The Ninja Academy — Outdoor Training Grounds
Today’s lesson was shinobi sparring practice.
“…And finish by forming the Seal of Reconciliation.”
Iruka glanced down at the attendance sheet in his hand.
“All right.
Next pair—Akimichi Chōji and Nara Shikamaru.
Step forward.”
“Um… Iruka-sensei?”
Chōji hesitantly raised his hand.
“What is it?” Iruka asked.
“I don’t want to fight my friends…”
Chōji answered with complete sincerity.
Shikamaru was his best friend.
He had no desire to trade blows with him, even if it was only practice.
A bead of sweat appeared on Iruka’s forehead.
“No, no.
It isn’t anything that serious.
This is just a traditional shinobi sparring exercise.
Even the Hokage of previous generations used this method to train—”
Before Iruka could finish explaining, Shikamaru had already turned around and begun walking away.
With both hands stuffed into his pockets and his eyes closed, he spoke in his usual listless voice.
“I’m not participating, Iruka-sensei.
Just count it as my loss and move on to the next pair.”
Iruka felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
Among the watching students, Inuzuka Kiba grinned.
Akamaru sat comfortably atop his head.
“That guy has absolutely no motivation.
At this rate, he’ll never become a chūnin in his entire life!”
Standing beside him, the high-collared and dark-glasses-wearing Aburame Shino quietly replied—
“That is not necessarily true.
Life is long.
It is entirely possible that one day—”
“That’s enough out of you!” Kiba interrupted.
Meanwhile, among the members of the unofficial Sasuke Fan Club, Ino crossed her arms and complained.
“Honestly, Shikamaru calls everything troublesome, but he’s the most troublesome one of all.
And Chōji’s the same as ever.
He doesn’t have a single fighting bone in his body!”
Sakura looked at her curiously.
“Ino, are you close with those two?”
“More or less.”
Ino’s expression became slightly awkward.
“Our fathers know one another.”
Iruka took a slow breath and forced himself to regain his composure.
“Very well.
Shikamaru and Chōji, form the Seal of Reconciliation.
The next pair will be…”
He looked down at the roster.
“Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.”
Shikamaru and Chōji raised their hands and formed the seal.
“Sorry, Shikamaru,” Chōji said apologetically.
“It’s fine.”
Shikamaru smiled faintly.
“You didn’t want to fight, and I thought it was too troublesome.
It worked out for both of us.”
Chōji smiled as well.
The two of them left the sparring field.
As he passed Naruto, Shikamaru gave him a long, thoughtful look.
The moment Sasuke stepped forward, the girls erupted.
“Do your best, Sasuke-kun!”
“Beat him to a pulp, Sasuke-kun!”
“You can do it!”
A large drop of sweat appeared on Naruto’s forehead.
Come on, Sakura…
Even if we’re teammates, do you really have to make your position that obvious?
Still—
The current me is different from the old me.
Naruto calmly walked into position.
There was no arrogance on his face.
No excitement.
No desperate desire to prove himself.
There was only tranquility.
To him, the hardships of seventeen years of life felt as vivid as though they had happened yesterday.
The Fourth Shinobi World War.
The battlefields covered in flames.
The friends and comrades who had died.
The painful goodbyes that could never be taken back.
After experiencing those memories, a simple spar between children his own age could no longer stir even the slightest ripple within his heart.
Sasuke was equally calm.
Yet their stillness was completely different.
Naruto’s calm resembled a vast blue sky over an endless sea.
Sasuke’s calm was like dead wood reflected upon stagnant water.
Iruka raised one hand.
“The next match will be Uzumaki Naruto against Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto no longer possessed that childish urge to defeat Sasuke merely to prove himself.
He was not as impatient or reckless as before.
Without hesitation, Naruto lifted his right hand and formed the seal.
Sasuke, however, remained motionless.
“Sasuke…”
Iruka sighed helplessly.
“Before beginning a shinobi spar, both participants must form a one-handed seal.
It is the most basic form of courtesy.”
“It prepares your hands to form jutsu seals, and it also tells your opponent that you are ready.”
“It may feel somewhat ceremonial, but it is still an important tradition.
So, Sasuke—”
“…Hmph.”
Sasuke finally emerged from his thoughts.
He gave a cold snort and raised his hand.
It did not matter.
This entire exercise was merely a waste of time.
Sasuke had never considered anyone his age worthy of his attention.
The only person reflected within his eyes—
Was that man.
Iruka swung his hand downward.
“Begin!”
Sasuke immediately charged.
He naturally transitioned into a practiced sequence of taijutsu attacks, aiming to end the match in a single exchange.
However—
Naruto effortlessly blocked every strike.
Sasuke’s eyes widened slightly.
What?
He had expected the dead-last to fall after the very first blow.
“Don’t let your mind wander!”
Naruto knocked Sasuke’s fist aside and launched a sweeping kick.
