Sasuke's Provocation

"Have you all learned this?"

Naruto glanced at the people beside him, who didn't seem to be in a hurry, and asked curiously.

"No. The old man never taught me."

Shikamaru explained.

Once Naruto spoke up, the others casually joined in the conversation.

They didn't think anything special of Naruto, and didn't know who he was.

Besides, their parents had already told Shikamaru and the others that Naruto's parents had been friends with theirs.

Given Shikamaru's intelligence, he naturally understood what his father meant: help Naruto out when they could. Naruto was mature, unlike the other little kids, and Shikamaru liked that.

Only then did Naruto learn about their situation.

No one understood chakra better than their clans did.

Each of these clans had been passed down for hundreds of years. They'd had no choice in the past, but now that it was peacetime, there was no need to rush.

Pushing children's bodies too hard was bad for them, so none of these kids had learned to gather or refine chakra yet. Hinata was only practicing the basics.

Naruto nodded when he heard that. As expected, they weren't fools.

In wartime, things were different, but in peacetime, there was no reason to push their bodies too hard.

All the students who entered the Academy had already been tested for aptitude, so none of them were unable to refine chakra.

Even someone like Rock Lee had chakra in his body. He simply lacked the spiritual energy to release ninjutsu.

So how quickly someone could refine chakra was basically a measure of their talent.

For those without bloodline abilities, the amount of chakra they had didn't depend on their lineage.

Refining chakra was easy, and someone managed it in no time.

"Naruto, aren't you going to try?"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto curiously.

"Not interested."

Naruto shook his head. His chakra was all in his Dantian; he only needed to release a little later.

"Couldn't refine any, huh?" Sasuke Uchiha taunted.

For some reason, Naruto's self-important attitude rubbed him the wrong way.

Naruto couldn't be bothered to answer him.

Of course, he knew that because of Indra's influence, Sasuke was bound to be entangled with him.

Naruto had no interest in getting all fired up with him.

As for the Asura Chakra inside him, with the Twin Palms, Naruto had already found it.

But because of the Sage of Six Paths, Naruto didn't dare do anything about it yet, afraid the Sage of Six Paths might notice.

"What's with that look? How about we have a competition?" Feeling ignored, Sasuke Uchiha grew angry.

Shikamaru was speechless and instinctively took a few steps back. He didn't want to get involved in something so pointless.

"Sasuke-kun is so handsome."

"That Naruto is handsome too."

Nearby, a few girls had gathered in a little group.

Sakura thought Sasuke was handsome at first sight.

And Sasuke now had a cool, proud look about him, without any sinister air.

Ino had also noticed Naruto.

Though Naruto looked ordinary on the outside, the air of a cultivator about him was hard to hide. Naruto had noticed it himself, too, but unless he reached a state of returning to the natural, it was hard to change his aura.

Naruto couldn't help feeling helpless. Fortunately, the people here hadn't seen much of the world, so he hadn't attracted anyone else's attention.

"Fine. You win."

Naruto couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

"You bastard! What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on me?"

Sasuke still wouldn't let it go.

Naruto was speechless.

Naruto raised a finger.

He released a sliver of chakra from within.

A gale spun up out of nowhere, and blue chakra became visible to the naked eye.

"Damn it! How is this possible?" Sasuke Uchiha's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

The sight drew everyone else's attention, too.

"How can that be? That's an enormous amount of chakra!"

"How can anyone have chakra that powerful?"

"No way."

Everyone stared at him in shock.

Even Shikamaru and the others were stunned.

Meanwhile.

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage was watching them through a crystal ball.

Seeing the chakra Naruto had released, he nodded in satisfaction.

"This child is impressive. As expected of Kushina and Minato's son."

The Third Hokage took a pleased puff of his pipe.

It was only natural for someone of the Uzumaki Clan to have that much chakra.

And besides, Minato and Kushina were both Kage Level ninja.

Minato's chakra reserves were small only in comparison to ordinary people. After all, Minato could use Sage Mode.

And having enormous chakra reserves was a basic requirement for learning Sage Mode.

"Excellent talent. Hiruzen, leave this child to me to train, and he'll become the finest weapon."

Danzo, sitting in the corner, couldn't help speaking up.

With their experience, they naturally understood the advantages of having a huge amount of chakra.

This was the talent of a Kage Level ninja.

"Don't even think about it. Naruto is Minato's son. There's no way I'll let you train him." The Third Hokage gave him a sidelong glance.

He knew exactly what his old comrade was thinking.

Forget Naruto's identity; the Nine-Tails alone was a nuclear weapon. How could he possibly hand control of it to someone else?

From the First Hokage's generation to the Third, it was clear that the Nine-Tails had always remained in the hands of the Hokage's line.

"Hiruzen, the Nine-Tails will be wasted in your hands sooner or later. A proper weapon doesn't need emotions."

Danzo's face darkened. In his eyes, the Nine-Tails was nothing more than a weapon.

The Third Hokage couldn't be bothered to say more, though he despised his old comrade in his heart.

Someone who couldn't read the situation would never rise to the top.

Back at the Academy.

Naruto gathered his chakra back in.

He glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke's face was flushed, but he couldn't say a word.

A loss was a loss. There was nothing to say.

"Don't get cocky. I'll beat you next time."

Sasuke reluctantly left him with a threat.

Naruto ignored him. He wasn't interested in childish games like that.

The afternoon passed quickly, and school let out.

Naruto left.

Back home, Naruto started making dinner.

At the same time, he wondered whether he should start researching something else.

Should I stir up some trouble? It'd feel like a waste not to do something with the Twin Palms.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.

He'd sensed someone watching him today, too.

His first thought was that the old Third Hokage had far too much time on his hands.

He had to find something to keep him busy.

At a time like this, the only thing that could give the Third Hokage a headache was the Uchiha Clan.

Should he find a way to make trouble for him?

Konoha couldn't be too peaceful, or those people would start paying attention to him.

As long as the Uchiha Clan remained a threat, no one would pay attention to the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.

By then, an opportunity had already taken shape in his mind.

Meanwhile, Sasuke Uchiha returned home in a terrible mood.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?"

When Itachi Uchiha saw his younger brother's expression, he immediately grew tense. Thinking his brother might have been bullied at school, he furrowed his brow.