Two Years Later

Two years later, March of Konoha Year 59. Spring.

Konoha Ninja Training Ground!

On the placid lake, two small figures stood facing each other from afar. They were Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke did not seem to have changed much compared to two years ago, but more than two years of high-nutrition meals, a regular schedule, persistent physical training, and Yoga stretching—

had made him taller and sturdier than others his age. He was now 149 cm tall, nearly reaching his height from two years later in the original story.

Unlike the Sasuke of the original story, who had looked burdened by hatred and bristled with sharpness—

the current Sasuke possessed a remarkably steady, harmonious, and balanced aura. His black-and-white eyes were clear and distinct, his gaze as crystal-clear and flawless as water, carrying an air of detached serenity.

This was naturally the result of Sasuke practicing Yoga and the Yoga Meditation Technique for two and a half years!

Naruto, who stood opposite Sasuke, had changed far more than he had two years ago. Although he was still shorter than Sasuke, the taut muscles on his body showed that Naruto had spent more time and effort on taijutsu training than Sasuke had!

Moreover, Naruto had listened to Sasuke's advice. Besides his persistent physical training, he also paid close attention to maintaining a sensible diet.

Many people had a misunderstanding about Naruto: they thought he could not afford decent food and could only drink expired milk.

That was not actually the case.

Whether in the original manga or anime, the scene of Naruto drinking expired milk was meant to show his careless personality. Naruto had simply never paid attention to expiration dates. His messy room and ramen cups tossed everywhere also made that clear.

In truth, Naruto's living expenses were not small. The Third Hokage gave him his allowance on time every month and told him to save money and not spend it recklessly.

And the people who said things like "save money and don't waste it" were usually rich. Only those without money would say, "Ask for more if it's not enough."

Because the amount given had already decided everything!

Unlike the old Naruto, who had always been loud, careless, and rash, Naruto had become much more composed. Determination and resolve flashed through his eyes from time to time, and he faintly resembled Uzumaki Naruto after the Land of Waves mission, when he had begun to grow.

At that moment, he stood firmly atop the water with chakra attached to the soles of his feet. Over the past two years, aside from his main body's constant physical training, he had created ten Shadow Clones almost every day for other training. He had long since mastered the chakra control techniques of tree climbing and water walking.

"Watch out, Sasuke!"

After the two formed the Seal of Opposition, Naruto spoke seriously.

Sasuke nodded and said, "Come on!"

The moment he finished speaking, Naruto dashed across the water and charged at Sasuke with a simple straight punch. He was so fast that he was like an afterimage, nearly impossible to see. Only the ripples and splashes trailing behind him were visible.

Taijutsu really suited you.

Facing the fierce incoming punch, Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly and used a defensive move to block Naruto's fist.

Naruto was not surprised in the slightest when Sasuke blocked it. He immediately pulled back his fist, twisted his body, leaped into the air, and lashed out with a roundhouse kick that cracked through the air like a bullwhip!

"You've improved a lot, Naruto."

Sasuke calmly received the attack without any panic.

Their physical abilities were now roughly equal, but Naruto surpassed him in both recovery and stamina.

Over the past two years, Sasuke's main body had not only trained in taijutsu, but also in ninjutsu, genjutsu, carving, and swordsmanship.

Naruto was different. His main body trained only in taijutsu!

Although the food, ingredients, and nutrition Naruto consumed were far inferior to the various expensive, high-end supplements Sasuke ate—

but... there was no need to say more. Everyone understood.

So, it was no longer easy for Sasuke to defeat Naruto with taijutsu alone.

"Hehehe!"

Naruto grinned, baring his white teeth. Then he attacked faster and faster, growing more fluid with every strike. He launched several relentless attacks at Sasuke like a raging storm, but in the midst of his continuous assault, he unknowingly abandoned his defense and exposed an opening.

An opening!

When Naruto swung another punch at him, Sasuke abandoned dodging entirely. Rather than retreat, he stepped forward, bent at the waist, and rammed into Naruto's wide-open chest, slamming hard into it.

Naruto felt his chest tighten as a powerful force struck him. His body involuntarily staggered backward, but after only two steps, Sasuke kicked upward and struck him beneath the chin.

His vision instantly went black. After spinning twice in midair, he crashed heavily into the lake.

After defeating Naruto, Sasuke did not stop. Instead, he quickly formed several hand seals. Naruto was no longer someone who could be defeated so easily.

Sure enough, less than a few breaths after Naruto fell into the water, ripples suddenly rose across the calm surface.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The lake exploded, sending huge sprays of water flying. Eleven identical Narutos burst out along with the splashes.

"Next is the Naruto Uzumaki Ninja Scroll!"

"Naruto Uzumaki Combo, here I come!"

At this point, Naruto's taijutsu techniques were still what he had learned at the Ninja Academy, but just like in the original story, he had combined them with Shadow Clones to create the Naruto Uzumaki Combo!

The moment the Shadow Clones rushed out, they surrounded Sasuke tightly from every direction. Naruto's expression turned excited.

But Naruto's excitement lasted only a moment before he noticed that Sasuke had already formed the Tiger seal, his chest swelling as though it were an empty sack drawing in wind!

This was...

Naruto froze, then hurriedly formed hand seals in a fluster.

"Fire Release: Big Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth and shot forward, directly engulfing the ten Shadow Clones Naruto had created and turning them into puffs of white smoke.

"Wind Release: Air Bullet!"

At the very last moment, just before the fireball struck Naruto's main body, Naruto spat out a compressed bullet of air. It collided with the fierce fireball and even pushed it back in the opposite direction at an even faster speed, sweeping toward the unmoving Sasuke and striking him.

"Did I win?"

Was Sasuke all right?

Naruto wiped away his sweat, touched the eyebrow that had nearly been scorched, then looked worriedly toward the expanse of white mist over the water.

"No, you lost again."

A calm voice came from behind him. Surprise flashed across Naruto's face, and just as he was about to turn around and counterattack, a bolt of electricity suddenly rose from the water beneath his feet. His body instantly went numb, shuddered once, and he collapsed without any ability to resist.

Lightning Style: Earth Flash!

Sasuke looked calmly at the lake. "You're not dead yet, are you?"

Splash!

Naruto poked his head out of the water, spat out a mouthful of water, and said unhappily, "I lost to you again this time."

"Heh..." Sasuke chuckled and mocked him, "Have you ever won?"

"Hmph!"

Naruto snorted, but he did not fly into a rage. After standing up, he loudly encouraged himself, "I've decided! I'll double my taijutsu training this month!"

What a ruthless guy!

Seeing Naruto get provoked into acting like Rock Lee or Might Guy, Sasuke raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Do whatever you want. I only need to put in a little effort to defeat you easily anyway!"

Though he said that outwardly, Sasuke secretly decided to intensify his own training once he returned.

Whether rationally or emotionally, Sasuke would not allow himself to lose to Naruto, much less let him gain even the slightest advantage in battle.

Absolutely not!

Besides, perhaps because Naruto was Asura's reincarnation—

the stronger Naruto became, the more Sasuke looked forward to it. Crushing him would be all the more satisfying and enjoyable.