As the chakra holding it together faded, the dense mist dispersed.
Sasuke and Sakura's vision returned, and they looked ahead.
The scene looked as though it had been frozen in a painting.
A blonde-haired boy stood with his sword sheathed.
A menacing man, pinned to a tree.
A massive broken sword, stabbed into the ground.
The sound of clashing steel had ended—victory and defeat were now clear.
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, staring at Naruto.
He had thought the gap in strength between them wasn't too wide. After awakening his Sharingan, he believed he could easily catch up.
But—
Today's cold, harsh truth slapped him in the face.
Only now did he realize the distance between them had already grown so far.
A Jonin whose mere killing intent had frozen him in place… had been swiftly defeated by Naruto.
Looking at Naruto's back, Sasuke was momentarily dazed—it felt like he was seeing that man.
Uchiha Itachi.
The brother he had once admired above all.
He too had been a genius—already at Jonin level by the age of twelve.
At the time, Sasuke didn't understand what "Jonin" meant. He just thought, "Big Brother is amazing."
But now, with Naruto as a reference point...
The path to catching up with Uchiha Itachi felt endlessly long.
"Sasuke, your eyes!" Sakura cried out in surprise.
His eyes?
Could it be...
Sasuke, excited, quickly pulled out a mirror from his ninja pouch.
Naruto turned to look after hearing Sakura.
Sasuke's chakra had subtly changed—there was a newly emerging, chilling aura.
His eyes were no longer black pupils in white sclera. They had turned blood-red, with a small black dot in the center. Surrounding the pupil was a comma-like tomoe spinning along a ring-like orbit.
So this... was the Sharingan?
Sasuke gritted his teeth. The joy of awakening a bloodline limit lasted but a moment before fading.
Just one tomoe—
It wasn't enough to transform him into someone capable of defeating a Jonin.
He looked up at Naruto, clenching his fists, filled with resolve.
If he couldn't even catch up to Naruto, how could he dream of catching up to that man?
Meanwhile, from up in the tree—
Zabuza squinted his eyes.
What a good opportunity!
While everyone was focused on the Sharingan boy—
He curled his right hand and began forming a "Ram" seal, quietly gathering chakra.
But before he could activate the jutsu—
Whap—!
The sword sheath swung with a gust of wind and smacked his right hand.
Zabuza looked up in shock.
Right in front of him was Naruto's smiling face:
"Third time now—stop trying to pull tricks like that."
Zabuza's heart sank.
Even now, this kid could still sense him?
Soon, Naruto had him tied up securely, all ten fingers locked with bindings. Just then, Kakashi rushed back, carrying an unconscious person in his arms—someone who looked to be around their age, a beautiful young girl.
"Oh? Naruto, you already took care of Zabuza?" he said, looking at the battered and tied-up Demon of the Mist in disbelief.
He had believed Naruto could protect Sasuke and Sakura.
He thought Naruto might be able to hold Zabuza off.
Plus, there was an ANBU team covertly following to act as backup.
That's why Kakashi approved Naruto's plan and went off to capture someone else.
He never expected Naruto to defeat Zabuza solo.
How did he do it?
Naruto grinned. "Just lucky. I happened to be a counter to him."
Lucky, huh?
Zabuza scoffed.
If he hadn't tried to escape, even without Kakashi's interference, he would've only lasted a few more rounds. Once his chakra ran out, he'd have still ended up captured.
The kid's jutsu was too strange.
No hand signs required, and the effects were unpredictable—violating normal ninja logic.
To fight him properly, more intel was needed.
Kakashi didn't press further.
He'd wait for the final report from ANBU after they returned to the village.
With Zabuza and his accomplice tightly bound, Kakashi decided to transport them himself—these two were too dangerous for ninja dogs.
As for the "girl" who looked around their age, Kakashi casually clarified—
He was actually a boy, just unusually pretty and graceful.
And very strong. At least Special Jonin level. He had a bloodline limit: Ice Release, which arguably made him more valuable than Zabuza.
It had taken Kakashi considerable effort to bring him down.
This made Sasuke even more frustrated.
The praise he had received at the Ninja Academy had given him the illusion that he was truly gifted.
But in reality...
Naruto's strength skyrocketed with just a bit of serious effort.
Even random people they met outside the village, who were the same age, turned out far stronger than him.
As soon as they returned to Tazuna's house, Sasuke couldn't wait any longer and asked Kakashi for help:
"I want to get stronger."
Kakashi didn't find it troublesome and agreed right away.
In their free time, he began teaching Sasuke techniques on how to use the Sharingan.
These techniques weren't useful for Naruto or Sakura—they didn't have Sharingan.
At Naruto's insistence—
Kakashi also wrote down a scroll on Sealing Techniques.
He was curious why Naruto would be interested in such a complex subject. Kids this age usually just wanted raw power, like Sasuke.
The next day, reinforcements from the Leaf Village arrived.
Leading them was a bearded man, Sarutobi Asuma—the Third Hokage's son—accompanied by his team: Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji.
This made Naruto frown.
They had already made it clear how urgent the situation was, and the reinforcements sent were just another rookie Genin team?
They didn't stay long—after a meal, they immediately left, escorting Zabuza and Haku back to Konoha.
The bridge construction proceeded smoothly.
Even though Gato wasn't deterred by Zabuza's failure and kept sending hired swords to cause trouble—
Naruto had no interest in dealing with these weaklings—their skills were sloppy, their chakra pitiful.
But for Sasuke, they were great practice.
At first, he struggled to take them down.
But within a few days, he was dealing with them effortlessly and confidently.
Within a week, the bridge was completed.
As they prepared to return home, Tazuna shamelessly tagged along.
He realized that what Naruto had said when they first left the village made sense—without support, it was hard for civilians like them to resist Gato. They needed Konoha's protection.
The bridge was the bargaining chip he planned to use to gain the Leaf's support.
Upon returning to the village—
Team 7 went back to their usual low-ranked missions to maintain their visibility and build reputation.
The frequency of these missions had actually decreased.
Meanwhile, new faces began to appear around the village—people wearing Leaf forehead protectors, but unfamiliar.
It was a sign of something.
Then one day—
Team 7 was summoned.
Kakashi pulled out three registration forms. "This may seem sudden, but I've already recommended you all to participate in the Chunin Exams."
Naruto took the form.
At the bottom of the application were the eligibility conditions.
One of them:
"Genin must have completed at least eight missions, including at least one C-rank mission."
The three of them fit the criteria perfectly.
So—
That pressure to rush through missions hadn't been just his imagination.
It had been leading up to this Chunin Exam.
Naruto looked at Sasuke, then at himself.
Were there opponents from other villages that their current Genin level couldn't handle, so they needed him?
Kakashi spoke lazily:
"Be at Classroom 301 tomorrow afternoon, before 4 p.m."
"Prepare yourselves well. Good luck on the exam."
"That's all."
He glanced at Naruto, then Sasuke.
The mission report from the Land of Waves hadn't been very detailed—ANBU couldn't get too close. Naruto's sensory abilities were strong—getting too near would've alerted him.
But at least two things had been confirmed:
Naruto hadn't made contact with any suspicious outsiders.
And—Naruto was strong. Easily Jonin level.
But…
Kakashi felt that this still wasn't Naruto's limit.
No hard evidence. Just a gut feeling.
(End of Chapter)