Konohagakura no sato :
The morning breeze finally stilled, leaving Training Ground 3 in a heavy, contemplative silence as the reality of passing the test settled in. But the peace didn't last long.
As Kakashi waited to see the reactions of the Team at announcement and Sasuke, and Sakura were still feeling the reality of getting passed .
Naruto had enough of being bound like a clown. With a subtle shimmy and a series of fluid, practiced joint contortions, he simply slid out of the heavy hemp ropes like water through a sieve. The restraints hit the grass with a dull thud, perfectly intact but completely empty.
The three turned back, their eyes twitching in unison at the sight of Naruto standing there, dusting off his Clothes as if he'd just been lounging in a hammock.
"How...?" Sasuke's stoicism flickered, his gaze darting between the empty ropes and the grinning blonde.
"Ha? Did Sensei not bind him properly?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Kakashi remained silent, though behind his mask. (I definitely bound him properly.)
Naruto caught their bewilderment and let out a smug chuckle, throwing up a classic V-sign. "It's the Rope Escape Jutsu, guys! I'm not 'Rookie of the Year' just for my looks, you know!"
[Skill: Rope Escape Jutsu — MAX LEVEL]
Unless sealed or physically crippled, escape from any non-sentient binding is instantaneous and requires no hand signs.
Sasuke let out a sharp, annoyed grunt and looked away. Sakura's jaw dropped at the sheer technical proficiency of such a basic academy skill, while Kakashi's eye returned to its habitual state of bored lethargy.
"Right, right," Kakashi muttered, waving a hand dismissively. "Gather at the Hokage Tower tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp. We'll be starting our first official missions. Don't be late."
With a swirl of leaves, the Jonin vanished. Sasuke didn't waste a second; he turned on his heel and marched toward the exit without a word of goodbye. Sakura, as if tethered to the Uchiha by an invisible string, scurried after him, shouting "Sasuke-kun, wait for me!" She didn't spare even a fleeting glance at Naruto.
Naruto stood alone in the center of the clearing, watching their retreating backs. This time, he just sighed, the adrenaline of the fight finally fading into a dull ache.
(Ugh, enough Team 7 annoyance for today,) he thought, stretching his sore muscles until his back popped.
( First , Ichiraku's for a victory bowl .... and then I need to find Uta-san.)
Instead of following the path toward the village gates, Naruto pivoted. He leaped into the canopy, his feet finding the familiar grip of the bark. With a single, sharp Body Flicker, he disappeared into the dense greenery, heading toward the heart of Konoha.
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Konoha Streets :
Sasuke Uchiha walked with a measured, deliberate pace, his footsteps light against the dust-laden path leading away from Training Ground 3. To an outside observer, he looked as stoic and detached as ever, the quintessential "Ice Prince" of the Uchiha.
But internally, his senses were tuned to a razor's edge. His ears twitched at every rustle of the grass, and his chakra sensory awareness—sharpened by years of being the second-best to a certain blonde whirlwind—was flared toward his rear.
( where is he ? )
He was waiting.
Subconsciously, the rigid walls Sasuke had built around his heart had developed a very specific, Naruto-shaped door. Over the last three years, the blonde hadn't just been a nuisance; he had been a constant, immovable benchmark. Naruto had beaten him in taijutsu spars, outstripped him in physical conditioning, matched his accuracy with kunai, and—infuriatingly—maintained a superior academic standing.
Because of this consistent history of being "number two," Sasuke didn't suffer the crippling identity crisis he might have in another timeline. Instead, he had developed a begrudging, silent acknowledgment.
And After today , Sasuke considered Naruto a comrade—perhaps even the only one who truly understood the weight of the path they walked.
Today, however, that acknowledgment had shifted into something bordering on awe.
( to think that the GAP was this Big )
As he walked, Sasuke replayed the Bell Test in high-definition loops behind his eyelids. The sheer scale of the gap between them hadn't just been revealed; it had been punctuated with an exclamation point.
