No Shortcuts

According to the regulations of the Hidden Leaf Village, students who graduate from the Ninja Academy are registered as genin.

Naruto woke up on time for once today, and after finishing his morning training, he arrived at the Hokage Building.

"Time flies so fast; it feels like you were only up to my waist the last time I saw you."

The Third Hokage sighed with emotion as he stamped Naruto's identification form. "In the blink of an eye, you have already become a ninja."

Just as Naruto was about to chime in with a sentimental remark, the office door suddenly swung open. A child who looked to be about six or seven years old rushed in, shouting, "Grandpa, let's settle this once and for all!"

Then, because the child was moving too fast and couldn't hit the brakes, he tripped and slammed his forehead directly onto the floor.

"Damn it, was that a trap!?"

The child clutched his forehead and scrambled up. The first thing he saw was Naruto, and noticing the strange look in Naruto's eyes, he realized something and charged right up to him. "I get it! You're the one who rigged something here, aren't you?!"

"Young Master, are you alright?"

A ninja wearing sunglasses chased in from outside the door, his voice a mix of panic and composure. "By the way, there are no traps here at all."

"Are you Grandpa Third's grandson?"

Naruto looked at the child in front of him and laughed. "You can trip over your own feet while walking; have you not been eating properly?"

"Y-you're the one who isn't eating properly!"

The child retorted loudly, "I can eat two big bowls at every meal!"

Naruto couldn't help but recall how he looked when he first met his Master, and he smiled with a touch of nostalgia. "If you're eating well, then it must be that you aren't training properly."

"I don't need to!"

The child looked toward the Third Hokage. "As long as I defeat Grandpa, I can become the Hokage immediately, and everyone in the village will acknowledge me!"

"Becoming the Hokage isn't that simple!"

Naruto's expression suddenly turned serious. "And you got one thing wrong."

The child was startled by Naruto's sudden shift in expression and shrank back, asking cautiously, "Wh-what did I get wrong?"

Naruto: "It's not that you become the Hokage and then get acknowledged by everyone; it's that you get acknowledged by everyone first, and then you might become the Hokage."

"Hmm... I don't get it."

After thinking for half a minute, the child gave up. "My name is Konohamaru. Who are you?"

"Remember it well, my name is Uzumaki Naruto,"

Naruto smiled as he introduced himself. "And I'm the man who will become the Hokage!"

Konohamaru was shocked. "You want to become the Hokage too?!"

"That's right!"

Naruto clenched his right hand into a fist and tapped it lightly against his left chest. "I spent six years at the Ninja Academy earning the acknowledgment of my teachers and classmates. As of now, I am closer to being the Hokage than you are!"

"I-I'm already in the third grade!"

Konohamaru said, feeling a bit anxious. "Damn it, I definitely won't lose to you!"

Naruto's expression grew even more serious. "Then you should have already prepared yourself, right?"

Konohamaru froze. "Prepared?"

"There are no shortcuts to becoming the Hokage."

Naruto met Konohamaru's gaze. "Do you have the resolve to give it your absolute all, Konohamaru?"

"O-of course I do!"

Konohamaru looked full of drive. "Just you watch, I'll get stronger right away and then surpass you!"

"Talk is cheap."

Naruto laughed. "I'm already a ninja now, and I won't be slacking off while you're training. Don't think I'm just going to stand still and wait for you!"

"Don't look down on me! I don't need you to wait for me!"

Konohamaru grabbed the hand of the ninja with sunglasses. "Teacher, let's start training right now!"

It was the first time the ninja with sunglasses had seen Konohamaru proactively ask for training, and he felt quite gratified. "Very well, Young Mas... Young Master Konohamaru!"

Watching the two leave the office, the Third Hokage wore a gratified smile. "Thank you, Naruto."

"It's nothing."

Naruto also showed a bit of urgency. "Is there anything else? If not, I need to hurry up and train too!"

"Hahaha... no, go on then."

"The team assignments are being announced today."

Naruto woke up early as usual, and while eating breakfast, he asked in his heart, "Master, Dad said earlier that there's a high chance I'll be placed on the same team as Sasuke. What do you think?"

[I'm thinking about it while lying down.]

Naruto: "Master, stop joking around."

[I'm not joking. I've told you before, there is some kind of intense 'destiny' between you and that Sasuke. Unless something unexpected happens, you two won't be able to shake each other off for the rest of your lives.]

Naruto: "I don't dislike him, but hearing you say it like that, Master, why does it feel so strange?"

[It's just an illusion.]

Without dwelling on the topic, Naruto finished his breakfast and headed out, arriving at the classroom earlier than usual with a hint of anticipation.

As expected, Sasuke was still the first one there.

Thinking about how the two of them would likely be acting together in the future, Naruto took the initiative to greet him: "Morning, Sasuke."

For Uchiha Sasuke, this greeting from Naruto was a bit sudden, but he still managed to react: "Morning."

"It feels like you're the first one here every single day."

Naruto started a conversation: "Don't you get sleep-deprived?"

"...I do."

Sasuke was silent for a moment before saying: "But when I fall asleep, I have nightmares and wake up in a panic."

"That pretty much counts as an illness, doesn't it?"

Naruto asked with concern: "Have you gone to the hospital to get it checked out?"

"No need."

It had been a while since Sasuke had been cared for like this, and a strange warmth suddenly welled up in his heart, making his reply stiff: "Nightmares... push me to become stronger."

"That's true."

Naruto nodded, then reminded him: "But be careful. If your body and mind are tense for too long, it might slow down the speed at which you grow stronger."

Becoming stronger was the thing Sasuke cared about most right now. Upon hearing that his growth rate might slow down, his brows furrowed, and he immediately pressed: "Why?"

"Because rest is part of training, and a very important part at that."

Recalling his Master's teachings, Naruto said earnestly: "As long as we use the right training methods and put in the effort, we will definitely grow. But this growth isn't something that manifests immediately; it requires a process. If you keep training during this process, although you will still grow, the extent of that growth will be lower compared to if you had rested properly."

Sasuke thought for a few seconds and asked: "Is this the secret to how you've been constantly getting stronger over the past five years?"

"Me?"

Naruto didn't know why Sasuke suddenly asked that, but he answered seriously: "I don't know if it counts as a secret, but after every training session, I make sure to rest as fully as possible before the next one."

"Rest fully, huh..."

Sasuke pondered for a moment, then continued: "Regarding training, do you have any special methods? If you don't want to say, or can't say, you don't have to answer."

"It's fine. Master said that if anyone wants to learn, I can teach them."

Naruto said: "However, the training methods Master taught me are a bit complex; it's best to demonstrate them while explaining. Also, do you know the Shadow Clone Technique?"

Sasuke shook his head: "Does your training method require mastering the Shadow Clone Technique first?"

"No, the training methods Master taught me have no prerequisites; even ordinary people can use them."

Naruto explained: "It's just that if you can master the Shadow Clone Technique, you can greatly accelerate your learning speed and the accumulation of experience."

Sasuke was very interested: "The Shadow Clone Technique has that kind of effect?"

"Because when a shadow clone is dispelled, the chakra on the clone, as well as the information it obtained, is all transferred back to the original body..."

Naruto carefully introduced the correct way to use the Shadow Clone Technique to Sasuke.