Sasuke hurriedly avoided it.
The two boys began exchanging strikes, attacking and defending without pause.
The watching students immediately burst into conversation.
“No way… Naruto is actually fighting evenly with Sasuke?”
“You’re lying!
Is that really the same dead-last?”
“I must still be asleep…”
Shikamaru silently observed the movements of the two boys.
His eyes narrowed.
They aren’t evenly matched at all.
Sasuke is obviously fighting with everything he has.
But Naruto…
Shikamaru compared Sasuke’s increasingly fierce expression to Naruto’s calm face.
A trace of shock entered his eyes.
His improvement is terrifying.
“Naruto-kun…”
Among the crowd, Hinata watched Naruto with shining eyes.
She was delighted to see how strong he had become.
Damn it!
After finding an opening, Sasuke leaped backward.
His hands rapidly formed seals.
Snake.
Ram.
Monkey.
Boar.
Horse.
Tiger.
“Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!”
Sasuke inhaled deeply.
WHOOOOSH—!
A massive ball of flame surged toward Naruto.
Yet Naruto’s expression did not change.
Compared to the Great Fireball Jutsu he had seen Itachi and the future Sasuke use within his memories—
This flame was little more than a warm bubble.
I won!
Although the technique had consumed a considerable amount of chakra, Sasuke was certain that the dead-last had no way to defend against it.
However—
Fwish!
Fwish!
Fwish!
Four shuriken curved around the enormous fireball and flew directly toward Sasuke.
“Damn it!”
Sasuke instantly assessed their trajectories.
I can’t dodge them!
His hand swept toward the weapons pouch strapped to his thigh.
He drew a kunai.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
With four precise strikes, Sasuke deflected every shuriken.
But then—
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Sasuke’s pupils contracted.
This is bad!
“Uzu!”
The first Naruto kicked Sasuke into the air.
Poof!
The clone disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
“Maki!”
A second Naruto appeared above him and kicked him even higher.
Poof!
“Naru!”
The third clone struck.
Poof!
“To!”
The fourth kick sent Sasuke soaring toward the highest point of the combination.
Poof!
Then, from directly above him, Naruto’s voice thundered through the training grounds.
“BARRAGE!”
The original Naruto had timed his jump perfectly.
He reached the peak at the same moment as Sasuke and brought his heel crashing down.
BAM—!
Sasuke slammed into the ground.
Dust exploded into the air.
Silence fell over the entire training field.
Tap.
Naruto landed lightly.
Sasuke lay on the ground directly before his feet.
“This is…”
It took Iruka several seconds to recover his voice.
“Isn’t this a little too unbelievable?”
The watching students were even more stunned.
What had just happened?
The Academy’s infamous dead-last had completely defeated the top student of the Uchiha clan.
Was that truly the strength of a six-year-old Academy student?
“Naruto…”
Hinata stared at him in amazement.
Then a joyful smile slowly appeared on her face.
Naruto-kun worked so hard.
He really has become stronger…
“That’s ridiculous…”
Shikamaru’s mouth hung open.
Even Chōji was so shocked that the potato chip in his hand fell to the ground.
“Ahem…”
Iruka cleared his throat awkwardly.
“In any case, Naruto is the winner.
Now, the two of you will form the Seal of Reconciliation.”
Even Iruka felt that the words coming from his mouth sounded strangely unreal.
Naruto walked toward Sasuke and extended one hand.
He had held back during the final attack, so Sasuke should not have been seriously injured.
Sasuke raised his head.
His expression was unbearably dark.
Without saying a word, he slapped Naruto’s hand away and forced himself back to his feet.
Then he began walking out of the crowd.
The students hurriedly moved aside.
No one wanted to provoke Sasuke in his current mood.
“What a terrible temper.”
Naruto clicked his tongue and turned toward Iruka.
“Hey, Iruka-sensei.
I can leave now, right?”
“Ah… Yes.”
Iruka nodded absentmindedly.
His entire understanding of the class rankings had yet to recover from what he had witnessed.
Naruto began walking away as well.
The other students hurriedly opened a path for him.
Scratching the back of his head, Naruto spotted Sasuke’s retreating figure near the wire fence.
He quickly chased after him.
“Hey!”
Sasuke stopped.
He did not turn around.
“What?”
The irritation in his voice was obvious.
Naruto stared at his back.
“You saw what happened, didn’t you?”
His voice was no longer playful.
“You can’t even beat me right now.
So stop spending every day thinking about killing Itachi.”
Sasuke’s shoulders stiffened.
Naruto continued with a completely serious expression.
“Use every moment you have before graduation to train as hard as you possibly can.”
He paused.
Then he spoke the words that Sasuke could never have expected to hear.
“Because the time you have now…”
Naruto’s blue eyes quietly fixed upon him.
“…is something Itachi bought for you with everything he had.”