Sasuke had an obsessive desire to grow stronger. Though Naruto's subtle guidance over the years had given him a more rational understanding of taking revenge on Itachi...
He knew that, with his current strength, even if he stood before Itachi...
He could not avenge himself.
Itachi's eyes could kill him with a single glance. Sasuke, who had grown up in an environment where the Sharingan was revered, firmly believed this. If Itachi's eyes truly stood on a level beyond the Three Tomoe Sharingan, as Naruto had said, then his chances of winning were unimaginably slim.
If there really was some truth behind it all...
He could not uncover that truth either.
If Itachi truly had his reasons, then they had to be reasons beyond even someone like Itachi's power to change. So what would it matter if someone as weak as him learned the truth that might exist?
But he still could not accept it...
It was all because he was too weak now. Whether it was killing Itachi or saving him, he had no ability to do either.
Sasuke was neither ungrateful nor stupid.
He was a genius.
Over the years, Naruto's many strange changes—suddenly learning jutsu, suddenly becoming unbelievably strong, suddenly growing mature and steady, suddenly throwing himself madly into training—and what Naruto had said before about "seeing the future"...
What was more, the recently completed Land of Waves mission had also bothered Sasuke.
During the mission, Kakashi had made Sasuke feel... as though he had known every detail of it from the start! Including Zabuza, Haku pretending to be an ANBU, and the merchant Gato... He had even prepared a sealing scroll for storing ninja tools beforehand and brought Zabuza's sword back to the village.
Naruto... really had seen the future.
He told me to be careful of someone who would sneak into the Chunin Exams... does that mean we had "once" encountered that person? He said Sakura could become a kunoichi like Tsunade... does that mean Sakura had "already" become that kind of ninja?
As his thoughts spun, Sasuke took up a fighting stance. The three tomoe in his eyes slowly rotated.
Reflected in his pupils, Naruto was bathed in golden flames as he charged toward him, then turned into an afterimage and vanished from sight.
The Nine-Tails...
Without question, the current Sasuke could hardly withstand Naruto's Nine-Tails Golden Body Transformation. In less than a minute, Sasuke had thoroughly realized that there was an insurmountable gap between himself and Naruto as he was now. At the same time, he thoroughly realized that he did not even know how vast that gap was.
"Naruto, Sasuke..." Hinata was shocked that Sasuke had been completely unable to fight back against golden Naruto. Even with her Byakugan activated and its extraordinary perception, she could not catch sight of Naruto's movements...
Naruto was already this powerful, and I...
Sasuke lay on the ground, gasping for breath. In less than a minute, the physical exhaustion was secondary—the blow to his spirit was far greater...
Naruto was this strong already? And that guy Itachi... might have been on an even higher level than this? Why am I so weak...
Naruto released Golden Body Mode and walked to Sasuke's side. Looking at Sasuke lying on the ground with empty eyes, he said sincerely, "Sasuke... you don't need to be like this. The reason I can..."
He had wanted to say that the only reason he possessed such strength was because he stood on the shoulders of another self... while Sasuke, through his own efforts, had already become far stronger than he used to be.
"You don't have to say it, Naruto... I know what you want to say. I understand." Sasuke lay on the ground, covering his eyes with one hand as he gritted his teeth. "I'm just a little unwilling... When will I ever be able to catch up to Itachi?"
Naruto said nothing.
"And I'm not that fragile, Naruto. You don't need to undervalue yourself either. I've seen all the effort you've put in over these years... I only hate that time is too short, and the future is too long." Sasuke got to his feet, braced himself on his knees, steadied his emotions, and returned to his usual state.
"Let's keep training."
Naruto smiled. He knew Sasuke had pulled through on his own. This Sasuke was more mature and more rational than the one in his memories.
You would be glad too, wouldn't you... Naruto touched his abdomen, but he knew that the "Future Self" who had been like an older brother would probably never appear again.
"Oh! Hinata, you should join us too!"
