Chapter 284 - 284: 284 - Naruto vs Sasuke - Round 2

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The second son had run into a setback far more serious than losing a spar at the Ninja Academy, and Fugaku watched the whole thing. This blow landed heavier than any he'd taken before.

Even so, Fugaku did not step in. Every Uchiha had to walk this road.

Sooner or later, any gifted Uchiha would face it, and Sasuke was no exception.

But Sasuke bounced back faster than Fugaku had anticipated. He rebuilt his mindset, steadied himself, and even without awakening his eyes, he had clearly grown stronger.

Only then did Fugaku feel it was time to speak.

"How is the training going?"

"I will win, Father."

The look in Sasuke's eyes let Fugaku finally feel some relief.

Even if he isn't quite like Itachi, he is still my son.

"Father, I want to graduate early."

At those words, Fugaku's gaze darkened slightly.

"That is for your teacher, the Ninja Academy, and the village to decide."

Sasuke knelt formally in front of him. "Roshi-san arranged for me to train with Gaara, and Brother has been tutoring me since I came back. Compared to that, the current curriculum at the Ninja Academy... no longer has any real effect."

"I've already wasted too much time, Father."

After experiencing his current level of training, he no longer had any patience for the "playing house" at school.

Fugaku was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "That Sunagakure boy, Gaara, is also still enrolled in his Ninja Academy."

Sasuke pressed on. "Then at least please help me apply for a leave of absence for a while."

His plan was to use every moment while his opponent was "wasting their life" to make up for his own weaknesses. As an Anbu squad leader, Itachi's workload was heavy; he couldn't take long-term leave just to be Sasuke's sparring partner at home. Sasuke had to seize every chance for intensive training.

Fugaku closed his eyes, weighing the request.

Taking a leave of absence for training was possible. In the past, he would simply have sent word to the Academy or invited Iruka over to explain.

But now… "You can bring up the idea of taking a leave. However, Sasuke, you also need to get another person's approval."

Roshi had his own plans for Sasuke; if Fugaku interfered too much, it might affect Sasuke or alter Roshi's view of him.

"Another person?" Sasuke paused, surprised. "Iruka-sensei?"

"Not Iruka. Roshi."

Sasuke answered without hesitation, "There's a training session this afternoon. I'll ask Roshi-san for his consent in person."

To him, it was hardly a concern. Roshi-san had personally said he "expected him to become Hokage," so why would he object to Sasuke's urgent desire to use every spare moment to grow stronger and catch up to—or even surpass—his current opponent? He should be glad to see it.

Sasuke went to the Ninja Academy as usual, tuning out the occasional whispers and snickers about his crushing defeat at Gaara's hands.

As he waited for training time to come, even Naruto buzzing around him, going on about learning a new jutsu, barely registered.

Time crawled by in a haze of anticipation. The moment the day's theory classes ended, Sasuke grabbed his things and headed out.

Everyone at the Academy already knew the three of them had been assigned extra training, so Roshi didn't need to come pick them up. They were allowed to go straight to the training ground outside the school on their own.

Driven by the need to get his thoughts out, Sasuke quickened his pace, leaving Naruto behind—and Gaara, who was silently following Naruto.

But when he arrived, the training ground was empty. Roshi wasn't there yet.

He chose a spot beneath the shade of a tree, set down his small bag, and loosened his wrists and ankles while silently going over what he wanted to say.

He had answered his father with confidence, but as the moment to face Roshi drew closer, a thin thread of anxiety began to creep into his chest.

What would Roshi think? Would he think Sasuke was being too impatient? Or—

"Hey—Gaara! Over here, over here! I'm telling you, this new jutsu is really different! It'll definitely help you practice controlling your sand better!"

A loud, familiar voice echoed from the entrance of the training ground, cutting off Sasuke's thoughts.

Naruto and Gaara walked in, one after the other.

"Idiot." Sasuke stood up and walked toward them. "A low-level Transformation Jutsu like that is useless against a real ninja, no matter how many variations you come up with."

This time, Naruto didn't get angry. Unlike before, he'd actually learned a powerful ninjutsu.

"Whether it's a trick or not, you'll see for yourself in a bit, Sasuke," he said.