Sasuke possessed the Great Fireball Technique, the pride of his clan. But Naruto had moved through the elemental cycle like a conductor leading an orchestra.
( Fire , Water , Wind , Earth and even Lightning )
In that excerside , Naruto used 5 different Nature transformation Jutsu , not only did he used those jutsu , The Sheer versatality and also the tactial setup against a seasoned Jonin , Sasuke personally saw with his own eyes , how different Kakashi was treating Naruto and him .
( and then that tactical and environmental prowess )
Naruto had used the environment. He had used Sasuke and Sakura as pieces on a board, placing them exactly where they needed to be to pressure a Jounin like Kakashi.
( ...And then there was that Taijutsu spar )
The blur of limbs, the economy of motion—Naruto had stood toe-to-toe with a veteran of the Great War.
And Later , atop the Wall , when he and Sakura were watching ; Naruto had landed a clean, humiliating punch in the end .
(To think that the gap was this big,) Sasuke thought again, his jaw tightening. He wasn't frustrated in the way a failure would be; he was calculating. He had slowed his pace, waiting for the chatterbox to catch up so he could demand answers. He wanted to know how Naruto had mastered such versatility, and he wanted to know it now.
Unfortunately, Naruto didn't appear. Instead, the void behind him was filled by a persistent, high-pitched buzzing Pink Fly.
"Are you prepared for the missions, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura Haruno chirped, skipping to keep pace with his long strides. "As long as I'm with Sasuke-kun, I'm raring to go! We make such a great team, don't you think?"
Sasuke didn't answer. He didn't even look at her. His patience was a finite resource, and it was currently being drained by the absence of the person he actually wanted to talk to. Finally, he stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't turn to face Sakura; he kept his gaze fixed on the path back to the training ground.
"Where is Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his voice low and cold.
It was his way to handle the pink nuisance. Sasuke wanted Sakura to realize that the third member of their team—the one who had literally carried them through the exercise—was missing. He wanted her to show even a shred of the tactical awareness Naruto had demonstrated. But Sakura, intoxicated by the proximity of her "Sasuke-kun," completely missed the mark.
"Sasuke-kun...!" Sakura huffed, crossing her arms. "Just leave Naruto alone. All he does is pick fights with you and get in the way! It's definitely because he wasn't raised right. He has no manners."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent, a dangerous stillness settling over him. Sakura, seeing that she finally had his undivided attention, took it as an invitation to keep talking.
"You know, he doesn't have parents, right?" she continued, her voice gaining a judgmental edge.
"He always selfishly does whatever he wants. Just look at what he did today! Those stupid pranks, that ridiculous punch... my parents would get so mad at me if I did something like that! But there are no parents to nag you when you're all alone, so his selfishness just comes out whenever he feels like it!...Hmph Just an Orphan"
The atmosphere didn't just turn serious; it turned frigid. The wind died down, and the shadows of the trees seemed to lengthen across the path. Sasuke finally turned, but the look he gave Sakura wasn't the "intense gaze" she had hoped for. It was a look of pure, unadulterated loathing.
In that moment, Sasuke saw the parallel. He saw the empty house he returned to every night. He saw the blood-stained streets of his memory. He saw the same void that Naruto lived in every single day.
Sasuke turned his back on Sakura and spoke
"The loneliness," Sasuke whispered.
"Huh?" Sakura blinked, confused by the sudden shift in tone.
"It is something worse than getting scolded by parents," Sasuke said, his voice trembling with a suppressed, icy rage. "It is a hollow that eats at you from the inside out. You have no idea what it means to be truly alone....and "
"Sasuke-kun, what's gotten into you?" Sakura laughed nervously, completely oblivious to the landmine she had just stepped on. "It's just Naruto, the orphan, you know? He's just a nuisance."
Sasuke looked at her one last time—not as a teammate, but as a stranger.
"You... annoy me."
