"Team Kakashi, officially formed."
"...Shouldn't you three be cheering or clapping or something? This is just embarrassing."
At Training Ground 3, Kakashi looked at his brand-new genin team and sighed deeply.
Uchiha Sasuke stood silent and stoic, arms crossed and face cold.
Naruto and Hinata?
They were off in their own world—completely ignoring their instructor.
"Naruto-kun..."
Hinata flushed bright red and tugged shyly on Naruto's sleeve before clapping lightly for Kakashi's benefit.
Naruto gave Kakashi a half-hearted golf clap in return, only because Hinata did it first.
Even Sasuke joined with two lazy, meaningless claps—just enough to say he participated.
Kakashi stared at the three of them, speechless.
"Anyway!" he forced a smile. "Since we're officially a team now, let's go celebrate with some barbecue! My treat."
Kakashi patted the heavy wallet in his pocket. He was feeling good—after all, he'd kept quite a bit of treasure from that last hideout raid. He had cash to spare.
"No, Kakashi-sensei—what about missions? And training?" Sasuke snapped, clearly annoyed.
He didn't become a genin to stuff his face and relax—he was here to get stronger.
"The path of a shinobi requires rest too," Kakashi said calmly. "Sasuke, when was the last time you even took a break? If you keep pulling the bowstring tight, eventually it'll snap. Trust me. Today, we rest."
Secretly, Kakashi was fired up. For once, he felt like a real teacher. Not because of Naruto—who was already too strong to teach—but because of Sasuke.
Sasuke was definitely trainable.
But first—barbecue.
Later, at the BBQ restaurant…
Kakashi inhaled sharply—for the third time that night.
He clutched his wallet like it was a dying pet.
Naruto and Sasuke were eating well—sure. They had big appetites, but nothing crazy.
But Hinata?
Hinata was in a whole other league.
Empty plates were stacking like mountains. Meat disappeared the second it touched the grill.
Even Sasuke was staring at her like she had awakened some kind of forbidden jutsu.
"N-Naruto-kun... am I eating too much?" Hinata asked nervously, cheeks pink.
"It's fine, eat all you want. Don't hold back. Kakashi-sensei's wallet is plenty thick." Naruto grinned smugly. "Right, Kakashi-sensei?"
"…Eat… as much as you like…" Kakashi muttered, emotionally defeated.
Then suddenly, his mood shifted.
He glanced at Naruto—and smirked.
This kid has no idea. One day, Naruto was going to marry this girl... then he'd be the one bankrupting himself over food bills.
Kakashi could already picture it—Naruto running missions nonstop just to pay for groceries, dark circles under his eyes, body drained, soul crushed.
The thought brought Kakashi deep, wholesome joy.
After dinner, they went their separate ways.
Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke.
Naruto walked Hinata home.
And Sasuke, as always, drifted off alone—silent, stewing in his own thoughts.
Before he knew it, he'd arrived at the training woods.
The exact spot written on the card given to him by the masked "Ox" of the Red Sun Society.
"You came."
"I came."
The masked figure stepped out from behind a tree, cloak fluttering. Same bull-mask. Same unreadable aura.
"Drink this."
A small bottle flew through the air.
Sasuke caught it, hesitated only a second, then uncorked it and downed the contents in one gulp.
"Aren't you afraid I poisoned that?"
Sasuke froze.
…Why did he drink that without a second thought?
It felt like he trusted this stranger completely.
Too late now—whatever was in him was already spreading.
But the warmth that flooded his limbs wasn't poison—it was relief. Like soaking in a hot spring after days of pain. His body relaxed, soreness easing, chakra flowing more smoothly.
"Okay. Training begins."
Ox flicked his finger, and a spinning kunai danced on it like a toy.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed—Sharingan activating instantly.
"Good," Ox nodded. "Always ready. A real shinobi never drops their guard."
A flash of metal.
Kunai sliced toward Sasuke's neck at a speed just barely visible to the eye.
Clang!
Sasuke blocked—but was knocked off balance, sliding back hard.
Ox didn't slow down.
"Never get distracted in battle. The moment you lose focus—you're dead."
He struck faster than thought—Sasuke was launched through the air.
He saw the kick coming. Saw the spacing. Saw the weakness.
But his body wouldn't move in time.
His instincts—fixated on recovering balance—betrayed him.
"Also," Ox continued, voice sharp but calm, "never forget your surroundings."
Another threat—behind him.
Sasuke ducked instinctively, slashing backward in desperation.
A kunai cut only air.
A flash—
Ox appeared from nowhere.
Clone Technique.
Before Sasuke could adjust—
WHAM.
He was kicked again—hard.
Kunai. Kicks. Shuriken. Clones.
The attacks came nonstop, from unpredictable angles, impossible speeds.
Sasuke blocked maybe 1 out of every 10.
If Ox meant to kill him?
He wouldn't last ten seconds.
He was being destroyed.
And yet—
Sasuke didn't break.
Because every hit… every pain-filled second… was a lesson burned into muscle and memory.
This was training.
This was growth.
This was exactly what he'd asked for.
To get stronger... faster than anyone else.
Ox didn't baby him. Didn't flatter him. Didn't pretend he was already strong.
He tore him down completely—and forced him to learn in the wreckage.
It was the most valuable training Sasuke had ever received.
"That's enough for today."
Ox stopped mid-motion—kunai vanishing as if absorbed into the air.
Sasuke slumped against a tree, drenched in sweat, chest heaving. Covered in bruises, but eyes burning with sharpened resolve.
"Go home. Reflect. I don't want to see you this weak next time."
With that—Ox vanished.
Sasuke exhaled slowly.
Then bowed deeply to the empty space.
"…Thank you."
His body throbbed with pain—but his heart was smiling.
This was the path forward.
He would endure it all.
And he would rise.
On a nearby tree branch…
"Itachi, how was it? Training with Sasuke?"
A whisper from the shadows.
Itachi, still in the Ox cloak, removed part of the bull mask—expression unreadable.
"…Honestly?" he murmured.
"Putting on this mask makes it surprisingly easy to go all out. I don't have to hold back like before… The guilt disappears. I can finally hit him hard."
The faintest smile crept onto his face.
"Feels great."
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