Sasuke Takes a Master

Naruto, exhausted from doing chores all night, finally fell asleep before dawn.

In his hazy sleep, he had a dream.

In the dream, he had a father, a mother, and Senior Natsuki. Then they all turned into huge bowls of Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto reached forward to grab one.

"Ow."

Naruto tumbled right out of bed.

Rubbing his bleary eyes, Naruto got ready to wash up.

Through his blurry vision, he saw a figure standing in his home.

"Whoa!"

Naruto let out a startled cry.

Only then did he see that it was the Third Hokage.

"Third Hokage Grandpa, why are you here?"

"Naruto, I came to see you. I heard you made a new friend yesterday?" the Third Hokage asked kindly.

"Hehe, I guess you could say we're friends. You mean Senior Natsuki, Third Hokage Grandpa? He's one of Sasuke's clan members, and he asked me to spend more time with Sasuke."

"He's just as nice as you, Third Hokage Grandpa. He treated me to Ichiraku Ramen, and he even had Sasuke buy me so many clothes."

Naruto eagerly shared his joy with the Third Hokage, whom he felt close to, while the Third Hokage listened with a patient expression.

The Third Hokage smiled benevolently. "So, what did your Senior Natsuki say to you?"

"Oh! Senior Natsuki told me to get along well with Sasuke and not be naughty or cause trouble."

Naruto smacked his forehead. "Third Hokage Grandpa, come take a look."

As he spoke, he took out the clothes Sasuke had picked out yesterday.

He held them up against himself.

"Do they look good?"

"Hmm, they do. Very good."

After probing and confirming that Natsuki had not instilled anything in Naruto, the Third Hokage was relieved. He then chatted with Naruto for a while.

Afterward, the Third Hokage took out 5,000 ryō and gave them to Naruto.

"Naruto, you're grown up now. You'll be starting classes tomorrow. From now on, listen to your teachers at school. Take these 5,000 ryō for living expenses."

Naruto took the money, somewhat confused. "Third Hokage Grandpa, why are you giving me so much money?"

The Third Hokage smiled gently. "Once you go to the Ninja Academy, you'll need to buy all kinds of ninja tools. That costs money. Don't spend it recklessly."

Naruto was deeply moved. "Thank you, Third Hokage Grandpa! When I grow up, I'll definitely repay you!"

"Hahaha, remember those words. Go register early tomorrow. I should be going."

"Okay! Hehe!" Life had suddenly become so happy.

Naruto could not help letting out a foolish grin.

Uchiha Clan Compound.

"Serve your master tea."

Sasuke did not have any particular understanding of taking a master, but he did not dislike Natsuki.

So, at Fugaku's urging, he formally became Natsuki's disciple today.

Fugaku had originally planned to invite some friends over, but Natsuki, who disliked formalities, refused.

In his words, drinking a cup of tea counted as taking a master.

How much Sasuke could learn would depend entirely on Sasuke himself.

After Natsuki drank the tea, Fugaku soon left.

Although he no longer had to handle the Police Force's affairs, the clan compound had been destroyed, and the Uchiha Clan was now in desperate need of rebuilding.

Most of Fugaku's time was spent arranging the reconstruction of the clan compound.

Of course, that was only his work on the surface.

More of Fugaku's work involved secretly recruiting business talent, which would benefit their future development.

[ Ding! Congratulations to the host for greatly changing Sasuke Uchiha's life.]

Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Amenotejikara x1

Amenotejikara? It seemed to be the ocular technique Sasuke possessed after gaining the Rinnegan.

He would use it whenever it was useful. No matter how many times Natsuki complained about the system, it gave no response.

He could only wait until he completed this stage of the system's mission and see whether any new functions would be unlocked.

After Fugaku left, Sasuke and Natsuki were left staring at each other.

"Master, what are you going to teach me today?"

Natsuki scratched his head. He had never considered exactly how to teach Sasuke, nor had he come up with any concrete plan.

But Sasuke would be going to school soon, so it was better for him to build his foundations at school.

At most, Natsuki would give Sasuke some extra instruction.

That would help Sasuke grow faster.

And he needed to break Sasuke's habit of acting cool.

Natsuki cleared his throat. "Sasuke, since you call me Master, I'll formally begin teaching you from now on."

"Yes, Master!" Sasuke sat up straight.

Natsuki waved his hand. "I don't like stiff ways of getting along. You don't need to be like this. Just treat me like a friend."

"Okay, Master." Sasuke's face relaxed, and he shifted into a less rigid sitting posture.

Natsuki said, "Now, let your master test you."

Sasuke put on a cool expression. "Go ahead, Master. I'm really strong."

Natsuki led Sasuke into the empty courtyard.

"Good. Sasuke, attack me now. Use everything you know—Shuriken, kunai, Fire Release. Attack with the determination to kill me."

Sasuke had known since early on that there would be a test today, so he had prepared his ninja tool pouch well in advance.

"Master, here I come!" Sasuke lowered his body, pulled out his Shuriken, and assumed a convincing fighting stance.

Natsuki waved his hand, signaling Sasuke to come at him.

Sasuke threw two Shuriken with quite good accuracy.

Natsuki remained where he was. Once the Shuriken flew toward him, he merely tilted his neck and let them pass by.

Seeing that the Shuriken were ineffective, Sasuke rushed forward with an entire set of radio calisthenics—no, it should have been called Uchiha Style Taijutsu.

Natsuki casually parried with one hand and completely blocked Sasuke's attacks.

Why else would they say Uchiha Style Taijutsu existed for showing off?

With the Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan's physical coordination was exceptionally good.

Combined with their perceptive eyes, it allowed Uchiha Clan Members to fight with the elegance of dancing on a blade's edge.

But Sasuke was too young, his physical condition was too poor, and he had not Awakened his Sharingan.

In Natsuki's eyes, it was much like radio calisthenics. Many of the flashy kicks and flips had far too many openings.

With a casual punch to Sasuke's stomach,

Sasuke's entire body stiffened. He slowly staggered back several steps, dropped to his knees, and spat out a large mouthful of saliva before recovering.

"You're still far from it, Sasuke." Natsuki's casual remark

instead stirred Sasuke's competitive spirit. Sasuke raised his hands to form seals.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Sasuke puffed out his chest and expelled a surging torrent of flames.

His entire Line of Sight turned red with fire, yet Sasuke had not even finished exhaling.

Even Father praised this technique. Before Sasuke could finish the thought,

Natsuki had already gone around the wall of flames and struck Sasuke's neck with a hand chop.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Sasuke had been in the middle of blasting out his Great Fireball when he was struck in the neck, nearly choking himself breathless.

He coughed for quite some time before recovering.

Natsuki stood nearby with his arms folded, watching him.

"Master."

Sasuke was somewhat uneasy, unsure what his master thought of him.

After thinking for a moment, Natsuki decided to be stricter.

Under Sasuke's anxious gaze, Natsuki's expression turned cold.

"This is an absolute mess. Sasuke, is this what you've been learning all this time? How has Itachi been teaching you—playing ninja games with you?"

"Who taught you to use Fire Release like that? What were you doing just now? Setting off Fire Release as fireworks?"

"I'm sorry, Master."

Sasuke lowered his head in disappointment. He had not expected to defeat his teacher,

but he had wanted his teacher to acknowledge his strength. He had not expected his teacher to dismiss him as worthless.

"Do you know where you lost?" Natsuki asked.

Sasuke opened his mouth, but lowered his head again.