Sasuke didn't wait for her to respond. He didn't wait to see the tears welling in her eyes or the shock on her face. He turned and walked away, his mood utterly ruined.
He no longer wanted to talk to Naruto; he just wanted to be home, in the silence of the Uchiha district, away from the staggering ignorance of people who had everything and understood nothing.
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Ichiraku Ramen :
" come back next time "
" Osu "
Naruto stepped out of the warm, steam-filled sanctuary of Ichiraku Ramen, the lingering scent of miso and succulent pork belly still clinging to his clothes. He patted his stomach, a low hum of satisfaction vibrating through his core. Behind him, Teuchi's cheerful farewell echoed into the street, a small anchor of normalcy in a life that was rapidly spiraling into the extraordinary.
As he walked, Naruto closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, his Mindhub flickering like a high-tech command center. Through his mental partitions, he synchronized with the distributed consciousness of his Shadow Clones scattered across the village.
At Training Ground 3, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of ozone and scorched earth.
Dozens of clones were locked in a relentless grind: two were engaged in a high-speed Kenjutsu spar, the ring of steel on steel singing through the trees; others were experimenting with the fluid dynamics of Water Release, trying to find the exact frequency to make a stream of water cut through solid rock.
Other Clones were also practicing different Elemental Jutsu .
Some Clones were at Apartement doing House Chores or taking care of pets .
There were other clones who were buried in Konoha archives to find new and unique locations for the sign-in System .
( No need to rush , when I came across like canon , i will sign-in )
Deep in the Sealing Corps auxiliary office, a small cluster of clones sat cross-legged, their brows furrowed as they stared at the intricate, recursive geometry of the Five-Element Seal, their fingers tracing invisible patterns in the air.
10:30 AM. Naruto checked his pocket watch. The Bell Test had concluded two hours ago. He had time. Before heading to Uta's tattoo shop for his next session, he had a "date" with destiny at the Konoha Archives.
( let's sign in Great Sage first )
Naruto strolled through the bustling marketplace, a lollipop tucked into the corner of his mouth. To any passerby, he was just a relaxed Genin enjoying his day. However, his sensory net was flared to its maximum radius.
As he approached a seemingly ordinary section of the village wall, his Hound Senses picked up a familiar scent: a mix of expensive laundry detergent, premium ink, and a hint of chocolate.
His Mindhub immediately flagged a slight, unnatural shimmering in the air—a rectangular patch of cloth that didn't quite match the mortar of the wall.
Naruto didn't even slow down.
"What a stupid disguise," he muttered loudly, his voice dripping with playful disdain. "There's no way the Hokage's grandson would be this shitty at the basics. Honestly, it's embarrassing."
He kept walking, sensing the hidden figure behind the cloth stiffen in absolute mortification. Naruto turned a corner, seemingly leaving the area, but in a blur of motion, he doubled back. He scaled the wall in two silent leaps and sat cross-legged atop the stone, directly above the "invisible" intruder.
Below him, the cloth suddenly slumped. A small, spiky-haired boy emerged from beneath it, his face a bright, burning shade of crimson.
"Damn it, kore!" Konohamaru hissed, kicking the cloth in frustration. "How does he do it every time?"
"That was a really shitty disguise, you know," Naruto said softly from above.
"WHAAAAAA!"
Konohamaru let out a high-pitched shriek that sounded like a startled tea kettle. He scrambled backward, tripped over his own oversized scarf, and fell flat on his backside, staring up at Naruto with wide, horrified eyes.
"Haha! Just what are you doing, Konohamaru?" Naruto hopped down, landing as light as a feather in front of the kid.
Ever since Naruto had unceremoniously "pacified" the boy during a failed ambush on the Third Hokage when Naruto was walking on the streets with Hokage , the kid had become an inescapable shadow.
To Konohamaru, Naruto was the "Civilian Legend"—the boy who rose from nothing to dominate the Academy elite. Someone who his Grandpa , The Hokage praised to heavens ,and that was the reason now He was a rival to be defeated.
