Naruto Uzumaki's Comeback

"You're happy, and that's what matters."

Beizawa spoke helplessly.

Naruto Uzumaki and Might Guy already knew each other, so he had no reason to stop them.

Besides, he had done nothing wrong. Hiruzen Sarutobi probably would not blame him over this.

As for Minato Namikaze, all he could do was wish him luck.

Hopefully, when the time came, he would still recognize his own son.

"I am pretty happy."

Naruto Uzumaki grinned. "Uncle Guy treats me really well. He's taught me a lot of useful things."

"When it comes to Taijutsu, you can ask him for more guidance."

Beizawa sighed at that.

The kid was rather pitiful. He did not even have many normal friends.

"Yeah!"

Naruto Uzumaki nodded, then asked, "Teacher Beizawa, can I start Tree Climbing Training now?"

Perhaps because Stand users were drawn to one another, he had an unusual fixation on Sasuke Uchiha.

In short, he did not want to fall behind Sasuke.

"Wait until you take first place in physical training before you start climbing trees."

After thinking for a moment, Beizawa asked, "You don't want to lose first place just because you slacked off for a moment, do you?"

"I understand!"

Naruto Uzumaki was immediately fired up.

He would take first place in physical training and make everyone look at him differently.

"I'm going running!"

Naruto Uzumaki began running laps around the training field again.

Beizawa's gaze fell on Yakumo Kurama in the distance.

Her face was covered in sweat, yet she still persisted with a light jog.

Beizawa nodded slightly.

Perhaps children in the ninja world matured early, because their determination was remarkably strong.

In his previous life, when he was six, he had still been playing in the mud.

Beizawa withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked toward the trees to help Sasuke Uchiha and the others train.

He was already beginning to feel stretched too thin.

Now, all his hopes rested on Naruto Uzumaki's mission.

With the Shadow Clone Technique, things would become much easier for him.

Two days passed in a flash, and Thursday's Combat Class soon arrived.

Students from First Year Class A gradually gathered on the Ninja Academy field.

"Physical training again? What a pain."

Shikamaru Nara held his hands behind his head and spoke listlessly.

"Last time, I barely lost to Sasuke. This time, I'm doing it again, and I'll take back everything that belongs to me!"

Kiba Inuzuka clenched his fists.

"Those are my lines!"

Naruto Uzumaki shouted, "First place is mine!"

"How could any of you possibly beat Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura Haruno asked with a smile. "Ino, don't you think so?"

"Yeah."

Ino Yamanaka answered casually.

Recently, she had been busy training and had barely competed with Sakura Haruno over Sasuke Uchiha.

"...?"

Sakura Haruno noticed her perfunctory response as well.

Sasuke Uchiha nodded slightly at that.

That was indeed what he thought.

To put it bluntly, aside from Beizawa, everyone present was destined to lose to him.

"This time is different! Teacher Beizawa taught me the secret to running!"

Naruto Uzumaki said smugly.

Little Sasuke would be easy to take down!

"Teacher Beizawa being impressive does not mean you are."

Sasuke Uchiha spoke calmly.

He knew Naruto Uzumaki had undergone Beizawa's Running Training, but one week would not produce any results.

After all, judging from last time, there had been eight places between them.

"Just wait and see!"

Naruto Uzumaki said defiantly. "I'll beat you until you're on your knees!"

"Hey! I'm clearly the second-place finisher!"

Kiba Inuzuka could not help reminding them, "Stop ignoring me!"

"Teacher Beizawa is here!"

Ino Yamanaka suddenly perked up.

"Line up in order. First, run fifty laps."

Beizawa stood on the track and got straight to the point.

He quickly felt an extremely obvious gaze on him.

He did not need to guess to know it was Sasuke Uchiha.

"Ready! Run!"

Beizawa raised his voice.

The group rushed out in an orderly fashion. Unlike last time, Naruto Uzumaki did not sprint right away.

Sasuke Uchiha glanced at him.

Though he did not think Naruto Uzumaki could surpass him, the thought of Beizawa made him feel that he should take this a little more seriously, lest he suffer an upset.

Beizawa breathed steadily as he ran at the front.

He did not look fast, but in reality, no one could catch up to him.

He had no idea what Sasuke Uchiha was thinking. If he had known, he would have told him that once a stat monster mastered technique, they became unbeatable.

Just like last time, after fifty laps, most of the students could no longer keep going.

After another ten laps, only Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga remained.

"What's going on?"

Sakura Haruno sat on the ground and asked in confusion, "Why is Naruto still running?"

By this point last time, Naruto Uzumaki had long since been unable to continue.

"As expected of Teacher Beizawa."

Ino Yamanaka caught her breath and spoke.

"Is the secret to running really that useful?"

Choji Akimichi asked in surprise.

"The secret to running is one part of it, but the key is Naruto's own strength."

Shikamaru Nara saw through the truth at a glance. "Last time, Naruto sprinted around recklessly, which caused his stamina to fail."

Time slowly passed, and the lap count reached seventy.

Sasuke Uchiha was panting heavily, his body feeling increasingly weighted.

He looked at Beizawa running ahead of him and could not help gritting his teeth.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not catch up.

Forget it. Beizawa was a teacher and had more than a decade's advantage over him. It was normal that he could not beat him. He only needed to take first place—wait!

Sasuke Uchiha suddenly heard breathing behind him.

The last time they reached seventy laps, everyone but him had already been wiped out.

Sasuke Uchiha turned around and discovered that Naruto Uzumaki was still there.

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

What was going on? How could he keep going until now?

Even Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and the others had already given up, so why was the guy who had finished ninth last time still running?

And he looked far more relaxed than Sasuke himself.

Impossible, absolutely impossible! What had gone wrong?

Just then, Naruto Uzumaki noticed Sasuke Uchiha's lapse in focus.

Good chance! Here I go!

Naruto Uzumaki suddenly burst forward and overtook him.

Sasuke Uchiha's breathing completely fell apart. His steps became unsteady, and his reactions slowed.

He could only watch as Naruto Uzumaki pulled farther and farther away.

Sasuke Uchiha had already reached his limit. Now that he could not catch his breath, he could no longer pursue him.

"Hahaha! I'm first place!"

Naruto Uzumaki clenched his fist and said excitedly, "This is youth!"

"...?"

Beizawa could not help pressing a hand to his forehead.

This was bad!

Another youth guy!

[Current mission: Help Naruto Uzumaki obtain second place in physical training.]

[Mission reward: Shadow Clone Technique.]

[The host has completed the mission. Reward issued.]

Beizawa froze for a moment, his expression changing faster than flipping a book page.

Well done, Naruto!