A Match Against Youthful Rock Lee!

Seeing Sasuke's innocent smile, Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A genius who only wanted to slack off posed no threat to the village.

At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a little regretful.

Sasuke was a genius, after all. For someone like him to want nothing but to slack off was a loss for the village.

As for Naruto, he stared at Sasuke with a bewildered expression.

He couldn't understand it at all. Was a dream like Sasuke's... even a dream?

Compared to his own, it was worlds apart.

After that, they chatted for a while, then returned to the classroom.

After their usual lessons in culture, ninjutsu, and tactics...

It was time to go home.

"Sasuke, why do you want to slack off?"

"Sasuke, how about we train together to become Hokage?"

"Sasuke, I don't think what you're doing is right."

"Sasuke..."

All the way there, Naruto buzzed in Sasuke's ear like a bee, trying to persuade him nonstop.

"Naruto, we're friends now."

"Remember, if you ever run into trouble, just tell me."

"Don't eat expired food anymore, and don't keep training when you're hungry."

Getting a little annoyed with all the nagging, Sasuke turned and looked Naruto straight in the eye before speaking slowly.

"Okay!"

"Then, Sasuke, let's train together to become Hokage..."

At last, when they reached the place where their paths split, Naruto's verbal assault came to an end.

His ears were finally a little quieter.

After parting ways with Naruto, Sasuke's expression turned serious.

Fugaku Uchiha had only started paying attention to him in the past few days.

Today, Hiruzen Sarutobi had called him in for a talk. It was obvious that he'd already learned about the changes in Sasuke.

Otherwise, just like in the original story, the man wouldn't have paid him any special attention.

After all, with Itachi as a point of comparison, Sasuke's previous level of talent was nothing remarkable.

There was only one explanation: Hiruzen Sarutobi had eyes in his home.

"Hah!"

"Thud!"

Just then, a series of low grunts came from the public training ground nearby.

He turned toward the sound.

A bowl cut, a green bodysuit...

"Rock Lee?"

Seeing the person in the training ground, Sasuke slowly walked over.

At the sound of Sasuke's voice,

Rock Lee stopped training.

"You are...?"

Rock Lee tilted his head and looked at the boy in front of him curiously.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I just enrolled in the Ninja Academy."

"Hello."

Sasuke held out his hand openly.

"Hello."

"Want to train together?"

"Youth is all about constantly moving forward. We can't waste a single moment!"

As Rock Lee spoke, he flashed a bright, toothy grin and gave Sasuke a thumbs-up.

"Sure."

Sasuke nodded, then stepped into the training ground.

A lot of people overlooked Rock Lee's talent.

Might Guy had said that Rock Lee's talent was even greater than his own.

At fifteen or sixteen, Rock Lee had been able to open the sixth gate of the Eight Gates.

And that was despite all the disadvantages he'd faced.

He'd forced open the Gate of Limit during the Chunin Ninja Exams, then fought Kimimaro before his injuries had healed...

There was definitely a lot Sasuke could learn from his Taijutsu.

"How about a spar?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rock Lee formed the hand seal for a bout with Sasuke.

Uchiha!

He'd heard that name before.

They were the village's famous clan of geniuses, with the Sharingan, a powerful Kekkei Genkai.

The Uchiha were also skilled in Taijutsu.

"Sure."

Sasuke had no intention of hiding his strength.

As long as the Uchiha Clan still stood behind him, and Shisui and Itachi were still around, the village wouldn't target a five-year-old genius.

At the same time, Sasuke had already started thinking about what he might do with Rock Lee.

And the best way to win over a simple-minded guy like him was to crush him with sheer strength!

"Thud!"

The next moment, a heavy kick landed.

Sasuke had raised his arm to block it at once, but the blow still sent him stumbling back several steps.

The tremendous force left his arm aching.

Rock Lee's physical abilities were truly impressive.

"Thunder God Mode!"

Lightning surged through Sasuke's body.

The lightning drew on his body's own strength. He could use it to put on a flashy display by wrapping himself in electricity, but he could also keep it contained.

"Thud!"

The next moment, Sasuke vanished from where he stood.

He moved so fast that Rock Lee couldn't even make out his figure.

"Thwack!"

"Bam!"

"Crash..."

Attack after attack rained down, leaving Rock Lee struggling to keep up. He couldn't escape Sasuke's range.

He had to think of something, or he would lose!

Most importantly, Sasuke didn't seem to be using any ninjutsu. He was only attacking with Taijutsu.

That made Rock Lee's fighting spirit flare even stronger.

Before long, Rock Lee had gotten used to Sasuke's attacks.

He began to counterattack little by little.

He was still taking more hits than he was dishing out,

but at least he was no longer standing still and passively letting Sasuke beat him up.

"What frightening talent for Taijutsu!"

Even with the upper hand, Sasuke was still astonished.

He wasn't worried about losing, but Rock Lee was improving far too quickly.

"I've got you."

While Sasuke was distracted for a moment, Rock Lee suddenly charged right up to him.

He aimed a punch straight at Sasuke's face.

Seriously, did this guy only know how to punch people in the face?

"Crackle... crackle..."

"Boom!"

A powerful burst of lightning erupted, freezing Rock Lee in place.

The next moment, Rock Lee collapsed to the ground, smoke rising from his body.

"So strong!"

"Hello, I'm Uchiha Sasuke. Would you like to be friends and train together from now on?"

Sasuke held out his hand to Rock Lee.

He'd kept the Lightning Style under control just now.

It had only stopped Rock Lee from continuing to attack and shouldn't have hurt him.

"Sure!"

"From now on, you're my friend, Rock Lee."

"Oh, wait here! I've got a gift for you. It's a symbol of youth!"

Rock Lee sprang to his feet, as if he hadn't just been electrocuted.

He dashed over to his backpack nearby.

The next moment, a green outfit appeared in front of Sasuke.

"This is the outfit my teacher gave me. I'll give it to you."

"If you put it on..."

"Hey, what are you doing... I..."

"Don't run away!"

Before Rock Lee could finish speaking, Sasuke had already disappeared from sight.

"Why would Sasuke turn down such a stylish outfit?"

"Could it be because he thinks the gift is too precious?"

"My friend is a little too polite!"

After muttering to himself for a while, Rock Lee put the outfit away.

Thinking of how Sasuke had just defeated him, Rock Lee decided to double his training for the day!