"As expected of my rival... to pick my ambush in an instant!" Konohamaru huffed, scrambling to his feet and trying to reclaim his dignity.
"Did you wait near Ichiraku for me, kid?" Naruto teased.
"Wh-Who would wait for you?! I was just... patrolling!"
Naruto chuckled and patted the boy's head. "How's your training going with Ebisu? Did you finally learn that 'Elite' way of walking he keeps talking about?"
Yaa , Ebisu was also someone Naruto met while interacting with Konohamaru , the guy still has stick up his Ass , but he didn't treat Naruto the same as Canon .
After all this naruto was the Civilian who defeated Uchiha repeatedly in academy , a Legendary thing among villager , and this part also earned Naruto approval of quite a few Civilian Shinobi who considered Naruto as a civilian uprising Shinobi .
Konohamaru's face fell, his enthusiasm replaced by a look of profound boredom. He kicked a stone across the pavement.
"Chaa, I ditched that old man easily. It's so boring, Naruto-niichan. Just posture, and etiquette, and 'proper chakra molding.' No new jutsu, no action. Just... boring."
Naruto looked at the boy's frustrated expression. One of his mental partitions immediately began calculating the potential outcomes of a specific "gift." A mischievous smirk spread across Naruto's face.
"How about I teach you a jutsu, then?" Naruto leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Something that can knock out the Old Man in his own office. Something that works on 90% of all male shinobi."
Konohamaru's eyes widened until they were literally twinkling. "WHOA! Really?! Seriously, it's that powerful?!"
"Oh, it's a killer," Naruto said, his eyes glinting with a dark, humorous light.
(Everything for the greater good, Old Man. For the Will of Fire... and my own amusement.....hehe)
Naruto led Konohamaru to a secluded corner of Training Ground 3. The boy watched in awe as Naruto's clones went about their business—one clone was literally meditating while surrounded by swirling flameballs, while another was breathing air into a sealed jar.
"Why don't you just teach me that Shadow Clone jutsu, Naruto-niichan?"
"Haha, for that, you need the Old Man's permission, So..No ,But what I'm teaching you is a derivative of the Transformation Jutsu. Don't underestimate it. It requires perfect visualization and precise chakra distribution."
For the next three hours, Naruto became a hard-boiled instructor. He explained the philosophy of the "Oiroke no Jutsu" (Sexy Jutsu) with the gravity of a forbidden S-rank technique.
Yes , Naruto reserched and learned this jutsu that can even make Kaguya , The Mother of Chakra flinch .
"Listen, Konohamaru. A shinobi's greatest weakness is his desire. You aren't just transforming into a girl; you are transforming into the ideal distraction. You have to mold the chakra to create a sensory overload—the right curve, the right mist, the perfect 'wink.' If you do it right, their brain's blood flow will divert... elsewhere."
Konohamaru listened with rapt attention, his small hands trembling as he practiced the specific seal variations Naruto had developed. "I think... I think I get it, kore!"
"Visualization is key! Think of the most beautiful woman possible!" Naruto yelled like a drill sergeant. "Now! TRANSFORM!"
*POOF!*
Konohamaru's first attempt resulted in a middle-aged woman with a mustache. Naruto sighed. "Again! More focus on the 'glamour' aspect!"
By sunset, Konohamaru had mastered it. The transformation was flawless—a stunning, cloud-shrouded beauty that made even Naruto's mental partitions stutter for a millisecond.
"Go, Konohamaru," Naruto said, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "Go and bring the Honorable Grandfather to his knees."
saying his piece , Naruto disappeared with a puff of smoken , The present Naruto was a shadow clone who just left after 30 minutes , while his main body was already walking back home after his session at Uta's Shop.
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Hokage Office :
The next morning, the Hokage's office was peaceful. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, puffing on his pipe and looking over boring trade agreements with the Land of Valleys. Beside him, Ebisu was mid-lecture, his glasses glinting as he spoke.
