On the banks of the Naka River in the afternoon, the sun was setting and not so scorching anymore, but the air was still stuffy, carrying the dampness rising from the river.
The cicadas were howling loudly in the willow trees on the bank, their chirping annoying.
On the relatively flat sandy beach by the river, a peculiar scene was unfolding—how to put it? If a passerby happened to be walking by, they would probably think that Konoha's landscaping project had progressed to some kind of performance art stage...
Four figures, all dressed in bright green bodysuits that shone brightly in the sunlight, were moving slowly, unsteadily, step by step, along the riverbank in an upside-down posture.
The sandbags strapped to the ankles made this already difficult move even more dangerous, with the constant possibility of a fall.
Leading the way was Might Guy. He was the most stable at handstands, his hands moving forward alternately with a strange rhythm. His back muscles bulged under the taut green fabric, and sweat streamed down his upside-down face to his hairline and dripped into the ground.
He could even speak easily, his voice slightly muffled from being upside down, but still booming. "Focus on engaging your core! Feel the contact between your palms and the ground! The essence of walking upside down lies in reversing your walking instincts, using your arms instead of your legs to measure the pulse of the earth! This is youth's magnificent rebellion against gravity! Oh--!"
Following behind him, Shira was not in such a relaxed state. Her blood was rushing to her head, her vision was turning red and dark at the edges, and she could hear her own heavy breathing and the buzzing of her blood rushing to her ears.
The muscles in my arms and shoulders were so sore and numb that I could hardly feel them anymore. Every time I moved my hands, I felt my fingertips slipping on the sand.
But he gritted his teeth, forced himself to concentrate, and kept adjusting his breathing, his core taut like an iron plate, trying to maintain that precarious balance.
Shira could feel the weight of the sandbag slowly draining his last bit of strength.
Rock Lee was in third place, and his situation was even worse. His face was flushed, the veins on his neck were bulging, sweat blurred his vision, and his upside-down body swayed from side to side like a reed in the wind.
He'd fallen seven or eight times already, each time getting up with a groan, shaking his head, continuing to do a handstand, and inching forward, silently muttering something like "Youth never dies..." and then getting up again, so stubborn it was heartbreaking.
The sandbags swung around his ankles like two malevolent pendulums.
Naruto, who was at the bottom, was less walking upside down and more participating in a round-robin competition of falling upside down. He couldn't hold his position for more than three seconds before his hands went weak and he "plop" flipped to the side, falling onto the sand and getting covered in sand.
But he also imitated Rock Lee, falling down and then getting up while cursing, wiping his face haphazardly, bracing himself with his hands and kicking his legs in an attempt to stand up again, only to fall down again...
This cycle repeated itself. His small clothes were covered in sand and wrinkled, and paired with his red, grimacing face, he looked both pitiful and somewhat comical.
"Hang in there, Naruto! Imagine your body is a straight pencil! A pencil never bends!"
Kai turned around and shouted encouragement to Naruto.
"I... I'm thinking! But it... it won't listen to me, Teacher Kai!"
Naruto fell to the ground again, panting heavily as he answered, his face contorted in a grimace. Despite this, he managed to prop himself up with his hands.
Amidst the heavy breathing, the scraping of gravel, the thuds of falls, and Kai's passionate guidance, Shira, in a moment of struggling to switch hands and adjust her vision, caught a glimpse of the other side of the riverbank, near a clump of reeds.
There is a person there.
They were neither villagers passing by nor ninjas in training.
It was a child, about their age, sitting alone and quietly on a Taiseki jutting out from the riverbank. He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, and looked particularly somber amidst the shimmering water and greenery.
His short, black hair was a little messy, with bangs falling diagonally across his forehead, slightly obscuring one eye. He lowered his head slightly, looking at the slowly flowing river at his feet. In the slanting afternoon light, the lines of his profile appeared somewhat thin and taut.
The other person's brows were furrowed, his lips were pressed into a straight line, and his whole being was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable gloom and heavy heart, as if the surrounding sunlight, the chirping of cicadas, and even the four eccentric men in green not far away were all separated from him by an invisible, cold glass.
Hmm? It's the wild Uchiha Sasuke! I've finally seen a real person today, hehehe!
Shira's heart skipped a beat, her hands went limp, and she almost fell over, but she quickly braced herself.
Even from a distance, even just a silhouette, the loneliness and oppression that had haunted them since the night of their annihilation, seeping into their very bones, were still clearly conveyed.
Unlike the proud, awkward, yet vibrant Uchiha Sasuke of my memory, the Sasuke of this moment is more like a delicate yet fragile obsidian statue that has been suddenly thrown into ice water and hasn't recovered yet.
Naruto had just completed a record-breaking handstand—lasting about five seconds—and was about to proudly report it to Guy when his gaze unconsciously wandered. Then, he saw the black-clad figure sitting on the rock.
Naruto's expression froze instantly. The slight smugness that rose within him from his brief success vanished without a trace, like a punctured balloon.
He remained in that comical, awkward, half-upside-down position, his eyes fixed on Sasuke, his mouth slightly open as if he wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat.
Of course he recognized Sasuke. He knew that this man, who was always alone and looked about the same size as himself, was a member of the powerful Uchiha Clan.
