> "So this is fate's decision?"
Neji lay on the ground, muttering:
"Fate chose him… and abandoned me."
> "It's not fate," Naruto said as he walked over, looking down at Neji.
"And you've never been abandoned by it either."
> "Fate never existed to begin with."
> "No, everything is destined," Neji gritted out, using all his strength to sit up despite the pain. He stared at Naruto and rasped:
"Like now. He beat me."
Neji's stubbornness actually made Naruto laugh.
> "If everything is already set in stone," Naruto said, mocking smile on his face,
"Then why do you keep working so hard?"
> "If it's all predetermined, why are you training? Wouldn't it be easier to just lie down and give up?"
> "You talk about fate like it's set in stone, but aren't you the one trying hardest to change it?"
Naruto didn't hold back. He tore right through Neji's defenses and stabbed straight at the truth.
Those deep, sapphire-blue eyes of his almost looked like they could see into Neji's soul.
> "What are you waiting for? Hoping for? Wishing for?"
> "That someone will defeat you?"
"That someone will show you you're wrong?"
"That someone will fix you?"
> "Pfft—hahaha!"
Naruto chuckled.
> "You're not some princess trapped in a tower."
"No knight in shining armor is coming to save you."
> "And even if someone did show up on a white horse, they'd probably be a monk."
> "The only one who can save you—is you."
> "So don't talk to me about fate."
> "If it exists, I'll take it into my own hands!"
He clenched his fists tightly.
Because he knew what it was like to stand helpless, watching his parents die before him—unable to change anything. That crushing feeling of powerlessness?
> Never again.
From the moment he reincarnated into the Naruto world, Naruto had already rejected the idea of "fate."
> "You can't change the past," he said,
"But you can change the future."
> "Use your own hands to break fate—to achieve the dream you desire!"
In that moment, Naruto shone.
To Neji, it was as if a golden sun burned behind him.
Naruto extended a hand.
> "Hyūga Neji… want to stand beside me and seize your own destiny?"
Neji scoffed—but grasped his hand all the same.
> "Then let me stand at your side and see just how far you can go."
> 'Uzumaki Naruto… you see clearer than I do.'
'Don't let me down.'
---
Training Days Return
Life resumed with more training, training… and training.
Only now, Naruto wasn't alone.
He had two partners at his side:
Rock Lee and Hyūga Neji.
---
Konoha Academy – Ninja Tool Field
A Konoha Academy teacher stood by the target range with a clipboard in hand.
> "Today's practical exam: shuriken throwing."
> "Ten throws. Land at least six to pass."
> "First up—Uchiha Sasuke."
The boy with jet-black hair and the red-and-white fan on his back swaggered to the line, hands in his pockets.
With practiced ease, he pulled ten shuriken from his pouch and, without even looking, tossed them all at once into the air.
> "What, giving up already?" said a boy with two red fang marks on his cheeks and a dog on his head.
"Pfft. Watch and learn from me."
That was Inuzuka Kiba, heir to the Inuzuka Clan.
They were as dog-loving as Granny Cat was cat-crazy.
But before Kiba could finish his trash talk—
The airborne shuriken collided with each other in mid-air, redirecting themselves into a seemingly impossible formation…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ten perfectly aimed hits—all in the bullseye.
> "Perfect score. Uchiha Sasuke, ten out of ten."
Cool as ice, Sasuke turned around and walked away, hands still in his pockets.
> 'Heh. Big brother Itachi taught me that technique.'
> 'Though… I'm still far from his five-at-once trick.'
---
Fan Girls Erupt
> "Kyaaaa!!"
> "So cool!!"
> "That's our Sasuke-kun!!"
The girls watching all gasped and swooned, captivated by Sasuke's icy cool walk-off.
Meanwhile, Kiba was left red-faced.
> "Tch. So what if it's ten out of ten…" he muttered under his breath, but his voice got quieter with every word.
He could hit a bullseye, sure. But doing it ten times, casually, like Sasuke? No way.
> "Flashy nonsense," someone nearby muttered.
Kiba turned, excited someone agreed with him.
> "Right?! You think it's…"
And then he froze.
The person who spoke?
Uzumaki Naruto.
> "You're spou—uhhh…"
Across the field, the fan club stiffened.
They'd been ready to yell at anyone who bad-mouthed Sasuke—until they saw who said it.
Immediately, they shrank back like a flock of frightened birds.
> "That bully's here again…"
> "Why doesn't the teacher ever stop him?"
> "Shhh! Remember when he made that girl cry with one punch?"
> "Even Sasuke got beat up by him…"
Naruto walked straight over to stand beside Hinata.
Side by side, the two looked like a cute little couple.
But to the others, it just looked like Naruto was bullying her.
> "See?! I told you—Hinata's probably being forced!"
> "There's no way quiet, gentle Hinata would hang around with…"
Silence.
A single glance from Naruto was enough to shut them all up.
---
Bully? No. Beat-Downs? Yes.
Naruto never picked fights.
He never caused trouble.
But when the time for sparring came?
He didn't hold back.
Just one punch—and his opponent would be in tears.
Every single person who'd ever mocked him, provoked him, or dared say something bad—including Sasuke—had all been knocked flat.
> "Tch," Sasuke scoffed, face darkening.
That punch from Naruto? It was still his greatest humiliation.
He wouldn't let any chance to diss Naruto go to waste.
> "Stop talking so big. If you think you're all that, why don't you try it, tough guy?"
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