"Who says you can't take revenge just because you can't catch up to me?" Natsuro's voice rang out, a bit displeased. He continued, "I don't think I'm any worse than that guy you keep talking about."
Sasuke didn't respond; he simply didn't believe it. After all, that person was...
"Alright, maybe I can't compare right now, but do you believe I'll surpass him soon?" Natsuro smiled. After all, isn't it just a weasel? His genjutsu might be strong, but so what? With the limited chakra and side effects of the Sharingan, what does he have to fear? Of course, he couldn't be careless, but he wasn't about to underestimate himself either. He likely wouldn't encounter that person for a while, and his own growth wouldn't be slow!
"I don't believe it," Sasuke replied bluntly.
"Fine, don't believe it then. Your current strength hasn't reached the stage of rapid development yet, so don't overthink it. Just stay at the academy and focus on building your foundation," Natsuro said, not bothering to explain further.
"Have you reached that stage?" Sasuke paused after saying this, then suddenly remembered that Natsuro was half a head taller than him, leaving him speechless. After a long silence, he muttered gloomily, "You early bloomer!"
"Hmph, that's called talent." He chuckled as he ruffled Sasuke's black hair. Indeed, he had to take advantage of the current cuteness while it lasted; next time they met, Sasuke might have graduated, and by then, he wouldn't be so cute anymore.
Sasuke, already accustomed to his playful behavior, didn't resist. He felt that even though they were the same age, Natsuro seemed to treat him and the others like juniors...
As for Natsuro, after ruffling Sasuke's hair, he got up from Sasuke's back. To be honest, the "Uchiha Sasuke Cushion" was quite comfortable to sit on.
Sasuke also stood up this time, but he didn't try to attack him again. He had come to realize that there was indeed a significant gap between them. The other boy's body had already reached the next stage, making it difficult for him to catch up until he reached that stage himself.
"If you want to take revenge, you'll need to replace me as the top student after I graduate, and I don't just mean overall scores." Seeing Sasuke stand up, Natsuro continued.
Sasuke was speechless, then after some thought, he showed a hint of despair on his face. "Who can compete with that freak's stamina?"
Natsuro just smiled and said nothing. Indeed, the "freak" Sasuke was referring to was Naruto. Ever since Naruto learned to use the Nine-Tails' passive power, his stamina had become more and more monstrous.
Without the secret medicine from Mount Myōboku, he probably wouldn't be able to keep up with Naruto...
If he weren't around, it would be easy for Sasuke to take first place, but in specific subjects, his stamina couldn't match Naruto's, and his theoretical knowledge couldn't surpass Sakura's. His only guaranteed top score would be in practical combat, and in the other two subjects, he'd be second, which would easily give him the overall first place.
"So, you'll need to work even harder. Naruto's ninjutsu might catch up to you soon, so don't let him surpass you." Natsuro teased.
"I'll never lose to that guy!" Sasuke's eyes widened in defiance. Losing to Natsuro was something he had grown used to, but losing to Naruto? Impossible! Absolutely never!
"So, keep it up." Natsuro said, and then left, leaving Sasuke alone to watch his retreating figure with a look of confusion. Maybe he really did have a chance to surpass that person...
Sasuke shook his head. What good would it do if Natsuro surpassed him? He wanted to take revenge with his own hands. Clenching his teeth, he knew he had to work even harder, just as he had said.
Then Sasuke thought about Naruto and Sakura, whom Natsuro had mentioned, and clenched his fists even tighter. No, if he couldn't graduate early, he would have to strive to be the best in every aspect! He would take over Natsuro's position as the greatest freak!
...
"Natsuro, Natsuro, what was that trick you were talking about?"
At Naruto's house, Naruto was jumping around excitedly, asking Natsuro.
"Take off your shirt, lie on the bed, and keep extracting chakra," Natsuro said, glancing out the window, then looked at a certain spot and silently drew the curtains.
"Oh." Although Naruto didn't quite understand how that would help, he knew Natsuro wouldn't lie. After all, it was his previous guidance that had kept him from ranking at the bottom of the class. His absolute advantage in stamina had kept him far ahead.
Soon, Naruto took off his shirt and lay on the bed, silently extracting chakra.
"Increase the extraction," Natsuro said, frowning as he watched.
Naruto didn't respond but continued to focus harder on extracting chakra.
Before long, after a period of extraction, the sealing mark left by the Fourth Hokage finally appeared on Naruto's stomach.
Natsuro's eyes lit up as he observed the seal on Naruto's stomach. Since Naruto had an abundance of chakra, this was a rare opportunity to study it more closely. After all, this was a complex combination of the Four Symbols Seal, wrapped within an Eight Trigrams Seal—a truly exquisite design.
These two seals together allowed Naruto to safely use the Nine-Tails' chakra, unlike the faulty seal in Sunagakure, which had driven Gaara to madness.
In this respect, Naruto was far luckier than Gaara, having a reliable father who had crafted such an advanced seal. The Fourth Hokage's sealing skills were indeed impressive.
The more he looked, the more he marveled. The Fourth Hokage's expertise in sealing jutsu was extraordinary. It was said that his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was even more skilled... Truly remarkable!
"Natsuro, how much longer? I feel like I can't hold on much longer," Naruto's voice eventually broke him out of his intense focus.
"Just a bit longer," Natsuro replied, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from the outer layer of the Eight Trigrams Seal. Naruto's difficulty in using ninjutsu wasn't due to poor chakra control, but rather the Nine-Tails' chakra had long since started influencing him through the seal.
This was probably intentional on the Fourth Hokage's part, to allow Naruto to use the Nine-Tails' power. But he likely didn't anticipate just how massive the Nine-Tails' chakra would be. Even though Naruto was an Uzumaki, his young, undeveloped body struggled to handle the overwhelming chakra of the Nine-Tails.
So Naruto's body instinctively resisted the Nine-Tails' chakra, which was the main reason for his chaotic chakra and difficulty in using ninjutsu.
What he was doing now was reducing the opening in the Eight Trigrams Seal, limiting the amount of chakra that leaked out so that Naruto's body could handle it.
While he wasn't yet skilled enough to perform the Eight Trigrams Seal independently, he could reinforce the existing seal left by the Fourth Hokage.
Soon, he began to make marks on Naruto's stomach. But at the last moment, he hesitated and decided to leave the opening slightly larger than he initially intended.
This way, even though Naruto might still struggle with ninjutsu, he should be able to use it, and it would also help him in the long run to control his own and the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"Alright, you can get up now," Natsuro said, patting Naruto after completing the final stroke with chakra.
"Huh? It's done already?" Naruto got up, scratching his head in confusion. He didn't feel any different.
"Try using the Transformation Jutsu and see if it worked," Natsuro suggested.
"Alright!"
Naruto immediately perked up, quickly jumping out of bed and getting dressed, eager to give it a try.
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