From a distance, the sight was surreal. To an unsuspecting eye, it looked as though a massive boulder had grown legs and started bouncing its way up the mountain. The stone seemed alive, almost like some spirit-possessed creature from folklore.
Sasuke froze in disbelief, his mouth falling open. His expression shifted from shock to utter bewilderment, then settled into the vacant stare of someone questioning reality itself.
What kind of training is this supposed to be? he thought, his heart pounding. This isn't normal. This isn't even human. Could this sort of training actually make someone stronger or just cripple them for life?
"N-Naruto..." Sasuke's voice trembled against his will.
From beneath the enormous rock, a muffled but cheerful voice answered. "What's up?"
Sasuke swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. "Do you... do you always train like this?"
"Of course. I've got to run a hundred laps before I even move on to the other exercises."
Sasuke's eye twitched. "You... you're a beast!" he burst out, gritting his teeth.
He replayed his own training sessions in his mind, the ones he used to think were intense. Sparring with Itachi had always felt demanding until now. Compared to this madness, it might as well have been a pleasant spring picnic.
This guy... this idiot has already left me this far behind?
Sasuke's dark eyes hardened with resolve. No. I won't let him. I am an Uchiha. The pride of my clan rests on my shoulders. There's no way I'll let Naruto leave me in the dust.
Clenching his fists, Sasuke charged forward and began hopping uphill alongside Naruto, mimicking his frog-jump movements. Of course, he didn't dare attempt the same burden; the mountain-sized weight Naruto carried was beyond comprehension. Sasuke tried once, lifting the pack onto his back his knees buckled immediately. He couldn't even move an inch.
Still, he followed. For the first time, he joined Naruto's insane training. And for the first time, he began to doubt everything he thought he knew about strength.
After only ten laps, his legs gave out. His muscles screamed in agony, his thighs trembled uncontrollably, and he collapsed onto the dirt, gasping for breath. His entire body throbbed with pain.
Flat on his back, he could only watch as Naruto kept bounding up and down the mountain, sweat dripping yet determination unbroken.
"Tch... the gap between us is this wide?" Sasuke's chest burned with frustration. He clenched his jaw, hatred for his own weakness seeping into his bones. His teeth ground together so hard he barely noticed the faint heat stirring in his eyes.
Then, with a sharp flash, his pupils shifted. The three-pointed tomoe had yet to appear, but in both eyes, a single comma-shaped mark formed, glowing faintly red.
Without even realizing it, Sasuke had awakened the first stage of the Sharingan.
When Naruto finally finished his hundredth lap, he split into shadow clones to take care of Sasuke. One clone knelt down, scooping him up with ease.
"Big idiot... what are you doing? Put me down!" Sasuke's pale face flushed pink as he struggled in Naruto's arms.
Naruto grinned. "Oh? You can walk on your own then? Or are you planning to crawl all the way back?"
"I..." Sasuke attempted to move his legs, but the moment he tensed them, white-hot pain shot up his thighs. He bit back a groan. There was no way he could even stand.
So he gave up and stayed silent, scowling at the ground.
By the time they reached the lakeside, Naruto's clones had already prepared food. A wild boar roasted on a spit above the fire, the fat sizzling, the meat glistening as one of the clones brushed it with spices. Naruto had clearly learned from his first disastrous attempt at grilling fish; now he had an entire pouch of seasonings ready.
The clone carrying Sasuke set him down gently before kneeling and pressing firm hands against Sasuke's trembling legs.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke demanded.
"Massage. Unless you'd rather be paralyzed tomorrow," the clone said casually. Without waiting for permission, he started kneading Sasuke's sore muscles.
"Wait ugh !" Sasuke yelped, his voice cracking. "Gentle! I said gentle!"
The clone ignored him, methodically pressing and rolling the muscles, forcing out the lactic acid build-up. Sasuke twisted, groaning and gasping, sweat dripping from his forehead. Every push hurt like fire.
Naruto's clones, meanwhile, weren't just sitting idle. At the water's edge, a small army of Narutos practiced their jutsu in perfect synchronization. Dozens of dragon-shaped torrents of flame spiraled into the sky, colliding, clashing, and bursting into sparks above the river.
Sasuke's eyes widened. He almost forgot his pain. "T-That... that's training too?" he muttered in awe.
The real Naruto, seated nearby, nodded. "Yep. I'm working on fire-style chakra nature transformation. Fire Dragon Flame Bullet is perfect for practice."
Sasuke turned his gaze away, jaw tight. His pride stung worse than his legs. Naruto wasn't just ahead in stamina. He was ahead in ninjutsu, in chakra control everything.
But instead of despair, something else ignited inside him. A quiet, burning determination.
Fine. You're stronger now. But I'll catch up. I swear I will.
At that very moment, Naruto leaned closer, blinking at him in surprise. "Hey... your eyes. They changed!"
Sasuke frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Dragging him toward the riverbank, Naruto tilted his head so Sasuke could see his reflection.
The boy froze. His own crimson eyes stared back, each marked with a single tomoe.
"The Sharingan... I awakened it?" His heart skipped. He hadn't expected this, not yet. And certainly not from exhaustion alone.
Confused though he was, Sasuke couldn't help but feel pride stir in his chest. Finally, he had something Naruto didn't.
"It's my clan's kekkei genkai," he explained, regaining a fraction of his lost confidence. "The Uchiha bloodline limit."
Naruto whistled, clearly envious. "So cool..."
For the first time all day, Sasuke felt like he wasn't entirely overshadowed.
After eating their fill of roasted boar, the boys summoned clones to attend the ninja academy in their place while their real bodies continued training in secret. But Sasuke's chakra reserves were nowhere near Naruto's; one clone was already enough to strain him. The thought of summoning dozens was impossible.
By the afternoon, when the academy day ended, Sasuke's clone dispelled instantly, the flood of memories leaving him dizzy. He shook it off quickly, though, his mental strength bolstered by his newly awakened eyes.
Naruto, on the other hand, collapsed from the overwhelming feedback of hundreds of clones training nonstop.
"Oi, you're not dead, are you?" Sasuke asked, flopping onto his stomach, trying to sound annoyed even as worry crept into his voice. Itachi had once warned him of the risks of overusing shadow clones.
"I'm fine," Naruto muttered, his voice muffled, eyes closed as he endured the tidal wave of memories and fatigue.
The last remaining clone rekindled the fire, reheating the leftover meat.
But the boys weren't alone. From the shadows of the trees, a small figure watched. Hinata Hyuga had been following them for some time, her pale eyes peering curiously.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when a Naruto clone appeared silently at her back.
"Hinata, what are you doing here?"
Startled, her face drained of color. But when she turned and saw his familiar blue eyes, her cheeks instantly flushed red.
Naruto tilted his head. "Your face just... changed color? You okay?"
"N-nothing..." Hinata whispered, pressing her fingers together nervously, her voice barely louder than a mosquito. If Naruto's hearing wasn't sharp, he might not have understood her at all.
He grinned. "If it's nothing, then come join us for dinner. There's plenty of boar left."
Hinata hesitated, glancing up at the sky. It was nearly evening, and the Hyuga household was strict about mealtimes. If she stayed too long, she'd be scolded.
Even so, Naruto's warm smile tempted her.
"C-can I really?" she asked shyly, her blush deepening.
"Of course. Why not?"
Watching her nervous fidgeting, Naruto couldn't help but think she was... kind of cute.