I Want to Take Him Away

A week had already passed.

Although Sasuke had gained a clear understanding of his future goal, that could not change the fact that his body was weak after being hit by Tsukuyomi and then thoroughly beaten by Naruto.

Only after spending another week in the hospital was Sasuke allowed to leave.

He sent a Shadow Clone to class, then eagerly pulled Naruto away to begin training.

Their training location had changed. Naruto's usual training ground had been destroyed earlier, so this time, they went to a waterfall not far from there.

"Since you want to become stronger, your training can no longer be as casual as it was before."

Beneath the waterfall, Naruto and Sasuke stood facing each other.

Faced with Naruto's serious expression, Sasuke had long since steeled himself. His identity was no longer what it had been yesterday. He was now an avenger, and he could no longer be as carefree as before.

Sasuke's previous training could not be called lacking in effort. Driven by Naruto, his training pace had been at least three times more intense than before, which was why he had awakened directly to the Two-Tomoe Sharingan the moment his eyes opened.

Awakening the Sharingan required intense emotional stimulation, but the level one could reach upon first awakening it also depended on one's own strength. At the very least, the body had to be capable of enduring such a powerful Kekkei Genkai.

Sasuke had not only seen Naruto's strength; he had experienced it firsthand.

As a powerful friend, Sasuke was willing to trust him unconditionally.

"Please help me make a training plan," Sasuke replied seriously.

Hearing this, Naruto took out a scroll covered in writing and handed it to him. Naruto had prepared it while Sasuke was hospitalized.

It recorded all kinds of gradual physical training routines, as well as various methods for training Chakra control.

Sasuke used to have family members to guide him, and he would occasionally pick up a trick or two from them, so Naruto had never needed to worry. But now that Sasuke had asked for help, Naruto naturally gave it his all.

"You have to follow the plan strictly. You are an elite of the Uchiha Clan. Your Chakra is naturally at least ten times stronger than that of ordinary people. It may not compare to mine, but you can definitely withstand training at this intensity."

"Don't worry about recovering from injuries. I'll have Kurama refine pure Yang Release Chakra to heal and restore your body. So just stick to the principle of training yourself to death as long as you don't actually die."

"Oh, right. Remember to use Shadow Clones. Test your limits one at a time. Don't make too many at once. I'll be training nearby, so ask me if you run into any problems."

With that, Naruto patted Sasuke on the shoulder and stuffed the pure, impurity-free Yang Release Chakra refined by Kurama into his body, ready to heal him whenever he was injured.

He then went to one side and began his own training.

Bang!

Smoke burst forth, and a large number of Shadow Clones appeared.

Naruto's Main Body naturally put on his weights and continued his high-intensity physical conditioning.

Meanwhile, half of the Shadow Clones continued training in the nature transformation of Wind Release Chakra. This training was endless and could almost infinitely improve Chakra control.

Once one kind of training was completed, one could challenge more difficult training.

The other Shadow Clones were controlling air currents to fly, training their ability to fly.

The training Naruto had undertaken for more than a year in order to fly had yielded remarkable results. It allowed him to build up enough foundation to master the ability of flight on the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

But this kind of flight was crude. Simply put, it relied on brute force to forcibly manipulate air currents and lift his body into the sky.

That was why his flights were always accompanied by howling winds and flying sand and stones. It looked terrifyingly imposing, but in reality, it wasted an enormous amount of strength.

In Naruto's vision, once this ability reached perfection, he would be able to fly silently without wasting even the slightest bit of strength. Flight would consume less energy and become faster.

To achieve that, aside from continuing to improve his Chakra control, he needed to practice more.

Naruto began training in earnest. After reading the scroll, Sasuke began making preparations according to its contents, first putting on a set of weights.

Then he created Shadow Clones to train Chakra control, starting from the most basic Tree Climbing and Water Walking, all the way to making charcoal, which he had already practiced for a long time. He familiarized himself with each exercise and tested the maximum number of Shadow Clones he could endure.

As for Sasuke himself, like Naruto, he began high-intensity Taijutsu training under the principle that as long as it did not kill him, he would train himself to death.

Days passed, and in the blink of an eye, a year and three months had gone by.

Every day was grueling for Sasuke, but the increase in his strength was visible to the naked eye.

And while Sasuke and Naruto trained hard every day, a series of changes had also taken place throughout Konoha.

The destruction of the Uchiha Clan sent shockwaves through the entire Shinobi World.

The villagers discussed it endlessly. Because the Uchiha, the unpopular Military Police Force clan, had been wiped out, they celebrated openly. Whenever Sasuke occasionally went into town to buy something, he could feel both gloating and pity. Such trivial matters need not be mentioned further.

Elsewhere in the Shinobi World, the other four major powers on equal footing with Konoha also sent spies to probe the situation, wanting to learn what had happened.

Cloud Village even massed troops at the border, and war was on the verge of breaking out.

Fortunately, Konoha responded in time. Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, appeared at the border and summoned a gigantic Toad, greatly intimidating the other restless shinobi villages.

A war was thus temporarily averted.

With things stabilized, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, finally let out a sigh of relief and found the mood to pay attention to some minor matters within the village.

In the forest not far from the waterfall, the Third Hokage and Jiraiya stood side by side, watching Naruto and Sasuke train beneath the waterfall. Kakashi, the white-haired Jonin who had applied to protect and monitor Naruto, accompanied them nearby.

"So that is Minato's child? He looks so much like his father. The same appearance, the same genius," Jiraiya said as he looked at Naruto, unable to keep nostalgia and gratification from appearing in his eyes.

Kakashi said nothing, but his expression carried the same gratification. Seemingly influenced by Naruto, after getting to know him and applying to protect him, Kakashi, who had grown lazy about training, had also found his motivation to become stronger again.

"Naruto is truly a hardworking child," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smiling expression.

"Old man, I want to take Naruto away and teach him personally. We can't let him waste any more time," Jiraiya once again made this request of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He was a seasoned shinobi, and he could tell that due to Naruto's outstanding talent, both his body and Chakra had already become extremely powerful.

But the things Naruto was training in were all extremely basic. Although he was constantly improving, that alone could not make him a truly powerful shinobi.

At this, Sarutobi Hiruzen firmly shook his head.