Chapter 5

A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Naruto jerked his head up. "Sasuke?!"

He looked a little pleasantly surprised. But after calling Sasuke's name, he had nothing else to say and could only stand there blankly. "I just went to buy some things. Figured you could use them." Sasuke handed the fresh milk and food to him.

Naruto looked at those things, and his heart suddenly clenched. "No need." He pushed them away. "I've got plenty to eat at home. I usually..."

"Aren't we friends?"

Sasuke did not let him finish and cut him off outright. "Yeah!" Naruto nodded hard. "I'm going to become the strongest ninja someday," Sasuke said. "If you don't get stronger properly, I'll definitely leave you far behind."

He shoved the bag straight into Naruto's arms.

Then he formed seals with both hands. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Flames burst out, exploding into a huge fireball over the lake.

Sasuke said, "See that? I can already use ninjutsu now."

"So you'd better hurry up and train."

After he finished speaking, a very warm smile appeared on his face.

Naruto stared in a daze, his face full of both shock and envy. He was simple and did not think too much about anything else. "I should go home."

Sasuke turned and took two steps, then looked back. "Remember to go to school together tomorrow!"

"On the weekend, can I invite you over to my house to play?"

As he spoke, he held out his hand. "Okay!" Naruto hugged the gift Sasuke had given him tightly, stretched out his other hand, and slapped Sasuke's palm hard—this was a promise between men.

In the dark, Uchiha Natsume watched until his head nearly exploded.

He knew what Naruto Uzumaki's identity was. Back then, as a strong member of the Uchiha, he knew a bit about those matters **.

What Sasuke had just done was practically planting a mine under the Uchiha.

How could those petty-minded people in Konoha ever agree to let a jinchuriki step into the Uchiha Clan Compound?

If he did not still have to handle Sasuke's guard duty, he really would have wanted to rush back right away and tell Uchiha Fugaku.

The other two groups were also stunned.

Root's people were looking for dirt on the Uchiha, wanting to seize the chance to make a move and take their Sharingan; the Anbu, meanwhile, were watching the Uchiha, afraid they would ** **.

Now this was great—Sasuke had directly opened his mouth and invited him over.

They were all dumbfounded. They could not use this to find fault, could they? After all, it was just the friendship between two children.

They could only each send people back with the intelligence.

As for Sasuke, who had made the whole scene such a mess, he was now walking toward the Uchiha Clan Compound with a grin.

He had finally found an opportunity.

It was not as if he had invited Naruto over because his head had gotten hot.

Outside, how was he supposed to give Naruto electrotherapy?

But once they entered the Uchiha Clan Compound... no matter how closely Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura watched, they would not dare brazenly barge into Uchiha Fugaku's house to **.

This—was his best chance.

In the days that followed, aside from practicing with shuriken, running, and receiving the clan information Fugaku sent over, Sasuke spent all his remaining time thinking about how to get even closer to Naruto.

But later he discovered that he had been overthinking it completely.

Naruto, that guy, did not need much effort at all.

As long as Sasuke took the initiative to get close, that guy would practically wish he could dig out his heart and hand it to him.

When Sasuke and that little girl with the bun hairstyle were both present at the same time, Naruto no longer even hesitated now and directly stood on Sasuke's side.

In the end, this was the fate of the Fourth Hokage's son, that Nine-Tails jinchuriki...

"Sasuke, I didn't bring anything. Is it okay if I go empty-handed?"

"Sasuke, look at these clothes. Do they look kind of shabby?"

"Sasuke, I—"

"Enough, enough. You're coming over to play, not to meet a marriage prospect. What do you need to bring anything for?"

Once Naruto opened his mouth, he kept chattering nonstop. Sasuke felt tired just listening to him.

That coaxing-a-child tone made even Sasuke himself feel a little awkward.

But five-year-old Naruto just happened to fall for it. "Mm!"

Naruto grinned foolishly and nodded hard.

That was right. Today was the weekend.

Sasuke had run to Naruto's door before dawn to wait for him.

At this moment, the two of them were walking toward the large Uchiha estate.

