Sasuke's Fire Style Research.

The two stood facing each other!

On the sidelines, Sakura's little face was flushed with excitement as she cheered for Sasuke: "Go for it, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hmph!" Ino, standing nearby, refused to be outdone and shouted loudly, "Sasuke-kun, you're the best! You have to beat Naruto to a pulp!"

Naruto felt a vein pop in his forehead, his frustration mounting. He shouted, "Let's settle this today, Sasuke! I'll show you the results of my training over the past two months!"

"Hm! I'm looking forward to it."

Sasuke nodded, his response cool and indifferent.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto was knocked down—one might even say he was defeated in a single stroke.

Watching Naruto lying on the ground, looking like his entire worldview had just shattered, Sasuke decided to offer some comfort to ensure the kid didn't develop any lasting psychological trauma.

"Is that it?"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, looking thoroughly disappointed as he prepared to turn and leave.

Sure enough, those two plain, simple words seemed to carry immense lethality and mockery. Naruto, who had been questioning his existence just a moment ago, instantly turned into a ball of raging fire, bracing his hands against the ground to push himself up.

"You jerk, don't look down on me! I'm definitely going to beat you flat!"

Hearing this, the corner of Sasuke's mouth curled up. It seemed his attempt at comfort had been highly effective.

Unfortunately, the two didn't get to continue their sparring; Naruto, who was still shouting incessantly, was dragged away by a helpless-looking Iruka.

Walking into the crowd, Sasuke ignored the gaggle of girls swarming toward him. Only after most of them had dispersed did he suddenly turn to Sakura and say, "Sakura, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Huh!?

At these words, Sakura froze, a faint blush spreading across her face.

Oh my god, Sasuke-kun actually took the initiative to talk to me!!!

No, no, I have to stay calm.

I need to show Sasuke-kun my ladylike side.

Sakura tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, smiled shyly, and said softly, "Sasuke-kun, please, go ahead."

Sakura's movements were subtle and ladylike, but her second personality inside was already--(≧▽≦)/

Sasuke, unaware of the complex twists and turns in the young girl's mind, asked directly, "I noticed that when you use the Transformation Technique and the Clone Technique, your Chakra control is excellent. Do you have any tips for that?"

Asking someone else for their training secrets was a very abrupt thing to do.

It's Sasuke, so it's fine.

"Actually, it's not as good as you say, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, waving her hands in embarrassment.

"If I really had to talk about a trick..."

Sakura pondered for a moment before saying, "I don't have much Chakra, so whenever I use Ninjutsu, I always try to keep it at the exact amount needed."

"I see." Sasuke nodded and continued, "Besides at school, do you use Chakra at home?"

How can he just ask a girl about her home life like that?

It's Sasuke, so it's fine.

"Usually, when my parents aren't home, I use Chakra to help with chores to save time."

Mentioning this, Sakura couldn't help but show a hint of resentment.

Her irresponsible retired Chunin father and mother often went shopping together and lost track of time, or even went on trips outside the village every now and then. Many times, Sakura had to fend for herself. (In the movie Road to Ninja, Sakura complains to Naruto that her father is a loser ninja who couldn't even become a Jonin, so Haruno Kizashi must have been a ninja, specifically a Chunin.)

Hearing this, it was as if a skylight had opened in Sasuke's mind, and a flash of inspiration struck. He finally understood why Sakura's ability to control Chakra was so high.

Everything is a form of training; life itself is a practice.

Unintentionally, Sakura had achieved this supreme philosophy. Combined with her natural talent, it was no wonder she learned the tree-climbing technique instantly when Kakashi taught it—simply because she had already practiced similar skills in her daily life.

Sasuke nodded and said, "Thank you, Sakura. You've done me a favor."

"It's nothing, it's nothing! You're too polite, Sasuke-kun." A blush stained Sakura's cheeks, and she added softly, "Besides, aren't we... um... aren't we classmates? Helping each other is only natural, haha..."

After saying that, Sakura giggled in embarrassment.

Sigh, kids these days.

Always obsessed with my superior looks.

Sasuke sighed inwardly and said, "Regardless, you've done me a favor."

"Mm..."

As the two talked, Ino, who had just finished her practical exam, watched them closely.

Seeing this scene, Ino trembled with rage. Even though the sun was high and the day was hot, she felt cold sweat all over and her hands and feet turned icy.

Why has Sasuke-kun never taken the initiative to talk to me? Why!?

In the evening, Sasuke returned to the Uchiha compound alone.

A brand-new aluminum kettle sat on the table.

According to the advice in the Uchiha Style Fire Release Ninjutsu, there are only two ways to increase the power of Fire Release ninjutsu.

1. Increase the input of Chakra.

2. Strengthen the nature transformation of Fire Release.

And what Sasuke is doing right now is the second point.

Just as Naruto used the method of cutting leaves to train his Wind nature transformation in the original story, he is currently using the method of heating a kettle.

He condensed Fire nature Chakra in his hand and slowly pressed it against the bottom of the kettle. After holding it against the aluminum surface for a long time, a wisp of steam finally emerged from the spout.

Seeing this, Sasuke raised an eyebrow; as he expected, the results were minimal.

Just like how Naruto couldn't even cut a leaf when he first started using Wind nature Chakra, Sasuke was currently unable to evaporate a pot of water using Fire nature Chakra.

Yet, if he were to use a simple C-rank Wind Release ninjutsu—Great Breakthrough—he could easily topple several thick trees.

If Sasuke were to use an arbitrary Fire Release ninjutsu, let alone evaporating the water in the kettle, he could reduce the kettle itself to ashes.

Ninjutsu training is easy, but training for Chakra nature transformation is difficult.

Sasuke has been engaged in this training for a long time, at least for over a month, but the progress has been negligible.

In the original story, Naruto could spend several days in a row, creating hundreds of Shadow Clones simultaneously to train his Wind nature transformation.

Sasuke doesn't have those conditions right now, nor can he devote himself entirely to nature transformation training like him; he can only spare one hour a day for this practice.

After all, he still has to conduct training in taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, book study, and other areas.

At this rate, it's too slow; I need to think of a way.

Sasuke thought to himself.

Although Chakra nature transformation training is difficult, it is like building a skyscraper from the ground up; once he masters the nature transformation of Fire Release, learning any Fire Release ninjutsu in the future will be extremely fast, and the power will be incomparable to what it is now.

However, the book contains no records regarding methods to strengthen Fire Release nature transformation, only stating that strengthening it comes from learning more Fire Release ninjutsu and practicing them until they are mastered.

The kettle method, on the other hand, was something he was inspired to try by Naruto.