Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Sasuke slumped to the ground, his face clouded with frustration.

In less than two weeks, he’d lost his first-place spot in physical training.

His goal upon entering the Ninja Academy had always been clear: follow in Itachi’s footsteps, dominate the academy in a single year, and graduate at the top.

Yet now… it felt like his ambitions had collapsed before they’d even begun.

“Sasuke, are you okay?”

A hand reached out toward him, belonging to none other than Naruto, whose face radiated genuine concern.

“What do you mean, am I okay?” Sasuke snapped, forcing his features into a stoic mask. “You just got lucky this time. Don’t think you’ll beat me again!”

“Sasuke-kun is right!” Sakura’s voice rang out sharply.

She darted forward, practically shoving her hand out—determined not to let Sasuke take Naruto’s.

“I won’t lose either!” Naruto shot back confidently. “I’ve got Kitazawa-sensei’s secret running technique!”

Secret running technique?

Sasuke’s eyes sharpened. Without another word, he got to his feet and stalked over to Kitazawa.

Sakura froze mid-step, her arms still awkwardly extended.

She clenched her fists, her expression a blend of irritation and despair.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, completely clueless as to why Sakura looked so furious.

But he quickly shrugged it off and trotted over to Kiba and the others instead.

“I came in first place!” Naruto proclaimed with pride.

“Who asked you?!” Kiba barked, glaring at him.

“Congratulations, Naruto.” Shikamaru offered a small, lazy smile.

“You’re stronger than me,” Choji admitted, handing Naruto a bag of chips. “Want some?”

“Thanks!”

A warm glow spread through Naruto’s chest.

He wasn’t alone anymore. He finally had friends.

“Kitazawa-sensei.”

Sasuke drew a deep breath and asked, “What’s this running secret Naruto keeps talking about?”

“Why didn’t you just ask Naruto yourself?” Kitazawa replied mildly, though he already knew the answer.

“I didn’t want to ask him,” Sasuke muttered, folding his arms with a quiet snort.

“There’s no secret technique,” Kitazawa said with a faint smile. “I just taught Naruto the correct way to run. But you already know all those techniques yourself.”

“I don’t believe it.” Sasuke’s denial was instant and reflexive.

“If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to ask Naruto.” Kitazawa was hardly surprised by the reaction.

Sasuke fell silent, wrestling with his pride.

If they really used the same methods… did that mean Naruto’s raw physicality was simply higher than his own?

’Impossible.’

Yet deep down, doubt crept in.

At last, Sasuke clenched his jaw and marched over to Naruto again.

Face cold, he demanded, “Come with me. I’ve got something to ask.”

“Huh? What is it?” Naruto blinked, puzzled, but followed Sasuke a short distance away.

“What’s the running technique Kitazawa-sensei taught you?” Sasuke fired off the question without preamble.

“You wanna learn it too?” Naruto’s eyes widened in delight.

“Hurry up and spit it out!” Sasuke snapped, turning his head away as though embarrassed to be asking.

“Hehe, sure thing!”

Naruto wasn’t upset at all. In fact, he eagerly explained everything.

To him, the idea that Sasuke—the top student in class—was coming to him for advice was both thrilling and oddly touching.

Besides, there was another reason: Sasuke had never treated him any differently because of the “monster” rumors.

“That’s it?” Sasuke stared at him, incredulous after hearing the explanation.

“Yeah!” Naruto nodded enthusiastically. “Isn’t that enough?”

…

Sasuke realized with a jolt that Kitazawa hadn’t been lying.

And precisely because of that, his frustration only grew.

Why was Naruto’s physical prowess surpassing his own?

He was an Uchiha. He was supposed to be invincible.

After a long, silent struggle, Sasuke finally swallowed his pride and approached Kitazawa again.

“The answer’s simple,” Kitazawa said, raising an eyebrow. “Your Uchiha Clan specializes in the Sharingan and Fire Release Ninjutsu.”

“But…” Sasuke began, then faltered.

