As the Spring Festival approached and the snow began to melt, Training Ground Three gradually took on a lush green hue. The lingering patches of white snow made it all the more picturesque, turning it into a uniquely stunning scene.
But this rare spring beauty failed to catch the attention of Sasuke, who stood in the open field with his arms crossed. His eyes were tightly shut, soft lashes trembling ever so slightly. Having long shed his thick winter coat, the muscles previously hidden beneath his clothes were now taut and visible. After a brief pause, he slowly bent forward, his posture resembling a young predator ready to pounce.
'Five targets in total. 120 degrees southeast, 310 degrees northwest, 180 degrees due south… If I'm not mistaken, there's still one behind the tree I can't hit directly…'
His mind raced as he calculated the positions and best methods of attack. Muttering softly to himself, his pudgy little hand reached into the new ninja tool pouch at his waist and pulled out six gleaming iron shuriken. He divided them into two sets and expertly gripped them between his fingers, adjusting the pressure in his joints to ensure the perfect angle for each throw.
'That last target… Even though nii-san and Naruto think it's too soon for me, I've been training hard for days now. I should be ready to try again, right…?'
'Hmm… Might as well give it a shot. Naruto's not here anyway, so if I fail, at least he won't laugh at me…'
With a soft murmur of determination, the little Uchiha finally opened his eyes. The childish gleam in his black gem-like pupils vanished in an instant, replaced by a fleeting glint of confidence. The very moment he spoke, he unleashed the power he'd been storing and vanished from the spot, a small afterimage left in his wake. In the blink of an eye, he was airborne, soaring several meters into the sky.
'Heh, I can jump even higher than before… That means I'll have more time mid-air.'
Delighted by his own progress, Sasuke's eyes scanned rapidly, confirming the target positions he had already visualized.
'Though I'm curious how high I could jump without the weights… better try to land this first. First up…'
Years of training had engraved the technique into his muscles, allowing them to react instinctively before his brain even fully processed the input from his eyes. His body twisted, spinning in the air to increase the throwing speed. While rotating, he adjusted his posture and let the shuriken fly—sleek black streaks slicing through the air with force.
Thwack.
Thwack.
Thwack.
Thwack.
Under the mastery of Sasuke's increasingly refined Shurikenjutsu, each shuriken carved a perfect arc through the air and embedded itself dead center into the wooden targets hidden in the surrounding bushes—all of them marked with scratches from previous sessions. The rhythmic clangs echoed crisply, and not a single shot missed the bullseye.
Yet despite this flawless result, Sasuke showed no sign of satisfaction. He knew all too well from past attempts: the first four targets were warm-up. The real challenge was the fifth, the one obscured behind the tree.
While his throws had become smoother and faster compared to when he first started, they were still dependent on the momentum of his jump—he wasn't flying, just suspended momentarily. In fact, his performance would already place him among the elite Genin. He had executed the entire sequence in under a second—practically instant. Even so, by the time the fourth shuriken left his fingers, his upward force was depleted, and gravity began to take over. The added burden of his weighted gear shortened his air time further, leaving him with little room to calculate the angle for his remaining throws.
'Breathe… relax, Sasuke. If Naruto can do it, so can you!'
With the ground rapidly closing in, he rubbed the last two shuriken with his fingertips.
'Next up… the final target!'
Suppressing his nerves, Sasuke aimed carefully for the best moment to strike just before landing. The shuriken in his left hand flew first, cutting through the air with the same speed and grace. But unlike the others, it veered off—drifting at a 45-degree angle, far from the hidden fifth target.
'Now!'
Without panicking, Sasuke twisted midair and kicked off the thick tree trunk behind him, using the recoil to speed up his descent. He tucked into a forward roll to absorb the impact and, as he rose, poured all his remaining strength into his right hand and flung the final shuriken.
Though thrown later, the sixth shuriken surged ahead thanks to its increased force and collided with the fifth in midair!
Clang!
Sparks flashed where iron met iron. The sixth shuriken clattered away, but the impact altered the fifth's course. Boosted by the deflection, it arced around the towering tree and nailed the wooden target nestled at its base—right at the rear, nearly untouched save for two scratches.
Thwack.
'…Yessss—! I actually did it! …Bah, of course I did! I'm a genius of the Hidden Leaf Village just like my brother and Naruto—Uchiha Sasuke!'
Dazed for a second by his own success, Sasuke only snapped back when he heard the familiar sound of shuriken sinking into wood. He leapt into the air with joy, humming as he strutted smugly over to examine the fifth target.
'Hmph~ That wasn't so hard! I'm an Uchiha genius—how could something like Shurikenjutsu ever stump me…'
His gloating abruptly ended when he saw the back of the tree.
Yes, Sasuke had managed to redirect the fifth shuriken using a clever mid-air collision—but he forgot one crucial detail.
He wasn't the only one who'd been growing over time. So had the tree.
