A small forest outside Konoha!
Ever since Narak had brought most of the Twelve Young Strong Ones here for a barbecue, this place had become their gathering spot!
"Make the fire smaller! It's almost burnt, Sasuke, you idiot!"
"Quit nagging! You're so annoying!"
"Ah?? After all these years, you still can't even barbecue properly, and you have the nerve to call me annoying? Tch, you're really useless!"
"Hmph, you dead-last loser. If you're so capable, try using ninjutsu to barbecue something!"
By the stream, a huge barbecue rack kept turning!
Naruto gripped the handle with both hands, constantly rotating the rack and the wild boar roasting on it!
On the other side, a black-haired boy was continuously spraying flames beneath the roasting wild boar!
The flames formed by ninjutsu were clearly hotter than ordinary flames. At that moment, the blazing fire roasted the wild boar at scorching temperatures, causing grease to sizzle and drip!
However, his control over the flames was obviously lacking. Several spots on the roasted wild boar were already on the verge of burning!
This person was none other than the only survivor of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Sasuke!
It had already been four years since Narak became a Jonin. Naruto, Sasuke, and the others were all twelve years old now, and would soon graduate from the ninja academy!
Four years ago, after the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out, Narak saw that Sasuke remained sunk in grief over the massacre and could not pull himself free. Thus, whenever he picked up Hinata and Naruto, he would intentionally—or seemingly unintentionally—draw closer to Sasuke!
After all, he had promised Sasuke's older brother that he would take good care of Sasuke!
At first, however, Uchiha Sasuke had been wary and resistant toward Narak's approach!
But as time passed, he realized that Narak truly harbored no ill will toward him!
Besides, Narak often offered him guidance while he trained!
Sasuke had to admit that he really had nothing Narak would covet. Over time, he accepted Narak's goodwill and began integrating into Narak's little group!
From then on, nine of the Twelve Young Strong Ones who were in the same year surrounded Narak!
In addition, Yakumo, Hanabi, and Karin were also always at Narak's side, making every wilderness picnic an enormous affair!
At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke—the pair of bickering sweethearts who had been entangled for several lifetimes—were working together to barbecue. Some of the other boys were catching fish in the stream, while others were walking dogs or fighting bugs!
The girls, meanwhile, had gathered to one side, cooking soup or arranging the picnic cloth!
The atmosphere was perfectly harmonious!
"Haah!"
Narak stretched comfortably and opened his bleary eyes!
"Sasuke, your control over fire isn't good enough. If you can't perfectly control the flame's temperature and intensity, it means you'll waste more Chakra when fighting someone!"
"Don't underestimate that little bit of Chakra. At a critical moment, running out of Chakra can cost you your life!"
Narak glanced at Sasuke and spoke!
Roasting food with flames released through ninjutsu was the training method Narak had assigned Sasuke!
At first, Sasuke had been extremely resistant. He thought Narak was completely fooling around!
But after Narak forced him to try it twice, Sasuke discovered that his control over fire-based ninjutsu had improved. From then on, he obediently took up the role of fire tender!
"Ah, Narak-nii, you're awake!"
"Narak-nii, the soup will be ready soon. Would you like to taste it?"
Seeing that Narak had woken up, the girls all greeted him!
"Oh, this soup smells wonderful. Who made it?"
Narak walked over to the girls and asked!
"It was me, Narak-kun. Have a taste!"
After four years, Yakumo had grown even more beautiful. She answered him, ladling out a bowl and handing it to Narak!
Narak took a sip, then could not help but drink the entire bowl!
"Mmm, it's delicious. Yakumo's cooking is amazing. You're truly the perfect wife and mother, Yakumo. I wonder who will be lucky enough to marry you someday!"
Narak showered Yakumo with praise!
"Na... Narak-kun, are you hinting at something?" Hearing Narak's words, Yakumo's face instantly flushed red. Even after all these years, she still could not overcome her shyness whenever she faced Narak!
"Time to eat, time to eat!"
Narak set down the bowl in his hand and walked over to inspect the wild boar. Seeing that it was almost done and would burn if they kept roasting it, he lifted the barbecue rack with one hand and tossed it into the air. Then he drew his Zanpakuto!
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Blades of light flashed, and the enormous wild boar was sliced into piece after piece!
"Oh, it's ready!"
Hearing that they could finally eat, Naruto, Kiba, and Choji were always the first to arrive. The three instantly crowded around the picnic cloth and began devouring the food!
"By the way, Narak-nii, we've been eating here all these years. I've noticed that there seem to be fewer and fewer animals around here!"
"We had to cross an entire mountain just to catch this big wild boar!"
Shikamaru ambled over and said this to Narak!
"Uh?? Is that so? We must have eaten too aggressively over the years and scared all the little animals away. No wonder something felt off!"
Over the years, Narak had brought people here for picnics from time to time. The small animals living on this mountain had suffered terribly. From birds and wild rabbits to wild boars and bears, not a single one had escaped ending up on Narak's table!
Recently, however, the animals had been growing scarce. Narak had sensed that something was wrong, and after Shikamaru's comment, he finally realized why!
The animals on this mountain had either been eaten to extinction or been frightened away and fled with their families!
The atmosphere grew awkward for a moment!
"By the way, you'll be graduating in a few days, right? Time really flies!"
Narak changed the subject and spoke to everyone!
"Yeah, the graduation exam is next week. Once we pass, we'll officially become Genin of Konoha!"
Everyone chimed in agreement!
"But we can't compare with Narak-nii. We're already twelve and are only becoming Genin, while Narak-nii was already a Jonin at ten!"
When Sakura spoke, she could not help feeling discouraged!
"Don't think that way. Genin are impressive too!"
"Let me tell you something: when Jonin fight, pots and pans go flying; when Genin fight, heaven and earth are destroyed!"
"Never underestimate Genin!"
After saying this, Narak watched Naruto and Sasuke with a mysterious smile!
"Huh? Narak-nii, why are you looking at me?"
Seeing Narak staring at him, Naruto asked in confusion!
"Ah, it's nothing. I just wanted to know how prepared you are. Don't let us down at the critical moment!"
"When everyone else passes and becomes a Genin while you're the only one who fails, you'll be too embarrassed to show your face!"
Naruto forcefully swallowed the meat in his mouth, then patted his chest and said to Narak, "Don't worry, Narak-nii. I'll definitely succeed!"
Narak was only teasing Naruto. After all, he knew that Naruto would definitely become a Genin!
Although the interference from the Nine-Tails' Chakra had prevented him from controlling his own Chakra and caused him to fail at the most basic Transformation Technique, he ultimately had Mizuki secretly trying to use him to steal the Scroll of Seals.
After Naruto caused such a commotion, he instead deepened his bond with Iruka and successfully graduated to become a Genin!
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