The Uchiha training grounds lay quiet beneath the night sky.
"…That's it?"
Naruto stared at the copies standing around him. They stared back. Then, as one, they burst into laughter.
"So it really was that easy!"
The clones dissolved in quick puffs of smoke, leaving Naruto grinning in the empty yard.
When Sasuke first mentioned the Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto had nearly backed out. He could barely manage the basic academy clone. This was supposed to be a higher-level jutsu. Something beyond him.
And yet, after less than half an hour of instruction, his chakra had answered cleanly. No resistance. No collapse.
Naruto turned toward Sasuke, waiting for the usual remark.
It didn't come.
Sasuke surveyed the space where the clones had been, eyes calm. "You have some aptitude," he said. "More than I expected."
Naruto blinked, then scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. Praise from Sasuke felt strange. Unfamiliar.
Sasuke counted silently.
Ten.
The upper limit. Naruto had reached it on his first attempt, and his breathing was steady, his posture loose. No visible strain.
Interesting.
"…Sasuke," Naruto asked after a moment, his voice more cautious than before. "Why did you teach me this?"
Sasuke didn't answer right away. He spoke instead, as if laying stones in place.
"Shadow Clones leave behind more than bodies," he said. "When they disperse, what they experience returns to you."
Naruto frowned. "You mean… memories?"
"And fatigue," Sasuke added. "Both."
Naruto's eyes widened, then slowly lit up. "So if I train with ten of them…"
"Your progress stacks," Sasuke said. "So does the burden."
Naruto nodded, absorbing it. The grin crept back, smaller this time. Focused.
"…Does that mean you see me as a rival now?"
Sasuke looked at him.
"No," he said flatly. "Not yet."
The words landed cleanly. No cruelty. No warmth.
"You don't have the right," Sasuke continued. "But you have the nerve. If you want to stand where I do, prove it. Effort. Consistency. Results."
Naruto's hands curled into fists. His gaze didn't waver. "I will."
He stepped forward and held out his fist. "This is a promise. Between men."
Sasuke watched him for a long second.
Then he raised his own fist.
Their knuckles met under the pale light of the moon.
A quiet sound. Solid.
Naruto left not long after.
When he was gone, the sense of being watched thinned, then disappeared entirely. Sasuke stood alone in the training ground, eyes lifted briefly toward the rooftops before turning away.
He had said what needed to be said.
Some of it was true.
Some of it served another purpose.
Both were necessary.