The Rain Stopped, and the Sky Cleared...

"Sasuke Uchiha?"

Naruto turned the name over in his mouth, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.

He could not help recalling Byakugan Girl Hinata Hyuga, the first person who had not looked at him coldly after hearing his name and had likewise chosen to exchange names with him.

Then Naruto handed the freshly grilled fish in his hand, still at just the right temperature, to Sasuke, who had sat down on another rock not far away.

"Want some Grilled Fish? I made it. It should taste pretty good."

Meeting Naruto's gaze and seeing the sincerity in his blue eyes, Sasuke did not refuse.

After taking it, Sasuke bit into it without much expectation. His eyes widened, and he exclaimed in shock, "This Grilled Fish is crispy and delicious! The last time I had Grilled Fish this good was when my brother made it."

After that remark, Sasuke felt a little embarrassed.

He awkwardly turned his head away, unwilling to let Naruto see the faint blush on his cheeks.

"Another tsundere who can't be honest, huh?"

Naruto was rather happy to hear the other boy praise his cooking.

To Naruto, that counted as a form of recognition.

But seeing Sasuke like this, Naruto could not help thinking of the Otaku Fox in his stomach, who lay motionless on the couch all day and did nothing but watch shows and play games.

If there had been food for that Otaku Fox to eat, it might have already grown a whole lot fatter.

When they acted tsundere, the man and fox looked remarkably alike in both expression and temperament.

At that moment, Naruto could practically imagine Sasuke's embarrassing future as he kept shouting about how good it smelled.

Still, Naruto did not expose him.

Since the Third Hokage occasionally came over to mooch meals, Naruto had spare tableware.

He filled a bowl with Mushroom and Vegetable Soup and handed it to Sasuke. Following up on Sasuke's words, he softly said, "Have some soup. Eating only Grilled Fish will make you thirsty. By the way, who's your brother?"

The moment Naruto mentioned Itachi, Sasuke perked up.

After accepting the soup and taking a sip, Sasuke praised its deliciousness again.

Then he began talking without pause. "Let me tell you, my brother is Itachi, Uchiha Itachi. He's a genius ninja. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven, and now..."

Naruto ate Grilled Fish and drank mushroom soup while listening to Sasuke praise his brother to the heavens.

Through this, Naruto learned that Itachi was also exceptionally skilled at cooking and had often made all kinds of delicious seafood feasts for Sasuke.

But not long ago, Itachi had joined the mysterious Anbu organization. As an elite Anbu, he now carried out secret missions in various places to protect the village.

The reason Sasuke was unhappy was that Itachi had promised not long ago to practice Shuriken with him, only to break his word. As a result, Sasuke could only practice alone today.

That left Sasuke extremely displeased.

After finishing his practice, the unhappy Sasuke wandered around near the clan grounds.

Then, without realizing it, he wandered into this forest some distance away from the Uchiha Clan Grounds and saw Naruto.

That was why Sasuke had initially thought he had encountered Naruto near the clan grounds.

"Itachi really is amazing."

After listening to Sasuke finish, Naruto sighed in admiration as well.

Sasuke's brother Itachi was only eleven years old, yet he had already become an elite Anbu ninja. No matter the era, that made him an extraordinarily gifted ninja.

Hearing Naruto acknowledge his brother Itachi too, Sasuke became much friendlier toward Naruto and had already begun to think of him as a friend.

That faint, inexplicable irritation he had felt upon first meeting Naruto had long since been thrown somewhere far away.

By the time they finished chatting, the two had already finished dinner.

Sasuke helped Naruto clean up the tableware. He had originally planned to keep chatting with this new friend for a while longer.

But when he looked at the sky, Sasuke's expression immediately changed. "Naruto, I'm heading back first. It's getting late. Dad and Mom should be waiting for me at home for dinner. I'll come find you here tomorrow."

With that, Sasuke waved as he ran off.

"Okay," Naruto answered firmly.

Naruto watched Sasuke's retreating figure disappear, his feelings somewhat complicated.

"Dad and Mom... I've never seen them. I wonder what they looked like."

Third Hokage had told him that his parents were heroes who had died protecting Konoha.

After falling silent for a moment, Naruto stopped thinking about it.

They were already dead, anyway. Even if he knew what they looked like, what would it mean?

Besides training, he had made a new friend today. Naruto was certain it had been a good day.

After resting for a while, he began training again.

It was still early. He still had to train for at least another two hours before it was time for him to go home as usual.

To Naruto, home had become nothing more than a place to sleep. He spent most of every day in this training ground.

Early the next morning, Sasuke arrived as promised, reaching the training ground at almost the same time as Naruto.

He was fully equipped, carrying ninja tools and a lunchbox.

It looked like he had not come just to play with Naruto, but also to train together.

"Yo, morning, Sasuke."

Naruto put down the seasonings and ingredients he had brought and greeted Sasuke.

"Morning, Naruto."

Sasuke greeted Naruto as well.

Then, after setting down his lunchbox, he wanted to spar with Naruto.

From the traces left around the training ground yesterday, Sasuke had judged that Naruto possessed considerable strength. That was also a major reason he had accepted Naruto so readily.

Otherwise, lonely as he was, as a member of the Elite Uchiha Clan, Sasuke would not casually become friends with an ordinary person.

"Naruto, come and—"

But before Sasuke could finish issuing his challenge, Naruto formed a hand seal.

Then smoke erupted throughout the training ground, and more than twenty figures identical to Naruto appeared.

The moment they appeared, they each went to their assigned tasks. Some practiced ninjutsu, some cut leaves, some trained with ninja tools, and some went fishing. They began busily working in perfect order.

Naruto's Main Body glanced at the astonished Sasuke and said with a smile, "This is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It can help with certain experience-based training that isn't physically demanding. I didn't catch what you said just now, Sasuke. What did you want to say?"

Looking at the Shadow Clones that had already begun training, Sasuke's face reddened as he held back his emotions.

Although he already knew Naruto was strong, he had not expected him to be this strong. He had created so many Shadow Clones at once.

Of course Sasuke knew about Shadow Clones, but he had not expected someone his own age to create so many. And Naruto looked completely at ease, as though this was nowhere near his limit.

His newly made friend was so strong that Sasuke felt conflicted.

However, he did not grow jealous or give up on himself. Instead, his fighting spirit was ignited.

I'm an Uchiha Clan member. How can I let this guy surpass me?!

He looked at Naruto and raised a hand in challenge. "Naruto, let's spar in Taijutsu!"

That day, Sasuke got beaten up badly...