When the Skies Cleared and the Rain Stopped, Sasuke Felt Like He Could Do It Again
Sasuke had already caught a glimpse of the newcomer out of the corner of his eye, and a desire to show off instantly ignited within him.
With his next throw, he deliberately added two spinning motions, his body tumbling and flying, looking extremely elegant.
The moment he landed, he quickly glanced up at the corridor below, eagerly awaiting a compliment.
Natsu's expression remained calm and undisturbed, without even the slightest fluctuation in her eyes.
Sasuke up, so he gritted his teeth and tried again.
This time, the spin was even more pronounced, and the landing posture was deliberately neat and beautiful. The little desire for recognition and affirmation was almost blatantly written on his face.
"Your spinning move."
Natsu finally spoke, her tone as light as casual conversation, without a trace of criticism, yet every word was precise and piercing.
"In a real battlefield, that's enough to kill you three times over. You'll expose an opening when you jump, you'll be unable to block at the highest point of your flight, and you'll expose it again when you land and finish your pose. By the time you leisurely finish this circle, the enemy's Kunai already pinned you to the stake."
Sasuke's smug expression froze instantly, his pride dampened by a bucket of cold water. He still refused to back down, muttering in protest, "The teachers at the Clan Academy said my movements are very fluid, already at the Jonin."
"Clan Academy teaches you is how to minimize injuries in a confrontation Genin- level opponents."
Natsu slowly straightened up, her gaze clear and insightful, seeing through everything.
"But what I'm going to teach you is how to survive in battles between Jonin and even top-tier powerhouses."
He looked up at the boy, his scarlet Sharingan quietly opening. His calm eyes held no hint of intimidation, yet possessed a power that brought tranquility.
"The Three Tomoe is merely the entry requirement for the Uchiha clan, not a graduation certificate to make you proud and complacent."
"Qi awakened the Three Tomoe at the age of twelve. After that, he devoted himself to honing his foundation for three whole years before he could barely touch the threshold of the Kage Level."
Rin awakened her Sharingan at the age of eleven, displaying talent far surpassing her peers. Even now, she still diligently practices the most basic Shuriken, Hand Seals, and Taijutsu every day, never daring to slack off.
The day Chunwu first awakened his Three Tomoe, he was even more arrogant than you. He turned around and challenged Qi to a duel, only to be beaten black and blue. From then on, he never dared to be arrogant or cocky again.
He took a slow step forward, his gaze fixed steadily on Sasuke: "You think you can rank among the top in the clan just because you awakened your Sharingan and used a few fancy techniques?"
A single rhetorical question instantly silenced Sasuke. The boy lowered his hands, all the arrogance in his eyes vanished, and he silently lowered his head.
Natsu walked past him, raised her hand and gently patted the boy's head. Her movements were gentle, but her words were earnest.
"Remember, the Three Tomoe is just the beginning."
"Starting today, all fancy movements will be abandoned, and the amount of basic training will be doubled."
Let me teach you the simplest yet most fundamental principle: true strength doesn't rely on flashy moves or fancy techniques.
Because every single move they make is itself the most extreme and perfect killing move."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stood in the center of the Training Ground, tilted his head slightly, and raised his hand to Sasuke.
"Come on, use your strongest Fire Release to attack me. Let me see just how much real skill you have in your proud ' Jonin '."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and focused his mind, his resentment and competitive spirit rising within him.
His hands flew across the Hand Seals, forming hand seals, and the air suddenly became hot.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
A torrent of flames erupted from his mouth, a raging inferno sweeping across the sky, carrying scorching heat waves that hurtled directly at those in the arena.
Natsu stood still, her body motionless, without even activating her Sharingan.
Just as the flames were about to lick the Setsuna of his clothes, he subtly shifted his body to the side, his movements calm and leisurely, without the slightest hint of haste.
A raging wave of fire swept past his shoulder and slammed into the stone slab behind him, instantly scorching a patch of blackened marks and sending waves of heat rolling in.
"His basic skills are decent, but he still has a long way to go in terms of mastery."
Natsu looked straight ahead, a faint smile playing on her lips, "Again."
As the setting sun slowly sank into the west in the courtyard, it cast two extremely long shadows, one long and one short.
In the Training Ground, the crisp sound of Kunai driven into wooden stakes and the whistling sound of Fire Release echoed continuously from the afternoon until Dusk and the night deepened.
Later, when Sasuke mentioned this almost crushing training session to Rin, he hesitated for a long time before summarizing it precisely in eight words: "Natsu is not human."
Rin, who usually loved to bicker with him, surprisingly didn't argue this time and silently nodded in agreement.
Inside the Revolutionary Army Headquarters on the other side
The warm afterglow of their belated reunion in the living room still lingered in their hearts, never fading away.
Sabo almost immediately grabbed Ace's sleeve and pulled him up from his seat, his tone filled with barely suppressed urgency.
"There are too many people around here, it's not a good place to talk in detail. Let me take you to a quiet place."
Ace let him pull him forward, his steps light and his eyes full of relaxed smiles.
He turned his head to look at the person hurrying by in front of him and couldn't help but tease, "You're the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army now, a person in a high position, how come your temperament is still exactly the same as when you were a child, unable to calm down at all?"
Without turning his head, Sabo continued walking and casually retorted, "I learned it from someone. I've been reckless and impulsive since I was little. I just picked it up from what I saw and heard."
"Hey? Are you praising me or insulting me?"
"Taste it yourself."
The two walked one after the other through the crisscrossing white earthen alleyways, avoiding the patrolling soldiers and passing staff.
Sabo pushed open a simple wooden door, revealing a small but neat and tidy house. It lacked the luxury of a high-ranking official's residence, only the cleanliness and orderliness of a home.
Several unfiled intelligence files were scattered on the table, their edges neatly pressed flat.
The water pipe he always carried with him leaned against the corner of the wall, its surface worn smooth and shiny from years of use.
On the windowsill sat a cup of tea that had long since gone cold, a thin layer of condensation clinging to the sides—the lingering warmth from a busy moment when it hadn't been finished.
"Sit wherever you like, don't be shy," Sabo casually told him, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
Ace, without any hesitation, plopped down comfortably on the edge of the bed, his long legs casually stretched out. He slowly surveyed the simple, unpretentious little room, a playful smile in his eyes, "This is the private room of the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command? It looks about the same size as Dadan's cramped and messy storage room back then."
"I chose this myself." Sabo's fingertips lightly traced the edge of the chair, his tone calm and natural. "The room is too big and empty; I can't sleep soundly."
Ace smiled knowingly, feeling a deep resonance. "That's true. When we were kids, the three of us squeezed into a tiny, rickety bed, and there weren't enough blankets to go around. We were used to fighting for space every night. Suddenly living alone in a spacious room, anyone would feel empty and uncomfortable."