"Pointless," Sasuke replied coolly. "In fact, Naruto, you shouldn't even be here. With your current level, you can't provide any real help with Gaara's control training anymore. All you're doing is slowing down effective practice."

"You… what did you say?!" Naruto's smile froze, his blue eyes widening.

"I'm just stating facts." Sasuke's gaze swept over him. "What you should be doing now is going back to the classroom and properly making up all those basic courses you skipped. That tiny bit of knowledge you have—"

"—is something I mastered long ago, and have already surpassed."

He wasn't saying it out of malice, but from what he believed was a realistic assessment.

And he truly thought this was what Naruto ought to be doing.

Naruto stared at him in shock, then heat rushed to his face.

"In that case…" Naruto brought his hands together in a seal. "I'll let you experience it for yourself, Sasuke! The new jutsu I learned that you definitely can't do!"

Sasuke gave a brief snort, his feet shifting slightly.

Without warning, a figure stepped in between them.

Gaara moved to stand with his back to Naruto, facing Sasuke.

"The one you need to fight is me."

The moment his words fell, the tense atmosphere in the training field froze.

Naruto lowered his hands, and Sasuke eased out of his stance.

Just then, Roshi approached with unhurried, steady steps.

Sasuke's attention snapped to him. He immediately turned, strode over, bowed slightly, and said, "Roshi-san, I have a request regarding my training. I hope to temporarily take a leave of absence from the Ninja Academy so I can devote all my time to more intensive special training."

He let out the words he'd been turning over in his mind all day in a single breath, black eyes locked on Roshi, waiting for a positive—maybe even appreciative—answer.

Roshi came to a stop.

His gaze first settled on Sasuke's face, then calmly swept across the field—over Naruto, whose expression was still somewhat taut, over Gaara, standing silently between them—before returning to Sasuke.

"A leave of absence..."

Sasuke's heart shot into his throat.

"Sure."

Sasuke broke into a smile. "Thank you very—"

Roshi cut off his unspoken thanks. "On the condition that you defeat Naruto."

Sasuke almost thought he'd heard wrong.

Defeat Naruto? He could knock that guy down five times in a minute. Defeat him?

Was this a straightforward agreement? If so, why add such a condition… it was completely unnecessary.

Ignoring Sasuke's momentary blankness, Roshi simply pointed to the empty space beside him. Gaara walked over without a word and took his place at Roshi's side.

Roshi said quietly, "I do have expectations for you, Sasuke. That's why you're here."

"So why do you think Naruto is still here even after you joined the training?"

Sasuke was caught off guard, not following his meaning.

But in the next instant, with those words, a wild, almost ridiculous suspicion crashed into his mind.

Stiffly, he turned his head, inch by inch, to look at the blond boy.

Could it be that… Roshi-san also… Hokage… him?!

Naruto wore his usual dopey expression, completely oblivious to what was going on and clueless about the conversation between Sasuke and Roshi.

Sasuke couldn't make sense of it; all he felt was a huge shock. He had already carved out his life's goal—only to discover that, in the eyes of the one judging them, he was basically on the same level as the dead last in their class, the guy who was useless except for being loud and using clumsy tricks to get attention.

"Roshi-san," Sasuke forced out, needing to be sure, "are you saying that Naruto… is the same as me?"

"In terms of pure expectation, yes," Roshi replied calmly. "However, taking everything into account, the possibility of Naruto becoming Hokage is higher than yours."

That was a verdict even crueler than being "the same."

The expectations placed on him that night, the extra time he'd been granted during Gaara's special training—everything had convinced him he was moving along the right, expected path.

Now… all of that crumbled under a single sentence.

There was nothing in Roshi's black eyes. No mockery, no teasing, no encouragement or comfort. His gaze carried the same weight as saying something as plain as, "The weather is nice today."

Beside him, Gaara's clear eyes were just as calm, quietly observing.

Under the weight of those two gazes, Sasuke felt heat rise in his cheeks. It wasn't simple embarrassment, but something sharper and more tangled—the frustration of being misunderstood, the anger of being looked down on, and a fierce urge to prove himself that seemed to burn in his chest.

