Awakening

"Sasuke! If you want revenge, you need a strong body to keep you going! How are you supposed to get stronger if you don't eat? Sigh~ That's it! Eat up! Let's see who can eat more!"

That was Naruto.

"A-Mu, A-Mu, A-Mu... A-Mu, A-Mu, A-Mu..."

That was... Sasuke?!

"Another bowl!"

"Another bowl!"

The nurse hurriedly served them another bowl of noodles.

The Third Hokage had specifically instructed them to charge all the food to the village treasury, so they could eat as much as they wanted. They even had a beautiful nurse whose job was to serve them.

Fei Shi: "..."

Yugao Uzuki: "..."

Well!

There was nothing to worry about after all.

Fei Shi should have realized sooner. Naruto had visited Sasuke in the hospital every day for the past few days, and each visit lasted several hours.

Now that Sasuke was awake, how could Naruto not be there?

Besides, was there anyone pessimistic around Naruto? No! This was Naruto Uzumaki, the owner of the strongest Kekkei Mōra—Talk no Jutsu.

Could Sasuke sink into depression with Naruto around?

No!

Even thinking that could happen was an insult to Naruto.

Talk no Jutsu was no joke.

Don't believe it?

Just look at how enthusiastically Sasuke was eating. He even felt like competing with Naruto to see who could eat more. It seemed he'd come out of the shadows; all they had to do was give him a little guidance.

"I lost, I think."

His voice was muffled. Fei Shi and Yugao were sitting on the bench outside the hospital room, listening to what was going on inside.

"Hahahaha, you idiot, Sasuke! You lost! I ate seven bowls, and I can still eat more."

"Nurse, give me another—hic—bowl!"

After listening to the show, Fei Shi went into the room and stopped the nurse, who was reluctantly serving them more food.

"Enough! Cut it out! Honestly, you have to compete over everything."

"Sasuke, I'll heal your arm for you. Then you can leave the hospital. Once you have strength, you'll have a say in what happens next. Otherwise, it's all just empty talk."

Sasuke fell silent, clenching his right hand.

"Master, I want to get stronger. Is there a better way?"

Sasuke's eyes were full of hatred. He desperately yearned for strength.

"Heh, so what if I gave you great power? Could you control it? Truly powerful people at the top of the pyramid reached the summit step by step, through their own efforts."

Except for cheats, Fei Shi grumbled inwardly.

"Fine. I'll train hard. I hope you'll teach me how to become stronger. No matter how tiring or difficult it is, I can keep going. Please help me, Master."

Looking at Sasuke's red-rimmed eyes, Fei Shi nodded.

"Yeah, Sasuke, I'll help you too, dattebayo!" (Damn it! I forgot Naruto's catchphrase earlier. Ah! I wasted a chance to pad the word count.)

"You... bastard! I hope you don't back down when the time comes. Itachi is a damn strong opponent."

"Hahahaha, I won't be scared, dattebayo! I always keep my promises! That's what it means to be Naruto Uzumaki!"

Boom!

A powerful aura burst out of Naruto.

In that instant, all the doctors, nurses, and patients in the hospital who weren't particularly strong passed out.

"C-Conqueror's Haki?"

Fei Shi was stunned. Naruto had awakened Conqueror's Haki just like that? He'd had faith in Naruto and Sasuke, but he hadn't expected Naruto to awaken it right then.

Sasuke, who hadn't fully recovered physically and was still mentally exhausted, passed out.

"Ah! Damn it! What happened? Are we under attack? Sound the alarm!"

The Anbu Ninja guarding the hospital rushed inside to assess the situation and sound the alarm.

"Ah, wh-what happened, dattebayo? Sasuke! Sasuke, are you okay?"

Fei Shi couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough! You awakened Conqueror's Haki. It's normal for people with weak mental resistance to be overwhelmed and faint."

"But... you've got some talent, kid!"

Smack!

He gave Naruto a smack on the head to congratulate him.

"Conqueror's Haki? Big Brother Fei Shi, is it the thing you told me about?"

Fei Shi nodded.

"It means you have the qualities of a king. In other words, you're determined to become Hokage and lead others."

Hearing Fei Shi's words, Naruto felt secretly pleased.

He'd awakened something Sasuke hadn't yet. Hahahaha, I'm a genius!

"Hahahaha, of course! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage!" (Hinata was about to ascend to the Hokage Position that very night. ಡωಡ)

"Enough bragging! You unleashed Conqueror's Haki in the hospital, and now you're in trouble."

Naruto awkwardly scratched his head and answered with a courteous smile:

"What's the big deal? Big Brother Fei Shi's here, isn't he? What've I got to worry about?"

Fei Shi: "..."

Well, well! He'd really mastered using someone else's authority to throw his weight around.

Noon.

After I explained what had happened to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he said he'd drop by sometime.

Fei Shi didn't need to think twice to know he was after a way to train Haki. 说蛧

Keep dreaming!

This time, he swore he wouldn't agree, no matter what Hiruzen Sarutobi offered him.

The old man had gotten spoiled. Ever since he'd realized Fei Shi had plenty of good stuff, he'd been dropping by whenever he felt like it to mooch something. Every time, he came up with a different excuse—or offered a reason Fei Shi couldn't refuse.

But not this time!

After using the Medical Ninjutsu he'd inherited from Tsunade to heal Sasuke, Naruto called Hinata and Neji over.

It was a day off, so they were going to... train themselves to death.

They were now training twice as much as before, but in only a third of the time.

Their stamina and physical strength were already better than those of students about to graduate.

In the evening, they'd spar with his clone for an hour. He'd also teach them the Three Basic Jutsu and some other simple techniques.

As for Naruto, instead of teaching him ninjutsu, Fei Shi taught him Hand Seals.

Naruto couldn't correctly perform ninjutsu that required many hand seals, so he had to practice and get familiar with the different seals first.

Slapping your hands together to perform a jutsu meant you'd mastered how chakra worked for that technique so well that you no longer needed hand seals. Anyone could do it if they mastered the jutsu to an absurd degree, but that didn't mean everyone could.

It was still too early for Naruto to learn the Rasengan. He could start learning it when he was ten; after all, it was a powerful, high-level jutsu. Before then, they could develop Naruto's exceptional healing ability, Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

Those were the best choices for Naruto to get stronger at this stage.

After all, Naruto still hadn't mastered Hand Seals. What was the point of teaching him other jutsu? It was better to start with his bloodline abilities.

And so, the four of them went running in the morning, attended school during the day, practiced ninjutsu at noon, sparred in the evening, and reviewed the day's training and refined their chakra at night.