Daily Life

"Grandpa Third, what did you come to my house for?" Naruto asked. "I already made plans with Sasuke." The Third Hokage smiled kindly at him. "Naruto, you're already five years old. It's time for you to start at the Ninja Academy. You can only become a ninja after graduating from the academy, and then you'll be better able to protect the people you cherish."

Naruto replied happily, "Does that mean I'll become even stronger?" The Third Hokage smiled. "That's right. Come on, let's go register you at the academy. You can start tomorrow, and you'll get to make lots of new friends." Naruto nodded eagerly. "Okay! I'll go get Sasuke so he can come too."

"There's no need, Naruto," the Third Hokage replied. "Sasuke will go with his parents. You'll see him at the academy." Naruto nodded. "Then let's go. That guy didn't even tell me beforehand. How mean!"

By the time Naruto and the Third Hokage arrived at the academy, many people were already there. After they finished registering and came outside, they spotted Hinata. She was holding a basket, and a man in his thirties stood behind her. He was probably Hinata's father, Hyuga Hiashi.

Naruto ran over excitedly and took Hinata's hand. "You came to register too, Hinata? That means we'll be classmates! I'm so happy we'll get to go to school together." Hinata was embarrassed when Naruto suddenly took her hand, but she was also a little excited.

Hinata blushed and replied, "I'm happy I get to go to school with you too, Naruto-kun." Her father looked at Naruto. "You must be Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you for helping my daughter last time." Hiashi then greeted the Third Hokage politely. "Lord Hokage, you're here too." The Third Hokage smiled. "Yes, I came with Naruto to register."

As they were chatting, Sasuke arrived with his father. Naruto called out happily, "Sasuke! Uncle Fugaku! What took you so long? Grandpa Third and I already registered. You're so slow!"

Sasuke snapped, "You're the one who made me wait forever, Naruto! You came here without telling me, and you still have the nerve to complain about me?"

Naruto suddenly remembered that he had stood Sasuke up. Embarrassed, he replied, "Grandpa Third said you'd be coming too, so I didn't go looking for you. Besides, we've met up now, haven't we? Come on, don't be mad. You shouldn't be so petty."

Hearing Naruto's shameless response, Sasuke wanted to kill him just to save himself the aggravation. Just then, Fugaku came over and politely greeted the Third Hokage and Hiashi, Hyuga Clan Leader. "Lord Hokage, Hiashi, Hyuga Clan Leader, you're here too." The Third Hokage and Hiashi returned his greeting. "Yes, and you're here too, Clan Head Fugaku."

Naruto happily took Hinata's hand and introduced her to Sasuke. "Sasuke, this is another friend of mine, besides you. Her name is Hinata Hyuga. Hinata, this is Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced at Hinata and said, "I'm going to register first. Wait for me, and then we can go train together." "Okay, I'll wait for you," Naruto replied.

Fugaku turned to the Third Hokage and Hiashi. "We'll head inside, then." "All right," the Third Hokage and Hiashi replied.

After Sasuke and Fugaku went inside to register, Naruto asked Hinata, "Do you want to come train with us, Hinata?" Hinata hadn't expected Naruto to invite her and didn't know what to say. She looked back at Hiashi.

Hinata really wanted to go, but she was afraid Hiashi would refuse. Hiashi understood what she wanted when he saw her looking at him. Without looking at her, he said calmly, "Don't come home too late."

Hearing that Hiashi had agreed, Hinata replied happily, "Okay. Thank you, Father."

When Sasuke and Fugaku came out, Naruto took Sasuke and Hinata by the hand and told the adults, "Grandpa Third, Uncle Hiashi, Uncle Fugaku, we're heading off."

The Third Hokage smiled kindly. "Go on, but don't come home too late." He watched the three disappear into the distance and smiled. "He really is just like his father. Minato used to be the same way."

Fugaku smiled at the Third Hokage's words. "That's true. At such a young age, Naruto's already almost at Chunin level. It's a shame Sasuke's a little behind."

The Third Hokage smiled at Fugaku. "Sasuke's not bad either. When you were his age, you were nowhere near as good as he is. Your standards are just too high. By the way, Hiashi, what level is your daughter at?"

From their conversation, Hiashi realized the two of them must have been watching Naruto and Sasuke train quite often. He was also surprised by the boys' talent. Hearing the Third Hokage's question, Hiashi replied with a sigh, "That child is too timid and too kind. She really can't compare to those two."

The Third Hokage and Fugaku were taken aback. The Third Hokage smiled. "You're being too strict. A kind-hearted child is a good child. She's still young. She'll improve with time, so don't rush her." Reassured by the Third Hokage, Hiashi smiled too. "Maybe I really have been too strict." The three fell silent for a while.

Naruto and Sasuke took Hinata to the woods where they usually trained. Without a word, Sasuke launched a punch at Naruto, who barely had time to react.

