A Spar with Sasuke

Although many refused to believe that a dead-last like Naruto could be this strong, the reality was exactly that.

Many found it hard to accept, and Sasuke was the most distressed of all. He couldn't explain why, but while he felt a shred of sympathy for Naruto's situation, seeing Naruto truly surpass him was far more agonizing. He feared his brother would suffer, but he feared his brother would get ahead even more. At this moment, the desire to defeat Naruto felt even more intense than the desire to kill that man.

Naruto paid no attention to the others, continuing to chat with Hinata, Shikamaru, and the rest, treating the earlier events as if they were nothing more than a passing breeze.

Time passed quickly; the sun dipped below the horizon, and school ended. Naruto didn't head toward home, but instead went to prepare his dinner, with Hinata following along.

The two strolled leisurely until they reached the riverbank where Naruto usually trained.

"Come on out. You've been following us for quite a while," Naruto said flatly.

As soon as Naruto spoke, Hinata was startled. She hadn't expected anyone to be tailing them, so she immediately activated her Byakugan, looking in the direction Naruto had addressed.

A familiar figure came into view: Second Pillar.

Sasuke stood there with a cold, grim expression.

"Spar with me. I want to see just how strong a dead-last like you really is," Second Pillar stated his purpose directly.

Naruto felt speechless. He had sensed the other boy's chakra the moment they left the school, but he hadn't expected him to actually follow. He had only shown off a little, and already he was being targeted.

How should he put it? It was within his expectations. After all, if he hadn't shaken off the influence of Asura, he would likely be just like him.

"Hey, you know I'm a dead-last, yet you still want to spar?" Naruto said, feeling at a loss for words.

"Enough talk." Sasuke wasn't one for banter and immediately took a fighting stance.

"Wait. Since it's a spar, let's add a wager." Naruto raised a hand to stop him. He had sensed that no one was monitoring him at the moment, making this a perfect opportunity—a perfect chance to obtain Sasuke's chakra. Since the boy had delivered himself to his doorstep, he wouldn't be polite.

"What do you want to bet?" Hearing that Naruto was willing to spar, Sasuke felt relieved.

"You'll know if you lose. If you win, I'll do one thing for you—anything." Naturally, he couldn't reveal his own abilities.

"Fine."

Sasuke agreed without a second thought.

"Naruto, is this really a good idea?" Hinata tugged at Naruto's sleeve, looking puzzled.

"Don't worry, I'll explain it to you later." Naruto didn't say more and charged forward.

The two began to fight. At the start, they naturally stuck to taijutsu. Naruto held back his strength, mainly wanting to see what the other boy's current level was.

After a few exchanges, Naruto felt a bit disappointed; Sasuke's strength was somewhat lacking.

Sasuke realized this as well. Naruto's taijutsu, both in offense and defense, was superior to his own.

Sasuke felt a surge of resentment in his heart. How could this be? Why is a dead-last stronger than me? I am an Uchiha.

Enraged, Sasuke activated his Sharingan—a single-tomoe Sharingan.

Sure enough, he could now see Naruto's attacks clearly and even predict them.

Naruto scoffed, his single-tomoe gaze dismissive, and he immediately accelerated.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt the pressure. He could see the moves, but Naruto's power was too great; he couldn't defend against it.

Sasuke retreated, quickly weaving hand signs.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A small fireball flew toward Naruto.

Standing to the side, Hinata grew anxious at the sight of the ninjutsu.

Naruto vanished in an instant—the Body Flicker Technique.

He reappeared directly behind Sasuke. Before Sasuke could react, Naruto raised his right hand and delivered a sharp chop to the back of his neck.

The last thing Sasuke thought as he lost consciousness was: How is this possible?

Hinata gasped, her small mouth agape in surprise.

They all knew the Body Flicker Technique, but at their current level, it was only slightly fast, still visible to others, and limited to a straight line.

But the Body Flicker Naruto had just used was too fast for even her to track. Even without her Byakugan active, that shouldn't have been possible.

"This is what they call 'excellence.' Sasuke, you've lost yourself to the flattery of others. What ordinary people perceive as excellence has never truly been excellence."

With Sasuke unconscious, these words were naturally meant for Hinata and himself.

Hinata trotted over.

"Naruto, why did you knock him out?"

"I have a little experiment I want to try, but I don't want anyone else to know."

"Should I leave, then?" Hinata asked in a small voice.

"No need." Naruto finished speaking and placed his right hand on Sasuke's forehead. To be safe, he also absorbed a drop of Sasuke's blood.

Hinata knew that whatever Naruto was about to do, he didn't want others to see, so she kept her Byakugan deactivated and didn't watch what he was doing.

Undoubtedly, Hinata's behavior brought Naruto a sense of relief. While he wouldn't have minded exposing his secrets to her, it was still heartening to see how sensible she was.

At this age, Sasuke didn't have much chakra, and a ninja would die if they ran out completely, so Naruto only absorbed half of the boy's reserves.

"Let's go, Hinata. I'll teach you something fun today." Standing up, Naruto took Hinata's small hand and led her toward the riverbank.

Hinata blushed, her heart filled with joy. This was the second time Naruto had held her hand. The first time was when he couldn't accept the death of Hizashi and had run away from the clan, only to be bullied by some bad kids; Naruto had appeared to save her, taking her hand to lead her back home.

Warmth.

Chakra can manifest a person's will and emotions. As long as one opens their heart completely, they can use chakra to connect their minds. This is the essence of chakra and the hope that the Sage of Six Paths intended when he taught it. The first generation of the Ninja Sect could naturally achieve this, as they were all taught by the Sage of Six Paths himself. With the Sage of Six Paths overseeing them, Hinata naturally had no defenses against Naruto, and Naruto was very fond of little Hinata. Furthermore, because his own perception was overly keen, Naruto could feel the lively joy within little Hinata's chakra.

Naruto was somewhat surprised. Having read the original work, he naturally knew how difficult it was to fully trust someone in the ninja world, and that connecting chakra was even harder to achieve. It was only during the Fourth Great Ninja War that everyone managed to unify their beliefs, aided by the Nine-Tails' chakra and the pressure from Six Paths Obito.

Feeling little Hinata's mood, Naruto tentatively let go of the secrets in his own heart, for he also wanted this little girl to know his true feelings.

Red chakra emerged from Naruto's hand and flowed toward Hinata's small hand. Both of them felt it, but by tacit agreement, neither looked down to see.

Arriving at the riverbank.

"Let's go. I don't know if you've learned this yet." Naruto didn't let go, pulling Hinata directly onto the surface of the water.

"I haven't yet." Generally, at this age, control over chakra is very low, so this technique is usually only learned from a squad instructor.