"Idiot Naruto!"
"Smug Sasuke!"
Within the clan grounds!
Two low shouts rang out across the field at the same time. The ones who had spoken were Naruto and Sasuke, and they were also the ones who had just been fighting.
Blue light flickered around both of them. Each held a sharp kunai in hand, their eyes locked unblinkingly on the other.
Compared to before, however, there was an additional trace of caution in Sasuke's eyes. Yes—caution.
Only after witnessing Naruto's outburst yesterday did Sasuke realize that Naruto possessed an extraordinarily powerful force within him, one even stronger than his Sharingan.
Yet this did not crush Sasuke's spirit, nor did it discourage him. On the contrary, it further ignited the fighting spirit in his heart.
Second Pillar had one weakness that had never changed, whether in the original story or in this life: pride.
As a member of the inherently proud Uchiha Clan, and the second son of the clan head, Sasuke had been an extremely proud person since childhood.
Though his early contact with Naruto had improved this somewhat, the change was far from obvious.
At the Ninja Academy, Naruto and Sasuke had both been exceptionally gifted prodigies. In training in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, the top two spots had always belonged to them.
For ninjutsu and taijutsu, first and second place had generally alternated between Naruto and Sasuke. But in genjutsu, Sasuke had always held first place alone.
After all, the Sharingan gave him an innate advantage in genjutsu. Combined with Itachi's usual instruction, Sasuke's genjutsu was incredibly formidable.
As for Naruto, while he was not skilled in genjutsu, the Nine-Tails sealed within him made ordinary genjutsu incapable of causing him any real harm. Thus, he could still rank second in genjutsu at the Ninja Academy.
Yet at the