Sasuke: I Need an Opponent.

Sasuke was truly disappointed. When he first entered the Ninja Academy, or to be more precise, he had held high expectations for his sparring sessions with Naruto.

In the original story, although Naruto seemed slow-witted and reckless, he was far from a simple fool; he often displayed many brilliant, unconventional tactics and clever ideas during combat.

For example, the coordination between Naruto and Sasuke against Zabuza, the Transformation Technique strategy used against Inuzuka Kiba, the surprise Shadow Clone tactic against Gaara, and the decoy strategy against Kakuzu—all these created classic instances of overcoming the strong with the weak.

He was the ninja Kakashi called the "Number One Unpredictable Ninja"!

Sasuke did not want to treat Naruto as a mere punching bag; rather, he hoped that Naruto would display that same astonishing combat intelligence in their sparring matches.

However, Sasuke was disappointed.

Throughout this month of sparring, Naruto had not made the slightest progress, had not shown a shred of the combat intelligence from the original story, and certainly hadn't spent any private time training.

Every time they sparred, Naruto would just recklessly charge in, only to be defeated by him in an instant.

Failure was not terrifying, but refusing to learn from failure, failing to gain experience, and refusing to work harder—instead continuing to act like a prankster who refused to study—was something Sasuke found deeply irritating.

Sasuke's appreciation for him wasn't based on the original story or their past entanglements; compared to the current Naruto, Sasuke actually admired Rock Lee, whom he had seen at the academy!

Rock Lee, who was also ostracized, isolated, and mocked, was performing far better than Naruto right now.

His talent was mediocre, or perhaps even abysmal; he couldn't use any ninjutsu or genjutsu, and he didn't even have a Chakra nature.

They say that when God closes a door, He opens a window for you.

Just like Might Duy and his son, who were equally mediocre in talent and unskilled in ninjutsu and genjutsu, they possessed immense talent in taijutsu.

But for Rock Lee, it was as if a door had been slammed shut, and his head had been caught in the window frame for good measure.

Many people thought Rock Lee had high natural talent for taijutsu, but that wasn't the case—at least not before he met Might Guy.

When Rock Lee first entered the Ninja Academy, his grades in taijutsu class were worse than everyone else's, and he was often the bottom-ranked student in every subject.

Rock Lee, a boy who couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, and whose taijutsu talent was inferior to others.

All he possessed was a burning passion to become a great ninja and a heart determined to work hard, harder, and hardest.

For an ordinary person, effort doesn't always guarantee a reward, but without effort, there is absolutely no reward at all.

Ultimately, three years later, Rock Lee's taijutsu surpassed that of ordinary people, making him the first student in the history of the Ninja Academy to graduate using purely taijutsu.

Sasuke admired such people, and even respected them.

Deep down, he now desperately wished that guy Naruto possessed the same determination and willpower as Rock Lee.

First, "one takes on the attributes of those one associates with."

If Sasuke had a hardworking, inspirational person by his side, he would feel the pressure himself, leading to self-discipline and mutual improvement.

Second, he needed an opponent far too much right now!

He was very strong; he had once observed the older students and even some of the genin in the village without drawing attention to himself.

He realized that none of those guys were his match, and that was even without him activating his Sharingan.

Therefore, the so-called practical exams at the Ninja Academy were like children playing ninja games or house to him; they contributed zero to his growth in combat experience!

Environment has a huge influence on people; if this continued, Sasuke might eventually become lax, a situation that was absolutely unacceptable to him right now!

If it weren't for the Third Hokage and others keeping such a close eye on him, he would have considered graduating early after mastering a portion of the ninjutsu on the scrolls.

Since he couldn't graduate early, he needed an opponent!

A hardworking opponent, an opponent who could make him feel pressure!

A Naruto possessing the determination and passion of Rock Lee would undoubtedly be the best candidate.

Otherwise, Sasuke wouldn't have accepted Naruto's challenges for an entire month, nor would he have repeatedly mocked and ridiculed him.

Did people really think he had nothing better to do than play house with Naruto?

Although he admitted that beating that guy up did provide a fleeting sense of inexplicable satisfaction and pleasure.

But those tiny sparks of satisfaction and pleasure were quickly replaced by disappointment and irritation.

No matter how much he beat that guy or mocked him this month, Naruto remained impervious, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

He continued to slack off during class and pull pranks during breaks.

Sasuke was disappointed by this, but he also understood the reason.

Naruto would only begin to grow after experiencing the Mizuki incident and the life-and-death crisis in the Land of Waves, eventually becoming the Uzumaki Naruto everyone knew—the one who gave his all, spoke his mind, and never went back on his word.

But the current Naruto was still too immature.

Thinking of this, Sasuke sighed inwardly. He glanced unintentionally at Sakura, who was pretending to be calm on the surface but had a completely lovestruck look in her eyes, and sighed again.

Don't let Sakura's current initiative to ask him for training advice fool you into thinking she had a desire to become stronger; Sasuke knew that wasn't the case at all.

This little girl was just finding excuses to get close to him. At this stage, Sakura's mind was filled only with Sasuke, with no real resolve to improve.

Her so-called inquiries about Chakra training were just like how she had grown her hair long because she thought the original Sasuke liked girls with long hair; now, she had added the delusion that he liked girls who were studious and loved to learn.

In the original story, Sakura would only develop the resolve of a ninja during the Land of Waves mission, and it was only after cutting her long hair during the Chunin Exams to protect her comrades that she would shed her immaturity and become a qualified ninja.

And finally, when the original Sasuke defected to Orochimaru and she saw Naruto covered in wounds because of it, Sakura would truly become independent and evolve into the familiar Sakura-bro!

Time passed quickly, and it was already dusk.

At this hour, the Ninja Academy had already dismissed, and students were trickling out of the school gates. Accompanied by parents who had come to pick them up, families walked home together, hand in hand, chatting and laughing in a scene of warmth and harmony.

In the distance, Naruto sat alone on a swing, his mind wandering as he watched the scene before him. A look of dejection appeared in his eyes; under the setting sun, it seemed as though only his own shadow was there to keep him company.

When a father and daughter walked past near him, Naruto instinctively lowered his head.

The little girl sitting on her father's shoulders glanced curiously at the head-bowed Naruto, seemingly wondering why this strange older brother was still here when it was almost night.

"Daddy, that big brother looks so sad."

The middle-aged man followed the little girl's gaze, his expression changing instantly as a look of disgust appeared in his eyes, causing Naruto to lower his head even further.

"Don't worry about him, he is a..."

The rest of the words were ultimately left unsaid, but the man quickened his pace, his voice still audible from afar.

"In any case, stay away from that person in the future..."

I will definitely become Hokage and make all of you acknowledge me!

Naruto bit his lip, his hands gripping the swing ropes tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he was just about to raise his hand to wipe them away.

"Hey, dead last!"