"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"
Humiliation flooded Sasuke; using the rebound from the last clash, he flipped back, hands vanishing into blurs.
Sh-sh-sh—
A swarm of shuriken swept toward Naruto from vicious angles, sealing every escape route.
"It's over," Sasuke smirked icily.
Hinata-chan, watching from the side, couldn't stifle a cry of alarm. Yet, facing the supposedly lethal strike, Naruto simply lifted a hand and drew two kunai from his waist. Under the full boost of Water Breathing: Total Concentration, the shuriken's paths were crystal-clear. And with the gift [Skill: Nimble Hands], his hands became phantom blurs.
At the last possible heartbeat, he batted every last shuriken out of the air with his kunai.
Clang! Clang! Clang!—a teeth-grating chorus of metal rang out.
Every projectile aimed at Naruto was effortlessly intercepted. Some were deflected, some were blocked—none fulfilled its purpose. And Naruto never even shifted a step. He simply stood there and executed a defense that left everyone slack-jawed.
"Impossible..." Sasuke stood rooted.
Veins bulged in his blood-shot eyes; his mind nearly flared from sheer fury. Theory, Taijutsu, now even Shurikenjutsu—Naruto had beaten him in every field.
Naruto smoothed a crease in his jacket and pushed up the black-rimmed glasses that still sat perfectly after all that movement. Sunlight flared across the lenses, turning them opaque and hiding whatever he was thinking.
"Sasuke-kun, is this really your limit?"
"If that's all, I'm sorely disappointed."
"After all, you were the one I used as my reason to keep moving forward."
Those words snapped Sasuke's last thread of reason. His mind went white. He no longer cared about Iruka-sensei's warning to stop at first blood; his fingers flew through seals.
Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!
Iruka-sensei lurched forward in horror, desperate to stop the cast. It was a C-rank jutsu—against Academy kids who could barely manage E-rank, it was overkill. But by the time he reacted, it was too late. No teacher expects a routine spar to turn lethal.
Before Iruka-sensei could intervene, Sasuke finished the seals and exhaled the Chakra gathered in his mouth. The instant the jutsu left his lips, clarity returned—and with it, regret. But the technique couldn't be recalled; all he could do was angle it toward empty ground.
Naruto saw Sasuke's momentary madness and the frantic correction, and smiled. He understood Sasuke a little better now. He'd baited him on purpose, driving him to lose control and play his final card—so he could crush it completely.
So this Fire Release jutsu was Sasuke-kun's ace? Not bad.
Even while thinking it, Naruto's hands finished a set of seals in the blink of an eye, faster than Sasuke by far. He drew a deep breath—Fuuton: Daitoppa!
A cannon of pressurized air burst from his mouth. It met Sasuke's fireball head-on. In theory, wind should feed fire, and a pure Wind Release jutsu should be obliterated by flames. But the gap between them was simply too wide.
Naruto outclassed Sasuke in jutsu mastery, Chakra volume, and control by more than a full league. So everyone watched, dumbstruck, as the Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu was scattered effortlessly by the Fuuton: Daitoppa.
The gale didn't even lose momentum. Had Naruto aimed it at Sasuke from the start, his life would be in question. As it was, the tail-end of the wind blast bowled Sasuke and the surrounding students across the ground like scattered dolls.
Sasuke slammed into the wall. When the wind died, only the teachers and Naruto were still on their feet. Dust settled. The training field was a wreck, earth ploughed by the gale. Students picked themselves up, brushing dirt away while looking around in a daze.
Before anyone could complain, the scene stole their voices. Sasuke sat slumped against the wall, clothes shredded, body laced with tiny cuts from wind blades. Yet he felt nothing, staring ahead with hollow eyes.
"Lost... wind beats fire... how..."
His world-view was crumbling. The proud Uchiha fire jutsu had been annihilated head-on? All his pride, all his effort, looked ridiculous before absolute strength.
"So this... is the gap between me and a real genius?"
Despair crashed over Sasuke. Even the former dead last could beat him with ease. How could he ever avenge his clan? How could he surpass an even greater genius?
Footsteps stopped in front of him. Sasuke looked up reflexively. Against the sun, the figure's face was unreadable, but that golden hair blazed. Naruto didn't mock him; he only gazed down with calm, almost pitying eyes.
"How does it feel to be crushed by the dead last?"
Sasuke gave no answer. He braced for mockery.
"Is this what you Uchiha call 'capacity'?"
Sasuke flinched, shame burning; he tried to rise. Exhaustion dropped him back to the dirt.
"Angry?" Naruto's voice stayed level, each word a needle. "Stop raging at nothing. Clinging to false glory and old hatred blinds you."
"Think a grim face will win your revenge?" Naruto shook his head. "Naive. At your pace, even I'll leave you far behind."
Sasuke's pupils shook. He hated to admit it, but it was true.
"I... will I... forever..."
Head bowed, voice trembling, he knelt, nails clawing the earth. He was almost broken. Yes—at this growth rate, how could he ever catch that man?
"Then... what should I do..."
Like a drowning man flailing for anything to keep him afloat, he grasped at straws. He hungered for power. Even if he had to kneel, even if it meant humiliation, he wanted an answer.
Judging the moment ripe, Naruto crouched, looking down at the despairing boy. For a second, he saw his old self.
"Want to change this helplessness? Want to truly live? Want... the strength to avenge?"
He extended his right hand.
"If you truly want to grow strong, to cut that hatred with your own hand—then look away from the past. Look at me. Stare with everything you have."
His voice carried an odd power.
"Take my hand and follow my steps."
"I'll give you what you want... power."
Sasuke stared at the outstretched hand. Once, he'd wished someone would reach out. The haze in his eyes lifted, replaced by a complex but steely glint. Use him, humiliate him—whatever it took. As long as he grew stronger!
Clap.
Sasuke raised his grime-streaked hand and gripped Naruto's hard. With Naruto's pull, he rose. He swayed, but light had returned to his eyes.
"Uzumaki Naruto... I'll be watching you."