The Name of This Jutsu Is Shadow Clone!

"Hey, dead last!"

At that moment, a bland voice reached his ears. Naruto, who had been feeling somewhat aggrieved, saw his expression shift instantly, changing as rapidly as the weather in the rainy season, and he immediately put on a look of extreme annoyance.

Looking up, he saw that annoying Sasuke standing five meters in front of him, watching him with a curious expression.

"Tell me, were you crying just now?"

Sasuke said indifferently, then revealed a look of sudden realization.

"You wouldn't be crying out of grievance just because I taught you a lesson today, would you?"

He had been at the school library looking up some information, so he hadn't been in a rush to return to the Uchiha Clan Compound. He had just happened to witness this scene as he left the school.

"Bastard, I wasn't crying!" Naruto's face flushed red, and he shouted angrily, "Don't be so full of yourself! I was just feeling unwell today. I'll definitely beat you next time, you arrogant jerk!"

"Heh, I just love that look on your face—unable to beat me, nothing you can do about it, yet still acting tough. Hmm... it's truly interesting... haha..."

"Bastard!"

Watching the smug, laughing Sasuke, Naruto clenched his fists, wanting to rush forward and beat this guy a hundred times over, shouting loudly:

"You listen here! I just haven't been training seriously before. Once I start training in earnest, I'll definitely leave you far behind. Just you wait, hmph!"

"Is that so?" Sasuke nodded slightly, staring into his eyes as he said calmly, "If that's the case, then I'm looking forward to it. Just make sure you don't go back on your word when the time comes, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Hmph!" Naruto stood up and shouted, "To speak my mind and never go back on my word is my ninja way! Don't underestimate me."

Sasuke's lips curled slightly as he said casually, "Have you had dinner yet?"

"Dinner?"

Naruto was stunned, unable to figure out what this stuck-up guy was up to.

"What does it have to do with you whether I've eaten dinner or not?"

Naruto shook his head, speaking with an unhappy expression.

"If you haven't eaten, then considering you were beaten by me today and look so pathetic right now, I'll treat you to a meal."

Sasuke sighed, looking helpless as he spoke.

"Damn it! Who needs your pity?"

Naruto's face turned beet red, and he said indignantly.

"Fine then!"

Sasuke nodded, showing no intention of persuading him further, and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Naruto was momentarily dumbfounded. Watching Sasuke walk further and further away, he hurriedly chased after him.

"Sasuke, wait for me!"

Sasuke gave him an amused look and teased, "Didn't you say you didn't need it?"

"Hmph!" Naruto pouted and huffed, "Since you've sincerely invited me, I, the great Uzumaki Naruto, will be the bigger person and reluctantly accept."

"But let's get this straight: if the food you're treating me to is terrible, I won't eat it!"

Facing Naruto's somewhat unfriendly tone, Sasuke didn't get angry; he just chuckled softly while glancing casually at the sky above Konohagakure.

This feeling of being watched at any moment really is quite unpleasant...

Withdrawing his gaze, Sasuke's eyes became deep and inscrutable.

"So good!"

Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound, Naruto was devouring his food like a starving ghost, shoveling it into his mouth in a way that secretly shocked Sasuke.

This guy can really eat!

Although Sasuke's current body was small, he was at an age of rapid growth, and with his daily high-intensity physical training, his appetite had been increasing day by day.

However, even so, his appetite was only barely on par with the guy in front of him.

This guy spends all day napping and doesn't do any physical training, so where does such a huge appetite come from?

Should I say, as expected of the constitution of the Uzumaki clan?

No wonder he ended up with Hyuga Hinata later; foodies are always attracted to one another.

Sasuke muttered to himself, watching as the starving-ghost-like Naruto finally stopped. After putting down his bowl and chopsticks, he said with great satisfaction, "Sasuke, I never thought your cooking would be this good. Aside from Ichiraku Ramen, this is the best thing I've ever eaten."

Naruto's favorite food was Ichiraku Ramen. Beyond Teuchi's superb culinary skills, the more important reason was that Teuchi was one of the few people in the village who didn't shun Naruto because of the rumors about the demon fox, and he was the first person to ever give Naruto a free meal.

Ichiraku Ramen held a special and extremely important significance for Naruto.

