Naruto and Sasuke's Dual Cultivation Shows Initial Results!

Afternoon.

Naruto changed into his new training gear.

It fit him snugly.

Naruto remained in a state of excitement throughout the entire afternoon.

Not only did he have a friend to accompany him during training, but with Sasuke, he had an endless supply of kunai and shuriken to practice with.

This kind of luxury was a feeling he had never experienced before.

On top of that, someone would bring him delicious food at any moment.

This lifestyle left Naruto feeling incredibly satisfied.

As for envy or jealousy... with his single-celled brain, those were feelings he simply didn't possess.

After dinner, the two boys finished their baths and returned to their room.

"Sasuke, why did you choose to be friends with me?"

Naruto lay on the bed, his face full of curiosity.

"Why, you ask?"

"There's no 'why.' I just wanted to be friends with you."

"By the way, Naruto, I have a very impressive training method. Do you want to try it?"

"It might just help you become strong very quickly!"

Sasuke suddenly sat up, looking at Naruto with a serious expression.

"What is it?"

Upon hearing that he could become stronger, Naruto immediately cast his previous doubts to the back of his mind.

He waited expectantly for Sasuke's answer.

"Zzzzt..."

Sasuke raised his hand, and a ball of lightning danced in his palm.

"Lightning Release!"

"Sasuke, not only have you mastered Fire Release, but you've mastered Lightning Release too!"

"I'm so envious."

Naruto widened his eyes, speaking in amazement.

"This is a training method exclusive to me, but I think you can do it too, Naruto."

"You already learned about chakra refinement in class, right?"

"It's a special energy stored in the body, created by fusing our training experience with the energy from our body's cells."

"Lightning Release can stimulate cells... which means I can use Lightning Release to temper my cells and make them stronger."

After Sasuke explained the principle, Naruto was clearly eager to give it a try.

Even though the electric arcs in Sasuke's hand brought a slight stinging sensation, it still couldn't suppress the anticipation in Naruto's heart.

"Yeah, I want to try!"

Naruto nodded earnestly.

"Good!"

Sasuke nodded, then reached out his hand.

Naruto swallowed hard.

Immediately, he reached out firmly and grasped Sasuke's hand.

The Lightning Release struck instantly.

The intense sensation of intrusion made Naruto's body tremble.

However, his body was incredibly resilient.

This level of Lightning Release couldn't harm his foundation at all.

At the same time, Sasuke used the Lightning Release to perceive the situation inside Naruto's body.

Under the baptism of the lightning, those powerful cells actually began to temper themselves immediately.

"Quick, start refining your chakra."

Sasuke commanded in a low voice.

"Yeah!"

Naruto sat up straight immediately and began to refine his chakra.

With the memories of their daytime training added to the mix, the two little ones entered a special mode of "dual cultivation."

Soon, a look of surprise and pleasant astonishment appeared on Sasuke's face.

Naruto, this guy, really was the author's favorite son!

His physical constitution and the amount of chakra he could refine were incredible.

Even Sasuke, as he was now, couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.

At the same time, Sasuke also discovered the state of Naruto's body.

The constitution of the Uzumaki Clan was truly formidable.

Compared to Naruto, the cells within his own body were lacking by more than just a little.

Perhaps this was a problem inherent to the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan.

"Hm?!"

Just as Sasuke was deep in thought, a strange sensation emerged within his body.

Despite not having initiated any chakra refinement, his body had automatically begun to execute the technique at this very moment.

His cells expanded and contracted as chakra surged through him.

Most importantly, the emergence of this chakra had actually begun to work in tandem with his Lightning Release to temper Sasuke's cells.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the 268th tempering."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the 269th tempering."

As those familiar system prompts rang out, the corners of Sasuke's mouth slowly curled upward.

Although he didn't know the principle behind it, he seemed to have found the trick to this task.

And so...

"Naruto, follow the rhythm of my chakra refinement technique."

"Get ready, I'm going to increase the output of my Lightning Release."

Sasuke said in a deep voice.

Seeing that Naruto's eyes remained firm, Sasuke did not hesitate to release an even more powerful Lightning Release.

"Zzzzt..."

The wild Lightning Release spread toward their surroundings.

However, it was quickly reined back in and brought under control by Sasuke.

The two of them spent the entire night engaged in training.

Early the next morning.

[Lightning Release Nature Transformation tempering progress: 659/1000]

Sasuke looked at the progress on the panel, his mood greatly improved.

With another one or two sessions, he estimated that this task would be completed.

Beyond his anticipation for the task rewards, Sasuke also had high expectations for what his body would be like after completing one thousand temperings.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..."

Just then, a rumbling sound from the side interrupted Sasuke's thoughts.

"Hehe..."

"I think... I'm hungry."

Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment, speaking with a silly grin.

"Let's go, time to eat."

Sasuke pulled Naruto along to wash up, then headed toward the living room.

By this time, Mikoto and the cook had already prepared breakfast.

After a night of training, their bodies had absolutely no resistance to the call of food.

After offering their greetings, they dove straight in.

Mikoto rested her chin on her hand, watching the two little ones with a gentle expression.

A certain red-haired figure appeared in Mikoto's thoughts.

"Kushina, this child is very healthy and very kind."

"You..."

Mikoto murmured in her heart, and the moisture in the corners of her eyes made her current state of mind clear.

Weekend.

"Mom, Naruto and I are going to his place to play."

"I'll go to school with Naruto tomorrow."

"I've packed everything, don't worry, Mom."

"Yeah, I'll cook, and Aunt Bubin is coming with us."

"We're heading out now..."

After bidding farewell to Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke and Naruto walked together toward the village.

In the shadows, elite Uchiha jōnin and Anbu operatives began to move in pursuit.

Without a doubt, the biggest event in the village right now was being stirred up by these two little ones.

Sasuke understood this clearly, while Naruto remained completely oblivious.

Inside the Hokage Office.

After the Anbu operative reported all the intelligence, he knelt on one knee, waiting for the Hokage's orders.

"I understand."

"Go notify the school; I will be there on Monday to give a speech."

"As for the rest, just follow the previous arrangements."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke indifferently.

"Understood."

The Anbu vanished.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the report in his hand.

[Sasuke Uchiha's displayed talent is already comparable to Itachi Uchiha.]

[At present, he has already received the attention of Fugaku Uchiha and is being cultivated with full effort.]

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not the least bit worried about a new genius emerging within the Uchiha clan.

As long as they remained in the village, then... this genius belonged to the village!