“Listen, Naruto’s talent is no less than yours,” Kitazawa continued, smiling faintly. “It’s just that your talents lie in different places.”

Kitazawa’s words weren’t a lie to Sasuke.

It was all clearly stated in the original timeline.

Uzumaki Naruto had inherited the Sage of Six Paths’ physical vitality, while Uchiha Sasuke had inherited his powerful spiritual talent.

Simply put, Naruto embodied Yang Release, while Sasuke leaned toward Yin Release.

“What talent does he have?”

Sasuke scowled, crossing his arms.

From what he’d seen so far, apart from physical training, Naruto was average—or worse—at everything else.

Kitazawa couldn’t help chuckling.

That was the terrifying charm of raw stats: facing a stat monster, you could throw every trick in the book at them and still come up short.

“You’ll understand one day.”

Kitazawa gave Sasuke a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Sasuke instinctively glanced at Naruto, then frowned.

He didn’t entirely believe Kitazawa’s words—but for some reason, a tiny voice inside him whispered that it might just be true.

After a brief break, class resumed.

Kitazawa demonstrated shuriken-throwing techniques, then let the students practice freely, while he gathered Hinata and a few others for specialized training.

“Kitazawa-sensei!”

Naruto bounded over, eyes shining. “Can I start tree-climbing practice now?”

Kitazawa nodded.

He’d promised Naruto that if he earned first place in physical training, he could begin tree-climbing training.

“Yatta!”

Naruto did a happy little hop in place.

“It’s just tree-climbing. You’re still miles behind me,” Sasuke scoffed.

“I’ll catch up to you soon enough!” Naruto declared fiercely.

Sasuke opened his mouth for a retort—then blinked. Suddenly, he was seeing three Kitazawas.

“What jutsu is that?!” Naruto cried, eyes wide.

“Shadow Clone Jussu,” all three Kitazawas replied in unison.

“I wanna learn it!” Naruto shouted, stars practically sparkling in his eyes.

The first thought in his mind was how awesome it would be to have clones to play with when he got home.

“I’ll teach you once you’ve mastered tree-climbing,” Kitazawa said smoothly, spinning him a tantalizing promise.

“Deal!” Naruto nodded furiously.

“All right—let’s get to training.”

Kitazawa directed his clones into action.

One Shadow Clone stayed behind to train Naruto, another worked with Yakumo, while Kitazawa’s main body focused on Sasuke, Hinata, and Ino Yamanaka.

Naruto launched into tree-climbing practice with fierce determination—but the results were… less than stellar.

Kitazawa observed him, deep in thought.

Did Naruto have talent? Absolutely. Otherwise, he’d never have become the future savior of the ninja world.

Yet back at the Ninja Academy, he’d been dead last, unable even to properly master the basic Clone Jutsu—and he’d failed his graduation exam multiple times.

Part of it was his own lack of focus and seriousness at school.

But another factor loomed large—the influence of the “big baby” sealed inside him: the Nine-Tails.

Kitazawa rubbed his temples.

With his current power and position, there was no way he could afford to meddle with the Nine-Tails’ chakra.

For now, diligence was the only answer.

Slow as Naruto’s progress was… at least he was improving.

Sasuke watched, eyes narrowing.

Naruto had been training for nearly half the class period—and the highest he’d managed to climb was only about one-fifth of the tree’s height.

Sasuke remembered that on his first

attempt, he’d climbed halfway up the tree.

He couldn’t help doubting his entire reality.

’How the hell did I lose to a guy like this…?’

Soon enough, class ended.

Naruto left school, though he kept glancing back at the trees as if he were itching to keep training.

When he arrived home, he was greeted by the Third Hokage.

“Congratulations on taking first place in physical training,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a genial smile.

“Thanks, old man!” Naruto beamed. “Wait… how’d you know?”

“I’m the Hokage.” Hiruzen puffed out his chest a bit. “Nothing escapes my notice.”

“Whoa! That’s amazing!” Naruto exclaimed, his grin stretching wider. “Hey, hey—tell me a story about the Fourth Hokage!”

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