Battle Against the Youthful Rock Lee!

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

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

At the same time, he felt a twinge of regret.

Sasuke was a genius after all; for such a talent to only want to slack off was a loss for the village.

As for Naruto, he looked at Sasuke with a face full of confusion.

He couldn't understand at all how a dream like Sasuke's could even be called a dream.

Compared to his own, it was far too lacking.

Following that, they exchanged some simple pleasantries before returning to the classroom.

After the usual cultural lessons, ninjutsu, and tactical training, it was time for school to end once again.

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

"Sasuke, why don't we train together with the goal of becoming Hokage?"

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

"Sasuke..."

Along the way, Naruto buzzed like a bee, constantly trying to persuade Sasuke.

"Naruto, we are friends now."

"You must remember, if you run into any trouble in the future, just come talk to me directly."

"Don't eat expired food anymore, and don't train while starving yourself."

Annoyed by the nagging, Sasuke turned around, stared at Naruto with a serious expression, and spoke slowly.

"Okay!"

"Then Sasuke, let's aim for Hokage toge—"

Finally, at the fork in the road where they parted ways, Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu" attack came to an end.

His ears were finally at peace.

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

It had only been a few days since Fugaku Uchiha began to value him.

Today, Hiruzen Sarutobi had called him in for a talk, which clearly meant he was already aware of the changes in him.

Otherwise, according to the original story, this guy wouldn't have paid him any special attention at all.

One had to remember that with Itachi as a precedent, Sasuke's previous talent was nothing worth noting.

There was only one explanation: there were eyes belonging to Hiruzen Sarutobi in his home.

"Hah!"

"Bang!"

Just then, a low shout echoed from a nearby public training ground.

He looked toward the sound.

A bowl cut, a green bodysuit...

"Rock Lee?"

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

Hearing Sasuke's voice, Rock Lee stopped his training.

"You are..."

Rock Lee tilted his head, looking at the boy before him with curiosity.

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

"Hello."

Sasuke reached out his hand generously.

"Hello."

"Do you want to train together?"

"Youth is a process of constantly moving forward; we cannot waste a single second!"

As Rock Lee spoke, he flashed a set of white teeth and gave a thumbs-up.

"Very well."

Sasuke nodded, then stepped into the training ground.

Many people overlooked Rock Lee's talent.

One had to remember that Might Guy himself had stated that Rock Lee's talent was even greater than his own.

By the age of fifteen or sixteen, Rock Lee was already capable of opening the sixth gate of the Eight Inner Gates.

And this was achieved despite numerous unfavorable circumstances.

Forced to open the Gate of View during the Chunin Exams, battling Kimimaro while still suffering from severe injuries...

In terms of taijutsu, there was definitely something to be learned from him.

"Shall we have a sparring match?"

After saying this, Rock Lee immediately formed the sign of confrontation toward Sasuke.

Uchiha!

He had certainly heard of that name.

The famous genius clan of the village, possessing the super-powerful bloodline limit known as the Sharingan.

At the same time, the taijutsu of the Uchiha was not weak either.

"Very well."

Sasuke had no intention of hiding his strength.

As long as the Uchiha Clan still stood behind him as his support, and with Shisui and Itachi both still present, the village would never take action against a five-year-old genius.

At the same time, Sasuke already had other ideas regarding the Rock Lee standing before him.

And the best way to conquer this single-celled organism was to crush him with sheer power!

"Bang!"

The next moment, a heavy leg strike descended.

Even though Sasuke raised his arms to block it at the very first instant, he was still knocked back several steps.

The immense force made his arms ache faintly.

One had to admit, Rock Lee's physical constitution was truly formidable.

"Thunder God Mode!"

Lightning surged instantly within Sasuke's body.

However, these lightning bolts were utilized to enhance his internal physical intensity; while he could achieve that flashy style of having his entire body wrapped in lightning, he could also retract it without any issue.

"Bang!"

The next moment, Sasuke vanished from where he stood.

His extreme speed made it impossible for Rock Lee to even track Sasuke's figure.

"Puff!"

"Bang!"

"Boom..."

Continuous attacks rained down, leaving Rock Lee struggling to cope, completely unable to break free from Sasuke's offensive range.

If he didn't find a way, he was going to lose!

Most importantly, the opponent didn't seem to be using ninjutsu either, relying solely on taijutsu to attack him.

This stirred an even more intense fighting spirit within Rock Lee.

Soon, Rock Lee became accustomed to Sasuke's attack patterns.

He began to slowly launch counterattacks.

Although he was still on the receiving end of most of the blows, he was no longer standing there stunned, passively taking a beating.

What terrifying talent for taijutsu!

Even while holding the upper hand, Sasuke was inwardly shocked.

Though he wasn't worried about losing, Rock Lee's rate of growth was simply too fast.

"Got you."

Just as Sasuke was momentarily distracted, Rock Lee lunged fiercely in front of him.

His fist was aimed directly at Sasuke's face.

Good grief, this guy really liked to aim for the face, didn't he?

"Zzz... zzz..."

"BOOM!"

A powerful surge of lightning erupted, freezing Rock Lee in his tracks.

The next moment, Rock Lee, trailing wisps of black smoke, collapsed to the ground.

So strong!

"Hello, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. Can we be friends and train together from now on?"

Sasuke extended his hand toward Rock Lee.

He had controlled that Lightning Release perfectly.

It had only been enough to stop Rock Lee from attacking further; it shouldn't have caused any lasting harm to his body.

"Fine by me!"

"From now on, you are a friend of mine, Rock Lee."

"Oh, wait for me! I have a gift for you—it's the very symbol of youth!"

Rock Lee flipped back onto his feet in an instant, as if he hadn't just been electrocuted at all.

He dashed off in a blur toward his backpack.

A moment later, a green jumpsuit appeared before Sasuke.

"This is the outfit my teacher gave me. I'm giving it to you."

"As long as you put it on..."

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

"Don't run away!"

Before Rock Lee could finish his sentence, Sasuke was already nowhere to be seen.

"Such a stylish outfit, why would Sasuke refuse it?"

"Could it be that he felt the gift was too precious?"

"My new friend is a bit too polite."

After muttering to himself, Rock Lee packed the jumpsuit away.

Thinking back to his defeat at Sasuke's hands, Rock Lee decided that he would double his training quota for the day!