The Calm Before the Storm

The wind on the rooftop suddenly died down.

Kakashi's hand seal for the Body Flicker Technique froze halfway through. His entire body looked like a videotape that had been paused, his pose indescribably comical.

Stiffly, frame by frame, he turned his head. His one remaining dead-fish eye had narrowed into an extremely dangerous slit, locked firmly onto the blond boy bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Naruto slipped his hands back into his pockets, the wild, arrogant grin at the corner of his mouth especially glaring beneath the orange-red glow.

His tone was calm, yet each word struck Kakashi's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"I hope you'll be a little more serious tomorrow."

"Don't let me beat you too badly."

Holy shit!

Kakashi's brain crashed on the spot, and ten thousand alpacas stampeded through his mind.

What kind of insane thing was that to say?

A twelve-year-old genin who had just graduated was openly provoking him, a famed elite jonin who had copied over a thousand ninjutsu?

And telling him not to get beaten too badly?

Was this brat really crazy, or had he grown tired of living?!

"Oh?"

Kakashi forcibly suppressed the raging waves in his heart, pulling his mouth into a grim curve.

The laziness in his dead-fish eye vanished without a trace, replaced by the sharpness and scrutiny of a hunter watching prey.

"Anyone can talk big."

His voice turned cold as well, as if tempered in ice.

"Don't come crying tomorrow, brat."

"Poof!"

Before his words had even faded, a cloud of white smoke exploded, and Kakashi's figure vanished completely from the rooftop.

Only a meaningful echo remained in the air, along with an approaching storm that was destined to be anything but calm...

"Tch."

Naruto curled his lip dismissively.

Still trying to sound tough?

He's acting like an elementary school kid setting up a fight after class.

He could not even be bothered to look at the two petrified "teammates" beside him. Turning around, he strolled toward the stairway.

Sakura Haruno was still immersed in his earth-shattering declaration about adding the most beautiful woman to his family tree. Her little mouth hung wide enough to fit an egg, and her mind was completely blank.

Sasuke Uchiha, meanwhile, clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deeply into his flesh.

For the first time, cracks appeared on that eternally icy face.

Humiliation, rage, unwillingness, and a sliver of terror he himself refused to acknowledge...

Reviving the Uchiha Clan was his lifelong goal!

Yet that "idiot" Naruto had shouted a similar but entirely different dream in an even more arrogant and domineering manner!

And Kakashi's final reaction... had clearly treated that dead last as a genuine opponent!

Why?!

Why did that perennial dead last, who only knew how to pull pranks, deserve that?!

Sasuke's gloomy gaze was like poisoned blades, nailed firmly to Naruto's retreating back. Yet he discovered that from beginning to end, Naruto had not even bothered to spare him a glance.

It was a pure disregard that came from the depths of his bones.

As though Sasuke Uchiha did not even qualify to be his opponent.

"Uzumaki... Naruto!"

Sasuke squeezed those words out through gritted teeth. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in its sockets, and the violent killing intent around him nearly solidified.

Naturally, Naruto could not be bothered to care what that terminally chuunibyou patient was thinking.

When he returned to his shabby, almost pitifully bare apartment, he could not even be bothered to turn on the lights.

The moment he shut the door, the entire world fell silent.

He took off that cumbersome orange tracksuit, revealing the perfect body beneath it, brimming with explosive power. Then he casually sat cross-legged on the cold floor.

He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his body.

"Whew..."

With a long breath, a vast ocean-like life force began to flow slowly through his limbs and bones.

The power of the Perfect Uzumaki Sage Body was like an inexhaustible treasure vault. Every deeper exploration brought him new surprises.

His five senses were amplified without limit. He could clearly "hear" the uncle next door grinding his teeth, "smell" the aroma of grilled meat drifting up from the street below, and "see" the tiny motes of dust floating in the air.

This absolute sense of control over himself and the outside world fascinated him beyond measure.

Tomorrow, huh...

A playful smile curled Naruto's lips.

Team 7 was less a team and more a slapdash group thrown together on a whim.

One girl with terminal love-brain, who couldn't walk straight whenever she saw a handsome guy. Pure dead weight.

One guy with terminal revenge syndrome, whose head was filled with killing his brother, whose pride was higher than the sky and whose strength was thinner than paper. A tsundere-faced ice statue.

And on top of that, a veteran teacher who acted lazy on the surface, was black-bellied underneath, and liked using lateness to mess with people...

Tsk, tsk. What an absolute disaster of a lineup.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of golden light passed through his deep blue pupils.

Fine, then. Let this newly appointed "class president" teach you all a proper lesson in real-world practice.

The first lesson will be teaching Kakashi-sensei... what power truly is!

At the same time, inside the Hokage's Office.

The atmosphere was as heavy as iron.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffed steadily on his pipe. Bluish-white smoke curled around him, making his wrinkled old face appear even more profound.

Standing opposite him was Kakashi Hatake, who had just used the Body Flicker Technique to return from the rooftop.

At this moment, Kakashi no longer carried even a trace of his usual laziness.

His hands remained in his pockets, but his body stood perfectly straight, his expression more solemn than ever before.

"Third Hokage-sama."

Kakashi spoke first, breaking the silence.

"That child, Naruto Uzumaki... has changed."

"Oh?"

The Third Hokage exhaled a ring of smoke, his cloudy old eyes lifting slightly. "Tell me in detail."

"He..." Kakashi seemed to be searching for the right words. A rare hint of hesitation appeared on his face. "There's something in his eyes... a wildness that cannot be controlled."

"That wasn't the look a twelve-year-old should have. It was... a domineering arrogance that regarded all things as mere dogs! As though the entire world ought to crawl beneath his feet!"

