Near the bridge railing, Sakura was fussing over Sasuke, chattering nonstop, seemingly asking if he slept well last night or what he wanted to eat today.
Sasuke remained cold and indifferent, his hands in his pockets, staring off into the distance, not even glancing at Sakura.
Naruto: "..."
Damn it!
It's like this again!
Why is Sakura always hanging around that annoying Sasuke?! I'm obviously... I'm obviously better than him! And... I'm about to learn some incredible ninjutsu!
A wave of sour jealousy washed over Naruto. He curled his lips and snorted, not even bothering to say hello.
He walked straight to the other end of the bridge, pulled out a rubber ball from his pocket, took a deep breath, and began practicing rolling balls.
Naruto placed the ball in the palm of his left hand, placed his right hand on top, and tried to recall the teachings of his "father" in his dream.
He concentrated, holding his breath, and channeled his chakra, attempting to spin it rapidly within his palm.
"Hah!"
Naruto bared his teeth, straining his nerves. However, gathering and rotating chakra proved far more difficult than he'd imagined. The chakra in his palms would gather only to dissipate in an instant, unable to generate any effective rotational force.
The rubber ball in his hand was only slightly deformed by the chaotic chakra flow, swaying a few times. Far from exploding, it was still a long way from its target.
"Damn it! What's going on?! It didn't feel this difficult in my dream!"
Naruto sweated profusely, yet he dared not slack off. He refused to give up, gritting his teeth and tirelessly trying again and again.
His strange behavior naturally caught the attention of the two people nearby. Sakura, initially entangled with Sasuke, was quickly drawn to Naruto's comical expression as he battled wits and courage with the air, his face grimacing.
Sasuke tilted his head slightly, glancing at the ever-shifting rubber ball in Naruto's hand and the faint yet recognizable chakra fluctuations in his palm. A subtle flicker of interest flickered deep within his dark pupils.
"This guy... is actually practicing that jutsu from his dream?" Sasuke thought to himself.
While yesterday's dream was outrageous, the blue ball the Fourth Hokage had displayed at the end was quite powerful, easily snapping such a thick tree... Recalling the final scene of the dream, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a flicker of curiosity about the jutsu Naruto was attempting.
"If... this last-place guy could really learn that jutsu from his dream... doesn't that mean..."
A thought welled up in Sasuke's mind. To defeat that person, to exact revenge, he must become stronger at all costs! He would not miss any opportunity to improve his strength.
With this thought, Sasuke no longer hesitated. He quietly moved over to Naruto, who was concentrating on fiddling with a ball.
He glanced at the ball in Naruto's hand with feigned nonchalance and asked, his tone as calm as possible, yet a hint of stiffness could not be concealed:
"Hey, dead last, what are you... doing?"
Sasuke tried his best to appear indifferent, but his blazing eyes betrayed his inner curiosity and desire.
Naruto, who was still rubbing his balls, was startled by Sasuke's sudden words, and his chakra instantly dissipated.
He turned his head sharply to find Sasuke staring at the ball in his hand with a strange look, and alarm bells went off.
"What's wrong with Sasuke today? Why is he standing so close?! And staring at my ball? Is he... trying to steal my skills?"
The thought of this possibility made Naruto panic. This was the secret technique that "Dad" had personally taught him in a dream!
It was his secret weapon to defeat Sasuke, defeat Sakura, and become Hokage. How could I let that pesky Sasuke steal my skills?!
"Hmph!"
Naruto twisted around abruptly, immediately putting his left hand, which was holding the ball, behind his back. He then turned his back to Sasuke, adopting a defensive stance that said, "I'm not letting you see."
"Trying to steal the secret technique my father taught me? No way! Not even a crack in the window! When I learn it, I'll definitely beat you down right in front of Sakura! I'll show you who's truly the strongest in Team 7!"
Naruto thought angrily, practicing even harder. His face flushed, and he concentrated his chakra once more, rubbing the ball in his hand vigorously.
Sasuke: "..."
The veins on Sasuke's forehead twitched uncontrollably as he watched Naruto's defensive actions.
Just then, Sakura also came over. Curiously eyeing the battered rubber ball in Naruto's hands, she asked with concern, "Hey, Naruto, what new jutsu are you practicing? It looks like it's taking a lot of effort."
At Sakura's voice, Naruto's wariness instantly vanished, replaced by a smug grin. He immediately turned around, holding the ball before Sakura like a treasure, puffing out his chest and proudly announcing,
"Hehe! That's right! This is a super-powerful jutsu! When I master it, you'll definitely be impressed!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes in anger, nearly sending a massive fireball at each of the two idiots.
However, Sakura truly piqued Naruto's curiosity. She stared at the ordinary rubber ball in Naruto's hand, blinked, and asked curiously, "Oh? Really? Then... what's the name of this jutsu? It sounds quite powerful."
"Name?" Naruto was stunned by the question. He scratched his now-tangled blond hair, trying to recall the name his "father" had mentioned in his dream last night... What was it? It seemed... quite long and difficult to pronounce...
He struggled for a long time before finally... seemed... to grasp a vague impression. He replied uncertainly, "Uh... it seemed... it seemed... something... two white-haired balls like popsicles?"
Sakura: "..."
Sasuke: "..."
They both looked at each other as if they were idiots.
Sakura, speechless, held her forehead in her hand and grumbled, "Naruto, you idiot! How can a ninjutsu have such a long, strange name? You must be daydreaming."
Sasuke's face was also furious, completely giving up hope of extracting any useful information from this idiot.
"I actually believed it just now... I thought this loser could learn some powerful ninjutsu from a dream... I'm such a fool!" Sasuke muttered to himself.
"It really is!" Naruto felt so wronged that he stamped his feet in frustration. "In my dream last night, my father—ah, no, the one who taught me ninjutsu—said that, although... uh, I can't quite remember..."
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a glance, both too lazy to pay attention to him. Instead, they began complaining in unison about why Kakashi hadn't arrived yet.
"Kakashi-sensei, what a fool! He's late again!"
"Huh, it's always like that."
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Early chapters: patreon.com/Reborn_noob