*Rriiiing*
As always, the alarm went off right on time, and I reluctantly sat up, reaching for the dresser to shut off the ringing torture device.
"Eeeeh" I yawned hugely once it stopped.
Really wanted to flop back down, but not today. Never, really. The Academy drilled in daily morning workouts, no matter how tired, even weekends. Only exception: 24-hour shifts where full routine—stretching, jog, strength, short kunai/shuriken throws—was impossible. Best case: stretches, squats/pushups; run only from rest to post relieving Sasuke or Sakura.
Done whining and dressed in workout gear (now had two separate from daily wear), I checked windows, toothpick traps, locked the door, and bolted outside. Short jogs with arm swings and big leaps for warmup got me to our park where I usually trained. Small stadium for sports there—not the main arena, just extra soccer-field-like. As soccer-y as it gets without soccer.
Workout started ~6:15-6:20 depending on laziness, ended by 8. Sweaty and beat from morning, I trudged home to the damn weights. But first—breakfast!
Sliced herring in oil (pricey fish here), plus three boiled eggs—I rolled the oily fish in yolks subbing bread. Decent. Banana chaser, quick kitchen tidy, realized 9:30—no day off declared—dressed properly fast, hair, pouches, and rocketed to rendezvous.
River bridge to red-light district this time.
Late by ~10 mins—fine. Champ Kakashi hadn't shown by then.
Greeted Sakura, mutual smirk with wise-looking-into-river Sasuke, waited for teacher.
Kakashi showed quick this time. Twenty mins after me.
"Good morning, team!" He greeted from atop the bridge arch. "Got a bit lost, had to detour through this district..." Started excusing, but I auto-ignored—his excuses crazier each time.
He came from red-light side, and yesterday we handed off hospital shift at 6pm. Did he crash there...
Heh-heh...
"Enough excuses. Let's get the mission, teacher." I said. Sasuke sighed loudly, hands in pockets. Kakashi, book in face, led to council building. Sakura traditionally nagged/whined "real ninja can't act like that, you're late by whole..." etc.
"Think we'll take something easy today, wrap by seven? Objections?" Kakashi asked mid-path, not looking, flipping pages. Damn, what's Jiraiya writing that's so gripping? I objected—courier jobs (docs/small cargo to nearby village head) lowest pay, even D-rank. ~3k Ryo/team. 1.5k Kakashi, 1.5k us three—500 each. One Ichiraku pig-out. Maybe do it?
Objected inwardly, but got why Kakashi wanted quick finish. Tomorrow Sept 15—his birthday. Full day off planned. I'd train, but issue...
Hit training plateau. Ideas: solo rasengan (risky—old perv might quiz); elemental chakra (need teacher); Kendo (know basics, but C+ level).
Pondered during mission—yep, escorting cart of postal birds from Konoha to 10km town. Started noon, back by 6pm, handed off. Unloading, bird placement per list, handover—all on us. Civilian handled feeding, told bird lore. Reporting to village council (why here, seals on orders) took time—mayor handled shinobi arrivals/departures.
Real elected mayors here. Over 10k pop, Daimyo decree: elect council rep—usually guild heads in small towns. Guilds like unions: bakers separate from cooks, fishers, farmers, trade etc. Heads form council.
Mayor: chair with veto. Signed our orders personally; aide stamped. Back to Konoha.
Miracle: Kakashi admitted pushing easy mission but barely there (true—ditched post-village arrival, found us at mayor on depart). Nobly waived his cut—we got 1k Ryo each. Sweet...
Bade Sasuke/Sakura (her to evening polygon training—!) goodbye. Decided congratulate Kakashi's b-day, ask Kendo lessons. Cloned her: full evening—tree jumps, chakra control waste, throws all angles/in air/upside-down etc. Tried water walk (sucked), but credit: mastered Shadow Clone Technique, used clone for wet work.
Wanted help, but first: do I need to? Relations not hostile, not friends. Sasuke likable, covered me vs Haku risking skin. Sakura: pretty girl crushing on other guy. Past life, ignored such or rudely sent to their man if asking favors. Why me? Dance with your dinner guy; I stopped letting use my kindness post-teens, got "five bags of nothing."
Second: nothing better/practical than med-nin stuff. Decent at first aid—top Academy, hospital intern—but skipped med-nin for complex ninjutsu time over team/extra training. Nothing to teach Sakura but PT/hand-to-hand? Beating her... Nah...
Last shift, saw Tatar girl flunked exam with Ken—now hospital intern, extra with Iruka. Could join support/evac as med-nin. No Ken news, pity...
Post-Wave: Kakashi b-day gift debate.
Teammates clueless; I raised, Sasuke wanted brush-off then pricey gear set. Decent but lazy—he's got spares; high-level shinobi buys best/comfiest. Sakura: dish set, tea service. Then book—broke it: asked vendors, 18+ only (porno bits), new vol in month. She blushed when I explained genre to 12yo.
Me: clueless...
Past life formula popped:
Guy gift stumped?
Clock him!