Back when he first started practicing—after Naruto visited and agreed to keep coaching him—it had only been a little over a month ago. And during that time, Sasuke had only practiced on the first four targets, never revisiting the fifth. The tree where the fifth target was mounted had grown just enough to throw off his calculation.
So, while he did hit the fifth target, the impact point fell just slightly below the bullseye.
'…I… you… this… this can't be happening!'
The dramatic realization froze Sasuke's smile. A moment later, he furiously formed hand seals, childishly preparing to torch the offending tree with Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu in frustration.
'Damn it… Fire Style! Fireball—'
"What are you mumbling about all alone over there, Sasuke?"
"Eh? Ah—ahaha! N-Nothing! Really!"
Sasuke fumbled the hand signs in shock. The jutsu fizzled out as he turned awkwardly toward the voice, scratching his head with a sheepish grin.
"Took you long enough, Naruto! I already finished a whole round of Taijutsu! …Hmm? Or is it just me, or have you been walking slower lately? We left at the same time, and yet you only just showed up! And also—"
"I ran into a bit of trouble on the way."
Naruto had spent nearly the whole morning tangled in schemes with Danzo Shimura, cutting deep into his training time. By the time he arrived—just as Sasuke stood sweating, flushed from exertion and anxiety—it was already midday. Still, Naruto had no intention of letting the little guy get involved in such dirty business. Keeping his tone light, he casually leaned aside to peek around Sasuke, who was trying to block his view with open arms.
Naruto quickly spotted the buried shuriken and the fifth target—hit, but not perfectly—and easily guessed what had gotten Sasuke so worked up. And with that came even deeper admiration.
As expected of an Uchiha… What talent.
When Naruto taught Sasuke Shurikenjutsu, he never explicitly explained the trick to hitting the fifth target. He simply demonstrated how to curve a throw, without mentioning the idea of using a second shuriken for deflection. In other words, Sasuke had come up with a solution on his own—and even proved it worked.
Naruto had always believed kids shouldn't be overpraised. But even he had to admit—at barely four years old, Sasuke's creativity and execution far exceeded his age.
To an adult, today's success might seem trivial. But for Naruto, who had watched Sasuke grow and train day after day, it was a huge accomplishment. Even if the result was slightly flawed, the effort deserved praise.
After all, this boy had chosen to give up carefree playtime with his peers just to train diligently with Naruto.
"Looks like you didn't listen to me. Tried it on your own… and still didn't get it perfect, huh, Sasuke~?"
Naruto stretched out the last word teasingly. Watching Sasuke's face fall and his lips tremble in guilt, Naruto reached out and gently ruffled the boy's hair, comforting him.
"But," he continued softly, eyes curved in a smile, "that was a really impressive result. If you just pay a little more attention to the small details next time, I'm sure you'll nail it perfectly."
"…Eh? So… you're not mad?"
Sasuke looked up in disbelief. Feeling Naruto's warm hand still resting on his head, his cheeks flushed red as he instinctively leaned into the touch.
"You're… really not mad?"
"Of course not. You came up with that on your own without any help. I'm proud of you."
Seeing Sasuke's beaming eyes eagerly seeking praise, Naruto's frustration from earlier melted away. He really is an angel, he thought, pulling Sasuke into a tight hug. He leaned in and whispered firmly by the little Uchiha's tomato-red ear:
"You did great… No—you did amazing. Well done, Sasuke."
"And… thank you for your hard work."
"…I… I… sniff..."
Aside from his parents and older brother, Sasuke admired no one more than Naruto. It wasn't just Naruto's strength or experience—it was his patience and warmth. And so, hearing sincere praise from Naruto—something he rarely gave—was everything to the boy. It was the fuel that kept Sasuke going, day after day, without ever giving up.
Now, having finally earned that recognition, the dam broke. Sasuke clung to Naruto and burst into tears, all the frustration and pressure he'd bottled up spilling out in sobs.
'...In the end, no matter how much you act tough, you're still just a kid, huh…'
Naruto wanted to joke, but stopped himself when he felt the growing warmth of Sasuke's tears soaking into his collar. For the first time, he truly realized he had overlooked Sasuke's youth in his pursuit to prepare him for the future.
'It must've been hard holding it all in, huh, Sasuke…'
"…Yeah…"
"Let it out. Cry it all out… You'll feel better."
"Waaaah…"
This soft-hearted version of Sasuke—so different from the canon timeline—only deepened Naruto's hatred for Danzo Shimura, the man who would later destroy this innocent child's joy.
And so Naruto made a silent vow:
'In the coming judgment against Danzo… no matter how dangerous it gets, if I get the chance to kill him, I will. Even if it means the Third Hokage blames me or cuts ties with me… I'll never let that despicable old bastard live.'
'Don't worry, Sasuke…'
'As long as I'm here, no one will ever hurt you again.'
(T/N: The Author was quite frustrated at the previous scene, he even called it too gay, but then he said the original story was already gay, then he flipped a table and asked why he didn't just change Sasuke's gender! He has problems, they are 4 ffs.)