This Is Hardening

"Rumble..."

The forest rang with continuous rumbling as Naruto snapped tree after tree in his arms.

Sasuke kept shifting and leaping through the trees, utterly shaken as he watched Naruto's muscles bulge all over his body, making him a whole size larger.

He was practically a humanoid monster.

Fortunately, he seemed to be limited to the ground.

With that in mind, Sasuke began following the strategy his brother Itachi had carefully devised for him—using his own advantages against his enemy's weaknesses and attacking from range.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."

As Sasuke used the Body Flicker Technique beneath his feet to evade the falling trees Naruto had broken, his hands rapidly formed seals. Once the seals were complete, he opened his mouth and spat out a ball of fire that surged toward Naruto.

As the flames came rushing in, Naruto had just snapped a tree in half. He immediately gave up pursuing Sasuke, picked up the tree, and swept it through the flames. The fire was incredibly hot, and the leaves instantly burst into crackling flames.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."

When the first attack failed, Sasuke launched another Great Fireball Technique. It was the Ninjutsu he had mastered most thoroughly, as well as the most basic Ninjutsu of the Uchiha clan. Since childhood, his father Uchiha Fugaku and his brother Itachi had taught him the Great Fireball Technique.

By now, he could use it with effortless ease.

The leaves on the tree in Naruto's hands had all burned away. He immediately tossed it aside, casually uprooted another tree nearby, and repeated the same method, quickly sweeping away Sasuke's second Great Fireball Technique.

Having successfully defended himself, Naruto hurled the trunk in his hands toward Sasuke with all his strength.

The trunk shot like an arrow released from its bow, violently tearing through the air with a howling wind. In the blink of an eye, it was right before Sasuke.

"Bang..."

The trunk slammed directly into Sasuke, exploding into splinters that scattered everywhere. But in that split second, Sasuke had used the Substitution Technique, replacing himself with a broken log.

Sasuke appeared atop another tree. Looking at Naruto below, whose chest and back muscles bulged with explosive force, Sasuke's face was flushed. That string of evasive maneuvers had drained far too much of his stamina.

"Sasuke, do you think you found my weakness?" Naruto stood on the ground with both fists clenched. The large muscles on his chest swelled even further, becoming increasingly imposing.

Sasuke adjusted his breathing and looked at Naruto without answering.

But the next second, Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly. Naruto stomped hard on the ground, leaving behind a massive crater, yet his body shot toward Sasuke like an arrow.

Such astonishing jumping power... and this speed is no worse than my Body Flicker Technique.

How could he have known that with Naruto's Shinigami-like training of his body, so long as he became strong enough, his jumping power would be terrifying? With one leap, he could jump straight out of the Earth and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun.

Naruto reached the tree Sasuke stood on in an instant. Yet instead of using the Thousand Jin Embrace to grab Sasuke, he tapped the trunk with his toes and shot directly toward another tree.

"What? He saw through my Substitution Technique?"

Sasuke stared in disbelief as Naruto charged straight at his real body. How had this hulking brute seen through his Substitution Technique?

"Clone Technique."

With the Substitution Technique having failed, Sasuke immediately used the Clone Technique, creating three clones that fled in different directions.

But Sasuke was quickly disappointed. The Clone Technique could not confuse Naruto either. Naruto continued tightly pursuing his true body. As if sensing Sasuke's question, Naruto said:

"The Clone Technique is just a Ninjutsu that uses Chakra to create afterimages to confuse enemies. They're illusions, but I can sense my opponent through their blood and vitality. Those afterimages have no blood and vitality. Only your real body does."

"Even if your clones had the same blood and vitality as your real body, they would still be far weaker than the original. I could still sense where your real body was."

Sasuke was greatly astonished by that explanation. There was actually such a thing as sensing blood and vitality? Where had this big guy learned such powerful Taijutsu?

Moreover, in their three exchanges, he had not used any Ninjutsu at all. Could it be that he had taken the path of Taijutsu alone?

As Sasuke considered this, he could already feel scorching heat behind him. It came from Naruto's body. Sasuke had already witnessed how powerful Naruto's blood and vitality were—his body was like a small sun.

He felt that Naruto would catch up to him in only a few breaths. His left hand reached down and gripped the Kunai strapped to his leg.

The instant he held it, a thought suddenly surfaced in Sasuke's mind. If I use a Kunai, won't I hurt this big guy?

After thinking for a moment, Sasuke made his decision.

"Taijutsu? It's not like you're the only one who knows it." With that, Sasuke turned and threw a punch at Naruto.

"Haha, good! Sasuke, take one of my punches too." Excitement appeared on Naruto's face as he threw a punch of his own.

When their fists collided, Sasuke felt an overwhelming force crash into him. His fist immediately went numb, but they were already within close range, so they could only try every possible means to bring the other down.

"Smack, smack, smack..."

The two fought with both fists and feet, every blow landing solidly on flesh. Their bodies pressed close as they fought all the way from the trees down to the ground.

"Sasuke, admit defeat."

Naruto restrained his strength. He did not dare fight without holding back. Sasuke's physical condition was clearly much worse; if Naruto had gone all out, Sasuke would have already been beaten into a pile of mush.

His goal was not to hurt Sasuke, but to spar with him amicably and become friends with him.

"Smack, smack, smack..."

The two continued their close-quarters brawl. Naruto looked calm and unhurried,

while Sasuke panted heavily, his face flushed red. His limbs were gradually losing strength. Whenever his attacks landed on Naruto's body, he felt Naruto's muscles vibrating at high frequency, jolting his entire body numb.

This Vibration Force?

It once again shattered Sasuke's understanding.

This guy did not feel like he was from Konoha at all. Everything about him was strange and bizarre.

On top of that, they were practically locked in a close-quarters fight. Naruto's blood and vitality were so powerful, and when his Indestructible Body operated, his body radiated intense heat like a furnace. Sasuke was soon roasted until his whole body turned red.

"Bang..."

Sasuke finally ran out of strength. Naruto forced him back against a tree, leaving him nowhere to retreat. Naruto slapped the trunk with one palm, and countless splinters fell onto Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke, you lost!" Naruto said with a light laugh.

"I... I still have strength." Sasuke stubbornly replied as he looked at Naruto, who was a head taller than him and had one hand braced against the tree, leaving him no way out.

"Really? Then let's keep sparring."

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Sasuke finally had not a shred of strength left. A few more fist marks had appeared on his face, and he had returned to his bruised and swollen state.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Lying on the ground, Sasuke panted heavily and asked, "Naruto, what kind of Taijutsu is this?"

"No, this isn't Taijutsu..."

Sasuke looked at the classmate standing before him, Naruto having already returned to his normal form.

Sunlight streamed through gaps in the leaves and fell over his tall body, making it seem as though his whole body radiated light.

Hearing Sasuke's question, the man bathed in light flexed his sturdy Pectoralis Major, raised his head, gazed at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, and declared proudly:

"This is Hardening!"

In this chapter, Ino and Sakura did not see Sasuke being held in Naruto's arms with a bashful face. Heh heh heh, Demon King zzl, figure it out yourself (ω<)