At the waterfall's edge, Naruto pressed both hands against his face, trying desperately to contain his laughter. Tears leaked between his fingers despite his best efforts.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd gather Hinata and the others again, have them lavish praise on Nine-Tails while the fox wore those lace dresses. And from then on, the ancient demon would willingly parade around in frills, thinking it was high fashion.
The thought sent another wave of laughter through him, but Naruto forced it down. He wiped his face clean, took several deep breaths, and centered himself. Training. He had training to do.
"System," he thought, summoning the familiar presence in his mind. "Now that I've mastered the Heavenly Ascension Fist, what other techniques can you teach me?"
The System's response carried a note of gentle correction.
[Young Naruto, you're thinking about this wrong. In Ultimate Taijutsu, techniques aren't the foundation. Your body is. Everything stems from physical perfection. Right now, you shouldn't focus on learning new moves. You need to continue condensing your ki and blood, use them to temper your internal organs. Strive to reach the absolute peak of vital energy.]
Naruto felt a flicker of disappointment, but the System continued.
[However, there is one method I can teach you. Empty your mind and receive it.]
Information flooded Naruto's consciousness like a dam breaking. He immediately stilled, closing his eyes as knowledge poured directly into his brain. Techniques, principles, applications—all of it crystallized in his understanding.
An hour passed before Naruto's eyes snapped open, blazing with excitement.
The technique was deceptively simple: force multiplication. But its potential was limitless. The only ceiling was the practitioner's own physical durability. The stronger the body, the more force could be stacked and amplified—ten times, a hundred times, even a thousand times one's base strength.
[This method exists across countless realms,] the System explained.
[I once knew a warrior who used it to multiply his power a billion-fold. He destroyed an entire planet with a single strike.] A pause, weighted with significance.
[His body couldn't withstand the backlash. He disintegrated in the void immediately after.]
Naruto swallowed hard.
[That's why I emphasize the body above all else. Don't become obsessed with techniques while neglecting your foundation. When your physical form reaches true perfection, every punch and kick will naturally carry the weight of law. You'll be able to shatter planets without any special methods at all.]
The warning was clear. The System feared Naruto might chase power at the expense of proper development.
"I understand," Naruto said aloud, his voice solemn.
He settled back into his training stance and began the Iron Body conditioning routine. Ki and blood surged through his meridians, flowing into his internal organs in powerful waves. Each circulation tempered them further, slowly transforming soft tissue into something harder, more resilient.
The advantage over chakra-based training was obvious. Chakra couldn't strengthen the internal organs—a fundamental weakness that techniques like the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist specifically exploited. Their strikes bypassed external defenses entirely, attacking the vulnerable meridians and organs directly.
And chakra, for all its versatility—cloning, transformation, elemental manipulation, even resurrection—had one critical flaw.
It couldn't grant immortality.
But Ultimate Taijutsu could.
Naruto felt his organs responding to the ki and blood washing over them. Slowly, methodically, they grew tougher. Dense. Given enough time, they would become truly indestructible.
His enhanced senses picked up every detail of the world around him. The beating of butterfly wings thirty meters away. The slight disturbance in air currents from a distant mosquito. The subtle shift in water flow patterns.
So when Sasuke appeared on the riverbank in a flicker of space-time displacement, Naruto knew immediately.
He didn't stop training. Didn't even glance over. But his awareness tracked Sasuke's every movement as his roommate found a large boulder and climbed atop it.
Sasuke stood with arms crossed over his chest, chin tilted upward, looking down at Naruto with an expression of cold superiority.
The posture told Naruto everything. The slight smirk. The deliberate positioning. The faint chakra residue still clinging to Sasuke's hands.
He finished the Rasengan.
A warm satisfaction bloomed in Naruto's chest. His advice had worked. The three-day break with Sakura and Ino had given Sasuke exactly what he needed—mental clarity, emotional release, actual rest. Sometimes the best training was no training at all.
I helped set up his dates AND he completed an A-rank jutsu because of it. I'm basically the best friend ever.
But judging from Sasuke's current demeanor—the arrogant stance, the confrontational energy radiating from him—he clearly thought mastering the Rasengan meant he could finally win a fight.
Oh, Sasuke. You precious, naive fool.
Naruto continued his training, methodical and unhurried, as if Sasuke's arrival and obvious challenge meant nothing at all.
On his boulder, Sasuke wasn't in any rush either. He had all day to beat Naruto senseless. No need to hurry.
Water flowed beneath him, crashing against the rock and sending spray into the air. Sasuke tilted his head back further, gazing at the cloudless sky. The late afternoon sun hung overhead, painting everything in warm golden light. Cicadas sang in the forest. Unknown insects provided counterpoint melody. A cool breeze carried it all to his ears like a gift.
Perfect weather for delivering a long-overdue beating.
Sasuke's smirk widened slightly.
Time drifted past. The sun crawled westward. The harsh light began to soften, edges blurring as evening approached.
"Hoo... fwoosh!"
Naruto suddenly released his technique, his chest expanding massively as he drew in a huge breath. Then his chest contracted and the air exploded from his mouth like an arrow, so forceful it created a small crater in the water's surface.
The water splashed outward in a perfect circle, then gradually settled.
Naruto straightened, rolling his shoulders, and finally turned to acknowledge Sasuke. His expression was casually amused. "You've been standing there for five or six hours. Aren't your feet numb yet?"
"Naruto." Sasuke's voice was cold, proud. He looked down from his perch with undisguised smugness. "I mastered your father's Rasengan."
"So you've been waiting here all this time just to tell me you're going to beat me up?" Naruto asked, grin widening.
"Exactly." Sasuke's eyes flashed. "I've wanted to beat you senseless for a long time now. And yes, I'm grateful—if you hadn't suggested the outing with Sakura and Ino, I wouldn't have relaxed enough to complete the technique." He paused, expression hardening. "But that doesn't change anything. I learned your father's jutsu, and now I'm going to use it to pummel you into the ground."
His voice rose. "Because, Naruto, I also want to see your face bruised and swollen for once!"
Naruto shook his head, arranging his features into something appropriately sorrowful. "Ah, Sasuke. I never knew you felt that way. You should understand that I've been working hard to help you this whole time. I never intended to leave your face bruised—I was training your combat abilities. Improving your practical skills."
He let his expression shift, hardening slightly. "But fine. If you want to use my father's Rasengan to beat me up, don't blame me for being ruthless in return." His eyes gleamed. "And when you inevitably apologize later, try to remember how confident you are right now."
Naruto had watched this pattern repeat countless times. Sasuke would challenge him with absolute conviction. Sasuke would get thoroughly beaten. Sasuke would apologize with complete sincerity, promising never to challenge him again.
And the next day, Sasuke would be back, radiating the exact same unearned confidence.
The cycle was as predictable as sunrise.
"Don't worry, Naruto." Sasuke's face remained serious, disdainful. "This time will be different. This time, you'll be the one apologizing to me."
"Then come on." Naruto dropped into a ready stance, beckoning. "Show me what the Rasengan can really do."
"Gladly. You'll see exactly what it can—wait." Sasuke's confident expression flickered. His weight shifted slightly on the boulder. "My feet are numb. Just... give me a second to get the feeling back..."
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