Just as the two were about to start fighting, Jiraiya suddenly stood up.
He raised his right hand to shoulder height, and a deep blue light began condensing in his palm. The air stirred, emitting a low hum as a blue sphere spun into existence, rotating faster and faster, its light growing brighter and brighter.
"Is... is this the Rasengan?"
Seeing this, Naruto forgot all about arguing with Sasuke; he rushed to Jiraiya's side in a few quick steps, staring intently at the rotating blue sphere.
The light reflected in his pupils, and his mouth hung slightly open, as if he was mesmerized.
"Want to learn?"
Jiraiya looked at the wide-eyed Naruto and dispersed the Rasengan with a smile.
"This is an A-rank Ninjutsu created by your father. It couldn't be more fitting for you to inherit it. I just didn't expect you to be so compatible with it."
Jiraiya felt a bit ashamed; recently, he had only been teaching Naruto basic knowledge and how to control his Chakra. He hadn't even thought of teaching Naruto the Rasengan, Minato's signature Ninjutsu.
But it wasn't too late. Since the Sky Screen had already said Naruto was exceptionally skilled with the Rasengan, he would probably pick it up quickly.
'Hmm…?'
Then another thought occurred to Jiraiya.
As Minato's son, Naruto had undoubtedly inherited his father's excellent potential.
So, would the Flying Raijin also suit Naruto?
Unfortunately, Space-Time Ninjutsu was high-end stuff. Very few people in the entire Shinobi World mastered such techniques. Jiraiya would have to ask Tsunade for the Flying Raijin scroll and see if Naruto could teach himself the way Minato had.
As he was thinking, Naruto nodded his head so fast it looked like it might fall off, terrified that Jiraiya might change his mind. The Sky Screen had already said this was his signature Jutsu, and seeing the Rasengan's destructive power surpass Sasuke's Chidori on the screen, Naruto was already completely enamored.
"I want to learn it! I want to learn right now!"
On the side, Sasuke's expression was somewhat somber. Naruto was starting to learn the Rasengan so soon; where did his own Chidori come from?
Sensing Sasuke's thoughts, Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.
CRACKLE—!
The same bird-like chirping from the Sky Screen exploded in Sasuke's ears.
Hearing the sound, he turned in surprise—and saw Kakashi's right hand wreathed in brilliant arcs of lightning. Countless electrical currents screeched, like a thousand birds singing in unison.
"Kakashi?"
Sasuke's voice was filled with disbelief, but Kakashi nodded with a smile.
If Sasuke was destined to learn the Chidori in the future, then he was undoubtedly Kakashi's protégé. So there was no reason to hide it.
Sasuke stared at the mass of lightning in Kakashi's hand, his Sharingan involuntarily activating.
Naruto had the Rasengan, and he now had the Chidori.
So who was afraid of whom?
As for who would win in a fight—they would only know after they fought.
Sakura watched the two of them from the side and sighed.
'These two. They have to compete over everything—even learning a new Jutsu.'
She looked down at her own hands, still wrapped in bandages from her recent practice. The Medical Ninjutsu Tsunade was teaching her—she had only just started.
Well, their paths were different, and so were their ways of walking them.
---
[Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki hideout]
Deidara looked around but couldn't find any signs of "Tobi."
"Turns out Tobi wasn't just acting. He really is a bit slow in the smarts department—can't even measure up to a Konoha genin."
"But… this so-called 'Savior' isn't all that impressive either!"
With that, Deidara turned his gaze toward Pain at the far end of the room.
"Leader, where's Tobi? Why didn't he show up for this group activity? I really wanted to ask him a thing or two."
A flicker of mockery passed through Pain's eyes. "Tobi has other important missions. He asked for leave from this meeting."
Deidara clicked his tongue, "Tch, what a shame."
---
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Shinobi World, a cliffside cave.
Obito leaned against the cave wall, silently watching the Sky Screen.
He had been so annoyed by the Akatsuki members' constant teasing last time that he had decided to skip this group activity.
Good thing he did—it saved him a lot of trouble. Otherwise, Deidara's sharp tongue would be chasing him with mockery all over again.
---
[Konoha, Year 50]
Thanks to the remarkable regenerative effects of Hashirama's cells, Obito—who had recovered most of his injuries was also looking at the Sky Screen.
He rolled his shoulder, still feeling a faint ache in his chest.
The stab through his heart from Kakashi—though healed—was still an unpleasant memory.
[Speaking of which, the battle between Naruto and Sasuke on the hospital roof was just a brief encounter. And from the performance of their Ninjutsu, the Rasengan focuses on area damage, a brute-force type; whereas the Chidori focuses on single-point penetration. Naturally, the destruction caused by the two techniques looks different.]
[Therefore, only a real battle can fully showcase their true strength. And this opportunity arrived not long after the rooftop clash.]
[Eager for his revenge, Sasuke felt that staying in Konoha wouldn't allow him to increase his strength quickly enough. Combined with the growing pressure of Naruto catching up to him, he decided to seek out Orochimaru in pursuit of power. Well… to put it bluntly, Sasuke was about to begin his journey of defecting from the village.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60]
Hearing the Sky Screen's words, Sasuke's expression darkened.
Sakura looked at him, her eyes full of concern. "Sasuke…"
Naruto said nothing, just staring at the screen, his fists slowly clenching.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. As expected, from the earlier scenes of Team Hebi and Sasuke fighting Danzo, he had already suspected that Sasuke would defect in the future.
Still, since the final outcome seemed to be good, it didn't matter much.
[After hearing the news, Naruto naturally fought to the end for the sake of their bond, intending to knock Sasuke out and drag him back to Konoha. Eventually, the two erupted into their first fated battle. The location, of course, was the Promised land of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama—the Valley of the End! This also perfectly matched Naruto and Sasuke's identities.]
On the screen, the waterfall at the Valley of the End roared, with two giant statues standing opposite each other. One figure stood atop Madara's statue, and another atop Hashirama's.
Under the moonlight, their gazes collided across the waterfall.
---
[Konoha, Year One. Hashirama's home]
Madara and Hashirama both froze, their lips twitching.
Madara's face instantly darkened. "What do you mean 'Promised land'? That's where we are going to fight in the future! What does it have to do with those two brats? Don't they have their own battlefield?!"
Hashirama scratched his head, his tone helpless. "That's true. Why don't the next generation of Indra and Asura use their own battlefield… At this rate, the place where the two of us fought is going to become a tourist attraction."
---
[Another Timeline]
The elderly Madara looked at the figures of the two youths on the Sky Screen and remained silent for a long time.
"The Valley of the End… is this fate? Everything is so similar."
---
[Konoha, Year 60. The valley outside Konoha]
Naruto looked thoughtfully at the screen, then turned to look at Sasuke.
Only to find that Sasuke was also looking at him.
Their eyes met.
"Sasuke."
"Mm?"
"I'm not going to let you leave."
Sasuke looked away. "Idiot."
*****
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