"Take this!" I shouted, swinging my right fist straight at my opponent's face.
"Too slow," Sasuke said calmly, dodging my punch and immediately counterattacking.
"Ugh!"A left hook slammed into my face. I staggered back slightly, but I still had enough strength to keep fighting.
Soon, Sasuke unleashed a rapid series of sharp, precise strikes. I barely managed to block them with my arms, which were already starting to ache. I knew I couldn't last much longer like this. I had to do something. Unfortunately, my opponent was still a whole level above me in taijutsu.
For a split second, Sasuke disappeared from my field of vision—then swept my legs out from under me. I hit the ground hard. Though momentarily stunned, I quickly regained my composure and rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding his follow-up attack.
Seizing the moment, I jumped back to my feet and charged at him again. Unfortunately, Sasuke controlled distance far better than I did and quickly reclaimed the initiative. Still, I wasn't about to give up that easily!
Enduring his blows, I tried to study the sequence of his movements, searching for an opening—something I could exploit to finally catch him off guard. But for now, I couldn't pull it off…
After another ten minutes, the fight ended with my defeat.
Lying on the ground, drenched in sweat, covered in bruises and scrapes, beaten like a stray dog, I once again felt the bitterness of loss. Still, I didn't let it get me down too much—I could feel myself slowly but surely getting better.
"Let's take a break. After that, I'll fight you and four of your clones," Sasuke said, sitting down nearby. Sweat dripped from his face, and he looked slightly worn out.
"Yeah… just give me ten minutes," I replied.
"…"
My sparring partner didn't respond. Closing his eyes, he focused on restoring his breathing.
"Man… this is so damn annoying! Why doesn't Kakashi-sensei train us properly?! All we do are boring D-rank missions and formation drills for different scenarios! When are we going to be taught some actually cool techniques?" I blurted out, unable to hold it in.
"…"
Sasuke remained silent again. But when I looked at him, it was clear he agreed—he just didn't bother saying it out loud.
Two weeks had passed since our team was officially formed. In all that time, damn Kakashi hadn't taught us anything truly useful—aside from quick formation responses to threats. Sure, there were also some team tactics… but it wasn't enough.
At best, our mentor had spent maybe ten hours training us in total. He constantly lectured us about the importance of teamwork, yet made no real effort to actually build that teamwork.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and I continued training together.
Besides taijutsu, I managed to significantly improve my shuriken throwing. This time, I was consistently hitting the center of easy targets and had moved up to the next level. My unfortunate partner had also improved noticeably—especially in close combat. He could now handle me and three of my shadow clones without much trouble.
Speaking of clones—thanks to Sasuke, I'd greatly improved my coordination when fighting alongside them. Acting together felt much more natural now.
It was also worth mentioning that, as partners, we'd started to sense each other better. All in all, we were steadily improving—and that was genuinely encouraging.
Surprisingly, Sasuke also showed me the signature technique of the Uchiha clan: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. It was a C-rank ninjutsu, and according to him, every Uchiha was required to master it.
He spoke those words with obvious pain and sorrow. I could tell he wasn't ready to talk about the tragedy yet—so I didn't push him or ask questions.
Why did Sasuke show me this technique?
Simple—we were teammates, and we needed to know each other's arsenals.
I didn't miss the opportunity and asked whether he could teach it to me. Sasuke studied me for a moment, then said it wouldn't be easy—but agreed anyway. Briefly explaining the nuances of the technique, he slowly demonstrated the hand seals:
Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger
As expected, my first attempt failed. All that came out of my mouth was smoke, along with a bitter taste. Sasuke didn't mock me for it, only saying that I needed more practice.
I knew fire wasn't my natural affinity, but I was curious. In the future, I planned to master all five elements—so I saw no reason to pass up new opportunities.
Unfortunately, our team had one major problem—and her name was Sakura.
She had a difficult personality. All she ever thought about was Sasuke. Sometimes it felt like the entire Yamanaka clan had messed with her mind—there was no other way to explain her fanatical "love" for the "last Uchiha."
At times, she annoyed Sasuke so much he looked like he was seconds away from telling her to get lost. Talking to her was pointless—she didn't take my opinions seriously at all.
At one point, I even spoke to Sasuke about her. My idea was that Sakura-chan would listen to her idol. I suggested he talk to her and propose training together as a trio—since Kakashi-sensei clearly wasn't in a hurry to teach us anything.
