Naruto and Sakura's Shock!

Night shrouded the ground, and the cool moonlight poured down, bringing with it a sense of refreshment.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

In the spacious courtyard, Lin Feng did not choose to rest despite his physical exhaustion; instead, he practiced the Shadow Clone Technique he had yet to master.

Because the Anbu had a mission tonight, Itachi did not return home. Without Itachi's supervision, Lin Feng did not slack off; if he failed, he simply continued to practice.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Poof!"

He didn't know how many times he had failed, but after Lin Feng finished the hand seals again, a puff of white smoke appeared on the ground beside him. As the smoke dissipated, a Shadow Clone identical to Lin Feng slowly emerged.

Unlike the failed clones from before, this one was in excellent condition, both in terms of state and mental acuity.

The sudden turn of events caught Lin Feng by surprise.

"Finally learned it..."

After testing the clone and discovering that its abilities were no different from his own, Lin Feng licked his lips, his heart surging with excitement.

Lin Feng had poured a great deal of effort into mastering this ninjutsu, and more importantly, with the help of a Shadow Clone, his future training speed would be much faster.

"If Brother knew I learned this technique, he would definitely be happy." Thinking of Itachi being away on a mission, Lin Feng pursed his lips and sighed, "I wonder when Brother will be back."

Shaking his head, Lin Feng quickly returned to his room. With his whole body feeling sore and numb, he finally collapsed onto his bed and fell fast asleep.

The silent night slipped away quietly. When the sky began to brighten the next day, Lin Feng was already on the street, sprinting toward the Ninja Academy.

However, Lin Feng hadn't run for long before he saw two familiar figures at an intersection.

"Sakura, Naruto, you two are up really early!"

Without hesitation, Lin Feng went straight over to greet them.

"To complete the mission Sasuke gave me, I have to get to the Academy early and work hard on my training."

Seeing Sasuke first thing in the morning made Sakura Haruno very happy, and she responded sweetly.

"Sasuke, you came at the right time. Just now, I was telling Sakura that I plan to graduate from the Academy in three months, but she doesn't believe me!"

Before Lin Feng could reply, Naruto, who was standing to the side, hurriedly interjected.

"Hmph, Naruto, with your grades, forget three months—three years probably wouldn't be enough."

Sakura snorted, still sticking to her opinion.

Naruto jumped up in anger and shouted, "Sakura, you underestimate me! Once I learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, I'll show you what a truly powerful ninja looks like."

Seeing that Sakura was about to continue arguing with Naruto, Lin Feng smiled and rubbed his nose. "There's no need to argue about this. Whoever can graduate from the Academy in three months, we'll just wait for the results. Instead of wasting time like this, we should focus on our training!"

"Sasuke, whatever you say, I'll listen."

Sakura leaned closer to Lin Feng, looking like a well-behaved girl.

"I think so too, we should use our time to train..."

Nodding slightly, Naruto also agreed with Lin Feng's perspective.

"Then let's go!"

With a soft laugh, Lin Feng, Sakura, and Naruto walked side by side toward the Ninja Academy.

The first class for the first-year students this morning was theory—ninjutsu and the ranking system for ninjas. Because it was too simple, Lin Feng didn't listen carefully, instead thinking about his upcoming training plan.

Time passed quickly, and the first period ended soon. Taking advantage of the break, Lin Feng called Naruto and Sakura to the training ground to chat and strengthen their bond.

"Hehe, found you!"

However, before Lin Feng could say much, a tall and burly boy appeared, clenching his fists. Behind him stood three older students, looking like they were all part of the same group.

"Taishan, what do you want?"

Recognizing at a glance that the tall boy was Taishan, whom Lin Feng had knocked down last time, Naruto immediately scolded him.

"What do I want? I'm here to teach you a lesson today!"

With that, Taishan swung his fist toward Naruto.

As soon as Taishan made his move, his three upperclassmen didn't hesitate either. Two of them rushed toward Lin Feng simultaneously, while the third prepared to attack Sakura.

"Naruto, Sakura, you two get out of here..."

Not wanting Naruto or Sakura to get hurt, Lin Feng shouted and engaged the two older students in hand-to-hand combat.

Although there were two of them, Lin Feng didn't fall behind thanks to his agile taijutsu.

"Sasuke!"

However, Sakura was still too weak. Not long after the fight began, she was seized by one of the attackers and began to cry out for help.

"Bastard... let her go!"

Looking at the struggling Sakura, Lin Feng was filled with immense rage.

"Kid, you'd better take care of yourself first!"

Taking advantage of Lin Feng's distraction, two upperclassmen grabbed his arms from the left and right.

"Haha, this kid knocked me out last time, so this time I'm going to make him lie down for a few days!"

After knocking Naruto down with a punch, Taishan laughed heartily upon seeing Lin Feng restrained by his classmates, then clenched his fist and charged toward Lin Feng.

"What are you few doing? Stop right now!"

At this critical moment, Iruka appeared with two other Ninja Academy teachers. Seeing Taishan and the others bullying students from his class, Iruka shouted in a hurry.

How could an arrow already fired turn back? Taishan had already reached Lin Feng, his fist carrying a gust of wind as he swung it fiercely toward Lin Feng's head.

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke..."

Seeing this, Naruto and Sakura both screamed in alarm.

The fist grew infinitely large in his pupils. Lin Feng had originally intended to break free, but the combined strength of the two people behind him left him powerless.

"Poof!"

Accompanied by a soft sound, Lin Feng, who had been struck by the heavy punch, did not fly backward but instead turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.

Silence, a deathly silence.

Everyone present stared in shock at the spot where Lin Feng had disappeared, the expressions on their faces incredibly vivid. A moment later, rapid breathing began to sound like a windmill.

"He disappeared..."

Exhaling deeply, as if trying to breathe out the shock in his heart, Taishan's voice—which he tried hard to keep steady—still held an unmistakable tremor.

With complex emotions in her eyes, a thought suddenly popped into Sakura Haruno's mind that made her feel troubled: Sasuke was too strong; he could easily graduate from the Ninja Academy in three months, but she wasn't even sure if she could...

At this moment, Naruto was also staring blankly at the vanished Lin Feng, muttering in a daze: "Could it be that Sasuke has already learned the Shadow Clone Technique... Isn't this too fast?"

"It seems Sasuke has already mastered the forbidden Shadow Clone Technique; he is truly remarkable!"

One of the Ninja Academy teachers exclaimed immediately.

"As expected of the Uchiha clan, everyone who comes out is like a monster. People like Itachi and Shisui were terrifyingly gifted, and this Sasuke might be even more outstanding than them!"

Nodding in agreement, Iruka couldn't help but sigh with emotion as well.