Sasuke, who'd been thinking in the yard, heard Naruto's cheerful laughter from the bathroom.
Can you really laugh that happily just from using the toilet? Sasuke felt puzzled.
When the laughter stopped, Sasuke saw Naruto emerge from the bathroom with a smile still on his face—too obvious to hide.
"Naruto, why are you smiling so much?" Sasuke wanted to know.
Naruto tried to hold back his smile. "I thought of something happy."
"What happy thing?"
"I... I... Oh, it's just something happy anyway. Not that funny." Of course, Naruto couldn't tell the story of successfully mastering the Protective Retraction Technique. Such private matters could only be enjoyed personally, not described.
"Not that funny? But you're obviously still smiling. You haven't stopped."
Sasuke absolutely didn't believe Naruto's nonsense. He knew Naruto too well. At the same age, this guy had way too many clever ideas and wild thoughts.
"Really, Sasuke, I'm not lying. I've been specially trained—I can control my laughter."
Naruto held back his smile. Seeing Sasuke still looking like a curious child, he had no choice but to change the subject.
"By the way, Sasuke, we were just talking about how overtraining can damage your body's foundation. Actually, I learned about it from my dad, Namikaze Minato." Naruto explained.
"I understand, Naruto. Since the Fourth Hokage said so, I won't overtrain anymore." Sasuke humbly accepted Naruto's advice.
Next, Naruto told Sasuke more about his parents. He mentioned how Kushina had met Sasuke's mother Mikoto when she was about to give birth, and how they'd agreed their children would become friends.
Sasuke listened, then said without thinking, "Then doesn't that mean you should call me 'big brother'?"
"Come on, Naruto. Call me big brother."
Sasuke couldn't help feeling smug. He couldn't beat Naruto in a fight. His cooking wasn't as good as Naruto's. But now he'd finally discovered something he had over Naruto—age!
His heart naturally swelled with pride.
Instantly, Naruto's pectoral muscles began flexing. Sasuke's expression stiffened. He said quickly, "Ha ha, Naruto, I'm just kidding."
Seeing this, Naruto's face softened. "It's fine. You are two months older than me. I don't mind calling you big brother."
"No, really, no need." Sasuke insisted firmly.
Seeing Sasuke's adamant refusal, Naruto let it drop. After all, he couldn't force a friend into anything. He wouldn't even bother trying.
Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.
"By the way, Sasuke, you don't need to practice that Can't-Hit-Anyone Jutsu anymore. My parents taught me some powerful techniques. I'll pass them on to you..." Naruto said.
Sasuke's face darkened. He argued weakly, "Naruto, it's called Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, not the Can't-Hit-Anyone Jutsu."
"Details. Come on, I'll transfer them to you." Naruto extended his fist.
Sasuke couldn't refuse Naruto's kindness. More accurately, he didn't dare refuse. He extended his own fist.
Two fists—one large, one small—touched lightly.
Sasuke felt a flood of information rush into his head.
His eyes sparkled. He couldn't help but marvel, "These are all powerful techniques! With these, I can definitely get my revenge. Thank you, Naruto."
Sasuke sincerely thanked him. Naruto had been incredibly good to him. First rescuing him from danger, now willingly teaching him his parents' techniques.
Sasuke secretly vowed in his heart that he must repay Naruto properly in the future.
"Alright, go practice. Remember not to overtrain. The results will be better if you take it one step at a time." After giving these instructions, Naruto also headed off to practice under the waterfall.
Sasuke nodded vigorously. He watched Naruto's retreating back, then sat cross-legged and began comprehending the knowledge Naruto had just transferred. He really deserves to have become the Fourth Hokage.
Later that day, Sasuke raised his eyes and saw Choji, Shikamaru, and Hinata standing outside the yard.
"Oh, you guys are here!" Sasuke felt genuinely happy seeing the snack-obsessed Choji, the perpetually lazy Shikamaru, and the shy, gentle Hinata.
During his hospitalization, these three had often come to visit.
He'd felt warmth from them.
"Um, Sasuke-kun, where is Naruto-kun?" Hinata looked around, then asked weakly.
"Oh, Naruto's training at the waterfall." Sasuke pointed in that direction.
"Ah? Then... then I'll see you later, Sasuke-kun. I'm going to check on Naruto-kun..." After speaking, Hinata apologized, then quickly turned and left toward the waterfall—as if waiting even one more second would make her blush from embarrassment.
"I'm going too—" The snack maniac started to turn, but was pulled back by the melancholy genius.
Being restrained by Shikamaru, Choji looked at him innocently.
Shikamaru sighed helplessly. "Choji, think before you go."
"Huh? I just want to see Naruto. Why do I need to think about it?" Choji touched the two buns on his head, then immediately gave up the idea of going to the waterfall.
As soon as Hinata left the yard, her face felt hot.
"I... I just..." She felt she shouldn't have said she wanted to see Naruto alone. But having said it, if she didn't go, wouldn't that be...
Hinata twisted her hands together. Her face turned red as an apple. Her heartbeat accelerated.
Hinata was already nervous, but suddenly a loud bleating startled her. She turned her head and saw a goat standing in the grass nearby. Apparently pleased at having startled a human, it bleated again and jumped around triumphantly.
Hinata looked at the seemingly crazed goat, both small hands covering her chest, and continued walking toward the waterfall.
Seeing her leave, the goat also stopped. Its eyes gleamed. Then it hid back in the grass, planning to scare the human girl again when she returned.
Arriving at the waterfall, the sound of splashing water immediately filled Hinata's ears. She looked up at the falls and saw the water curtain plunging from dozens of meters high, wrapped in tremendous force, crashing down on Naruto's body.
Hinata gasped and covered her mouth.
Is this how Naruto-kun trains?
Hinata felt both distressed and admiring.
Distressed because Naruto must have suffered so much training this way. Admiring because he could endure such hardship—while she always felt her Gentle Fist training was difficult.
With these thoughts, Hinata walked out of the forest and came to the riverbank, watching Naruto training by the water.
Getting closer, Hinata could clearly see Naruto's muscular upper body. Well-defined muscles. Eight-pack abs on his lower abdomen. Two distinct lines disappearing into his pants.
Such a powerful visual impact.
A blush instantly rose from her face, crawled over her ears, spread across her neck. Then, like a chemical reaction, even her heartbeat couldn't help but speed up.
"N-Naruto-kun..."
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