"Sasuke here. Reached Point B."
"Sakura. I'm at Point C."
The voices crackled through the wireless headsets, a testament to Konoha's surprisingly advanced technology. Both Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha had confirmed their positions, but a third voice remained stubbornly silent.
"Naruto? Naruto, come in!" Kakashi Hatake sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. A headache was already brewing. Did that kid get drunk and pass out somewhere again?
In the few days since Team 7 had formed, their missions had followed a predictable pattern: Naruto would either be slacking off in a tree or hiding in a bush, sipping from his ever-present flask. He acted less like a Genin and more like a retired Jonin on a permanent vacation.
Rustle.
A figure slowly emerged from the dense foliage. It was Naruto Uzumaki, the very source of his team leader's stress.
"I have a feeling someone's secretly bad-mouthing me..."
He took a long swig from his sake gourd, a purring cat cradled in his other arm. Only then did he seem to remember the earpiece. He casually put it on.
"Naruto here. Reached Point A," he announced with a slight hiccup. "Mission target acquired."
When the team gathered, their expressions were a study in contrasts.
Sakura looked at Naruto with a complicated mix of emotions. The boy in front of her was a complete stranger compared to the loud, obnoxious classmate she remembered. He no longer buzzed around her, and his skills were undeniably superior. In every mission, despite his flagrant disobedience, he somehow managed to complete his objectives faster than anyone else. She was beginning to realize that, with her gaze always fixed on Sasuke, she had never truly paid attention to Naruto at all. Was he always this... tall?
But just as a flicker of awe began to rise in her heart, the scent of alcohol reached her, and it was instantly replaced with disgust. Liking to drink all day like some middle-aged man... I just can't accept that.
Unlike Sakura's conflicted thoughts, Sasuke's gaze was much purer, honed to a single, burning question: When did this guy get so good?
It was the same during the bell test; even Kakashi-sensei had been caught off guard. Why? Sasuke demanded internally. How did he get so much stronger in such a short time?
"Alright, the target is correct," Kakashi announced, interrupting their thoughts after confirming the cat in Naruto's arms matched the mission description. "Let's head back." He glanced discreetly at Naruto, a feeling that something was off prickling at the back of his mind.
"Oh, okay—"
Before the words were out, Naruto's figure dissolved into a puff of smoke.
A clone?
That guy has been using a shadow clone for missions this entire time?!
Almost simultaneously, furious veins bulged on the foreheads of both Sasuke and Sakura. Only Kakashi, who suspected as much, sighed, gently taking the cat and leading the way back without a word.
Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu... so that's it.
At that same moment, deep in a secluded forest, under the relentless pounding of a waterfall, a bare-chested figure stood.
"One thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine... two thousand!"
He finished his last squat, a massive boulder strapped to his back that dwarfed his frame. Not far from him, dozens of identical figures practiced a dizzying array of ninjutsu, their hands flying through seals.
"Boss Naruto... I... I did it," a small voice panted.
Konohamaru collapsed, the training rock on his back tipping precariously. Just as it was about to crush him, Naruto, who had been doing rows with a large tree trunk nearby, deftly flicked the log and sent the boulder flying.
"Then rest for a while."
As he spoke, the countless Narutos scattered throughout the forest dissolved into smoke. A wave of immense fatigue slammed into Naruto's brain, a physical backlash from the clones' experiences. He froze for a single second before walking over to Konohamaru's side as if nothing had happened, plopping down beside him.
"Here. Rehydrate and get some nutrients." He produced a pile of food from a storage scroll, stuffed a few huge pieces of roast meat into his own mouth, and offered another to Konohamaru.
"Oof... stop... Naruto... Boss..." Konohamaru flailed, barely surviving what felt like a deadly force-feeding attempt.
Panting, he stared blankly ahead, mechanically chewing the meat in his hand. "Boss," he mumbled, "will doing all this really make me stronger?"
These past few days had been a blur of brutal, superhuman training. The intensity was equal to a whole year's worth of lessons with Ebisu. He'd wanted to quit, but every time he looked over and saw Naruto's clones pushing themselves just as hard, the words died in his throat.
"Of course." Naruto nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He reached out and ruffled Konohamaru's hair playfully. "Konohamaru, you are a genius."
He said it so suddenly that Konohamaru could only look up, confused. "?"
"Compared to me, you're genuinely talented." Naruto took another swig from his flask, letting the fiery liquid quiet the buzzing in his mind. It was no exaggeration. He'd been teaching Konohamaru some of the ninjutsu he knew, and the results were stunning. Beyond the academy basics, Konohamaru had quickly grasped advanced jutsu like the Swamp of the Underworld and the Wind Scythe Technique. The old Naruto could never have done that.
Konohamaru looked down at his still-trembling hands. "Really? But Boss Naruto, I'm so far behind you..."
Hearing this, Naruto scratched his head with an embarrassed laugh. He couldn't exactly say, Well, that's because your boss has lived a few decades longer than you. After a moment's thought, he stood up and clapped Konohamaru on the shoulder.
"Come on. I'll take you somewhere." Without waiting for an answer, he hoisted the boy up and took off. It wasn't until they reached the edge of the village that he finally set him down.
"Hmm... judging by the time, it should be about right," Naruto muttered, looking at the sun.
"Boss, what are we waiting for?"
"Your answer. Look, he's here."
Naruto pointed. Following his gaze, Konohamaru saw a figure in a green jumpsuit running towards them on his hands.
"Run ten laps around the village on my hands!" the boy shouted to the sky. "If I can't do it, I'll kick the training post two thousand times! Youth! Burn!"
Konohamaru stared, dumbfounded, as the thick-eyebrowed boy reached them.
"Ah! Isn't that Naruto? Are you training nearby too?" Rock Lee called out cheerfully.
"Yo, Lee!" Naruto raised a hand in greeting. "I brought this kid to see your training. He's... my disciple, I guess. This is Konohamaru."
"Whoa! Nice to meet you, Konohamaru!"
"H-hello," Konohamaru stammered.
Lee's expression suddenly turned anxious. "Ah, I have to hurry! If I don't finish before noon, it's a failure! See you later, Naruto! And you too, Konohamaru!" Without waiting for a response, he resumed his handstand sprint.
"See ya, Lee!" Naruto shouted after him before turning back to Konohamaru. "I met Lee while training. He's a really hardworking guy." He led the boy to a nearby bench.
"Konohamaru, you are a genius," he said again, his voice serious. "You have a talent that neither Lee nor I possess."
Konohamaru immediately wanted to object, but Naruto placed a hand on his head, silencing him.
"Someone once told me that for an ordinary person to catch up to a genius, they need to put in a hundred, even a thousand times more effort. Lee is a 'genius of hard work.' He has a spirit that far exceeds ordinary people, and that is his stepping stone to the top."
"And you, Konohamaru," Naruto continued, pressing a finger to the boy's chest, "you were born with the ladder to the summit already in your hands."
"You are destined to surpass both me and Lee, to reach a peak no one has ever imagined. I have faith in you."
"A single step for you often takes someone like me ten or even a hundred steps to catch up. So, don't ever stop. Don't doubt yourself. Keep walking forward."
"Go and see the scenery we've never seen."
Hearing these words, Konohamaru's eyes lit up like stars. A fire ignited in his chest where Naruto's finger had touched. No one had ever acknowledged him like this before—acknowledged him as Konohamaru, not as the Hokage's grandson.
"Yeah!"
His heart surged with emotion. The soreness and pain in his limbs seemed to vanish. "I'll work hard!"
At that moment, far away in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly removed his hand from the crystal ball and took a deep, thoughtful drag from his pipe.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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