"I announce that the friendship contest between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki begins now!"
As Iruka's voice fell, Sasuke Uchiha rushed toward Naruto with swift movements.
He swiftly pulled out shurikens with both hands and hurled them one after another.
The shurikens sliced through the air with a sharp swishing sound, spinning rapidly as they flew toward Naruto.
A smirk appeared on the corner of Naruto's lips—completely unfazed.
Ever since his body had ceased to be disturbed by the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto had noticed that his abilities had undergone a drastic transformation.
Both his physical coordination and chakra control had reached an entirely new level.
Even the shurikens flying toward him seemed to slow down in his eyes.
As someone who had read the original story, he naturally knew how to apply chakra to the soles of his feet.
A faint blue glow radiated from Naruto's sandals as he casually dodged left and right, effortlessly avoiding all the shurikens.
The projectiles whizzed past his body, their tips embedding into the ground, but not a single one even grazed his clothes.
"Sasuke, is that all you've got? This isn't nearly enough!"
[Uchiha Sasuke anger value +36]
"Damn it! What kind of trick is this guy pulling?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, staring at Naruto in disbelief. He couldn't accept that Naruto had dodged all his attacks so easily.
[Akimichi Sumire anger value +19]
[Yamanaka Ino anger value +26]
[Haruno Sakura anger value +15]
"Sasuke-kun! Come on! We're cheering for you!"
"Sasuke-kun! Defeat that dead-last and show him your true power!"
Sasuke's female fans erupted into a frenzy, waving their fists as they cheered for him.
Naruto ignored their words entirely. Instead, he focused on the flood of anger points accumulating in his mind, feeling pleased by their irritation.
However, aside from Sasuke's fangirls, most of the students watching were stunned.
They had just witnessed firsthand that Naruto had truly become strong—far from the loudmouth who used to boast without backing it up.
Dodging that many shurikens with ease? They knew they wouldn't be able to pull that off themselves.
Naruto casually lowered his arms and hooked a finger toward Sasuke.
"Come on, hit me with your best shot."
"Stop holding back with these childish tricks—they're just not enough."
"Tch! You bastard!" Sasuke snapped, his frustration boiling over. He saw nothing but mockery in Naruto's eyes.
He had seen that look before—years ago, when Uchiha Itachi had massacred their entire clan, leaving him as the sole survivor. Back then, Itachi had looked at him the same way.
The gruesome images of his slaughtered clansmen resurfaced in his mind, reigniting his hatred for Itachi deep in his heart.
"Die, you bastard!"
Sasuke's eyes burned with fury. In that moment, Naruto became the perfect target to vent his frustration.
Sasuke leaped into the air as a kunai slipped from his sleeve. Twisting his body midair in a full 360-degree spin, he launched the kunai one after another.
Surprisingly, Sasuke's first kunai wasn't aimed directly at Naruto—it was thrown toward a specific point in midair.
Ding!
Ding!
The kunai clashed mid-flight, ricocheting off each other and sparking on impact. After a series of calculated collisions, the last kunai altered its trajectory and flew straight toward Naruto from an unexpected angle.
Every possible escape route was sealed. The kunai were all aimed at Naruto's vital points.
"Stop! This is just a friendly match! No lethal attacks!" Iruka shouted, sensing that something was off with Sasuke's mood. He had only wanted to test Naruto's progress—not endanger either of them.
"It's fine, Iruka-sensei."
Just as Iruka moved to intervene, Naruto stopped him with a calm voice.
At the same time, Naruto reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a kunai of his own. As he dodged, he swung the kunai to deflect the incoming projectiles.
Clang! Clang!
Kunai collided midair, producing sharp metallic echoes.
Before Naruto could catch his breath, Sasuke had already closed the distance, rapidly forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke's cheeks puffed up before he spewed out a stream of flames.
The fire roared forward, expanding rapidly into a massive fireball before him.
The intense heat scorched the grass below, turning it to ash in an instant.
As the fireball surged toward Naruto, even the ground was seared, leaving a shallow trench in its wake.
"It's a Fire Release jutsu! Sasuke is incredible!"
"Whoa, I can't believe a fresh graduate can use such powerful ninjutsu!"
"The Uchiha Clan's strength is no joke."
The students watched in awe, their eyes wide with shock.
At just twelve years old, Sasuke could unleash such a devastating jutsu, while they were still busy playing hide-and-seek.
While they gawked, Naruto had already begun forming hand seals—identical to Sasuke's.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Naruto's cheeks swelled before he unleashed a blazing inferno.
However, his flames were far larger than Sasuke's.
The fireball that formed before him dwarfed Sasuke's completely.
As the two fireballs clashed, an intense explosion of flames shot skyward. Fiery embers rained down, scorching small craters into the ground.
But Sasuke's fireball gradually weakened, unable to compete with Naruto's overwhelming flames.
"Damn it!" Sasuke's mind went blank as he watched the enormous fireball surging toward him. His body trembled uncontrollably.
If he were caught in that blast, he would suffer severe injuries. His instincts screamed at him to run, but fear had completely paralyzed him.
"Sasuke-kun, watch out!"
Haruno Sakura, Sasuke's most devoted fangirl, screamed in horror.
But beyond that, she could do nothing to help.
(End of Chapter)