In Konoha Village's classic little forest, two figures sparred with each other.
Kakashi sat on a tree trunk, reading the latest printed volume of the Make-Out series while occasionally glancing down at the battle below.
Bang!
Konohamaru supported himself with one hand and delivered an upward kick toward his opponent's chin. The bottom of his foot was covered with rudimentary Armament Haki. If this kick landed solidly, even an ordinary chunin would have a hard time.
"Really exaggerated..." Kakashi muttered to himself from his perch.
Konohamaru's opponent was Sasuke, who'd just returned to the village after completing a mission not long ago.
How'd these two end up together?
This was actually thanks to Naruto's "matchmaking."
In the notebook records Naruto had given Sasuke, this small forest was listed as a very suitable training ground. At that time, Sasuke's mental injuries hadn't even healed yet, but he'd already impatiently run out of the hospital to train.
By coincidence, he encountered Konohamaru, who was also training there.
The two, who originally had nothing to do with each other, were connected through Naruto as a link.
Initially, Sasuke didn't talk much. Everyone just practiced their own things peacefully.
But when he personally witnessed this little brat Konohamaru—whose teeth weren't even fully grown—actually use rudimentary Haki to shatter a tree trunk, Sasuke couldn't sit still.
Of course, with his skills and abilities, he could easily do the same thing. But in terms of Armament Haki training, Sasuke was indeed quite lacking.
Later, it was Konohamaru who first broke the silence between them. He was originally an outgoing and lively guy.
However, his method of breaking the silence was to actively challenge Sasuke. Or rather, provoke him.
"Are you also someone who trained with Naruto-boss?"
"I see your progress is quite far behind. How about I, as your 'senior,' give you some guidance?"
When facing anyone other than Naruto, Konohamaru could definitely be called an annoying "brat."
This only changed in the original timeline after he boldly fought one of Pain's bodies during Pain's destruction of Konoha Village. But this time, reality's blow came much earlier.
Sasuke accepted Konohamaru's challenge.
Both sides took their stances. Sasuke easily defeated his opponent.
The entire battle lasted less than two seconds. For Konohamaru, who'd been feeling somewhat proud due to his training progress being significantly ahead of his two teammates, this was truly a heavy blow.
But similarly, for Sasuke, it was actually quite a shock too.
You have to understand—although he hadn't trained Haki at that time, he possessed chunin-level strength and the Uchiha clan's formidable dynamic vision. Even without using the Sharingan, he wasn't someone an ordinary genin could handle.
Yet this little brat had forcibly withstood several of his close-combat attacks with his body. The recoil force transmitted back through his fists made even his skin feel numb.
Tsk!
Afterward, both stimulated individuals began competing with each other, and their training progress improved dramatically.
Konohamaru was first to master Armament Haki coverage techniques, while Sasuke, with his mental strength advantage, was first to awaken Observation Haki. At the same time, his Armament Haki could also work intermittently.
This way, the gap that had been narrowed slightly was widened again.
It could be said that the reason Ebisu later saw Konohamaru's silent, taciturn training appearance was inseparable from Sasuke's influence.
Konohamaru's upward kick missed but still created strong airflow.
Sasuke, who'd sensed the movement and dodged in advance, turned and landed a punch on Konohamaru's abdomen.
Bang!
Konohamaru stumbled backward several steps until his back hit a large tree before stopping.
Sasuke squinted slightly, looking at the slowly disappearing Armament Haki protection on his opponent's stomach.
He can already freely mobilize Haki for defense?
Sasuke could barely manage this himself.
Despite blocking the attack, Konohamaru, who was still grimacing in pain, suddenly smiled.
"That really hurt... then I'll get serious!"
Hearing this, Sasuke put aside his inner thoughts and maintained a proud, indifferent expression on the surface.
"Come on."
This was the signal to begin formal combat.
What constituted formal combat meant not being limited to Haki—ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu could all be used together.
Actually, without restrictions, this was a big advantage for Sasuke.
But Konohamaru didn't really think his current self was enough to confront Sasuke, who'd also learned Haki. Even if Sasuke hadn't learned Haki, he might not have been a match, let alone now that Sasuke had learned Observation Haki first.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shadow clones appeared as the smoke cleared, joining the main body in attacking Sasuke.
This was the "Shadow Clone Technique" Naruto had taught Konohamaru before leaving.
Unlike the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, which was a forbidden jutsu, the Shadow Clone Technique had no risk of draining the user's chakra while still being able to launch attacks like real bodies.
For those who'd mastered Haki, this technique's strategic value immediately increased.
Insufficient chakra didn't matter—they had physical strength and Haki as attack methods.
On Sasuke's side, seeing Konohamaru split into four, he didn't take similar action.
He was an Uchiha—did he really need to take a little brat seriously?
As it turned out, he did.
All four Konohamaruses attacked almost simultaneously, with Haki-covered fists and kicks coming from all directions.
Sasuke sensed this in advance, dodged one kick, grabbed Konohamaru's leg, and smashed him into another Konohamaru.
But he was immediately hit by the third Konohamaru's fist.
Bang!
This time it was Sasuke's turn to use Haki defense.
Fortunately, it didn't fail at the crucial moment. The Armament Haki clashed with each other, producing metallic collision sounds.
At this moment, the fourth Konohamaru's attacks also arrived.
A whip-like downward kick with a breaking wind sound rapidly kicked toward Sasuke's inner knee.
This wasn't easy to defend against. Sasuke hadn't reached the level of perfect control over Armament Haki either.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
One-handed seals, instant fireball, point-blank explosion.
At this distance, ignoring the Great Fireball Technique was impossible.
Even Kakashi, positioned high up, put down his "study materials" and began seriously watching the battle.
Bang bang bang bang!
All four Konohamaruses dispersed into smoke.
Shadow Clone Technique could indeed withstand some damage, but would still disperse when damage exceeded limits.
Of course, Sasuke himself also took damage from the point-blank flame explosion. But fortunately, he'd prepared in advance and used Armament Haki to withstand it.
"Now!"
The ground behind Sasuke suddenly burst open with a large hole, and Konohamaru, covered in dust, emerged from it.
It turned out he'd secretly hidden underground during the Shadow Clone Technique, waiting until Sasuke showed an opening before decisively striking.
The attack from behind gave Sasuke a familiar feeling in his heart.
It was a not-so-pleasant memory.
No good!