I think I overheard some gossipy adults whispering that something terrible happened to the Uchiha Clan, and he was the only one left.
Naruto didn't have a concrete understanding of the terms "clan" and "extermination of the clan," but he could sense the complex, yet somewhat different, look in the villagers' eyes when they mentioned the Uchiha and this guy—a look that was similar to, yet different from, when they mentioned him.
But now, this guy is sitting here all alone, and he looks... how to describe it? Naruto's limited vocabulary can't find the right words, but he just feels like he's even more miserable than when he sits alone on the swing in a daze. Like he's lost his soul.
A strange emotion, one that he couldn't quite explain, welled up inside him. It might have been surprise, confusion, or perhaps a subtle feeling of "So you have moments like this too."
In a moment of impulsiveness, he forgot all about the handstand training, let go of his hands, landed on his feet, and wobbled to his feet. He brushed the sand off his body and shouted in his signature loud voice, tinged with recklessness and uncertainty, towards Sasuke:
"Hey! What are you doing sitting here all by yourself?!"
The sound seemed a bit abrupt on the riverbank, drowning out the cicadas' chirping and interrupting Kai's instruction to Rock Lee.
Sasuke's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. He had actually heard the commotion a long time ago—the deafening chants, the panting, the thuds, and the glaringly green color—it was impossible to ignore.
But he didn't want to pay attention to it, nor was he in the mood to.
He just wanted to be alone, immersed in a cold world filled with hatred and pain.
But that familiar, boisterous voice still got into my ears.
He slowly, very slowly, turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came.
Then, Sasuke Uchiha, the boy who had experienced the deepest human pain, hardened his heart, and vowed to take revenge on a certain man, suddenly contracted his pupils the moment he saw the scene on the beach.
He saw a child with blond hair and blue eyes.
But it wasn't the "fox spirit" he remembered, dressed in orange and blue, with a dirty face, always playing pranks and being annoying.
Instead, it was a guy wearing an absurdly tight-fitting, glowing green bodysuit.
His blond hair was still dazzling, and the Six Paths lines on his face remained the same, but paired with that bright green, tight-fitting clothes, and his face and head covered in sweat and sand, he exuded an indescribable aura that was both comical and comical.
Sasuke's mind went blank for about 0.5 seconds.
He recalled overhearing whispers from passing villagers a few days ago, saying things like, "The fox demon has gone even crazier," "He's hanging out with a few green-skinned monsters," and "He runs around howling like a ghost Tenten morning..."
He dismissed it as a pointless rumor or a new way for the villagers to slander the fox spirit, and didn't take it to heart.
But now, I've seen it with my own eyes.
The visual impact is more direct, intense, and absurd than hearing a hundred terrifying legends about fox spirits.
Are you kidding me!
That loser is actually dressed like that? Not only is he hanging out with an adult, but there are also two other guys who are equally green-faced?
A crack appeared in the gloomy expression on Sasuke's face, a look of bewilderment and confusion that came from something beyond his comprehension.
He even forgot to maintain his usual coldness and aloofness, and just stared at the bright green Naruto and his three equally refreshingly green companions behind him with his mouth slightly open, without uttering a single word for a long time.
The other three who were walking upside down also stopped one after another. Kai landed gracefully with a somersault, dusted off his hands, and looked curiously at Sasuke, raising his thick, dark eyebrows. "Oh? It's the Uchiha Clan kid! Doing... hmm, meditative training all by himself? Not bad! Youth takes many forms!"
Shira also turned over and stood up, stretching her sore and numb arms. She looked calmly at Sasuke, sighing inwardly.
This is Sasuke at this stage, like a wounded young beast with all its spikes raised, licking its wounds that will never heal.
Rock Lee also stood up, panting heavily, but upon seeing the stranger, he still tried to straighten his sweat-soaked green chest and looked at Sasuke with curious eyes.
Seeing that Sasuke was just staring blankly at him without saying a word, with a very strange expression on his face, Naruto felt his subtle emotions intensify. He took a step forward, put his hands on his hips, and emmm, he learned this move from Guy, but he didn't quite get it right.
Naruto tried to appear imposing even in his green-skinned form, but his outfit and disheveled appearance only made him look more ridiculous.
"What are you looking at!" Naruto shouted, a little unsure of himself. "Haven't you ever seen anyone training before?"
Sasuke finally recovered from his initial shock. Looking at Naruto's expression, and then at the three green men beside him, especially the tall green man with a bright smile and gleaming teeth, a strong sense of powerlessness, mixed with absurdity, disgust, and a faint feeling that he himself was unwilling to admit, welled up in his heart. "Are these guys out of their minds?"
His face turned cold again, even colder than before, as if he wanted to freeze all the warmth around him.
He pursed his lips, said nothing, and merely glanced at Naruto and the others indifferently.
Then, turning back, he focused his gaze back on the slowly flowing river, his back to the four scorching green streaks.
It was as if looking at him for even a second longer would taint his solitary cultivation, immersed in dark revenge.
For a moment, only the sound of flowing water and cicadas could be heard along the riverbank.
On one side are four vibrant young people, radiating heat, sweat, and lush greenery; on the other side is a solitary figure sitting alone on a rock, dressed in black, exuding an aura of unapproachability.
Sunlight spilled onto the river, shattering into a shimmering golden glow...