Naruto: What? Hagoromo-sensei Is Obviously the Strongest~

The next day, early morning.

Hagoromo arrived at the training ground carrying some things.

As soon as I approached the training ground, I saw Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others running around the ground with weights.

Upon noticing Hagoromo's arrival, Ino quickly waved and called out, "Good morning, teacher!"

Naruto and Shikamaru, who were originally running at the front, also stopped to warm up and greeted Hagoromo, saying, "Hagoromo- sensei!"

Hagoromo nodded, took out a few bottles of water from her backpack, handed them to the group, and smiled:

How long have you been warming up?

Naruto, having taken the water, quickly raised his hand and said, "It's been about half an hour!"

Seeing that everyone was sweating profusely, Hagoromo said, "Let's rest for a bit. Someone will be here soon."

Led by Hagoromo, the group walked to the shade of a large tree.

After Naruto finished chugging a large bottle of water, he finally asked, "Sensei, who's coming?"

Shikamaru and the others, who were sitting down, all looked over with curious expressions.

Hagoromo's lips curled slightly, and she said mysteriously, "It's a secret~"

Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others were speechless for a moment, exchanging glances.

"By the way, where have you all been these past few days?"

To avoid his disciples getting bogged down in their own thoughts, Hagoromo asked directly.

"Hey! Teacher, you don't know!" Naruto quickly interjected.

"These past few days, Shikamaru took me to their deer farm, and there were so many deer there! I was even chased by a herd of deer!"

Shikamaru, standing to the side, slapped his forehead in exasperation and chimed in, "Wasn't it Naruto who wanted to pull their tails for no reason?"

"And he's the leader of this herd of deer."

Ino also covered her mouth and laughed, clearly recalling the scene from that time.

"I don't know either. I just thought its tail looked weird, and then it kept chasing me the whole way."

Naruto felt a little embarrassed in front of Hagoromo- sensei, so he quickly explained and changed the subject.

"And also, at Ino's house, there's a fenced-off area of flat land where lots and lots of flowers are planted, and it smells wonderful."

Hagoromo wasn't surprised, since both the Nara and Yamanaka Clans had their own sources of income.

Otherwise, how could a large clan be supported by ninjas alone on missions?

"But Naruto, didn't you almost get bitten by bees there too..."

Just as the honest Choji was about to speak, Naruto covered his mouth.

Those guys are really wicked; they're always digging into his secrets.

Seeing this, Yu Hagoromo ignored it; his disciples had spent several months together.

They already have their own way of getting along, so I can just watch them from the sidelines to pass the time.

Um?

As if sensing something, Hagoromo turned her head to look.

Two figures, one tall and one short, slowly walked into the training field from its perimeter.

"Alright, the person we've been waiting for has arrived."

Hagoromo stood up, dusted off her bottom, and stepped forward.

While Choji, who was trying to avoid revealing Naruto's secrets, also looked over with curiosity.

Upon seeing who it was, Naruto's mouth gradually opened wide, his face filled with disbelief.

He cried out in a trembling voice, "Sasuke!"

Upon hearing this, Ino immediately stood up and chased after Hagoromo.

Shikamaru and Choji also got up immediately, and the two of them supported the still dazed Naruto as they chased after them.

When Hagoromo forward, she saw Uchiha Itachi with an impatient Sasuke.

Sasuke was taken aback when he saw Hagoromo, then bowed and said, "Greetings, Hagoromo -sensei!"

No sooner had she finished greeting him than Ino ran up and stood beside Hagoromo, calling out in a clear voice, "Sasuke-kun ~"

Seeing Ino's appearance and Naruto and the others who were clearly catching up behind, Sasuke simply nodded in response.

The next second, a hand landed directly on Sasuke's head, and Uchiha Itachi's voice rang out.

"Sasuke, be polite."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Sasuke was forced by Uchiha Itachi to greet Naruto and the others.

He encountered someone he didn't recognize, and who was clearly Sasuke's elder.

Naruto and Shikamaru bowed respectfully in greeting.

"Hagoromo... Teacher."

Uchiha Itachi, who had been pondering how to address Hagoromo, paused for a moment before finally adopting the same form of address Sasuke.

Hagoromo nodded and said, "Itachi-kun, just call me by my name."

He had no intention of having this Itachi-sama address him as a title of respect.

"Yes, Sasuke, I've brought him. My father instructed that if Hagoromo- sensei has time, he can come over to the clan for tea."

After Uchiha Itachi finished speaking, he pushed Sasuke forward.

Upon hearing this, Hagoromo raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Uchiha Fugaku wanted to develop a closer relationship with his Hokage disciple.

However, Hagoromo had no interest in this at the moment and only gave a vague reply.

"Sasuke, from today onwards you will become Hagoromo- sensei's apprentice."

After telling Sasuke what his father had instructed him, Uchiha Itachi squatted down and spoke to Sasuke.

Sasuke was already upset that his brother wasn't training with him, was about to speak when he heard this.

Uchiha Itachi tapped Sasuke's forehead, silencing him, and slowly said, "Father instructed that Sasuke mustn't act childishly."

After saying that, Uchiha Itachi stood up, nodded to Hagoromo to say goodbye, and then Body Flicker Technique disappeared.

It wasn't until Uchiha Itachi left that Sasuke returned to his former self at school, appearing cold and aloof.

Yu Hagoromo lightly, guessing that Sasuke had probably been rejected by Uchiha Itachi and was now throwing a tantrum.

Seeing Sasuke's Naruto muttered, "Arrogant Sasuke."

Sasuke, Naruto annoyed, glanced at Naruto and snorted, "Idiot..."

Enraged by these words Naruto was about to rush forward and beat up the arrogant Sasuke when Hagoromo grabbed his head and held it down.

"Alright, Naruto- sensei needs to take care of some important business now, so don't cause any trouble."

After calming Naruto down, Hagoromo turned to Sasuke and said, "Sasuke, do you feel there's no need to become your teacher's apprentice, since your brother is already very strong?"

Sasuke had always thought of Hagoromo as just an ordinary teacher, albeit a good one.

She's just not as good as her older brother.

Seeing Hagoromo's bluntness, he turned his face away in embarrassment and remained silent.

Naruto, however, was a bit unconvinced. "What? Hagoromo- sensei is clearly the strongest!"

Seeing this, Hagoromo chuckled. It seemed that neither Fugaku nor Itachi had clearly explained to Sasuke why they wanted to become his apprentices.

However, thinking about the awkward emotional exchanges between the father and his two sons...

Hagoromo didn't find it strange at all.

"In that case, how about Sasuke and Sensei make a bet?"

Hagoromo naturally has his own way of dealing with a brat like Sasuke.

Sure enough, Sasuke turned around and looked over upon hearing this.

Hagoromo then pointed to Naruto, "Sasuke, you fight Naruto. If you lose, it proves that I am still qualified to teach you. What do you say?"

"If Naruto loses, I'll take you to Fugaku's house in person to explain things clearly."