Kakashi took a deep breath and continued, "And his chakra... it has no bottom!"

"Standing before him, I even had the illusion of facing a Tailed Beast! No, it was even more terrifying than that! It was life energy condensed to the utmost extreme, pure to the utmost extreme! I have never seen chakra this terrifying before!"

As he listened to Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He tapped his pipe against the table, producing a soft knock.

"Minato's child was never willing to live an ordinary life..."

He let out a quiet sigh, his gaze complicated as he looked toward Konoha's nightscape beyond the window.

"Kakashi, tomorrow you will become their instructor. That exercise will be the perfect opportunity to probe his limits."

The Third Hokage's voice turned grave. "I'll have ANBU standing by at a distance, just in case."

"Remember, do not use lethal force. I only want to know how far he has truly come."

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama."

Kakashi lowered his head respectfully, but raging waves rose within his heart.

Even ANBU had to stand by?

What exactly was the Third Hokage guarding against?

Elsewhere, inside the heavily guarded Hyuga Estate.

Unlike the undercurrents raging outside, Hinata's bedroom was currently playing out the sweet scene of a young girl in love.

Hinata Hyuga had wrapped herself completely in her soft blanket, with only her crimson little head exposed.

She lay face-down on the bed, her fair little feet kicking wildly through the air without rhythm, like a happy little mermaid.

In her mind, the scene in the infirmary replayed over and over like a movie.

Naruto's scorching breath...

That low, dangerous question whispered beside her ear...

And that gentle confession that had nearly made her heart leap out of her chest—"I quite like gentle girls like you."

"Eek—!"

Hinata was so embarrassed that she buried her face deeply in her pillow, letting out a muffled, sweet cry.

"Naruto-kun... likes... me..."

Fourteen years of secret love had finally received an answer today!

The overwhelming happiness and fulfillment made her feel as though she had been soaked in a jar of honey, radiating a cloying sweetness from head to toe.

She rolled wildly beneath the blanket, over and over, until she had wrapped herself into a plump little spring roll. Only then did she stop in satisfaction, grinning foolishly without end.

The next morning, the sun rose.

Thin mist lingered over the Third Training Ground.

Sasuke Uchiha leaned against a large tree, arms folded over his chest, eyes closed as though resting. But the occasional twitch at the corner of his eye exposed the turmoil within him.

Sakura Haruno sat off to the side, yawning repeatedly as her stomach growled. Her pretty face was filled with grievance and resentment.

The two of them had strictly obeyed Kakashi's order not to eat breakfast. Now, they were so hungry their chests practically stuck to their backs.

On the other side of the training ground, however, the scene was entirely different.

Naruto Uzumaki looked refreshed and full of energy. He was even leisurely practicing a set of slow, soothing martial arts movements with a deep and far-reaching air to them.

The movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water, balancing hardness with softness. It was Tai Chi, a form he had mastered by heart in his previous life.

As he stretched and moved, his muscles and bones let out a series of crackling pops. His entire body exuded the air of a master, harmonious and self-contained, endlessly alive.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and his pupils abruptly contracted when he saw this.

Sakura stared blankly as well, her hunger-addled mind temporarily unable to process what she was seeing.

This guy... not only ate breakfast, he was even doing morning exercises here?

Was he treating Kakashi-sensei's words like they were nothing?!

Just then.

"Yo, good morning, everyone."

A lazy voice suddenly rang out from nowhere.

Kakashi Hatake, who was a full three hours late, finally appeared before them with messy silver hair and a copy of Icha Icha Paradise in hand.

He shook the two silver bells hanging from his waist, making them chime crisply.

"The rules of the exercise are simple."

Kakashi explained with a smiling gaze, "Before noon, anyone who takes these two bells from me passes and gets to eat the deluxe bento I prepared."

"As for anyone who can't..."

His dead-fish eye instantly turned cold.

"Get back to the Ninja Academy and become an apprentice again!"

"What?!"

Sakura was stunned. "But... there are only two bells, and there are three of us!"

Kakashi smiled coldly. "That's right. Which means one of you is destined to be eliminated, tied to that post, and forced to watch the others eat lunch."

The terrifying pressure of elimination instantly descended upon Sasuke and Sakura.

"Well then..."

Kakashi closed his book, raised his head, and revealed the Sharingan hidden beneath his forehead protector.

"Ready..."

"Begin!"

At his command!

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Sasuke and Sakura did not dare hesitate in the slightest. They instantly transformed into two afterimages, darting into the nearby forest at top speed to wait for an opportunity to strike.

In the blink of an eye, only two people remained in the vast clearing.

One was Kakashi Hatake, the elite jonin leisurely holding his little orange book.

The other was Naruto Uzumaki, the "dead last," standing calmly with his hands in his pockets.

A breeze swept through, carrying several fallen leaves with it. The atmosphere turned murderous.

Kakashi looked at his book with one eye while his other eye watched the motionless Naruto from the corner of his vision. He spoke lazily, "Why aren't you hiding?"

"Facing a jonin head-on is the stupidest choice you can make."

Naruto slowly raised his head and rolled his neck, producing a string of crisp pops like beans cracking.

He grinned, revealing a row of stark white teeth.

"Hide?"

"That was a game only the weak needed to play."

"Against someone at your level..."

Naruto's gaze suddenly turned savage and ferocious!

"I just need to crush you head-on!"

Before his words had even faded!

"BOOM—!!!"

The ground beneath Naruto's feet violently exploded, leaving a crater half a meter wide!

Rubble flew everywhere!

His body shot forward like a golden cannonball fired from its barrel, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek. In an instant, he crossed more than ten meters and appeared directly before Kakashi!

That face, wearing an arrogant smile, was right in front of him!