Chapter 139: Sasuke's Roar: Father, Please Start the Hell Training!
"Gulp." Someone, somewhere, swallowed with difficulty. "All... all of them... hit?" Inuzuka Kiba's voice trembled. "What... what a joke..." Sakura Haruno looked dazed, unable to utter a complete sentence.
Sasuke's body was trembling slightly. Not from fear, but from extreme shock.
"Good! Good! Good!" Teacher Yamada suddenly shouted excitedly, his face flushed. "Simply brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" He rushed to Naruto, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him vigorously. "Uzumaki Naruto! 10! Full marks! No! It's a performance beyond full marks!"
He was so excited that he spoke incoherently, spitting as he talked. "As expected of the Fifth Hokage's direct disciple! This talent! This strength! It's simply... simply..."
Naruto listened to Teacher Yamada's words and the discussions of his classmates around him, his nose stung, and his eyes instantly reddened. So... so this is what it feels like to be acknowledged. Naruto unconsciously straightened his chest.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Sasuke was completely stunned. He lost. He lost completely, utterly defeated. In his most proficient area, he was completely defeated by the person he looked down upon the most, in an overwhelming manner. Those eyes that once adored and pursued him were now all focused on Naruto. That feeling of being abandoned by the world and forgotten by light made him feel a suffocating sensation.
"Ah ah ah ah ah—!!!" A roar escaped Sasuke's throat. He had completely lost his mind!
"You guy!" Sasuke clenched his fists and, disregarding everything, charged towards Naruto!
Sasuke's fist hadn't even gotten close to Naruto yet. A figure suddenly appeared between the 2 of them. A hand lightly and casually grabbed Sasuke's swinging wrist.
"Well, well," a lazy voice echoed across the training ground. "That's enough. Fighting in school isn't what good children do, Uchiha Sasuke."
It was Kakashi Hatake.
"Kakashi-Jōnin?" Teacher Yamada was also startled to see the newcomer and quickly bowed respectfully.
"Let go of me!" Sasuke's wrist was clamped by Kakashi, unable to move, but he still struggled frantically, his Sharingan glaring fixedly at Naruto, bloodshot. "He cheated! He must have cheated! Otherwise, how could he possibly win against me?!"
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, his tone unyielding. "I saw everything clearly from beginning to end. There was no cheating whatsoever. Naruto won against you fairly and squarely. Sometimes, a loss is just a loss. Acknowledging others' excellence is also a form of training, Uchiha Sasuke."
Kakashi's words made Sasuke's body stiffen sharply. His struggles ceased. That's right. Even Kakashi-Jōnin said so. He is one of the top Ninja in the Village. Even he said… I lost?
Sasuke's eyes dimmed. I... I really lost to Naruto, that dead last? Seeing him calm down, Kakashi finally released his hand. He turned his head and looked at Naruto. His gaze was complex. There was surprise, relief, and a hint of… guilt that he himself hadn't noticed. He looked at Naruto's face, which was becoming more and more like his teacher, Minato Namikaze. This child…
"You... did very well, Naruto." Kakashi's voice was a little hoarse. This was the first time he had praised Naruto so seriously, so solemnly.
Naruto looked at Kakashi, scratched his head, and chuckled. "Of course! I'm going to be a man who surpasses all previous Hokage!"
It was a familiar catchphrase, but now that it came from his mouth, no one thought it was a joke anymore. Kakashi looked at his bright smile, and the guilt in his eyes deepened. Teacher… Minato-sensei… I'm sorry. I didn't take good care of your son. I let him suffer so much.
"Alright, everyone, disperse!" Seeing the situation, Teacher Yamada quickly stepped in to mediate, dispersing the onlookers. The crowd gradually dispersed. Teacher Yamada gave Sasuke a complicated look, but in the end, he just patted his shoulder and turned to leave.
The setting sun cast a warm orange glow over the entire training ground behind the mountain. Sasuke stood alone, as if isolated by the entire world. He lost. He lost to the dead last he despised the most.
Sasuke didn't go home but walked aimlessly through the Village streets. Everything around him seemed to become unfamiliar. He unconsciously quickened his pace. He just wanted to escape from it all.
Finally, Sasuke stopped in front of the Uchiha Clan's compound gate. The huge fan clan crest, under the setting sun, appeared majestic and solemn. This was a symbol of glory.
"Young Master Sasuke." The guards at the gate respectfully bowed to him.
Sasuke just nodded blankly, keeping his head down, and quickly walked inside. Passing through the neat streets, Sasuke returned to his home. His father, Uchiha Fugaku, was sitting cross-legged in the center of the living room, with a tea set in front of him, seemingly enjoying tea.
"You're back," Fugaku said blandly.
Sasuke walked in front of Fugaku, his knees buckled, and he knelt down. His head was deeply bowed, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold wooden floor. "Father. I… I lost."
Fugaku's movement of picking up the teacup paused slightly. After a long while, Fugaku gently placed the teacup down. "To whom did you lose?"
"...Uzumaki Naruto."
Fugaku didn't speak immediately. He just raised his head, his gaze passing through the window, looking towards the Hokage Rock. There, the Fifth Hokage's rock sculpture was already taking shape. That was Uchiha Akira's face.
"Sigh…" An almost inaudible sigh escaped Fugaku's lips. "He is the disciple Akira personally chose. It's not surprising that you lost to him."
Fugaku's words were unacceptable to Sasuke. Not surprising? How could it not be surprising! That dead last, that idiot, why? Just because he became the Fifth Hokage's disciple?
Sasuke suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, the single tomoe spinning wildly in his eye sockets. "I refuse to accept it! I cannot accept it! I am the genius of the Uchiha! I absolutely cannot lose to a guy like that!"
Fugaku watched Sasuke quietly. He saw his past self. "Then, what do you intend to do?" Fugaku asked.
Sasuke's body trembled violently. He lowered his head again, this time even harder than before, his forehead hitting the floor with a heavy thud. Bang!
"Father! Please… train me relentlessly! No matter how hard the training, I can endure it! I must… personally trample him underfoot!"
Fugaku looked at his son, kneeling on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. His eyes finally showed a ripple. Failure is not terrifying. What's terrifying is to be disheartened after failure. His son had not been completely crushed yet.
"Very good," Fugaku slowly stood up. "Starting tomorrow, your training volume will be increased 10-fold. I hope to see your second tomoe as soon as possible. If you can't do it, you won't be worthy of calling yourself an Uchiha anymore."
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