Although Naruto was wearing the old outfit he considered his most decent, entering a friend's house for the first time still left him anxious and uneasy. "Those tails followed us?"

Sasuke's spiritual power from two lifetimes was not just for show. He had locked onto several auras behind them long ago.

No need to guess. Anbu.

If they were Danzo's people, they probably would have attacked directly by now.

On the surface, Sasuke chatted with Naruto all smiles about whatever came to mind.

In secret, he had been keeping an eye on those Anbu's movements.

Fortunately, those people were not crazy enough to attack a child.

Before long, the two of them could already see the walls around the Uchiha Clan Compound. "Naruto, we're here. This is it."

"I already told Mom. We can just go in."

"There'll be good food later, so save some room for now."

Sasuke pulled Naruto along and strode into the courtyard of Fugaku's house.

The Anbu could only stop outside the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Without the Hokage's written order, they did not even have the right to step through the gates of any clan's territory.

Let alone break into the clan head's residence.

Now, they could only wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi's side to give a clear answer.

At the same time, in the Hokage's office. "That brat from the Uchiha took the jinchuriki to their clan compound?!"

"What are those people trying to do?"

"Are they planning to use the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails again and turn against the village?"

"Could it be because we forced them to move last time, and now the Uchiha are planning to fight to the bitter end?"

Koharu Utatane's face was full of tension.

The current Uchiha had old experts like Fugaku, Nagasawa, and Natsume holding them up.

They also had rising newcomers like Shisui and Itachi who could stand on their own.

If that group joined forces to **, plus the power of the Nine-Tails...

Could the current Konoha really withstand it?

"I don't think it's as serious as you imagine. It's just children visiting each other's homes."

"The Uchiha Clan's hatred for the Nine-Tails is no less than anyone else in the village."

"Besides, Fugaku's younger son brought the jinchuriki home. Maybe we won't even need to make a move; they'll drive the Nine-Tails out themselves."

"No need to worry blindly."

Homura Mitokado was rather open-minded about it.

After all, using the Nine-Tails incident last time as an excuse to force the Uchiha to move was something they had done.

Several kunai were nailed into the target, their tails still trembling slightly. "Sasuke, I did it!"

"So you're supposed to use your wrist to guide the direction, not just fling with brute strength."

For the first time, Naruto had stuck a kunai into the bullseye. He was so excited he could barely contain himself, his face covered in an unconcealable smile.

Sasuke nodded. "Not bad. Next, it's just a matter of practicing until you get a feel for it."

He paused, then added, "When throwing kunai, you also need to pay attention to the surrounding terrain. We'll talk about that this afternoon."

After saying that, he led Naruto outside.

Because he was hungry.

And today was not just about accompanying this guy in training.

The two of them arrived in the living room.

The table was already full of dishes. "Au..."

Naruto had just been about to call her auntie, then changed his words. "Mom."

Only Mikoto Uchiha was in the room.

Fugaku and Itachi were nowhere to be seen.

Naruto stared at the table full of food, drooling inwardly, but he still greeted her properly first.

Mikoto smiled. "You must be Naruto, right?"

"Sasuke told me about you. You're his best friend."

"Since you're at our home, don't be polite. Just treat it like your own house."

She added, "Don't rush off after eating. Go try on some clothes. I prepared a few sets for you."

"Don't go back tonight either. Squeeze in with Sasuke for the night."

Naruto opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

In the end, he only squeezed out one sentence. "Thank you, Auntie!"

His eyes felt a little sour.

For this child, who had grown up with no one taking care of him, another person's kindness was hotter than anything.

But he did not have time to be moved for too long.

Because Sasuke had already started devouring everything like a storm sweeping through.

If he did not pick up his chopsticks soon, the entire table of food would be cleaned out by this guy.

In the afternoon.

Naruto changed into his new training clothes.

The clothes fit very well, as if they had been made after measuring him specifically.

That afternoon, Naruto was as happy as if he had found a wallet.

Not only was there someone accompanying him in training, the key thing was that at Sasuke's place, kunai and shuriken could be used however they wanted. There was no need to worry about running out. In the past, he had not even dared dream of days where he could use them so freely.

