Sora looked at Naruto's resolute, sworn-oath expression and burst out laughing with a "pfft."
"You?"
He sized Naruto up from head to toe, his gaze like that of someone watching a kid demanding to pilot a Gundam just to go grocery shopping.
"Yes! Me!" Naruto puffed out his chest, his face brimming with heroic determination, as if to say "Who else but me?"
"The Flying Thunder God Technique isn't some new flavor at a ramen shop, Naruto." Sora shook his head, a hint of helplessness in his smile.
"It's a very dangerous ninjutsu—an S-rank space-time technique that demands extremely high precision in chakra control and deep understanding of the formula."
He put away his smile, his tone turning a few degrees more serious.
"Right now, you don't yet qualify to learn it."
The excitement on Naruto's face froze instantly, as if doused with a bucket of cold water.
Seeing Naruto wilt like that, Sora added one more sentence.
"Come find me again when you become a jonin."
"Then, maybe I'll consider it."
With those words, he cracked open a door that had just slammed shut.
Hope reignited in Naruto's eyes.
Jonin! Fine! I'll definitely become one!
Sasuke remained silent beside them, but the words "S-rank space-time ninjutsu" were already etched clearly into his mind.
"Alright, now that you're full, it's time to get to work." Sora clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back.
"Since the three of you are a team, you need to understand each other's strengths."
His gaze swept over the trio.
"I already know Karin's combat abilities. As for you two..."
He looked at Naruto and Sasuke, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.
"I'm not so sure yet."
As soon as he finished speaking, he brought his hands together and formed a simple seal.
Poof.
A puff of white smoke exploded.
When the smoke cleared, a shadow clone identical to Sora appeared in the field.
The shadow clone stood with hands in pockets, posture just as lazy as the original, exuding laziness.
Sora mentally noted a score.
The real Sora leisurely leaned back against the tree trunk and crossed his legs.
"Alright, this is your first official training task today."
He pointed at the lazy shadow clone.
"The three of you—attack this shadow clone together."
"The rules are simple: if you can land even one hit on him, you win."
"Fists, feet, kunai, ninjutsu... any attack is fine, as long as you touch him once."
He paused, a mischievous grin on his face.
"We'll start real training once you manage to hit my shadow clone."
"Until then..."
He shrugged, wearing a rogue expression that said, "If you can't, we'll just keep wasting time."
Those words were more provocative than any direct taunt.
Naruto's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
"Don't underestimate us!"
He leaped up from the ground, pointing at the relaxed shadow clone and letting out a full-throated roar.
"I'll take him down in minutes!"
Sasuke said nothing beside him, but he had already silently drawn a kunai from his pouch.
A competitive flame burned in those dark eyes.
Being looked down upon by a mere shadow clone was something the Uchiha prodigy could absolutely not tolerate.
Karin stood up as well, loosening her wrists. Golden chakra chains flickered in and out of visibility.
She looked at Sora, her eyes filled with eager anticipation.
Big Brother Sora's shadow clone wouldn't be that easy to deal with.
The atmosphere on the training ground instantly grew tense.
Yet the shadow clone, the target, merely yawned, as if he didn't take the three kids in front of him seriously at all.
"Don't underestimate us!"
Naruto charged out first like a lit firecracker.
His hands flew through seals in front of his chest—movements still a bit clumsy, but full of momentum.
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Three puffs of white smoke burst, and three identical Naruto shadow clones appeared noisily. Together with the original, they surrounded Sora's lazy shadow clone from four directions.
"Go! Send him flying!"
The original Naruto's shout was the signal for the all-out assault.
The four Narutos yelled as they swung their fists, forming what seemed like a flawless encirclement.
However, the target shadow clone didn't even bother to lift an eyelid.
Just a second before Naruto's fist grazed his clothing, he slightly shifted his body and casually extended his right foot forward.
The leading Naruto clone didn't even see the move—his foot caught, and he tumbled like a rolling gourd toward his companions in another direction.
"Waaah!"
Two Narutos instantly collided and rolled into a tangle.
At the same time, the shadow clone used one Naruto's head as a stepping stone, lightly pushing off to leap gracefully into the air—just in time to evade the third clone attacking from behind.
That clone, having put too much force into his punch, missed completely and crashed into the two already tangled companions.
Finally, the original Naruto charged in.
He watched wide-eyed as his three clones piled into a heap, while that infuriating enemy landed lightly atop the "little mountain" they formed.
"..."
Naruto stood frozen, his mind blank.
From under the tree, Sora let out a leisurely sigh.
"Naruto, your shadow clones really get along well—they're hugging so quickly."
Sora mentally scored it.
[Uzumaki Naruto - Multi Shadow Clone Technique]
Flashiness: ★☆☆☆☆ (Lots of numbers, but like a swarm of headless flies)
Practicality: ★☆☆☆☆ (Only adds chaos and gives the opponent a foothold—useless otherwise)
"Damn it!"
Naruto snapped out of it, his face red with anger.
He charged again, trying to yank the guy stepping on his clones' heads.
The shadow clone simply smiled at him, then—poof—vanished into four puffs of white smoke along with the three clones beneath him.
Naruto lunged at empty air and nearly fell.
"Tch, dead-last is dead-last."
Sasuke snorted coldly and finally moved.
His hands formed seals far more fluidly than Naruto's—countless times smoother.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball roared toward the shadow clone's position, carrying scorching heat waves.
Facing this grand attack, the shadow clone showed no intention of dodging.
He simply raised his right hand unhurriedly and formed a simple seal.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A fierce gust appeared out of nowhere—not blowing the fireball apart directly, but cleverly pushing it from the side.
The huge fireball veered like a billiard ball struck by a cue, grazing the shadow clone's clothing and flying diagonally into the distant woods. With a boom, it charred a swath of trees black.
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply.
How is that possible?
His prized Great Fireball—resolved so easily?
In that moment of distraction, a voice whispered lightly in his ear.
"Hey, you can't space out in battle."
Alarm bells rang in Sasuke's mind. His body reacted instinctively—he spun around while drawing a kunai from his pouch.
But it was too late.
A single finger gently tapped his forehead.
Exactly like his brother had done that night.
The shadow clone withdrew his finger, stepping back two paces, still wearing that lazy smile.
"Good reaction, but still too slow."
From under the tree, Sora gave his evaluation again.