Naruto dodged Sasuke's punch and snapped, "Sasuke, that was despicable! You attacked me by surprise!" Sasuke saw Naruto dodge and move aside. Instead of chasing after him, he quickly formed Hand Seals. Naruto formed them just as quickly. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" The two Ninjutsu techniques collided, raising a thick cloud of dust.

Naruto charged into the dust cloud, using it for cover as he launched a surprise attack on Sasuke. Sasuke was startled when Naruto suddenly burst out of the smoke right in front of him. Just as Naruto's fist was about to reach his face—

Sasuke's eyes suddenly turned into a One-Tomoe Sharingan. With its help, he caught Naruto's arm, spun to the side, and tossed him into the air before quickly forming Hand Seals. Naruto formed Hand Seals in midair as well.

Naruto and Sasuke unleashed their Ninjutsu at the same time: "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" "Wind Release: Wind Cutter!" The shock wave from their collision sent them flying several meters until they crashed into tree trunks.

Naruto yelled, "Sasuke, you bastard! Were you trying to kill me?" Sasuke yelled back, "You're no better, bastard!"

Hinata had been a little bewildered from the start. As soon as she'd arrived in the woods, Sasuke-kun had launched a surprise attack on Naruto-kun, and then the two of them had started fighting. Once she'd recovered, she was astonished by how strong they were. Thinking about her own abilities made her feel deeply inferior.

But she also encouraged herself silently. They're my age, and they're already this strong, yet they keep working hard. I can't lose to them either.

When she saw Naruto and Sasuke crash into the trees, Hinata hurried over and asked, "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

Naruto stood up. "I'm fine, I'm fine. With skills like Sasuke's, there's no way he could hurt me. Hahaha! I'm really strong, you know."

Sasuke stood up too. "You idiot. You couldn't even dream of hurting me." "What did you say?" Naruto snapped. "What are you going to do about it?" Sasuke shot back without backing down. It looked like they might start fighting again at any moment.

Hinata quickly tried to smooth things over. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, why don't you have something to eat?" She opened her basket and took out all kinds of food.

Seeing the food reminded Naruto that he hadn't eaten anything that morning. He ran over happily and started eating. "Mmm, this is good. Hinata, you'll definitely make a good wife someday." Hinata's face turned bright red.

Sasuke came over too and said to Hinata, "Thanks for the food." Seeing Naruto wolfing it down, he added, "What a rude guy." Then he started eating too.

"Does the Uchiha Clan's young master have any manners? You're just as sweaty as I am. Why don't you go take a bath before you eat?"

Even while they were eating, Sasuke and Naruto didn't pass up a chance to take a jab at each other.

"By the way, Sasuke, when did you awaken your Sharingan without saying anything?" Naruto suddenly remembered after they finished eating that Sasuke had kept his Sharingan active during their fight. He asked in surprise.

Sasuke was only five, and he'd already awakened it. Naruto remembered that Sasuke hadn't awakened it until the Land of Waves. The Sasuke standing before him was much stronger than the one he remembered. "I awakened it a few days ago, after training with you," Sasuke replied calmly.

Naruto immediately understood why. A few days ago, he'd beaten Sasuke in a spar, and Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan because he couldn't stand losing. What a freak.

Once he understood why Sasuke had awakened it early, Naruto felt happy for him. "That's great, Sasuke! You're a real genius. You awakened your Sharingan at five. I remember Itachi-nii awakened his when he was seven or eight. You're even better than he is." Sasuke was happy too, hearing how pleased Naruto was for him.

He replied, "I should thank you too, Naruto. I wouldn't have awakened it so soon without you training with me." Naruto bashfully said, "It's nothing. You're the talented one; what does that have to do with me? Besides, fighting you makes me feel like I'm getting stronger too. So neither of us needs to thank the other. Let's keep improving together."

"Yeah, let's improve together," Sasuke replied, a little moved. "You're not Hinata. Your thanks are giving me goosebumps. Brr, I must be underdressed," Naruto muttered softly.

But Sasuke still heard him. Sasuke immediately felt like an idiot for thanking this damn bastard. Maybe he really should kill him after all. Sasuke suddenly felt he'd befriended the wrong person, and his heart sank.

Hinata also heard Naruto's words, and her face instantly turned red. Seeing Sasuke glaring gloomily at him and Hinata blushing, Naruto realized he'd accidentally said what was on his mind again.

But Naruto's skin was already thicker than a city wall. So he decided to use his tried-and-true subject-changing trick. He gave a light cough and said, "Let's practice tree walking and Water Walking next."

Sure enough, Sasuke and Hinata were distracted. Sasuke asked curiously, "Tree walking? Water Walking? What are those?" Hinata looked just as confused.

"It means sticking chakra to the soles of your feet so you can walk on trees and water. It also helps you control the chakra you release, so you don't waste any."

As he spoke, Naruto walked up a tree, but after only about ten steps, he fell. "That's tree walking. Your chakra output has to stay steady. Once we can move freely on trees, we'll practice Water Walking. Then our chakra control will be just barely passable."

After hearing Naruto's explanation, Sasuke and Hinata both looked eager to give it a try.