On top of that, every so often someone brought over food. Living such a sweet little life, Naruto practically felt as if he had fallen into a honey jar.

As for being jealous or not... with that one-track brain of his, he simply could not think that far.

After dinner, the two little guys finished bathing and returned to the room. "Sasuke, how come you picked me to be your friend?"

Naruto lay sprawled on the bed, his eyes full of curiosity. "Why?"

Sasuke tilted his head. "No particular reason. I just wanted to be friends with you."

He paused, then suddenly sat up straight, his expression turning serious. "Oh right, Naruto. I have an insanely awesome training method. Do you want to try it?"

"If it works, it might make your strength shoot up like crazy!"

"What method?"

As soon as Naruto heard he could become stronger, he immediately threw the earlier question to the back of his mind and stared eagerly, waiting for Sasuke to continue. "Bzzzt—"

Sasuke raised one hand, and a crackling mass of lightning jumped in his palm. "Lightning Style!"

"Sasuke, you even know Lightning Style? Don't you already know Fire Style?"

Naruto's eyes went round, his face full of wonder. "You're way too amazing."

"I figured this method out myself, but I think you can do it too."

"The teacher taught us how to refine chakra in class, right?"

"It's taking the experience we build up from training and mixing it together with the energy in our body's cells, then storing it as a special kind of energy."

"Lightning Style can ** cells—put simply, I can use lightning to temper my cells and make them more durable."

Sasuke broke down the principle and explained it thoroughly. Naruto clearly could no longer sit still.

Even though the arcs of electricity in Sasuke's hand looked prickly and painful at a glance, they still could not suppress the impulse in his heart. "Okay, I'll try!"

Naruto nodded hard. "Done!"

Sasuke answered and directly reached his hand over.

Naruto swallowed.

Gritting his teeth, he stretched out his hand and grabbed Sasuke's palm.

Lightning Style surged over in an instant.

A fierce impact shook Naruto until his whole body trembled.

But his body was no pushover. Lightning of this intensity could not hurt him at all.

At the same time, Sasuke also used the power of Lightning Style to sense the situation inside Naruto's body.

The moment those powerful cells encountered the baptism of lightning, they actually began tempering directly. "Quick, hurry up and refine chakra!"

Sasuke gave a low shout. "Mm!"

Naruto immediately sat cross-legged properly and began circulating the chakra refinement method with all his strength.

Together with the insights accumulated from training during the day, the two little guys began some strange form of "dual cultivation" just like that.

Before long, an expression of both surprise and joy appeared on Sasuke's face.

Naruto, this kid, really was heaven's own son!

This physical constitution, this chakra refinement speed.

Even he himself could not help feeling a little jealous at this moment.

At the same time, Sasuke also figured out the truth of Naruto's body.

The Uzumaki Clan bloodline was simply formidable.

Looking back at the cells inside his own body, compared with Naruto's, the gap was more than just a little bit.

He guessed this was probably the shortcoming brought by the Uchiha Clan bloodline. "Hm?!"

Just as Sasuke was thinking, a strange feeling suddenly surged through his entire body.

He clearly had not taken the initiative to refine chakra, yet his body moved on its own and automatically began circulating chakra.

His cells opened and closed, and chakra surged and churned inside his body.

When chakra got tangled up with Lightning Release, it actually began helping Sasuke strengthen the cells of his body. "Ding, host has completed the 268th tempering."

"Ding, host has completed the 269th tempering."

As the system notifications rang out one after another, the corners of Sasuke's mouth lifted.

Though he could not figure out the exact principle behind it, he had at least found the way through this stage.

Then next—

"Naruto, follow the way I circulate my chakra."

"I'm about to increase the amount of Lightning Release. Hold steady."

Sasuke lowered his voice and gave the instructions.

Seeing that Naruto's gaze did not waver in the slightest, Sasuke did not waste any more time and directly released an even stronger Lightning Release. "Crackle..."

The sound of electric current exploded, and lightning scattered wildly in every direction.

But Sasuke immediately dragged it back again, controlling it tightly once more.