The noon sun baked the training ground until the sand felt hot underfoot. A breeze carried drifting cherry blossom petals across the rest area mats.
Naruto walked at the back of the group, holding his empty lunchbox, thumb brushing the faint sakura scent still clinging to the cloth wrap. The smile on his face simply refused to go away.
Up ahead—
"Look, look! Sasuke-kun is wearing the new Uchiha training outfit today! The black one with the white fan crest! Isn't he so cool?!"
Sakura clutched Ino's sleeve, eyes sparkling.
Ino smacked her hand away. "What are you squealing for? Sasuke-kun nodded at me yesterday. Obviously he likes me."
"Excuse me? He smiled when he lent me an eraser! He likes me!"
The two girls were seconds away from a duel of their own.
Chōji watched with chips in his mouth.
Shikamaru yawned against his shoulder. "Girls are troublesome… worse than strategy problems."
Beside Naruto, Kiba muttered sourly, glancing at the empty lunchbox. "Tch. Just because someone gave you lunch. This afternoon I'm knocking you flat. Then you owe me half those fried shrimp."
"Win first," Naruto grinned.
They reached the training hall—
And stopped.
Leaning casually against the wooden gate was a boy in black.
Dark training uniform.
White Uchiha fan crest gleaming in the sun.
A kunai spinning lazily in his fingers.
Sasuke Uchiha.
The air around him felt colder than the shade.
The girls instantly exploded.
"Sasuke-kun looks amazing!"
"Is he waiting for someone?!"
Sasuke ignored them all.
His gaze swept once—
Then locked precisely onto Naruto.
The spinning kunai snapped forward.
Thud.
It embedded deep into the tree beside the gate.
"Uzumaki Naruto." His voice was cold and flat. "Come here. Fight me."
Silence.
Then a collective inhale.
Sasuke—the academy prodigy. Top in every subject. Praised by teachers as a once-in-a-generation genius.
And he was challenging Naruto?
Kiba jumped in front of Naruto immediately. "Hey! I called him first! I'm fighting him this afternoon!"
Sasuke gave him a single look.
Kiba instinctively stepped back. "…I mean… I did call him first…"
"You can come together if you want," Sasuke said coolly, eyes returning to Naruto. "This morning's strategy answer. Was that supposed to be hiding your ability?"
He'd been simmering all lunch.
Naruto answered better than him.
People are talking about Naruto.
Even Hinata giving Naruto lunch.
Since when did the so-called dead-last take the spotlight?
Naruto stepped forward.
"Sure. One-on-one is fine. What's the wager?"
Sasuke paused.
Then sneered. "If you lose, stay away from Hyūga Hinata. A dead-last doesn't deserve to hover around her."
A ripple ran through the crowd.
Naruto's smile thinned slightly.
"Fine," he said easily. "And if you lose?"
"I won't."
"Hypothetically."
Naruto pointed at the limited-edition dango box peeking from Sasuke's pocket.
"If you lose, that's mine. For Hinata. And stop giving Sakura that cold face. She brings you breakfast every day. That's not easy."
Dead silence.
Kiba dropped a dog treat.
Shikamaru choked. "He's insane…"
Sakura and Ino flushed bright red, protesting loudly—while sneaking glances at Sasuke.
Sasuke's jaw tightened. "Fine! If I lose, I'll buy you ten boxes! But if you lose—you do exactly what I said."
"Deal."
Naruto offered a hand to seal it.
Sasuke ignored it and walked toward the sparring platform.
"Don't cry when you lose."
Hinata slipped to Naruto's side, tugging his sleeve. "N-Naruto-kun… maybe don't fight? I don't need the dango…"
Naruto gently ruffled her hair.
"When have I ever lost?"
Inside the seal, Kurama scoffed.
"Betting over snacks for your future wife? You're disgracing the Hokage title. Want me to lend you chakra? Three seconds and he's done."
Naruto smiled inwardly.
"No need. We're future teammates. I'll go easy."
Iruka arrived just in time.
"You two are sparring? Fine. Point match. No serious injuries."
The crowd pressed in eagerly.
Sasuke took his stance.
Naruto rolled his shoulders lazily.
Fifty years as Hokage.
Hundreds of fights with Sasuke.
He could read every move with his eyes closed.
Free dango for his wife.
A slight dent in Sasuke's pride.
Best deal of the day.
"Iruka-sensei called it—Start!"
Sasuke launched forward like an arrow.
Straight punch feint—low sweep—pivot elbow.
Clean. Efficient. Sharp.
The girls screamed in admiration.
Naruto didn't move.
To everyone else, it looked like he froze.
To Shikamaru—
It looked like a calculation.
At the last instant—
Naruto tilted his head.
The punch grazed past his cheek, lifting strands of blond hair.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
He swept low—
Naruto stepped lightly off the attack's dead angle and flipped behind him.
Smooth. Effortless.
"First move," Naruto reminded casually.
Murmurs rippled.
Sasuke attacked again—faster.
Kunai flashed, cutting off escape angles.
Naruto stepped forward instead of back.
Closed distance.
Neutralized leverage.
A wrist flick—
Clang.
Kunai flew aside.
A shoulder check at precisely the moment Sasuke shifted weight—
Half a step off balance.
That was enough.
A hook at the ankle.
A controlled twist.
Thud.
Sasuke hit the mat.
Not hard.
But undeniably down.
The entire field went silent.
Sasuke stared at the sky, stunned.
What just happened?
"Second move," Naruto said lightly.
Iruka stood frozen.
Shikamaru was no longer lounging.
That wasn't luck.
That was a terrifyingly precise prediction.
Sasuke sprang up, eyes blazing.
"Again!"
This time he released chakra.
Faster.
Sharper.
A storm of strikes.
The crowd could barely follow the motion—
Naruto stopped retreating.
And began to counter.