As time passed and the intense, persistent training continued, not only did Naruto and Sasuke's bodies grow stronger and tougher, but the increasing physical demands brought on by age and heavier training loads also caused a sharp rise in their energy consumption. The main way they replenished this energy—eating—was steadily growing at an astonishing rate. The most obvious proof of this was the delicious lunch in front of them, wiped out in no time.
If this had been just over a month ago, this mountain of food would not only have stuffed Naruto and Sasuke until they could barely move, with more than half still left over, but it would've also doubled as dinner and even breakfast for the next day! But now, that same amount of food barely got them to about seventy percent full.
This increasingly obvious shift in nutritional needs often made Naruto reflect on how laughably naive he had been when he first arrived in this world, thinking that just training hard would be enough to grow stronger quickly. Back then, he had to gnaw on the cheapest herbs used for Ration Pills to slightly speed up chakra recovery, and occasionally catch wild game in Training Ground Three to supplement his meals.
But ever since he got to know and speak privately with Uchiha Fugaku, Naruto's daily life had completely changed. Now, every day he and Sasuke had meals specially tailored for them—nutritious, delicious, and custom-made. Even the quality Ration Pills meant to support training were handed out so generously that the two boys could chew on them like candy!
Even with the help of the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu—a training hack if there ever was one—Naruto knew that without his inherited identity as the orphaned child of a dear comrade, he wouldn't have earned Uchiha Fugaku's support. He wouldn't be treated like family by the clan head, or receive this level of resources so generously. Without this solid backing, his current training progress would've slowed to a crawl—cut down to a fraction of what it is now.
'Man... turns out money really can do anything, no matter the world,' Naruto sighed inwardly, patting his round belly while basking in the warmth of the campfire. 'And to think, both Sasuke and I are "official kids"—heck, my Hokage dad's rank was even higher than his, and yet the difference in treatment is night and day. Guess the ancients were right… comparing people will only kill your confidence.'
After a pause, he turned his head toward Sasuke, who was lying flat on his back, belly exposed, snoring contentedly without a care in the world.
"Right, Sasuke… didn't you say earlier that aside from the last shuriken you threw to adjust the flight path after landing, the other five were thrown mid-air? How did you even come up with that?"
"Huff… mmm… huh? Oh, that…" Sasuke, having fully warmed up and replenished his energy thanks to the campfire and tasty food, was so relaxed he was on the verge of falling asleep. Upon hearing Naruto's question, he rubbed his drowsy eyes, forced himself upright, and after a slight pause, put his hands on his hips and lifted his chin with a proud little grin.
"Hehe, of course! As a genius of the Uchiha Clan, it's only natural I realized that launching an aerial assault from above would be more effective at hitting the target!"
'No, that's exactly what I wanted to complain about… You surprised me way too much, Sasuke…' Naruto stared at the smug little Uchiha beside him, lips twitching despite the warm, doting smile on his face. 'Seriously, just how monstrous is the Uchiha clan's talent? Or is Uncle Fugaku's genetic line just that god-tier?'
At first, Naruto had been impressed by Sasuke's rapid progress in Shurikenjutsu through self-learning. But considering his elite Uchiha bloodline and how he'd grown up under the influence of his gifted older brother, Uchiha Itachi, Naruto had high expectations from the start—so the results weren't too shocking.
That is, until he realized Sasuke wasn't standing still while throwing!
Given Sasuke's age, Naruto had assumed that hitting four out of five bullseyes while throwing from a stationary position was already the boy's limit. But to throw five shuriken in succession mid-air, during the brief seconds of a jump and fall, and still accurately hit five different targets? That required calculating and adjusting angles, trajectories, and timing on a whole other level. It was several times harder than throwing from a fixed spot.
'They say a tiger doesn't raise dogs…' Even if Sasuke had been overshadowed by his brother's genius glow since childhood and appeared ordinary in comparison, and even if he hadn't achieved the jaw-dropping feat of joining the Anbu at a young age like Itachi, the fact that he could analyze and execute all this in just a few seconds… proved he wasn't that far off in potential. Sasuke's brilliance was more than worthy of the title "genius."
'Good grief… is Sasuke's talent about to take off?' Naruto rubbed his chin. 'At this rate, by the time we reach the Chūnin Exams at twelve… Forget trying to protect him from getting the Cursed Seal from Orochimaru—he might just beat Orochimaru up himself in the Forest of Death! Wait… is he the main character now?'
Mumbling with a twitching mouth, Naruto subconsciously reached out to squish Sasuke's soft, confused bao-like cheeks, trying to calm himself. As the smile in his eyes deepened, he thought:
'This is great… It'll save me so much trouble.'
Knowing that Sasuke's potential far exceeded his expectations brought Naruto both a touch of envy and genuine joy. Originally, he only wanted to see how far Sasuke could go with his early training… but with every new surprise, Naruto had to seriously reevaluate the scary potential hidden in this boy who looked up to him so purely.
No one is perfect. Even though Naruto knew much of the future and the causes behind upcoming changes, any interference could set off a chain reaction—a butterfly effect that reshaped everything. He couldn't, and didn't dare, trust only his own power to rewrite all of his friends' destinies flawlessly.
If he ever made the wrong call, he would need someone strong enough to pull him back from the brink.
And if he could preserve this bond of absolute trust and understanding between him and Sasuke—then maybe, just maybe, Sasuke could become his second layer of insurance in changing this world's fate.
As for the first…
Huh? Speak of the devil…
A rush of memory flooded in from a Shadow Clone, alerting Naruto that a certain familiar figure was approaching quickly. His thoughts were interrupted, and he gently patted Sasuke on the head as a signal to get up. After brushing the dust from his clothes, he turned around, smiling toward the soft light spilling in from the cave entrance—illuminating the tall, slender, and gentle figure drawing near.
"Good afternoon, Itachi-san."
Uchiha Itachi. A man who loved the village to the very end, and a great hero who willingly embraced death for the sake of his younger brother. He was the first and most fitting candidate Naruto had chosen to be his initial layer of insurance in this world.
Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha Itachi.
These two brothers—who loved each other deeply yet were driven to fatal conflict in the original timeline due to a web of conspiracies and tragedy—would no longer be bound by fate to fight to the death. Thanks to Naruto, that destiny had been shattered. In this life, they would become the double insurance Naruto needed—his fail-safes for when it mattered most.