It began with Naruto, disguised as Sasuke, making his move.
Then he was subdued in an instant.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
At the sight of this,
Sakura, standing not far away, froze.
It would have been one thing if the others didn't know how strong Sasuke was.
But Team 7 was a unit.
Forget these two brats, who were barely going to graduate.
Even if you added her and Naruto to the mix, the four of them probably still wouldn't be enough to take on Sasuke alone.
But now...
"Th-this makes no sense..."
One of them stared wide-eyed at his companion.
"Hmph! Now that I think about it, it's not that strange. Sasuke must've used some kind of trick during the graduation exam."
"That's nothing surprising. He's the same age as us, after all."
"Even if he's a genius, how could the gap between us be that huge?"
The other one snorted dismissively.
As he spoke, he pressed down harder with the foot pinning Naruto.
"So that's it. Sasuke tricked all of us. He was just a paper tiger after all..."
"Hmph! And he expected us to apologize to him?"
"Heh. Sasuke, if you don't apologize to us today, we won't let you off!"
Without their fear of him, the two became brazen in an instant.
They said that people became bad because of their environment.
But in truth, some were born that way.
Naruto gritted his teeth, his face full of frustration.
He wanted to get up, but his chakra was depleted, and for now, he couldn't muster any strength to fight back.
"Damn it!..."
Just then,
an enticing voice suddenly rang out in Naruto's mind:
"Young man, you need power, don't you?"
"Empty your mind and give me control of your body. I'll give you limitless power and help you escape the humiliation of being trampled underfoot."
The voice was seductive, every word striking a chord.
This wasn't the first time he had heard that mysterious voice.
Before, Naruto had almost always refused right away.
Then the eerie voice would mysteriously disappear.
But this time, Naruto hesitated.
If he were being bullied like this in some deserted corner, that would be one thing.
He, Naruto, had sworn to become Hokage. He knew when to bend and when to stand firm.
But now it was happening right in front of his goddess, Sakura.
Besides, he was wearing Sasuke's face, and he was part of Team 7 too. How could he bring shame on them?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His eyes gradually shifted from azure to streaks of crimson, and a violent aura welled up within him, spreading across the entire area.
The two men, still sneering, didn't notice that Naruto, pinned beneath their feet, was undergoing a fundamental change.
But just as Naruto was about to lose control,
when the situation was about to spiral beyond anyone's control,
a cold voice suddenly rang out across the scene:
"Hey, you two down there. You've got two and a half seconds."
"If you haven't moved those dog legs by then, don't blame me for being ruthless..."
The voice was icy, but its tone clearly belonged to a young boy.
The four of them froze.
The two standing on Naruto thought, what kind of world was this?
Couldn't they see that they had the top student at the Ninja Academy under their feet?
How could anyone still dare to interfere in their business?
With that thought, all four of them turned toward the voice, almost at the same time.
A strikingly handsome boy stood with his arms crossed, eyes lowered. A light breeze passed, lifting the two locks of hair over his forehead.
An innate confidence radiated from him without restraint.
"Sa... Sasuke?..."
"Wait, why are there two Sasukes? If he's Sasuke, then who's the one we're standing on?..."
The two of them were utterly baffled, unable to make sense of it.
But Sakura immediately recognized the one standing on the treetop as the man she had been thinking about day and night.
Although the two Sasukes looked exactly alike,
the one on the ground could never imitate the unique air about him.
Just as the two wondered whether they should take their feet off the Sasuke beneath them,
there was a pop!
The blood-red tint in Naruto's eyes faded, his chakra ran completely dry, and in a cloud of smoke, he changed back to his true form.
"Huh? N-Naruto!..."
"It was Naruto! No wonder he was so weak!"
"If that's Naruto, then the one on the treetop..."
At the thought, both of them felt their hearts sink. They'd picked a fight with the real deal!
They hurriedly lifted their feet from Naruto's back and staggered several steps away, trembling as they said:
"Sa... Sasuke, I know you're strong, but you have to remember this is the Ninja Academy."
"We're here to attend class, and it started a while ago."
Hearing his companion, the other immediately understood and chimed in:
"Y-yeah, that's right! If Iruka-sensei calls our names and doesn't see us, he'll come looking for us!..."
It was as if those words were a protective charm.
After the two of them backed each other up, their faces suddenly grew a little bolder, their fear giving way to defiance.
Sasuke had originally planned to make the two brats apologize to Naruto and let the matter end there.
But when he heard that they had no remorse and even wanted to use Iruka to intimidate him,
Sasuke flew into a rage!
From the moment Naruto had turned into him to try to win Sakura over, to the argument between Naruto and these two ill-mannered idiots,
Sasuke had been watching the whole thing from the treetop.
Of course, with his abilities, he hadn't missed a single word they'd said about him behind his back, either.
But that wasn't what had made Sasuke angry.
What had truly enraged him was Naruto.
If they'd only insulted him, that would have been one thing.
He could have chalked it up to them being ignorant kids. At worst, he could find a secluded place later, put on a mask, and beat some manners into the two brats.
But dragging Naruto into it was out of line.
Naruto's parents had sacrificed their lives for the whole village, bringing the peace they enjoyed now.
It was one thing if they weren't grateful to Naruto and his family.
But they had even urged others to ostracize Naruto?
Was it really that easy to bully an honest person?
Besides, Naruto had been bullied just now largely because he'd wanted to stand up for Sasuke!
If your parents wouldn't discipline you, then today I'll do it myself!
At that thought, Sasuke's gaze turned icy:
"Are you trying to threaten me with Iruka-sensei?..."
His voice was cold, his eyes dark.
The two couldn't help shivering.
"N-no. Even if Iruka-sensei doesn't come, the Ninja Academy doesn't allow students to bully each other!..."
One of them answered, trying to sound calm.
"Heh..."
Sasuke let out a cold laugh but didn't answer them.
Instead, he turned to Naruto and said in a low voice:
"Naruto, go on. Step on each of them once. Do to them what they did to you. Remember, don't hold back!..."
"What?..."
Naruto was stunned.
Was there really any need for a Genin like him to bully two kids who hadn't even graduated yet?
At that moment,
Naruto was so taken aback that he even forgot that Team 7 consisted of three kids who were barely grown themselves.
Before you continue