I was refused immediately.
Apparently, Sasuke didn't like her approach at all. He likely saw her as dead weight—someone constantly demanding his attention. And that directly interfered with his goal: becoming stronger.
In the end, Sakura was left out. Until she changed her mindset—and that would take a long time—there was nothing I could do.
"So, ready to continue?" Sasuke pulled me out of my thoughts. He had already recovered, stood up, shook himself slightly, and took a fighting stance.
"Yep! Let's go! Shadow Clone Technique!"
I jumped to my feet, formed the hand seal, and gathered enough chakra to create four shadow clones.
Surrounding Sasuke together with my clones, we attacked all at once. Sasuke defended himself calmly. As I'd said before, my coordination with my clones had improved drastically—it was much easier to act in sync.
Sasuke immediately dashed forward, not giving us a second to set up, and dispersed one clone with a single sharp strike. Another tried to get behind him but was knocked away by a precise kick. The third was sent flying after a short but brutal combo.
I watched as Sasuke moved confidently between us, controlling the distance and refusing to let himself be surrounded.
And then—I finally caught his rhythm.
The two remaining clones attacked simultaneously from the flanks, forcing Sasuke to retreat. That was enough. While he dodged one strike, I broke through and spun into a punch straight to his torso.
He managed to partially absorb the blow, but still flew back, rolling across the ground before stopping with a sharp exhale.
Eventually, we both collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily, completely out of strength. The shadow clones dispersed, leaving behind only a faint pulse of chakra and exhaustion—but nothing critical. I was used to this by now.
Sasuke lay beside me, staring up at the sky. From the tension in his gaze, it was clear—this fight hadn't been easy for him either. Fighting me and four clones at once was taking more out of him with every session.
My body ached, but inside I felt a strange, almost pleasant satisfaction.
I still lost more often than I won—but Sasuke could no longer crush me effortlessly. That meant we were both getting stronger. Different paths, same direction.
After finishing training, I said goodbye to my partner and headed home. The rest of the day passed normally.
The next morning, after getting ready and eating a solid meal, I headed to Training Ground Seven. Sasuke and Sakura-chan were already there. I greeted them, received a small nod from Sasuke—and complete silence from Sakura.
Sasuke looked tired and irritated. Apparently, Sakura had managed to get on his nerves first thing in the morning.
"Sometime later" (about half an hour, to be precise), our mentor finally arrived—Kakashi-sensei. After listening to our complaints about his tardiness yet again, he explained today's plan.
As expected, no miracle happened.
He wasn't planning to train us.
We were heading back to the Hokage's residence for another boring mission. Even Sasuke clicked his tongue in irritation this time. Guess I wasn't the only one fed up.
No choice—we had to go.
Fifteen minutes later, our team reached the main building of Konoha. Inside, we entered one of the offices. Several elderly officials were buried in paperwork. Among them were familiar faces—the Third Hokage and Iruka-sensei.
This was already our sixth mission.
After exchanging greetings, we were immediately handed another D-rank assignment.
Perfect for rookie genin, I get it—but couldn't they give us something actually interesting? At least we're getting paid for this boring work… I grumbled internally.
"I actually have an important mission for you," Hiruzen said with a kind smile.
"…"
Sasuke and I didn't really believe him. We exchanged a glance and, as if in sync, thought: He's lying.
"…"
Sakura stayed silent—but out of politeness.
"We are ready to carry out any assignment, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said.
"You are to locate and capture a runaway cat named Tora," Hiruzen continued, handing the mission details to our sensei.
"…?!"I froze in shock.
Tora the cat! After catching him, we'll be sent to the Land of Waves! Finally—real enemies! Real combat! And saving people from the oppression of capitalism! They'll even name the bridge after me…
"Naruto, what are you spacing out for?" Iruka-sensei asked, noticing I hadn't moved while my team headed for the exit.
"Huh? Sorry—I got lost in thought. Goodbye, Iruka-sensei. Hokage-sama," I said, snapping back to reality and running after my team.
"…?"Sasuke looked at me suspiciously.
Stop analyzing my every move, emo-Sasuke, I wanted to say—but held it back.
All in all, today promised to be interesting.
And I was looking forward to it.