"Naruto, show me your true strength and let's settle this once and for all!" Sasuke's Sharingan was still activated; he stared intently at Naruto opposite him and said gravely.
After speaking, Sasuke's hands began to rapidly form a sequence of hand seals: Ox—Hare—Monkey.
As Sasuke finished his seals, a dazzling lightning glow began to emanate from his right hand, and simultaneously, a piercing sound, like the chirping of a thousand birds, echoed through the forest. This was the A-rank ninjutsu, Lightning Release: Chidori.
Opposite him, watching Sasuke unleash the Chidori, Naruto's expression also turned grave. He once again crossed the fingers of both his hands, creating two Shadow Clones. Immediately after, the real Naruto extended his right hand, palm open. The two Shadow Clones instantly went to work, rapidly rotating chakra in his palm. Soon, a blue sphere of light, its interior rapidly and continuously rotating, appeared in Naruto's right palm. This was the A-rank ninjutsu, Rasengan.
Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan were the strongest ninjutsu Tatsuya had taught them over these past few years, alongside continuously strengthening their fundamental ninjutsu skills. These two techniques were also their signature ninjutsu from Tatsuya's knowledge of their original timeline, and both boys had a strong natural affinity for them. Tatsuya had only taught these two ninjutsu to Sasuke and Naruto three months ago. By that time, both boys' chakra control had already reached a certain proficient level, so learning them wasn't overly difficult.
Today was the first time the two of them were using their strongest ninjutsu against each other in a duel.
"Aaah! Sasuke, what is that jutsu? It feels so strong!" "Sasuke is so amazing!"
Watching Sasuke unleash the Chidori, Sakura and Ino immediately displayed their standard, unabashed fangirl personas.
"Naruto!" Nearby, Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly, her small hands fidgeting nervously in front of her. Her eyes, fixed on Naruto, held a mixture of excitement and worry.
"As expected of students personally trained by Senior Tatsuya! The gap between us is just too big!" Kiba Inuzuka, watching the battle, muttered under his breath. Beside Kiba, the small, white Akamaru let out a couple of soft yips.
"Tch! What a drag! The difference is really this huge?" Shikamaru Nara's eyes were serious, but he let out a soft, characteristic sigh of resignation.
Under the watchful gaze of their peers, Sasuke and Naruto began to accelerate, charging towards each other.
Not good! Watching the two prepare to clash with such powerful techniques, Choji Akimichi's expression changed instantly. He sensed the imminent danger. But it was already too late to intervene!
Soon, the two rivals were about to collide, their right hands, crackling with Chidori and swirling with Rasengan respectively, thrust forward.
Swoosh~
Just as the devastating collision was about to occur, a figure flickered, appearing instantaneously between Naruto and Sasuke. This figure's hands shot out, one to each side, and with two sharp pats, redirected Naruto and Sasuke's bodies, causing them to veer apart and fly past each other.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two consecutive explosions roared through the clearing as Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan both slammed into the trunks of nearby massive trees. The tree trunks were instantly obliterated, shattering into countless splinters.
"Teacher!" Seeing the figure who had suddenly appeared, Choji quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully. The newcomer was, indeed, Tatsuya.
"Lord Tatsuya!" The other children, seeing him, also quickly followed suit, greeting him with respectful bows.
In recent years, Tatsuya had gradually faded from the public eye of the wider ninja world. Within Konoha, many people might see Tatsuya around, but his exploits and deeds were rarely spoken of outside the village anymore. The ones who probably had the most contact with Tatsuya were the members of the Military Police Force's Third Combat Division. However, although Tatsuya had mostly refrained from personally taking action in recent years, his status as Konoha's strongest ninja was already a universally acknowledged fact among his fellow shinobi.
Among the group of youngsters present, apart from Sakura, who was from a civilian family, the rest were all from Konoha's various prominent ninja clans. They naturally knew more about Tatsuya's true identity and formidable strength. Although Sakura had rarely heard detailed stories of Tatsuya's deeds, she had had some contact with him due to Naruto and Sasuke. She could also glean a measure of his importance from the profound respect the Ninja Academy teachers showed towards him. What's more, it was rumored that their teacher, Kyoko, was one of Tatsuya's own, and Kyoko's strength was recognized as the strongest among the Ninja Academy teachers.
Tatsuya's gaze swept gently over the group of young Konoha hopefuls before him, then he smiled and said, "Alright, everyone, stand up. No need for such formalities!" After speaking, his gaze turned to Choji, and he continued, "Choji, it's getting late. Why don't you take your classmates and head back for today."
Hearing Tatsuya's words, Choji straightened up immediately and quickly agreed, "Yes, Teacher!" With that, he hastily turned around and began to usher Shikamaru and the others away. After so many years of interaction, Choji understood his unconventional teacher and esteemed clan elder's personality quite well. Tatsuya's current demeanor clearly indicated that he was annoyed. Choji had personally experienced the "pleasure" of being thoroughly "instructed" by his teacher before and had no desire to repeat the experience.
Seeing Choji's somewhat flustered demeanor, Sakura and Ino, who had initially been reluctant to leave so soon, didn't dare to act out of line and reluctantly followed the others.
Soon, only Tatsuya, Sasuke, and Naruto remained in the clearing. Sasuke and Naruto, having picked themselves up from where their attacks had landed, looked thoroughly disheveled and a little sheepish.
Watching the two of them approach, a half-smile played on Tatsuya's lips. "Not bad," he commented, his tone unreadable. "You're learning quite quickly."
Being stared at by Tatsuya, both Sasuke and Naruto tensed, then quickly hurried over and obediently admitted their fault. "Teacher, we were wrong!" they said in unison. After speaking, Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other, then both lowered their heads in shame.
Looking at Sasuke and Naruto, who stood with their heads bowed in silence, Tatsuya felt a slight headache coming on. He was actually quite satisfied with Sasuke and Naruto's growth rate. Not only had they built a solid foundation in ninjutsu, but their current strength was also significantly greater than their counterparts in the original timeline. However, these two stubborn fellows just couldn't seem to get along. After all these years, apart from constantly competing with each other and generally disapproving of one another, there seemed to be absolutely no sign of them developing any kind of genuine friendship. This genuinely troubled Tatsuya.
Naruto and Sasuke were his backup plan, his contingency for the future of the world. If they continued to view each other with such animosity, how could they possibly cooperate effectively to save the world in the future? It seemed he couldn't keep them confined and coddled any longer. Without experiencing some real hardships and dangers together, these two would probably never be able to forge that unbreakable bond of camaraderie they so desperately needed.
After thinking for a moment, Tatsuya spoke, "Naruto, Sasuke, do you want to graduate from the Ninja Academy?"
Hearing Tatsuya's words, both Naruto and Sasuke immediately looked up, their eyes shining with eager anticipation. Naruto, his voice filled with excitement, blurted out, "Teacher, are you finally agreeing to let us graduate from the Ninja Academy?" The knowledge taught at the Academy could no longer satisfy their hunger for growth; both of them had long wanted to graduate early.
Tatsuya nodded. "Mm. I do have that intention. However, you must both agree to one condition of mine."
Naruto nodded vigorously. "Mm-hm! Teacher, I'll agree to any condition!" Beside him, Sasuke also gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod of agreement.
Tatsuya stated his condition: "After you graduate, the two of you must be assigned to the same ninja squad."
"Huh?" Naruto's excited expression immediately deflated, his face falling.
Sasuke, hearing this, merely pursed his lips and said nothing, but the look of utter disdain on his face spoke volumes.