Want to learn? I'll teach you

"What's that unsealed ninjutsu you used—the blue mini-typhoon that appeared out of nowhere in your hand? What's it called?"

"It pierced that towering tree in one hit."

Sasuke swallowed.

He was desperate to get stronger.

Even if someone asked him to swing a sword,

he'd do it!

As long as it made him stronger,

what was swinging a sword to him?

He'd even be willing to become Sasuko Uchiha!

What a cruel joke...

Seeing that he'd achieved his goal,

Naruto's lips curled into a smile.

He held up the masterpiece Jiraiya had poured years of effort into writing.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Sasuke could barely hide the hope in his eyes.

"Naruto, hurry up and teach me!"

"I can teach you, but you have to call me boss."

Naruto said.

People usually didn't cherish things

that came easily.

He had to make things a little harder for this Uchiha Sasuke,

or Sasuke would think he was some kindhearted sap handing out experience for free.

Sasuke froze.

Call him boss???

Wasn't Naruto younger than him?

And wasn't he the dead-last kid in class every year?

You want a genius ninja like me to call you boss?

But Naruto was stronger.

For a moment, Sasuke couldn't accept

the fact that Naruto had become so powerful.

When had Naruto gotten this strong?

Or had he been faking being a dead last from the start,

just to trick me and make a fool of me, the top student?

Whenever he showed off his skills in front of other kids his age—

throwing shuriken or using ninjutsu they couldn't—

Sasuke felt at least a little proud.

It was the pride of the Uchiha Clan.

But what about Naruto?

The damage Naruto's Rasengan had caused

was far greater than what his Fire Style: Great Fireball could manage.

One was area-of-effect damage, the other single-target damage.

Use the Great Fireball when enemies were far away, and the Rasengan when they got close!

Humiliation?

Was it more humiliating to have your entire family and clan slaughtered without a single survivor,

then live every day under the shadow of wanting revenge but being too weak to get it?

"B-b-boss... I can't say it."

Sasuke bit his lip,

his voice carrying the last trace of defiance.

That was the final scrap of dignity he had as the last Uchiha.

He couldn't let anyone else trample it.

Naruto glanced at him.

"Do you know how many hundreds of gold coins I spent to get my hands on this genuine training book by Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin?"

"I'm not asking you for a single coin, and I even told you this huge secret."

"Now I'm asking you to call me boss, and you won't even do that. What do you think I'm doing all this for?"

Naruto spoke righteously,

his tone firm and forceful!

Sasuke was left feeling thoroughly embarrassed.

Naruto had spent so much money to get the real training book,

then given it to me for free.

Not calling him boss would be so ungrateful.

Sasuke bit his lip. In a soft, almost girlish voice, he said, "B-boss."

"Huh? I didn't hear you."

"Enough talking. Just give me the book!"

Sasuke shouted, his face burning red.

This was so damn embarrassing.

It was one thing to say it to Naruto.

If it were anyone else, he'd rather be killed.

"What a pain. Here."

Naruto casually tossed the book to the kid.

Sasuke happily caught it, his heart filled with joy.

Was he finally going to get stronger?

Itachi Uchiha, just you wait!

I'll kill you with my own hands!

"Uh..." Sasuke glanced at the black bag by Naruto's feet. Inside was some kind of shapeless thing.

Curious, he asked,

"Naruto, what's in there?"

"Kids don't need to know so much."

"You're a kid too, aren't you?"

"I may look like one, but I'm not one in my heart. I'm a real man who's weathered the storms and seen through everything this world has to offer."

As he spoke, Naruto used his foot to cover the cloth draped over the bag.

Sasuke blinked. He looked from the book in his hands to the black bag.

For just a moment,

he'd seen what was inside.

It looked a lot like the training book he was holding.

This was unbelievable!

Could the bag be full of Jiraiya's training manuals too?!!

"Naruto, hurry up and let me see what's inside!"

Sasuke lunged for it.

Somehow finding a burst of strength,

he tried to snatch the bag from Naruto.

But how could a frail Sasuke possibly be a match for Naruto?

It was no exaggeration to say

Naruto could knock the kid flat with just one finger.

"Quit whining!"

"One book costs hundreds of gold coins. My money doesn't grow on trees. How could I afford that many?!"

"Go train already. I'm leaving."

Naruto hooked the bag off the ground with his foot and caught it in his hand.

With a nimble sidestep,

he dodged the leaping Uchiha Sasuke.

Nice try.

You don't have the strength, but you still want to act like a bandit?

Go get some training first.

"Show me what's in there, or I'm not training!"

"Whether you train is up to you. Guess someone doesn't want to get stronger and take revenge. You talk about revenge all the time, and it's embarrassing."

"You..."

Watching Naruto walk away,

Sasuke was so angry he could barely contain himself.

He clenched the book in his hand.

Smack—

(⊙o⊙)...

He slammed it hard onto the ground.

Even if I train myself to death and use up every last bit of chakra,

I, Sasuke, will never ask you, Naruto, for help!

But that pink-covered book lying on the ground

seemed to have some kind of endless, irresistible magic.

Especially those two words: Paradise!

Was it a paradise where you gathered chakra?

Or did the book mean that the highest level of training led to paradise?

Less than a minute later,

Sasuke gave in and decided it was worth it.

He picked up the book,

brushed the dust off it,

and muttered, "Hmph. That guy may act like a slacker most of the time, but he never lies about things like this."

"I'll trust you this once. Don't disappoint me..."

He casually flipped through a few pages.

Sasuke's brows furrowed slightly.

What the hell was all this supposed to mean?

It was so strange.

Was he supposed to train according to what the book said?

Back before the internet and television existed in Konoha,

the people were simple and honest.

Even kids who were thirteen or fourteen

didn't know much about relations between men and women.

Besides, didn't every family focus on raising their children to become excellent ninja?

They already spent all their time learning the basics, practicing chakra control, and training in ninjutsu.

Who had spare time to study this stuff?

Luckily, Jiraiya's publishing house had a conscience

and included a few illustrations.

That was how the whole of Konoha had continued to thrive, generation after generation.

Thump—

After reading a third of it,

Sasuke's face flushed red, and he snapped the book shut!

"Where are the training instructions? Or am I supposed to train by following the Hand Seals shown in the book?!"

"Damn you, Naruto! Get back here! You still haven't taught me how to train!!!"