I wonder how the Fourth Hokage and his wife, who entrusted their child to others before they died, would feel if they knew what Naruto had gone through all these years?

If the Fourth Hokage were to return via Impure World Reincarnation and see with his own eyes his eight-year-old son living in a dog kennel and drinking expired milk, he would give one order, and ten thousand retired ninjas would come charging in!

If a shopkeeper looked down on him and refused to sell him goods, a red-haired woman would push open the door, and the shopkeeper would be so terrified he'd freeze on the spot, bowing and shouting: "My Lady!"

Uh.

In any case, they would definitely be heartbroken.

"I didn't expect your home to be so big, but, Sasuke..." Uzumaki Naruto looked left and right for a while before suddenly asking, "Why is it so empty here? I haven't run into a single person since we walked in."

Hearing this, Sasuke fell silent for a moment, then said calmly, "They're dead."

"Huh!?" Uzumaki Naruto's pupils shrank, his face filled with shock and an expression of utter disbelief.

"How is that possible?..."

Uzumaki Naruto finally understood what his gut feeling had been about, and he also knew the reason for the sudden change in Sasuke's personality.

"Um, Sasuke, I..."

Uzumaki Naruto opened his mouth and glanced at Sasuke cautiously, wanting to comfort him, but he was interrupted by Sasuke before he could finish.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I heard you want to become someone who is acknowledged by others?"

Uzumaki Naruto was stunned. Being sensitive, he sensed that Sasuke didn't seem to want to discuss his family. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said earnestly, "Yes! That's why I want to become Hokage, so I can gain everyone's acknowledgment!"

"You've got the cause and effect backward, Uzumaki Naruto," Sasuke said indifferently. "It's not that you become Hokage to gain everyone's acknowledgment; it's that you gain everyone's acknowledgment to become Hokage."

Uzumaki Naruto was silent for a while, scratching his head in distress, and said bitterly, "But, I don't know how to get everyone to acknowledge me."

He often faced the world with a grinning face, but he could sensitively perceive that the gazes the villagers cast upon him were filled with coldness and disgust.

"If only I could be a genius like you, Sasuke. The teachers like you, the classmates like you, and Sakura likes you too."

Uzumaki Naruto said with a hint of envy.

"There are two types of geniuses," Sasuke glanced at him and said calmly. "One is a born genius, and the other is a genius of hard work!"

Hearing this, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes lit up. Seeming to understand something, he asked excitedly, "Sasuke, are you saying that you're a born genius, and I can become a genius of hard work?"

"No, don't misunderstand. You're just an idiot."

Sasuke struck him down without mercy.

"As for me? I'm the third type: a genius who is both born with talent and diligent!"

"Uh..."

Uzumaki Naruto lowered his head in frustration. He felt that this Sasuke was truly much more annoying than before; this guy could always strike him down in the calmest tone possible.

But what Sasuke said seemed to be the truth, which made him feel somewhat dejected.

However, the dejection lasted only a moment. With Uzumaki Naruto's unyielding personality, he immediately perked back up.

After watching Uzumaki Naruto, whose mood was gradually recovering and even sparking with fighting spirit, Sasuke spoke up, "So, for an idiot like you, if you want to catch up to me, you'll have to put in ten, a hundred, or even a thousand times the effort. Otherwise, you'd better give up early."

Sasuke's words didn't discourage the newly recovered Uzumaki Naruto; instead, they stimulated his fighting spirit. His eyes flashed with brilliance as he shouted:

"Hmph! The ninja way of Uzumaki Naruto doesn't include the word 'give up.' Someday, I'll definitely beat you into the ground and make you beg for mercy. Just wait, Sasuke!"

Facing Uzumaki Naruto's bold declaration, Sasuke simply closed his eyes quietly. A moment later, he opened them again and said indifferently, "In that case, I'll teach you a ninjutsu."

Uzumaki Naruto was stunned: "Teach me ninjutsu?"

"Yes!" Sensing the feeling of being watched that had been lingering persistently above them ever since he and Uzumaki Naruto entered the Uchiha Clan Compound, Sasuke's gaze gradually deepened, and a curve formed at the corner of his mouth.

"The name of this ninjutsu is..."

"Shadow Clone Technique!"