Sparring

Time slipped by, and when the number "46" was quietly carved onto the stone tablet at the entrance of the Hidden Leaf Village, Uchiha Narong stood on the training ground in his family courtyard, feeling the chakra surging through his body. A sense of fulfillment welled up in his heart. It had been almost a year since he became Orochimaru's disciple, and his growth during this time had far exceeded his initial expectations.

As a teacher, Orochimaru was dangerous and mysterious, but when it came to imparting knowledge, he truly had real substance and held nothing back. As long as Narong showed enough comprehension and potential, Orochimaru would systematically teach him all kinds of ninjutsu principles, the essentials of chakra nature transformation and shape transformation, from basic fire release and wind release to more refined composite ninjutsu construction. He even touched on the theoretical foundations of certain obscure forbidden techniques. Whether Narong could learn them, whether he could digest them, depended entirely on his own "talent." This high-intensity infusion of knowledge and guidance in real combat made Narong's strength soar over the past half year, steadily crossing the threshold into jonin level.

What surprised him even more was that not long ago, his Sharingan had advanced to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan naturally, without any violent emotional fluctuation. It was as if his spiritual energy had, with the growth of his experience and strength, broken through the bottleneck on its own. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan brought not only a massive boost to his insight, copying, and genjutsu abilities, but also fed back and nourished his mind and body, causing his total chakra to surge once again. By his rough estimate, his current chakra reserves had perhaps already reached nearly two Kaka levels. Even among the young and middle-aged generations of the entire Uchiha Clan, he could definitely be considered one of the standouts.

However, Narong chose to hide this matter, not even telling Orochimaru. The temptation brought by the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was far beyond what a two-tomoe could compare to. He could not be sure whether this teacher, who was filled with a desire to research bloodline limits, would develop some more "radical" ideas after learning of it. Before obtaining absolute strength sufficient to protect himself, keeping the necessary trump cards was the wisdom of survival.

The increase in strength brought confidence, but it also made Narong begin thinking about his next plans. Having jonin-level strength while bearing the title of a genin restricted him in many ways. Promotion to jonin? He knew it was not that simple. Unless he made outstanding military achievements in the coming war, he might have a chance to be exceptionally promoted to special jonin, but direct promotion to a regular jonin required strict comprehensive assessment and a review of qualifications. By comparison, promotion to chunin was much more realistic. Once he became a chunin, he would have much greater autonomy on the battlefield, and he could also lead teams on higher-level missions. This would be more advantageous for his subsequent plans.

That day, in the familiar laboratory in the Forest of Death, after Narong cooperated with Orochimaru to complete a series of data collections concerning the correlation between chakra pathways and bloodline limits, he took the opportunity while Orochimaru was recording the data to voice his thoughts.

"Teacher Orochimaru, I plan to apply to take this year's chunin exams."

Orochimaru's writing hand paused slightly. He raised his golden snake eyes to look at him. There was no surprise on his face. Instead, a faint, half-smiling expression appeared. "Oh? You finally feel that the identity of a genin no longer matches your strength?"

Narong said calmly, "Yes. The identity of a genin has too many restrictions. Whether in mission selection or freedom of action, it is hard to fully perform. I want to stand on a higher platform, and I can better... share some of your burdens, Teacher." His last sentence was spoken with deep implication.

Orochimaru let out a low laugh. "Hehehe... well said. If a disciple of mine, Orochimaru's, remained a genin forever, that truly would not be justifiable." He put down his pen and leaned forward slightly, with a trace of amusement. "I hear that Jiraiya's dead-last disciple, Namikaze Minato, has been in the spotlight recently. He is already a special jonin."

Narong understood inwardly. It seemed that even Orochimaru was not entirely unmoved when it came to the competition for the position of Hokage. The display of his disciple's strength was, to a certain extent, also a display of the power of his faction.

"I will mention the chunin exams to Teacher Sarutobi," Orochimaru said faintly. "With the strength you have shown, passing the exam is only a formality. However, the necessary procedures still have to be followed."

"Thank you, Teacher!" Narong's heart rejoiced. With Orochimaru stepping in, this matter was basically settled.

"Go. Let me see what sort of 'surprise' you can bring in the chunin exams." Orochimaru waved a hand and once again focused his attention on the experimental data, but the curve at the corner of his mouth showed that he seemed to be in a rather good mood.

