"Naruto, don't talk nonsense. Reconciliation Seal!"
"Got it, got it, Iruka-sensei!"
With the Falling Moon Style: Afterimage Fist, combined with the Shadow Clone Technique, Uzumaki Naruto had, amid a wave of astonished uproar, successfully defeated Uchiha Sasuke, who had always ranked first at the Ninja Academy. In an instant, the dead last had made his comeback.
As he basked in everyone's stunned gazes, Naruto listened to Iruka and kept smiling. With the bearing of a victor, he walked up to Sasuke, intending to form the "Reconciliation Seal" with him. Unexpectedly, the moment Naruto reached him, Sasuke, who was lying on the ground, seemed to have fallen completely into a daze.
When Iruka urged him again and Sasuke gradually came back to his senses...
Smack!
Sasuke slapped away Naruto's outstretched hand and roared furiously!
"Get lost!"
He shoved Naruto away with all his strength and ran all the way from the Ninja Academy back to the deserted Uchiha Clan compound.
In Sasuke's memories, ever since Uchiha Itachi had wiped out the Uchiha Clan, the place had always been this desolate. During the day, he endured loneliness at the Ninja Academy. At night, when he returned home, he ate alone, faced the silent streets alone, and faced the silent house alone.
However, whenever he achieved good results at the Ninja Academy, Sasuke could comfort himself with those achievements.
I'm getting closer to Uchiha Itachi, closer to that brother who slaughtered the entire clan!
As long as I graduate from the Ninja Academy, the gap between him and me will grow smaller and smaller!
The clan's hatred, my parents' hatred—I carry all of it on my shoulders!
I...
I'll soon be able to kill that bastard with my own hands and avenge my clan and my parents!
Obviously, that was merely Sasuke's way