Could hard work alone really take someone this far?

Time flew by.

There was nothing unusual about today's routine: theory lessons, little historical anecdotes, and shuriken practice.

It was boring.

Gua spent most of his time idling.

At last, school ended.

Gua stood at the school gates and waited a while.

To his surprise, Izumi never came out.

It wasn't that he had to wait for Izumi. He just wanted her to return his lunchbox.

Otherwise, how was he supposed to explain himself to his mother when he got home?

In the end, Gua never caught sight of Izumi. She had probably left long ago.

What a loss.

His dad's advice about bringing girls breakfast was completely useless. Not only had she poked a hole in his desk with the skewer from her Three-Color Dango, she'd also walked off with his lunchbox.

Gua didn't linger at the school gates. He headed home.

Along the way, he planned to find somewhere deserted to test the Fire Release he'd been idle-training for three days.

"Gua!"

Someone called out to him.

This time, however, it wasn't Izumi. It was Itachi.

Itachi hurried up from behind.

"Gua, how has your Fire Release practice been going lately? Would you like me to give you some more pointers? You might improve faster."

Itachi knew that although Gua worked very hard, his talent was somewhat lacking.

That was why he asked.

Gua nodded.

"Then, thanks."

He found that he didn't dislike Itachi quite so much anymore.

This guy.

How on earth did he grow into someone who could kill without batting an eye?

Gua sighed inwardly and walked on with Itachi.

In the shadows.

Beneath the shade of a treetop, a slender man slowly emerged, his narrow eyes fixed on their retreating backs.

"Uchiha."

Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth, unable to conceal the greed and excitement in his eyes.

Before long.

Itachi and Gua arrived at a riverbank.

The river was crystal clear, its water burbling downstream.

It's nice not having any water pollution.

Gua couldn't help comparing it with the world he'd lived in before transmigrating.

"Gua, show me here. Do it once, and I'll see if there's anything you're doing wrong."

Itachi said.

"Okay."

Gua nodded.

He walked right up to the river's edge and began forming hand seals.

Gua discovered that his hands were astonishingly nimble. It was as though he'd rehearsed each seal thousands upon thousands of times in his mind. As his fingers moved, every seal took shape perfectly in his hands.

Finally, he formed the Tiger seal.

He had completed all the seals for the Great Fireball Technique.

His hand seals were nearly perfect.

Next came actually unleashing it. After all, the seals were only an aid.

Gua held two fingers together in front of him and inhaled deeply, his belly swelling.

"Fire Release!"

"Great Fireball Technique!"

Chakra burst forth.

A slender stream of flame shot out, rapidly extending forward before exploding over the water.

The enormous fireball cast a fiery red reflection in the river.

Ripples spread across the surface under the gusts stirred up by the Great Fireball Technique.

The fireball went out.

The Great Fireball Technique was complete.

Gua neither moved nor showed any expression.

Itachi, however, was stunned.

Although Gua's Great Fireball Technique wasn't perfect, he was already highly proficient with it. Only three days had passed since he'd learned it.

Even Itachi himself hadn't reached this level in three days back then, had he?

Had Gua been training day and night?

Suddenly, Itachi felt as though he'd figured something out. When he'd gone to find Gua on the second day, Gua hadn't come out with him, saying he wanted to stay home and read extracurricular books. Looking back now...

Gua must have been training a hundred times harder!

Gua!

You really do work so hard it's frightening.

Itachi's thoughts were in turmoil.

Gua turned around expressionlessly. Itachi hadn't spoken for so long that he'd begun to wonder whether he had already left.

Only when he turned did he see Itachi still standing there.

He simply stood motionless, staring wide-eyed like a dumbstruck goose.

"What's wrong?"

Gua asked evenly.

"N-nothing."

Itachi stammered out an answer.

"Is there anything else I need to improve?"

Gua hadn't forgotten why Itachi had come along.

After three days of idle-training, he could indeed tell that his Fire Release had improved considerably, but he could still only call himself proficient.

Three days.

That was roughly equivalent to three months of training for an ordinary person.

Taking that long just to become proficient with the Great Fireball Technique really did justify his low-grade talent rating.

Gua even inwardly praised the Uchiha for their accurate judgment.

"Improve... as far as improvements go, you probably need to pay attention to controlling the amount of chakra. Keep it even, and don't release too much or too little at once. Beyond that, I can't see anything."

Itachi felt somewhat embarrassed.

If Gua kept working this hard, even a so-called genius like him might end up left behind.

Time to work harder, Itachi!

Itachi silently encouraged himself.

"Thank you."

Gua thanked Itachi and prepared to leave.

After all, he'd only come here today to test the Great Fireball Technique he'd spent three days idle-training. Testing it at home was inconvenient. Unlike the clan head's grand household, his family didn't have a large courtyard.

His was just an ordinary Uchiha household.

A single Fire Release technique might set the whole house on fire.

"It's nothing. I'm happy to help."

Itachi headed back toward the Uchiha Clan Compound with Gua.

After they left, Orochimaru appeared again. He slowly walked to the riverbank, crouched down, and scooped up a handful of clear water. The surface still seemed to hold a trace of warmth.

The clear river water in his hands distinctly reflected Orochimaru's androgynous face.

"Gua, would you be willing to give something up for the truth?"

Orochimaru chuckled, his tone playful. Finally, he opened his hands and let the water spill back into the river, then slowly rose and walked away into the distance.

When Gua arrived home, everything was as usual. There was nothing special about it.

Going back and forth between the same two places every day, without any upheaval-this was exactly the life Gua wanted.

He ate dinner with his mother, and she didn't ask about the lunchbox.

Gua didn't mention it either.

It was only a lunchbox.

After dinner, Gua went to his room to idle-train.

The days were long, and his dad's extracurricular books were an excellent way to pass the time.

Today's book was The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.

It was another masterpiece by Master Jiraiya.

The protagonist was named Naruto the Great Slug, which was also where Naruto's name came from.

Elsewhere.

When Itachi returned home, he seemed thoroughly distracted.

He appeared to have entered some sort of philosophical state.

His mother, Mikoto, had only asked a couple of concerned questions before Itachi told her all about Gua.

"Mother, do you think Gua will surpass me one day?"

Mikoto smiled and ruffled her son's hair. "Itachi, you're a genius of the Uchiha Clan. You need to believe in yourself."

"I understand, Mother."

Itachi nodded, then went off by himself to soothe Sasuke.

Mikoto quietly shook her head and sighed. "Does that child Gua really have such a strong influence on Itachi?"

That night.

When Fugaku returned home, Mikoto told him everything about Itachi.

After all, although Fugaku was the clan head and busy with clan affairs, he couldn't neglect his duties as a father. He was Itachi's father, after all.

After hearing Mikoto out, Fugaku froze for a moment.

He looked toward his son Itachi's room.

His voice was as deep and stern as ever.

"Could hard work alone really take someone this far?"

"Perhaps that boy named Gua will make a fine companion for Itachi as he grows."

This was recognition from a clan head!