Coming out of the cold laboratory, the sunlight outside was just right. Narong took a deep breath of fresh air and walked toward the Third Training Ground, where he often went. He was going to see Might Guy. Once he was promoted to chunin, the structure of Team Six would basically exist in name only. In the future, unless there were special high-difficulty missions, it would be difficult for them to team up as often as they did now. Whether emotionally or logically, he should personally tell Guy the news.

Sure enough, before he even got close to the training ground, he heard that familiar hot-blooded roar and the sound of fists and feet cutting through the air.

"Ohhhh! This is the five hundredth kick of youth!"

In the training ground, Might Guy was drenched in sweat as he carried out high-intensity basic taijutsu training. His movements were swift and powerful, and every punch and kick carried the sound of splitting wind. He was clearly much stronger than a year ago. Narong noticed that during breaks in his training, Guy would occasionally form hand seals and practice the chakra circulation for fire release. Although it still looked somewhat raw, he was indeed working hard to master ninjutsu.

"Guy!" Narong called out.

"Narong!" When Guy saw his friend, he immediately stopped training, and a brilliant smile bloomed on his face, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "You came at the perfect time! Hurry and have a passionate duel of youth with me!"

Narong smiled and shook his head, walking up to Guy. "We can talk about a duel in a moment. Guy, there's something I have to tell you. I'm preparing to apply for this year's chunin exams."

The smile on Guy's face paused for a moment, then became even more blazing. "Oh! The chunin exams! Is this the challenge of youth stepping into a new stage? Wonderful! Narong, you will definitely succeed!"

But soon, a trace of barely perceptible disappointment flashed through Guy's eyes, though he tried hard to cover it with a smile. "But... in that case, Team Six will..."

"Yeah." Narong nodded and patted Guy on the shoulder. "We may not be able to go on missions together often in the future. But we are still comrades and friends. Besides, with your current strength, passing the chunin exams is only a matter of time."

The current Might Guy, though only nine years old, was already quite formidable. Without opening the Eight Gates, his taijutsu combined with his increasingly practiced ninjutsu, mainly several basic fire release techniques he had learned from Narong, already gave him chunin-level combat power. He was more well-rounded and powerful than Lee at the same age in the original story, and even stronger than his father Might Duy had been at the same age. This was thanks to his own talent and hard work, and also inseparable from the stimulation of frequently sparring and exchanging pointers with Narong and Kakashi, his two "lifelong rivals."

"That's right!" Guy's fighting spirit was instantly ignited. "I am the man who will surpass Kakashi and you and become the strongest taijutsu ninja! I will also work hard for the chunin exams! When the time comes, it will be a duel between chunin!"

Looking at Guy's energetic appearance, Narong also smiled. Being with Guy always made people feel relaxed and full of drive.

"By the way, Guy, the Eight Gates you taught me—I can already steadily open the Third Gate, the Gate of Life," Narong said. He had not hidden this from Guy. Back then, he had exchanged several of his own fire release ninjutsu, Great Fireball and Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, to ask Guy for guidance on the Eight Gates. Guy had been very generous, and after obtaining the consent of his father, Might Duy, he had taught him everything he knew. Of course, calling it an exchange was really just because Guy was willing to teach him. Those few fire release techniques of his could not compare to the Eight Gates, which were equivalent to a forbidden technique. The main issue was that this forbidden technique was indeed extremely difficult to master. Even someone as strong as Kakashi could only barely open the First Gate and found it difficult to use in practice. But relying on an adult's mental strength, the Uchiha's excellent chakra control, and his physical condition, Narong had finally achieved a breakthrough.

"Really?!" Guy's eyes went round, and then he burst out with even greater enthusiasm. "So youthful! Narong! Let us have a real duel! No holding back! Let me see your current strength!"

Seeing Guy rubbing his fists, eager to try, Narong knew this fight could not be avoided. He also wanted to test his current level in actual combat. "Good! Then let's do it!"

The two pulled apart and stood facing each other.

"First round! A warm-up battle of youth!" Guy roared and launched the first attack. His speed was extremely fast, closing in instantly as Leaf Whirlwind came kicking over fiercely.

Narong's Three-Tomoe Sharingan quietly opened in his eyes, though he controlled the display to show only two tomoe. The trajectory of Guy's movements was incomparably clear in his eyes. He did not take it head-on. With a slight shift of his feet, he avoided it by the smallest margin, while forming a hand seal with one hand.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A powerful current of air surged out, disrupting Guy's balance.