Naruto, not understanding any of that, only heard the praise—and the implication that Roshi ranked him above Sasuke. He couldn't help but grin. "I've already mastered a really strong jutsu, Sasuke!"

"This time, I'll definitely beat you."

At those two sentences, something tightly coiled inside the Uchiha prodigy suddenly snapped.

Strangely, he didn't explode.

All that boiling emotion cooled and sank to the bottom.

Sasuke's expression smoothed out, until only a sharp focus remained in his eyes.

"…I understand, Roshi-san."

Roshi nodded. "I won't call the start. You two decide when to begin. No restrictions on Ninjutsu."

Sasuke walked to the center of the training ground and faced Naruto.

"You go first, Naruto," Sasuke said evenly.

Naruto didn't stand on ceremony. He slapped his hands together in a seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!

A rapid series of explosions shook the air, each one bursting into a puff of white smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Sasuke's pupils shrank. Lined up in front of him were at least forty or fifty Narutos.

Packed tightly together, they completely filled one side of the training ground.

Shadow Clone… a Jonin-level Ninjutsu.

No, this was more than just Shadow Clone… even his brother couldn't make this many.

Are there regular clones mixed in?

And Naruto's clones used to be just a useless, collapsed pile… so how can he suddenly create this many? Is this a Genjutsu?

Sasuke mentally ran through and dismissed possibility after possibility, reasonable and absurd alike, and still felt that, for a second-year Academy student, this was far beyond the norm.

"How about that, Sasuke!"

Dozens of voices shouted in unison, overlapping and echoing across the training ground.

"This is the jutsu Roshi-nii-chan taught me!"

"You probably don't know this jutsu, huh!"

Sasuke didn't respond. He pushed lightly off the ground with his toes, sliding back to widen the distance.

The crowd of Narutos burst into motion with disorganized shouts, scattering as they charged after him.

"Go!"

"Beat Sasuke!"

"Show him how strong we are!"

The moment gaps began to open between the Shadow Clones as they ran, Sasuke suddenly spun around. His left hand knocked aside an incoming punch, while his right hand flattened into a palm and drove straight toward that opponent's chest.

"Poof!"

The first Shadow Clone burst apart in a puff of white smoke.

It had been solid. A real body… and almost at the same time, the second and third Shadow Clones were already on him. Sasuke slipped past a flying kick, turning that movement into an elbow that slammed into another Naruto's side.

"Poof!" "Poof!"

Two more clouds of smoke vanished into the air.

After those rapid exchanges, Sasuke was sure. This wasn't Genjutsu, and it wasn't a mix of Shadow Clones and ordinary clones.

Every one of them was a physical body.

Beating the same person four or five times was completely different from beating four or five people once. At their age, multiplying the number of opponents meant the difficulty of winning in Taijutsu grew almost without limit.

The imbalance in tactics was already obvious.

Sasuke made his decision in an instant. He kicked off the ground and leapt into the air, intending to find an angle to wipe the field clean with a single Great Fireball Technique.

At that exact moment, an excited shout came from above him.

"Found you!"

Naruto came dropping down from even higher, blond hair whipping in the wind, both hands clasped together as he hammered them down toward Sasuke's head with all the force of his fall.

Sasuke twisted midair, using the last of his jumping momentum to brace himself.

The heavy impact made his teeth clench, but he refused to waste the opening. He rode the force of the collision to shift his position, angling his fall so he would land outside the circle of Shadow Clones.

The instant he hit the ground and the clones surged toward him, his hands were already flashing through seals, his chest expanding.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

A massive fireball roared out, rolling over the charging Shadow Clones in a single sweep.

"Waaaah!"

"So hot!"

"Move it!"

Screams overlapped as the clones at the very front were swallowed by the flames and vanished into smoke. The fireball plowed on, taking out another seven or eight Narutos to the side.

When the flames finally faded, the training ground looked far more spacious. Only seven or eight Narutos who had been farther away were still standing.

Sasuke panted lightly, the corner of his mouth just starting to curl upward.

But the remaining Narutos only looked even more fired up. This was the first time Naruto had ever forced Sasuke this far.

"It's not over yet!"

"Again!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!!"

"??!!"

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