"Uchiha Sasuke versus Uzumaki Naruto."
Kitaizawa's voice carried across the training field.
At once, every student in Class 1-A turned their attention toward the match.
Although Aburame Shino's earlier performance had shocked them, he had always been a quiet presence in the class—nothing compared to the sheer popularity of Uchiha Sasuke.
And, of course, the fame of the Aburame clan was nowhere near that of the Uchiha.
"Hey, Sasuke!"
Naruto grinned from ear to ear, excitement burning in his eyes.
"Finally! I get to fight you for real!"
Out of everyone in their class, Sasuke was the one opponent he wanted to face the most—
not just because Sasuke was strong, but because of some unspoken bond between them.
"Try to last longer than a minute," Sasuke replied coolly.
"Ahh! Sasuke-kun!"
A chorus of girls, led by Haruno Sakura, instantly transformed into a cheer squad.
"Who do you think will win?" Shikamaru yawned.
"No suspense there—Sasuke, obviously," Ino answered casually.
"The only thing Naruto's better at is stamina," Chōji said between bites of chips.
Even though he was closer friends with Naruto, based on their usual training results, he wasn't optimistic.
"I'm rooting for Naruto. Sasuke's too cold for my taste," Kiba said, crossing his arms.
"Let's go, Sasuke!"
Naruto formed the seal of confrontation, then shouted:
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
He leapt into the air, his body spinning into a whirlwind before snapping out a sharp leg strike.
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.
He can use that kind of taijutsu?!
Still, his reflexes didn't falter.
Standing his ground, he raised a leg to block.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, he had trained in Uchiha-style Taijutsu since childhood.
Bang!
Their legs collided with a heavy thud.
Sasuke frowned slightly as the force pushed him back a step.
Naruto was physically stronger.
Not that it surprised him—Naruto always outperformed him in physical tests.
"This is the fire of youth!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
He spun again, kicking up a powerful gust of wind.
Sasuke's expression turned serious as he raised his arms to block.
He deflected the blow, but at the same time drove his knee forward—
straight into Naruto's abdomen.
A dull boom echoed.
Naruto's fist struck back, connecting with Sasuke's knee.
They both staggered, Naruto spinning around into a reverse roundhouse kick.
Sasuke blocked again—
but the sheer impact sent tingling pain up his arms and forced him to retreat.
"Hahaha! Come on, one more round!" Naruto laughed, charging forward again.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Their rapid exchanges filled the field with sharp, rhythmic blows.
"This can't be real…" Sakura whispered, eyes wide.
"Is that really Naruto?" Kiba gulped.
Bro, I wanted you to win, but now that you actually might… this feels weird.
"How did Naruto get this strong?" Ino murmured, instantly thinking of Kitaizawa.
Had Naruto been secretly getting special taijutsu training behind their backs?
"Sasuke's… actually being pushed back?" Chōji muttered, setting his chips aside for once.
"That taijutsu looks familiar," Shikamaru said, picturing a green blur with gleaming teeth in his mind.
Kitaizawa nodded slightly to himself.
Indeed, having Naruto focus on taijutsu early on had been the right call.
With the Nine-Tails' interference, learning ninjutsu would've been far more difficult.
But taijutsu didn't rely on chakra control as much—making it perfect for him.
"This ends now."
Sasuke's irritation was growing.
Naruto's superior strength had him at a disadvantage in close combat.
But the Uchiha weren't known for taijutsu.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke leapt back, forming rapid hand signs.
"What—?"
Naruto had just moved to close the gap when he felt the air around him spike in temperature.
A massive fireball roared toward him, blazing like a miniature sun.
"Whoa—hot, hot, hot!" he yelped, turning tail and running.
The onlookers stared, stunned.
Most of them hadn't even mastered the basic Three Body Techniques yet—
and Sasuke was already unleashing a full-scale Fire Release jutsu.
The heat alone was terrifying.
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
Kitaizawa suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, releasing a torrent of water from his mouth.
The waves smothered the fireball instantly, cooling the air back to normal.
Sasuke blinked in shock.
He hadn't expected his Great Fireball to be extinguished so easily.
"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke," Kitaizawa announced.
"As expected of my lifelong rival!" Naruto said brightly, flashing his trademark grin and giving a thumbs-up.
"Sasuke! I can't wait for our next youthful showdown!"
"You've improved a lot," Sasuke said after a pause. "But you're still far behind me."
In truth, he had felt a flicker of threat.
Aside from his Great Fireball Jutsu, he wasn't confident he could win easily.
He needed to learn more Fire Release techniques—fast.
"Hehe, that's thanks to Kitaizawa-sensei and Guy-sensei!" Naruto said, only half understanding his own words.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. Just as I thought.
His Great Fireball had reached its current level thanks to Kitaizawa's guidance.
And Naruto's drastic growth in such a short time—
that too had Kitaizawa's fingerprints all over it.
As for Might Guy—Sasuke didn't know him, so he simply ignored that part.
Just as Kitaizawa was about to speak, three glowing lines appeared before his eyes:
[Current Mission: Help Uchiha Sasuke learn a second Fire Release technique.]
[Reward: One-Handed Seals.]
[Accept?]
He accepted immediately.
Being able to form seals with one hand could be incredibly useful in battle.
Another notification appeared:
[Current Mission: Help Uzumaki Naruto defeat Uchiha Sasuke once.]
[Reward: +10% Chakra Capacity.]
[Accept?]
Kitaizawa raised an eyebrow.
Two missions at once?
He thought for a moment.
These missions likely triggered in response to the strong desires of the people involved—
and no two had stronger wills than his "eternal rivals," Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.
Still, that was good news.
He had already earned one 10% chakra increase before.
If he completed this one, his total chakra would rival that of a typical jōnin.
The only problem:
getting Naruto to actually beat Sasuke wouldn't be easy.
"Ten-minute break before the next round of sparring!" Kitaizawa called out, clapping his hands.
The students immediately scattered to sit and rest—
though all anyone could talk about was the intense fight they'd just witnessed.
And at the center of every conversation—
were Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.