Beside the bridge railing, Sakura was clinging to Sasuke with a lovesick expression, chattering incessantly, seemingly asking him if he slept well last night or what he wanted to eat today.
Sasuke remained cold and indifferent, hands in his pockets, gazing into the distance, not even sparing Sakura a glance.
Naruto: "..."
Damn it!
It's like this again!
Why does Sakura always fawn over that annoying Sasuke?!
I clearly... I'm clearly stronger than him!
And... I'm going to learn a super powerful Ninjutsu very soon!
A sour wave of jealousy surged into Naruto's heart.
He pouted, grunted unhappily, and didn't even bother to greet them, walking straight to the other end of the bridge, pulling out the rubber ball from his pocket, taking a deep breath, and beginning to practice the Rasengan.
Naruto placed the ball in his left palm, put his right hand over it, and tried hard to recall the teachings of his 'father' in the dream.
He concentrated, held his breath, and mobilized the Chakra within his body, attempting to make it rotate at high speed in his palm.
"Hah!!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and used all his might.
However, the condensation and rotation of Chakra were much more difficult than he had imagined.
The Chakra in his palm would just gather a little, then instantly disperse, unable to form an effective rotational force.
The rubber ball in his hand was only slightly deformed by the chaotic Chakra airflow, swaying twice; forget about exploding it, it was still miles away from that goal.
"Damn it! What's going on?! In the dream, it didn't feel this hard at all!"
Naruto was sweating profusely with anxiety, but he dared not relax in the slightest.
He didn't give up, gritting his teeth, tirelessly trying again and again.
His strange behavior naturally attracted the attention of the two people nearby.
Sakura was initially pestering Sasuke, but she was quickly drawn to Naruto's comical appearance, grimacing as he fought an imaginary opponent.
Sasuke also slightly turned his head, glancing at the constantly deforming rubber ball in Naruto's hand, and the faint but indeed present Chakra fluctuations in his palm; a barely perceptible hint of interest flashed in the depths of his dark pupils.
"This guy... is he really practicing that jutsu from the dream?" Sasuke thought to himself.
Although yesterday's dream was outlandish, the blue orb that the Fourth Hokage finally displayed had considerable power, easily able to sever such a thick tree...
Sasuke recalled the last scene of the dream, and a hint of curiosity about the jutsu Naruto was attempting involuntarily arose in his heart.
'If... this dead last can really learn that jutsu from a dream... then doesn't that mean...'
A thought arose in Sasuke's mind.
To defeat that person, to get revenge, he must spare no effort to make himself stronger!
He would not let go of any opportunity that could enhance his strength.
Thinking of this, Sasuke no longer hesitated.
He subtly moved next to Naruto, who was engrossed in tinkering with the ball, pretending to casually glance at the ball in Naruto's hand, and asked in a tone as flat as possible but barely concealing a hint of stiffness:
"Hey, dead last, what are you... doing?"
Sasuke tried his best to appear nonchalant, but his burning eyes had already betrayed his inner inquiry and desire.
Naruto, who was straining to make the Rasengan, was startled by Sasuke's sudden address, and the Chakra in his hand instantly dissipated completely.
He abruptly turned his head, finding Sasuke staring intently at the ball in his hand with a strange look, and an alarm bell rang in his heart.
'What's wrong with Sasuke today? Why is he so close?! And why is he staring so hard at my ball? Could it be... he wants to steal it?'
As soon as this possibility came to mind, Naruto immediately became anxious.
This was an ultimate technique personally taught to him by his 'father' in a dream!
It was his secret weapon to defeat Sasuke, win over Sakura, and become Hokage in the future.
How could Sasuke, that annoying guy, steal it?!
"Hmph!"
Naruto suddenly twisted his body, immediately putting his left hand holding the ball behind his back, and at the same time, turning his whole body away from Sasuke, assuming a defensive posture as if saying, "You can't see this."
'Want to steal the ultimate technique my dad taught me? No way! Not even a window crack! Once I master it, I'll definitely beat you down hard in front of Sakura! Let you know who the real strongest in Team 7 is!'
Thinking furiously, Naruto practiced even harder.
His face flushed red as he condensed Chakra again, fiercely rubbing the ball in his hand.
Sasuke: "..."
Looking at Naruto's actions, as if guarding against a thief, the veins on Sasuke's forehead couldn't stop twitching a few times.
Just then, Sakura also came over.
She curiously looked at the battered ball in Naruto's hand and asked with concern, "Oh, Naruto, what new Ninjutsu are you practicing? It looks like it takes a lot of effort."
Upon hearing Sakura's voice, the vigilance on Naruto's face instantly vanished, replaced by a smug smile.
He immediately turned around, held the ball up like a treasure in front of Sakura, puffed out his chest, and proudly announced:
"Hehe! That's right! This is a super—duper—awesome—Ninjutsu! When I master it, you'll definitely look at me in a new light!"
Sasuke, standing nearby, rolled his Byakugan in exasperation, almost unable to resist hitting these two idiots with a Grand Fireball.
However, Sakura really did pique Naruto's curiosity.
She stared at the ordinary rubber ball in Naruto's hand, blinked, and asked curiously, "Oh? Really? Then... what's the name of this Ninjutsu? It sounds very powerful."
"Na-name?" Naruto was taken aback by the question, scratching his even messier blond hair, trying hard to recall the name his 'father' seemed to have mentioned in the dream yesterday... What was it called? It seemed... quite long and hard to pronounce...
He thought for a long time, and finally... seemed... to grasp a vague impression.
He answered somewhat uncertainly, "Uh... it seems... it seems to be called something like... 'Popsicle' something 'Two White Hairs Ball'?"
Sakura: "..."
Sasuke: "..."
Both of them simultaneously gave him a look as if he were an idiot.
Sakura covered her forehead in exasperation and complained, "Naruto, you big idiot, what Ninjutsu would have such a long and strange name? You're definitely just daydreaming."
Sasuke also had black lines on his forehead, completely giving up the idea of extracting any useful information from this idiot's mouth.
'I actually believed it just now... thought this dead last could learn some powerful Ninjutsu from a dream... I really am a complete fool.' Sasuke secretly grumbled.
"It really does exist!"
Naruto felt incredibly wronged and stomped his foot in frustration.
"Yesterday in my dream, my dad—ah, no, the person who taught me the Ninjutsu, he said it was like that, although... uh, I seem to have forgotten a bit..."
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances, too lazy to bother with him anymore, and instead, both started complaining in unison about why Kakashi-sensei still hadn't arrived.
"Kakashi-sensei is really something! He's late again!"
"Hmph, always like this."