuke was actually one of the most normal members of the Uchiha.
But because he was normal—and still so young—he was far too impulsive to shoulder the burden of saving his clan.
If Naruto told him the truth now, it would probably only hasten the Uchiha’s destruction…
…and drag Naruto into the disaster as well.
After all, ANBU surveillance on him had never relaxed, not even for a single day.
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“Everyone, did you enjoy your winter vacation?”
When class began, Iruka—now much more comfortable after a year as an Academy teacher—smiled as he addressed the students.
“We did!”
The children answered in unison.
“Then, during the break, did anyone manage to master all Three Basic Techniques?”
The classroom immediately fell silent.
The students looked awkwardly at one another.
Only Sasuke, whose clan had not yet been massacred and who was still far less cold than in the future, confidently raised his hand.
“Wow!
As expected of Sasuke!”
The girls immediately erupted into cheers, their eyes filled with admiration.
“Tch…
what a drag.”
Shikamaru muttered lazily, though whether he was annoyed by Sasuke showing off or frustrated that he himself hadn’t fully mastered the techniques was anyone’s guess.
“Damn it!
Sasuke even mastered the Substitution Jutsu!”
Kiba gritted his teeth.
“As expected of a genius.”
Shino nodded in admiration.
In truth, Shino had also learned the Three Basic Techniques.
However, his versions relied heavily on his clan’s insect techniques, making them easier than the orthodox forms.
As for the standard Substitution Technique, he was still lacking.
Besides Sasuke, the only other student who had mastered all three techniques was Hinata.
Of course, Naruto had as well.
But Hinata was far too shy.
She started to raise her hand…
Only to timidly lower it again as her cheeks flushed bright red.
“Very good.
Sasuke, come up and demonstrate them for everyone.”
Sasuke proudly walked to the front of the classroom and performed the Transformation Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu one after another.
Iruka applauded first, and the entire class quickly followed with enthusiastic applause.
“Excellent, Sasuke.
You’ve mastered all three techniques perfectly.” Iruka smiled.
“Would you like to share any tips with your classmates?”
“Yeah!
Sasuke-kun, you must have some secret to learning them so well!”
The girls eagerly crowded him with questions.
“There aren’t any special tricks,” Sasuke replied calmly.
“It’s just diligent practice.”
“The most difficult one is the Substitution Jutsu.
It works by instantly swapping your body with a nearby object while hiding yourself at the same time.”
“Although the technique itself enhances your movement, that enhancement is built upon your own physical speed and strength.
If your body isn’t fast or strong enough to begin with, you won’t be able to perform it properly.”
“So if there’s any secret…”
“It’s simply hard work.”
“Very well said.”
Iruka nodded approvingly.
“Sasuke has touched on the key point.”
“The reason the Transformation Jutsu is the easiest is because the chakra remains attached to your body.”
“The Clone Jutsu is more difficult because your chakra has to leave your body and create an illusionary duplicate.”
“As for the Substitution Jutsu, it’s even more demanding.
You must instantly switch places with another object and conceal yourself at the same time, which requires considerable speed and taijutsu.”
After finishing his explanation, Sasuke returned to his seat.
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“So, from now on,” Iruka continued, “most of our classes will be practical.”
“We’ll be strengthening your physical fitness, practicing basic taijutsu, basic swordsmanship, survival exercises, sparring, stealth, trap-setting, and other fundamental ninja skills.”
“Once you’ve built a solid physical foundation, mastering the Three Basic Techniques will come naturally.”
“So I hope everyone focuses their efforts on these new lessons.”
“Now, everyone, follow me to the training field.”
The students filed out of the classroom behind him.
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“Form four rows!” Iruka ordered as he looked over the scattered students.
The Academy students were well disciplined, and before long they had lined up neatly.
“As I mentioned earlier, physical conditioning directly improves your ability to use the Three Basic Techniques.”
“So now…”
“Everyone will run around the field.”
“Ten kilometers.”
“Twenty-five laps.”
“Begin!”
He blew his whistle sharply.
Tweet!
“What?!
Ten kilometers?!”
The weaker students immediately cried out in despair.
But Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, and the other confident students had already started running without hesitation.
“Damn it!
It’s only ten kilometers!
I’m not losing!”
Seeing others take off, the rest grit their teeth and hurried after them without waiting for Iruka to urge them.
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“Alright.
Ten-minute break.”
“After that, we’ll begin shuriken training.”
“While you rest, listen carefully as I explain the fundamentals.”
Iruka held up a training shuriken and began his lecture.
As one of the most common weapons in the ninja world, Naruto listened with unusual attentiveness.
Thanks to his state of Constant Concentration, not only did he absorb every point Iruka explained…
…he also instinctively extrapolated from them.
He identified several additional training methods and practical applications that Iruka himself hadn’t mentioned.
In terms of theory alone, he had already surpassed Iruka.
Now all that remained was practice.
Naruto was confident that within three days, his throwing skill would exceed Iruka’s.
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“That’s everything you need to know about shuriken throwing.”
“Now I’ll call your names one by one.”
“When your name is called, step forward and throw according to the principles I just explained.”
Iruka led the class to the practice range.
The training shuriken had already been prepared.
They weren’t real steel weapons.
Instead, they were made from heavy ironwood for safe practice.
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