Guy reacted quickly, using the force to flip and land on the ground. His hands formed seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A blazing fireball flew toward Narong. Although its scale and power were inferior to Narong's when he used it, it was still decent enough.

Narong neither dodged nor avoided. His hands formed seals even faster, and chakra surged violently.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

A massive wave of roaring flame instantly swallowed Guy's Great Fireball and surged toward Guy with a force that blotted out the sky! This was a B-rank fire release technique with an extremely wide range and astonishing power.

Guy's expression changed, and he immediately moved at high speed to dodge, looking somewhat bedraggled.

"It's not over yet!" Narong pressed his advantage, the wind release and fire release chakra within his body combining skillfully.

"Composite Ninja Art: Blazing Breakthrough!"

A flaming tornado, several times larger than an ordinary Great Fireball and even hotter and fiercer because of the added wind-nature chakra, roared out, instantly sealing off a large swath of Guy's dodging space! This was one of the powerful B-rank ninjutsu Narong currently had mastered.

With nowhere to dodge, Guy's gaze sharpened, and the chakra points in his body burst open!

"Eight Gates, First Gate, Gate of Opening, open!"

"Second Gate, Gate of Healing, open!"

His speed and strength suddenly increased. Guy narrowly brushed past the edge of the flaming tornado, his clothes scorched black by the high temperature.

"Third Gate, Gate of Life, open!" Guy did not stop, directly opening the Third Gate. His skin began to turn red, veins bulged, and his aura became wild. This was the highest stage he could currently control steadily.

"Morning Peacock!" Guy stamped hard on the ground and charged toward Narong at astonishing speed. His fists swung out like a storm, rubbing against the air to produce large amounts of flame, dazzling like a peacock spreading its tail and covering all of Narong's paths of retreat!

Facing Guy's all-out strike, Narong's expression remained calm. He did not choose to open the Eight Gates and clash head-on, nor did he use Rasengan. Instead, he brought the insight of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to its extreme. Amid the skyful of fist shadows, he accurately found that tiny gap and the instant flaw when Guy's old strength had been spent and his new strength had not yet risen!

His body twisted at an unbelievable angle, avoiding the vast majority of the attacks. At the same time, a precise hand chop, containing his jonin-level chakra, lightly tapped the weak point of Guy's elbow joint.

"Urgh!" Guy only felt his arm go numb. His offensive instantly collapsed, and his whole body rushed forward due to inertia.

Narong followed the motion with a leg sweep, and Guy immediately lost his balance and fell to the ground. Although he instantly flipped over and sprang up, the outcome had already been decided.

The green steam around Guy slowly dissipated. He panted heavily, looking at Narong, whose breathing remained steady. There was no discouragement from defeat on his face. Instead, he was filled with excitement and admiration. "Amazing! Narong! You really have become even stronger! That huge fireball and composite ninjutsu just now, and your Sharingan... I lost fair and square! This is the goal that youth must surpass!"

Narong reached out and pulled Guy up, smiling. "You're also very strong, Guy. The power of the Eight Gates is truly astonishing." These words were sincere. If Guy had disregarded everything and opened higher gates, the outcome would still be unknown.

After this exhilarating sparring match, Narong had a clearer understanding of his current strength. Under normal conditions, relying on the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his rich ninjutsu system—Great Fireball, Phoenix Sage Fire, Great Fire Annihilation, Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, Composite Ninja Art: Blazing Breakthrough—and the Rasengan as a trump card, dealing with Guy when he did not open the higher stages of the Eight Gates was indeed relatively easy. As for the first three gates of the Eight Gates, they served as a means of explosive power and self-preservation at critical moments.

After saying goodbye to Guy, who was still full of fighting spirit and preparing to double his training, Uchiha Narong walked alone on the road back to the village. The setting sun stretched his shadow very long.

He raised his head and looked toward Hokage Rock, and a decision had already formed in his heart. The chunin exams would be his first step toward a broader stage. And beneath the calm surface of the Hidden Leaf, as well as the entire ninja world, the clouds of war seemed to be drawing ever closer. He had to seize the time and become stronger.

The next day, Uchiha Narong formally submitted his application for chunin promotion to the Hokage Office. With Orochimaru having notified them in advance, the process went exceptionally smoothly. Next, all that remained was to wait for the exams to arrive.