As sunlight reached every corner of Konoha, a new day was about to begin.
"Remember to come home early, Sasuke!"
"Mom, I'm off!"
Hearing the reminder from behind him, Lin Feng waved to Uchiha Mikoto and left the house with a blissful smile.
With the training belt from yesterday's practice tied around his waist, Lin Feng sprinted toward the Ninja Academy as fast as he could. For him, this counted as a form of Taijutsu training.
Perhaps because Lin Feng had arrived so early, there were no students coming or going at the Ninja Academy entrance. But when he reached the Training Ground inside, he was utterly astonished.
As he looked closer, he saw Naruto bent over, panting heavily. Sweat poured from his forehead like rain, dripping onto the ground. The target a short distance in front of him was riddled with Shuriken. It looked like Naruto had been practicing for quite some time.
"Just as I thought, Naruto's even more ruthless about training than I am!"
Knowing Naruto's hard work was surely connected to their agreement yesterday, Lin Feng smiled and walked over.
"Whew... whew..."
After several ragged breaths, Naruto straightened up.
"I can't let up!"
If he wanted to graduate from the Ninja Academy three months from now, Naruto had to train with everything he had!
Being an orphan and enduring a bleak childhood had taught Naruto the most important things: perseverance and diligence. Those would be what allowed him to defeat his peers in the future.
"Clone Technique!"
Naruto quickly formed the three Hand Seals for Ram, Snake, and Tiger, then shouted.
"Poof!"
With a soft pop, Naruto successfully summoned a clone, but it was in poor shape and vanished at once.
The Clone Technique was an E-rank jutsu, one of the basic techniques and part of the graduation exam. It used chakra to create an afterimage, so the clone wasn't tangible. Its main purpose was to confuse an enemy's vision.
"Damn it! I'll learn this jutsu no matter what!"
Seeing that he couldn't even master the most basic jutsu, Naruto yelled in frustration and prepared to form the Hand Seals again.
"Naruto, you're here pretty early!"
Before Naruto could begin, a voice came from nearby. He quickly turned and saw Lin Feng walking over in Uchiha Clan robes.
"Hmph. I may not be some so-called genius ninja, but I know that the early bird catches the worm."
Seeing Lin Feng, Naruto snorted and replied.
"Even genius ninjas have to work hard to become strong. But Naruto, I saw you practicing the Clone Technique just now. Looks like you're having some trouble!"
Lin Feng changed the subject and smiled faintly.
Naruto looked embarrassed, then pursed his lips. "I formed the Hand Seals too fast just now... Um... I'm sure I can learn it..."
"Haha, don't get me wrong, Naruto. I just thought that the Clone Technique, the most basic jutsu, isn't right for you. You should master the more advanced Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
Hearing Naruto's response, Lin Feng laughed loudly, then explained.
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique?" Naruto froze, then asked in astonishment, "What rank is that jutsu?"
"A-rank!"
"And because it consumes so much chakra, it's basically only suitable for a ninja like you, with your enormous chakra reserves."
Seeing that Naruto didn't know about it, Lin Feng explained patiently.
"An A-rank jutsu? Haha, that's great! If I can master it, the others won't look down on me..."
After hearing Lin Feng's explanation, Naruto got excited. But then he seemed to remember something and said helplessly, "Sasuke, you've explained all that, but I don't know the jutsu!"
"I can teach you. Once you've gathered a large amount of chakra inside yourself, form the Ram Seal and distribute your chakra evenly among the Shadow Clones you want to summon. Then the jutsu is complete."
As if he'd been waiting for Naruto to ask, Lin Feng told him everything he needed to know about the Shadow Clone Technique without holding anything back.
"So I only need to form one Seal? That's even easier than the Clone Technique. I'll try it right now!"
Naruto smiled excitedly, eager to practice the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.
"Naruto, it'd be better to practice a high-level jutsu like this at home."
The Multi Shadow Clone Technique was, after all, a forbidden jutsu of Konoha. If Naruto practiced it freely at the Ninja Academy, it would surely cause trouble, so Lin Feng quickly cut in to stop him.
"Sasuke, you taught me this jutsu, so I'll listen to you and practice at home."
Naruto accepted Sasuke's advice without asking why.
"Sasuke, even though you're the opponent I want to challenge, I'm still grateful you taught me a jutsu today."
After a moment's silence, Naruto spoke again. Speaking his mind was always his way.
"It was nothing, so there's no need to thank me. Besides, we might become teammates someday. That's what teammates are for." Lin Feng waved it off casually and smiled.
Teaching Naruto the Multi Shadow Clone Technique had been part of Lin Feng's plan from the start. Otherwise, with Naruto's current abilities, graduating from the Ninja Academy in three months would be far too difficult.
"Teammates?"
Naruto had never heard anyone use that word in front of him before. For a moment, he was dazed.
With Naruto's bottom-of-the-class grades at the Ninja Academy, he doubted anyone would want to be his teammate.
Since he had to make the most of his training time, Lin Feng didn't continue the conversation. He raised a hand to Naruto, then turned and headed toward the nearby Training Ground. "Keep at it, Naruto."
Naruto watched Lin Feng's back slowly shrink into the distance before looking away. Then, in a low voice, he asked himself, "Sasuke, can we really become teammates?"
"If we do, I think you'll be the first person to accept me!"
Murmuring softly, Naruto felt his tired body fill with strength again. Then he resumed his grueling training.
Time flew by. Students who didn't want to study always felt that class dragged on forever. But to Lin Feng, there was never enough time.
While Lin Feng was studying and thinking about ninja, jutsu, and ninja tool knowledge in class, the bell rang for the end of the school day. Though he was reluctant to leave, he had no choice but to pack up and get ready to leave the classroom.
After school, Lin Feng greeted Sakura and Naruto, then hurried toward the woods behind the Uchiha Clan compound.
Uchiha Shisui had also finished his tasks early so he could teach Lin Feng the Body Flicker Technique. He headed to the training area in the woods as soon as he could.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before he saw Lin Feng approaching from afar.
"Shisui, let's get started."
The moment they met, Lin Feng spoke softly after catching his breath a few times.
"All right!"
Shisui had originally wanted to let Lin Feng rest for a while, since he was drenched in sweat. But seeing Lin Feng's resolute expression, he could only nod in agreement.