"And that is why, Lord Hokage, the young master requires a more structured curriculum. His impulsive behavior is—"
BANG!
The doors flew open. Konohamaru stood there, a look of grim determination on his face. "OLD MAN! TODAY IS THE DAY I TAKE THE TITLE OF HOKAGE!"
Ebisu sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Young master, how many times must I tell you—"
"SHUT UP, ELITE TEACHER! TAKE THIS! OIROKE NO JUTSU!" ( SEXY Jutsu)
*POOF!*
A massive, high-pressure cloud of pink smoke filled the office. Out of the mist stepped a vision of absolute, heart-stopping beauty—a woman so stunning she seemed to be made of starlight and scandalous curves, winking flirtatiously as she blew a kiss toward the desk.
Ebisu's jaw didn't just drop; it hit the floor. His glasses cracked. Two literal geysers of blood erupted from his nostrils with the force of a fire hydrant. He was launched backward by the sheer hydraulic pressure of his own nosebleed, slamming into the mahogany bookshelf and sliding down in a senseless heap.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the "God of Shinobi," was no better. The pipe fell from his mouth, spilling hot ash onto his robes, but he didn't even notice. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. A slow, massive trail of blood began to leak from his nose as his face turned a vibrant, glowing red.
"Ugh... h-hoh..." the Hokage managed to wheeze before his chair tipped backward, leaving only his feet kicking in the air behind the desk.
Konohamaru dispelled the jutsu, standing amidst the carnage of unconscious "elites" with a triumphant laugh. "I DID IT! I DEFEATED THE HOKAGE, KORE!"
Far across the village, Naruto Uzumaki paused in his walk to the Hokage Tower, feeling a sudden, immense disturbance in the Force. He smiled broadly, his blue eyes dancing with mischief.
(You're welcome, Konoha. The Will of Fire has never burned brighter.)
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Konoha Park :
The sun was beginning its slow descent, casting long, skeletal shadows across the grass of Konoha Park. Haruno Sakura sat huddled on the edge of a weathered wooden bench, her fingers twisting the fabric of her skirt.
The stinging echoes of Sasuke's voice still rang in her ears. "You... annoy me." Initially, she had run here in a fit of tearful indignation, waiting for the familiar surge of self-pity or the desire to blame Naruto for "ruining her moment."
But as the minutes bled into an hour, a heavy, suffocating silence settled over her. The park, usually filled with the sounds of playing children and gossiping parents, was oddly empty.
The wind picked up, a cold autumnal chill that bit through her thin clothes. She looked to her left, then to her right. No one was coming. No parents were looking for her yet. No Sasuke was coming to apologize. not Even kids , who usually popped up like a persistent weed, were nowhere to be found.
"Is this... what Sasuke-kun said about loneliness?" she whispered to the empty air.
The silence didn't answer. It just stretched, feeling vast and hungry. For the first time in her protected life, Sakura felt the weight of being truly unobserved. There was no one to perform for, no one to impress, and no one to care if she sat there until midnight.
"So scary," she murmured, shivering.
In that hollow quiet, her mind drifted back to her words from that morning—the way she had so casually dissected Naruto's life as if his lack of parents was merely a personality flaw or an excuse for bad manners. She remembered the cold, dark look in Sasuke's eyes when she had called Naruto an "orphan."
She looked down at her hands. "Is this what Naruto feels... all the time?"
She imagined this silence not just for an hour, but for years. Coming home to a dark apartment every night. Waking up to a quiet room every morning. Having no one to "nag" you because no one was there to listen in the first place.
A pang of genuine, unselfish guilt twisted in her gut. She realized that while she had been playing at being a ninja, Naruto had been surviving a reality she couldn't even handle for sixty minutes on a park bench.
"Maybe..." she swallowed hard, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "Maybe I'll be nice to him next time. Him... and Sasuke-kun."
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Author's Notes :
3-4 chapter before Wave Arc
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