Moegi Is Kidnapped

"Teach me, okay? I want to learn too!"

"Enough, Konohamaru."

Naruto reached out and pressed a hand on Konohamaru's head. "There are a lot of people from other villages in the village lately. You three should stay home and behave yourselves. Don't go running around."

"Why?"

"I haven't even shown you my newly developed super ninja technique yet!"

"Because your identity is sensitive."

Naruto bent down. "There are a lot of ninja from other villages moving around Konoha right now. Someone with ill intentions could come after you at any time."

Konohamaru blinked, intimidated by Naruto's serious expression.

His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but when he saw how serious Naruto looked, he swallowed the words back down.

"All right, I understand, Big Brother."

Naruto nodded. "Then hurry home."

"Moegi, Udon, you two be careful too."

"Okay, Naruto!"

Moegi and Udon replied in unison.

Konohamaru jogged off toward home with his two followers. He kept turning back to wave at Naruto as he ran, shouting:

"Big Brother, be careful of that red-haired weirdo from before..."

Before he could finish, he nearly tripped over a stone again.

After the three little ones had run off, Naruto casually withdrew his gaze and turned it toward Sasuke, who had been standing beneath a tree the whole time.

He did not need to look to know Sasuke had been watching him. His eyes had not shifted away since earlier.

"Sasuke, why are you looking at me like that?"

Naruto turned around.

Sasuke did not avoid Naruto's gaze.

Leaning against the trunk with his arms crossed, he stared straight at Naruto with dark eyes, his expression grave.

"Dead last, when did you get so strong?"

He had seen it clearly just now.

Naruto had vanished from where he stood and appeared before Kankuro, grabbing his wrist. The distance had been at least a dozen meters, and Naruto had crossed it almost instantly.

It was not the Body Flicker Technique. That required hand seals, yet Naruto's hands had hung naturally at his sides. There had been no sign of him forming seals.

This was pure physical speed.

And honestly, Sasuke could not achieve that speed yet.

Before he had lost consciousness, Naruto had still been the dead last who climbed trees half a beat slower than him.

But after he had passed out, Naruto had used some method Sasuke did not know to break Haku's Ice Crystal Magic Mirrors. Later, he learned from Kakashi that Naruto had even defeated Haku.

And now, he had subdued an official Sand Village ninja with a joint lock.

Even the way he spoke, the way he walked, and the expression he wore when he fought had all changed.

The old Naruto used to bare his teeth and turn red-faced in battle, as though he wanted to shout with every punch. The current Naruto did not say a word when he fought, calm as Kakashi.

Sasuke could not understand it.

But he had to know the answer.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and did not avoid the question.

He nodded, his tone ordinary, neither boastful nor deliberately humble.

"Yeah. After we came back from the Land of Waves, I trained for a while."

"My strength has improved a little compared to before."

Sasuke's brows furrowed even deeper.

Trained for a while?

A few days were enough to go from dead last to that kind of speed?

He wanted to ask more, but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.

He was Sasuke Uchiha. He would not press someone else for their training methods. That was what weaklings did.

He was a genius, the one who had always walked ahead of Naruto and made Naruto chase after him with all his might.

But now, he vaguely felt that his place was no longer so secure.

Sasuke said nothing.

He merely lowered his hands from his chest and shoved them into his shorts pockets, clenching them tightly into fists.

Then he turned around and walked back the way he had come without a word.

His back remained straight, and his stride still carried the pride unique to the Uchiha clan, but the fists in his pockets were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

Naruto watched Sasuke's retreating figure grow distant. He did not chase after him or offer any explanation.

Some things could not be solved through explanation.

Sasuke was someone who defined the meaning of his existence through his own strength. What he needed was never comfort or reassurance, but stronger opponents and harsher trials.

Especially at this point in time. The Chūnin Exams were right ahead, and Orochimaru was about to plant the Curse Mark on Sasuke.

If Naruto went to comfort him now out of pity, slowing his own pace to protect Sasuke's pride, he would only be harming Sasuke instead.

Letting him experience the gap in strength early, letting him face the coming trials with resentment and a sense of crisis, would instead give him a greater chance of surviving.

As for Orochimaru planting the Curse Mark on Sasuke during the upcoming Chūnin Exams, Naruto did not intend to stop it either. Sasuke had his own path to walk, and staying in Konoha might even hinder his growth.

Most importantly, Naruto's current strength was not enough to stop Orochimaru. He might instead expose himself and draw Orochimaru's attention.

Still, Naruto needed to change the way Sasuke left.

He could not leave as a rogue ninja.

"But before that, I should improve my own strength too. I'll act tonight. Time waits for no one!"

With that thought, Naruto turned and started toward his apartment.

But he had taken fewer than ten steps.

"Ah!"

A scream came from around the corner in the street ahead. It was a little girl's voice, sharp and urgent, as if it had slipped through the gaps between fingers after someone suddenly covered her mouth.

Naruto recognized Moegi's voice.

He and Sasuke, who was still not far away, stopped almost at the same time.

They exchanged a look across several dozen meters, then charged toward the sound one after the other.

Naruto was faster. Every point where his feet landed was precisely chosen to maximize his forward momentum. After only a few leaps, he had pulled far ahead.

Sasuke followed closely behind. This time, he clearly saw how Naruto accelerated. He gathered chakra precisely beneath his feet, not crudely blasting it out for propulsion, but adjusting the chakra's density and angle at every instant he exerted force, using the least expenditure for the greatest displacement.

He had seen Kakashi use a similar method before, but he had never expected Naruto to use it even more smoothly than Kakashi.

When Naruto burst out of the alley, the sight before him made his pupils contract sharply.

A figure in a dark gray cloak was carrying Moegi over their shoulder and fleeing away from the main road. Their speed was not especially fast, but their route was exceptionally tricky, deliberately taking blind spots on rooftops and concealed alleys between old buildings.

Konohamaru had fallen at the mouth of the alley, his scarf undone and dragging along the ground as he struggled to get back up.

"Naruto, that bad guy took Moegi!"

By the time Konohamaru yelled those words, Naruto had already rushed out.

He had no time to stop and comfort Konohamaru. His whole body became a blurred golden afterimage as he pursued the cloaked figure along their escape route.