There were still two months and eleven days until the Chunin Exams. Team 7 trained and took missions every day as usual.
With Naruto as their sparring partner, Sasuke and Hinata both improved rapidly.
Most of their daily missions were D-rank missions. They did easy farm work while getting some training in on the side.
Of course, considering Team 7's overall strength, the Third Hokage had also assigned them C-rank missions, and even B-rank missions involving rogue ninja.
During this period, Kakashi had already taught Sasuke Chidori.
Sasuke's Sharingan directly copied this incredibly powerful Lightning Style Jutsu. With the terrifying perception of the three tomoe in his eyes, Chidori—or rather, Lightning Blade—became even more powerful when he launched himself forward at full speed.
One day, during a mission to eliminate a small group of bandits causing trouble nearby.
The three genin of Team 7 and Kakashi raced through the trees. As Kakashi led his students in pursuit of the fleeing bandits, he taught them the key points they needed to pay attention to during high-speed pursuit.
Byakugan!
As Hinata leaped through the trees, veins bulged around her eyes. Her vision instantly turned into a black-and-white negative, and her range of sight expanded to a 360-degree radius spanning kilometers.
"They're hiding over there!" Hinata signaled Naruto and Sasuke.
Golden light flared beneath Naruto's feet as he partially entered his golden form—
Bang!
A branch snapped, and his figure had already vanished.
At the bandits' hideout, the bandit who had once been a Sand Chunin held his breath. He had already driven his subordinates elsewhere to hide.
Even after being so careful, those Konoha bastards still got their eyes on me...
He cursed inwardly.
But at that moment, a figure appeared before him.
What!?
He only had time to stare in horror before a kick sent him flying. The kick was so powerful that he flew so high, so far, so fast...
Another black figure shot toward the bandit ninja in midair. Sasuke kicked the man Naruto had launched at him!
Bang!
The bandit ninja instantly flew off in another direction...
Naruto leaped up and kicked him again!
Hinata descended from the air, her right palm charged for a long time. Just as the man flew beneath her palm, she fiercely struck him toward the ground!
Gentle Fist!
The Chunin Exams were right around the corner.
The setting sun burned red. In the training ground, three people stood facing one another.
Sasuke and Hinata watched Naruto, whose eyes now had the vertical pupils of the Demon Fox, and both were on full guard.
"Brats, are you ready? Then this old man is coming..." Naruto, controlled by the Nine-Tails' consciousness, wore a nasty grin like some old street thug.
The moment he finished speaking, an overwhelming baleful aura erupted from Nine-Tails Naruto! Killing intent!
Cold! Merciless!
Naruto before them seemed to transform into a demon radiating sinister ghostly energy. He grinned savagely at Sasuke and Hinata.
A tidal wave of terror crashed against their minds. When they saw the baleful light in Nine-Tails Naruto's eyes, visions of their own deaths involuntarily surfaced in their minds...
So terrifying...
I can't move...
In the distance, Kakashi lowered Make-Out Paradise from his perch in a tree and looked toward Sasuke and Hinata, who were being utterly crushed by the Nine-Tails' murderous aura.
"The Nine-Tails is actually helping me train my subordinates... This feels a little strange..."
He sighed.
That day, Kakashi finally handed the Chunin Exams registration forms to Naruto and the other two.
"So, you've all decided to take part in this Chunin Exams, right?"
Kakashi asked as a routine confirmation.
"Of course! We're going to make a big splash!" Naruto took the registration form, tightened the strap of his Headband behind his head, and smiled. "Right, Sasuke, Hinata?"
"Yeah... I've been wanting to see what the strongest genin in Konoha, that thick-browed guy talked about, can do..."
Sasuke smiled faintly with confidence.
Hinata was not as brimming with confidence as the two boys, but her face was also filled with determination as she said, "Sensei, I'll work hard too."
Kakashi nodded and vanished in a Body Flicker.
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