Sasuke was indeed deeply disappointed. When he had first entered the Ninja Academy—or, more precisely, even before that—he had held great expectations for sparring with Naruto.
Although Naruto in the original story seemed slow-witted and reckless, he was not simply an idiot. In battle, he often came up with unusual tactics and clever ideas that shone brilliantly.
For example, Naruto and Sasuke's coordination against Zabuza, the Transformation Technique strategy against Inuzuka Kiba, the surprise of the Shadow Clone Technique against Gaara, and using clones to lure Kakuzu in—all of these had created classic tactics where the weak defeated the strong time and again.
The ninja Kakashi had called the number one master of surprises!
Sasuke did not merely want to treat Naruto like a human punching bag. He had hoped Naruto would display the astonishing combat wisdom he had shown in the original story during their fights.
However, Sasuke was disappointed.
Over the past month of sparring, Naruto had not improved in the slightest. He had shown none of the combat intelligence he possessed in the original story, nor had he spent any time training in private.
Every time they sparred, Naruto just charged in recklessly and was instantly defeated.
Failure was not frightening, but failing without learning any lessons, gaining any experience, or working twice as hard afterward—while still refusing to study and constantly pulling pranks—was another matter entirely.
Sasuke hated that.
Sasuke was not predisposed to admire Naruto merely because of the original story and their entanglement. Compared to Naruto as he was now, Sasuke admired the Rock Lee he had seen at the academy before even more.
Rock Lee had also been ostracized, isolated, and mocked by others, yet his current performance was truly far better than Naruto's.
His talent was mediocre—one could even say abysmal. He could not use any ninjutsu or genjutsu, and he did not even possess a chakra nature.
People said that when God closed a door, he opened a window.
Just like Might Duy and Might Guy, who were similarly mediocre in talent and unsuited for ninjutsu and genjutsu, yet possessed exceptionally high talent in taijutsu.
But Rock Lee was the kind whose door had been closed, then whose head had been conveniently slammed in the window as well.
Many people believed Rock Lee had great talent for taijutsu, but that was not the case—at least, it had not been before he met Might Guy.
When Rock Lee had first entered the Ninja Academy, even his taijutsu grades had been worse than everyone else's. He had often ranked dead last in every subject.
Rock Lee, someone who could not use ninjutsu or genjutsu and whose taijutsu talent was not even as good as others'.
All he possessed was burning passion to become a great ninja and the resolve to work hard, harder, and harder still.
For ordinary people, effort did not necessarily bring rewards, but without effort, there would absolutely be no reward at all.
In the end, three years later, Rock Lee's taijutsu surpassed that of ordinary people, and he became the first student in Ninja Academy history to graduate purely through taijutsu.
Sasuke greatly admired people like that. He even respected them.
Right now, he desperately hoped Naruto also possessed resolve and willpower like Rock Lee's.
First, one became virtuous in the company of the virtuous and corrupt in the company of the corrupt.
If Sasuke had someone hardworking, driven, and inspiring by his side, then he himself would feel pressure and develop a mindset of self-discipline and mutual encouragement.
Second, he needed an opponent far too badly now!
He was already very strong. He had once discreetly observed upperclassmen and even some of the village's genin.
He had discovered that none of them were his match, and that was without even activating the Sharingan.
So-called practical combat assessments at the Ninja Academy were like children playing ninja games, mere make-believe to him. They increased his real combat experience by zero!
The environment had a great influence on people. Over time, Sasuke might become lax in the future, and for him now, such a possibility was absolutely unacceptable!
If the Third Hokage and the others had not been watching him so closely, he would have considered graduating early after mastering some of the ninjutsu on the scrolls.
Since he could not graduate early, then he needed an opponent!
A diligent opponent, an opponent who could make him feel pressure!
A Naruto with Rock Lee's determination and passion was undoubtedly the best candidate.
Otherwise, Sasuke would not have kept accepting Naruto's challenges over the past month, repeatedly mocking and taunting him.
Did Naruto really think Sasuke had nothing better to do than accompany him in playing make-believe games?
Though Sasuke admitted that when he beat Naruto up, he did feel a faint and inexplicable sense of satisfaction and pleasure.
But that tiny bit of satisfaction and pleasure was quickly replaced by disappointment and irritation.
No matter how much he beat that guy up over the past month, no matter how much he mocked him, Naruto remained completely unmoved, like a dead pig that did not fear boiling water.
He still spent class slacking off and fooling around, then pulled pranks during breaks.
Sasuke was disappointed by that, but he also understood the reason.
Naruto would only truly begin to grow after experiencing the Mizuki incident and facing the threat of death in the Land of Waves. Only then would he gradually become the Uzumaki Naruto everyone knew—the one who gave everything he had, spoke his mind, and always kept his word.
The Naruto of now was still far too immature.
Thinking of this, Sasuke sighed inwardly. He inadvertently glanced at Sakura beside him, who looked calm on the surface but whose eyes were clearly those of a lovestruck fool, and sighed again.
Although Sakura had now taken the initiative to ask him for training advice and seemed to possess the desire to grow stronger, Sasuke knew that was not the case at all.
This girl was merely using it as an excuse to deliberately get close to him. At this point, Sakura's mind was completely filled with Sasuke, and she had no awareness whatsoever of becoming stronger.
Her so-called questions about chakra training were like how she had deliberately kept long hair because she believed the original Sasuke liked girls with long hair. Now, she had added another trait she believed he liked: girls who got good grades and loved studying.
In the original story, Sakura only gained a ninja's resolve during the Land of Waves mission. It was only after cutting off her long hair during the Chunin Exams and swearing to protect her companions to the death that she shed her immaturity and became a qualified ninja.
And in the end, after the original Sasuke defected to Orochimaru and she saw Naruto covered in severe injuries because of it, Sakura finally became completely independent and turned into the familiar Sakura-bro!
Time passed quickly, and evening had already arrived.
At this time, the Ninja Academy had let out. Quite a few students were gradually leaving through the school gates, walking home hand in hand with their parents amid cheerful chatter and warm family laughter.
In the distance, Naruto sat alone on a swing, absentmindedly watching the scene before him. A dim look appeared in his eyes. Beneath the setting sun, it seemed that only the shadow behind him silently kept him company.
When what appeared to be a father and daughter passed near him, Naruto unconsciously lowered his head.
The little girl sitting on her father's shoulders curiously glanced at Naruto, who had lowered his head, seemingly wondering why this strange older brother was still here when it was almost night.
"Dad, that big brother looks so sad."
The middle-aged man followed the girl's gaze, and his expression immediately changed. Disgust filled his eyes, while Naruto lowered his head even further.
"Don't mind him. He's a..."
In the end, he did not finish the rest of his sentence, but the middle-aged man quickened his pace. From far away, his voice could still be heard.
"Anyway, stay away from that person from now on..."
I will definitely become Hokage and make all of you acknowledge me!
Naruto bit his lip and unconsciously tightened his grip on the swing ropes. Tears faintly glimmered in his eyes as he raised a hand to wipe them away.
"Hey, dead last!"
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