Cursed Clan

Sasuke Uchiha was usually very aloof and almost never took the initiative to seek anyone out. Most of the time, he was either carrying out missions or training. His daily life was simple, and he rarely socialized.

The only person he would actively seek out was his teacher, Kakashi Hatake, and even then, it was usually because of training.

Other than Kakashi, the person he sought out most often was Yinsen. His purpose was much the same as when he went to Kakashi—he wanted to know how he could become stronger faster.

Especially after training together for over half a month, Sasuke had discovered that Yinsen did not mind sharing his training insights. Combined with the fact that Yinsen's occasional advice was genuinely useful, Sasuke had become even more willing to seek him out.

Today was no exception. During the Chunin Ninja Exams—or rather, the war caused by Orochimaru's Konoha Crush—Sasuke had witnessed Naruto Uzumaki's astonishing strength.

They had all trained together, were teammates, and had also been classmates at the Academy. No one knew better than Sasuke what Naruto had originally been capable of.

As the dead last of the entire grade, Naruto Uzumaki's strength had improved at an incredible rate after becoming a ninja. That alone had already made Sasuke feel threatened.

But the greatest shock had been Naruto Uzumaki's battle with Gaara.

That... was not strength an ordinary Genin could possibly display! Even Sasuke, hailed as a genius and blessed with the superior bloodline of the Uchiha, felt a profound sense of powerlessness in the face of such terrifying strength.

Whenever he thought about how Naruto Uzumaki had not only surpassed him but left him so far behind, Sasuke felt awful. Too frustrated to train with a calm mind, he wandered the streets helplessly and, before he