I Did It!

After sixty exchanges, Naruto charged at Sasuke. He dodged the Great Fireball on the way, then quickly slammed a punch into Sasuke's face.

Stars danced before Sasuke's eyes, and he staggered. By the time he came to his senses, a kunai was already pressed against his neck.

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"

The girls in the class immediately burst into wails.

"Ah! How could this happen? Sasuke is so amazing—how could he possibly lose?"

A few quick-witted girls hurried over to Sasuke, hoping to comfort him and get closer to him.

Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't grateful at all. He just found them annoying.

After brushing them off, Sasuke looked at Naruto and asked in a low voice, "Why have you gotten so much stronger so quickly?"

After a week of hard training, the gap between them hadn't narrowed. It had only grown wider.

How could Sasuke accept that?

Naruto thought for a moment. "Probably... maybe... perhaps... I'm a genius."

As if he was the only genius.

Sasuke was a genius himself, though he hated it when people used the word "genius" to dismiss all his hard work.

But Sasuke knew very well that he really was one.

Aside from being no match for that man, he had never lost to anyone his age. He had always been the best student at school.

Until...

The blond brat stopped skipping class and fought him.

That was when Sasuke realized he might not be all that strong. There were people better than him.

"You're a genius, and so am I. Maybe I can't match your talent, but I'll work harder than you and beat you in the end..."

If he couldn't even beat the blond brat, what right did he have to stand before that man...

And kill him!!!

Sasuke made up his mind and drew up a new training schedule, cutting his sleep even further.

He would sleep three hours each night, catch up on sleep in class during the day, and train like a madman whenever he had free time.

A week later, during practical training, Sasuke fought Naruto for over forty exchanges before losing.

He then started an even more grueling training plan, sleeping only two hours each night.

Another week passed. During practical training, Sasuke fought Naruto for over thirty exchanges before losing.

The gap had grown even wider.

Another week went by. During practical training, Sasuke fought Naruto for over twenty exchanges before losing.

At last, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.

How the hell was he supposed to fight this guy?!

He had sacrificed huge amounts of sleep to train. He was practically on the verge of collapsing, and this was the result he got...

Sasuke couldn't accept it. He suspected his opponent was cheating.

One afternoon after school, Sasuke secretly followed Naruto to the forest.

Naruto was running with a massive log on his shoulders. His footsteps carried him across the ground, over the water, and along tree trunks.

After his run, he started punching trees, one fist after another, pounding them with loud thuds.

"So this is how he trains... I've learned something."

As evening fell, Naruto gathered his things and headed home.

Sasuke followed him all the way, and only stepped out from behind a telephone pole after watching Naruto close his front door. He murmured, "I won't lose to you..."

He turned and went home. Tonight, he wouldn't sleep a wink.

"That kid... why does he keep following the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? What's he up to?"

Watching Sasuke walk away, the Anbu hidden in the shadows was baffled.

If Sasuke hadn't been a harmless, adorable little kid, the Anbu would have arrested him already.

Another Anbu asked, "Captain, should we report this to Lord Hokage? No matter how young he is... he's still an Uchiha."

The captain considered it. "Let's wait. If he keeps following the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki tomorrow, we'll report it to Lord Hokage."

Whether to arrest him or leave him alone, they needed clear instructions from Lord Hokage.

The next day, Sasuke came to school with both hands wrapped in bandages.

"Sasuke, how did you get hurt? Come on, let me have a look..."

"Get lost!"

After shaking off the annoying flies, Sasuke went to his seat. He stared at his swollen hand, twice its normal size, in silence for a while, then turned to look at Naruto.

Naruto was slumped over his desk, looking listless. His hands were smooth and white, without a single visible injury.

Sasuke thought it over. "From our previous fights, his physique is obviously better than mine. But even so, there has to be a limit. There's something wrong with him having no injuries on his hands at all. Either he has secret medicine or a secret technique. But given his family situation, secret medicine is impossible, and as for a secret technique..."

By any reasonable measure, Naruto shouldn't have one either. But after Sasuke had failed to climb trees or walk on water the previous night, he figured Naruto probably did have some kind of secret training technique.

Sasuke didn't care where he got it. He was just wondering whether he should keep spying on him.

Sasuke was torn.

Training was a private matter, and secret techniques were even more sensitive—they concerned one's very livelihood.

Spying on Naruto's training was already bad enough. If he kept spying on Naruto's secret techniques...

His conscience wouldn't allow it.

One day later.

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"

After losing in fifteen moves, Sasuke decided to throw his conscience away.

"As long as I can kill that man, I'm willing to give up everything!"

Even his life, let alone a little conscience...

It was nothing at all.

That afternoon, Naruto skipped class.

Sasuke followed him without hesitation, tailing him to the forest.

This time, he watched more closely and soon figured out the technique. He learned a great deal.

"So that's how you release Chakra... So that's the stance you need to take..."

Sasuke understood. He drew back his fist, ready to punch the tree beside him, but stopped just before it made contact.

His hand was still swollen, and he was close to Naruto. Any noise might alert him.

I need to find another place to practice something else.

With that thought, Sasuke slipped away and went to the other side of the forest to practice tree climbing.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

After falling who knew how many times, Sasuke finally succeeded.

He walked up and down the tree as easily as if he were on level ground.

A pleased smile appeared on his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

"I'm still nowhere near as good as that guy..."

Without wasting time on a break, Sasuke went to a nearby river to practice Water Walking.

Water Walking was different from tree climbing.

Tree climbing involved gathering Chakra in the soles of your feet, like suction cups, to hold your body firmly against the tree.

Water Walking, on the other hand, involved gathering Chakra in the soles of your feet and releasing it gently to increase the pressure you exerted on the water's surface, allowing you to walk across it with ease.

The two training methods were exactly opposite, yet they had something in common.

Thanks to his success with tree climbing, Sasuke only failed a few times at Water Walking before he gradually got the hang of it.

Step by step, Sasuke cautiously made his way to the middle of the river.

"I did it! I did it!!!"