No enthusiasm. Sasuke: hint at lateness—funny joke, but mocking teacher overt. Sakura: cost too high even split—custom good ones, not cheap crap.
* * *
Then I sent both of them through the Forest and said there wouldn't be a group gift. Better for each to give something personal. As for me, I'd firmly decided to order a watch from a good craftsman. After all, if I was going to ask Kakashi for private training, I needed to butter him up properly first—and ideally apologize for our first meeting in my apartment. I'd called him an idiot in the heat of the moment. Not cool...
After the mission, I decided to eat dinner at Ichiraku. Cooking something was maximally lazy.
"Yo, Naruto." Another patron called out to me after I'd greeted the old man and his daughter and was about to place my order. Sensei Iruka was already sitting nearby, waiting for his food. Well, not a bad dinner company. Ordering a big portion with sweet buns and tea, I continued chatting with Iruka, and after our food arrived and we'd each eaten half, having covered most of the unimportant topics like the weather, missions, and such, I asked...
"Hey, Sensei Iruka, do you know anyone who could teach me Kendo?"
"Mmm? Kendo, you say... I could teach the basics. My father trained me with a blade from age four. I even got to use this sword on missions, but honestly, I'm a talentless swordsman. Hayate wiped the floor with me in 9 out of 10 of our spars. In one, I fought a bit dishonestly, and I'm still ashamed of it. So I'm not the best option if you were planning to ask me." Iruka admitted.
"I see..." I replied with a sigh, continuing to eat.
"Why not ask Kakashi? He's your sensei now. Plus, he's ex-ANBU, and those guys are drilled hard on the sword. Only true sword masters are better, the ones who specialize in it."
"I'm thinking about it too, but he's... a complicated guy."
"Heh... I get it. Well, what do you think about the sword yourself? Sure it suits you?"
"I don't know how it'll turn out or how talented I am, but I'm certain I want to fight with a sword in the future, Sensei Iruka."
"Then you really should train under a master. If you stick to this path, you might become a master swordsman yourself someday."
"I don't think I'm that talented." I tried to weasel out.
"Nonsense, Naruto." He replied, lifting his bowl with both hands and slurping the last of the broth. "Heh... You're one of the most talented students in my whole career, and before your class, I was assisting for a while even if I didn't have my own, so I know what I'm talking about. You're probably the most talented—I've never seen anyone who could beat me right after graduation, but you can."
"You're overestimating me, Sensei Iruka..."
"Maybe, but believe me—don't undersell your strength either. You got top honors not because you were someone's pet, but for academic merit and unparalleled talent. Know how many people graduate with top honors?"
"No." I admitted.
"One per two or three classes."
"No way?"
"Yep... So don't you dare undervalue yourself. A talented person is talented at everything."
***
In the morning, on our day off, I met Sakura and Sasuke right after my morning workout and breakfast. Naturally, I was wearing the damn weights.
Neither Sakura nor Sasuke knew where Kakashi lived. Good thing I'd looked into it ahead of time—no, I wasn't stalking him... Not worth it...
As a smart guy, I'd just asked the old geezer Hokage after turning in our latest mission, when Kakashi—as usual—bolted first. If anyone knew for sure, it was the Hokage. Hearing it was a birthday gift, he grinned and sold Kakashi out completely. On the way, we had to pick up my gift, which I'd splurged on. Seventeen thousand Ryo for custom watches. The craftsman had taken a week. I couldn't afford the village's top watchmaker—doubt they'd even let me in—but I did check out a shop near the Nara quarter. Prices were mid-range, but still pricey as hell! His top ones were near a hundred thousand and took a month. So I picked the best from the low-end category. The watches were ready and packed nicely.
No precious metals used. Just solid stainless steel wristwatches, chrome-plated with gold hands. Numbers marked by silver kanji on a black face. Japanese is handy like that. One or two small kanji replace a whole word. Like having "Twelve" spelled out full on your watch. Here it's a cross and two lines. Beautiful...
Approaching the building where Kakashi lived, I was already eyeing his floor. Top floor, and yeah, his apartment took the whole thing—about five normal rooms. Compared to my one-roomer, that's huge. Even against my two-bedroom from my past world, no contest—and I'm giving him custom watches. As we headed there, with Sakura prying about how I afforded such an expensive gift, a metaphorical giant toad the size of Gamabunta sat on my chest...
Right up to his building, we ran into two jonin who had just arrived in a hurry. Asuma and Kurenai. Me and Tamara go together, huh?
"Good morning, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san." I greeted first, using the suffixes and a polite bow.
"Good morning." Sakura and Sasuke echoed.
"Huh?" Asuma looked surprised. "Oh, good morning, kids."
"Good morning, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan." Kurenai greeted properly with a bow too. Asuma's bushy sideburns and goatee face screamed, "How do you even know their names?"
Asuma himself was a real brute. Probably pushing 190 cm, broad-shouldered, massive fists, small sly black eyes, hooked nose, and a dirty-black buzz cut tied with a Leaf headband. On his forearms near the wrists, some ring-like bracers—probably not artifacts, but weird as jewelry too... Whatever...
Kurenai, aside from her oddly revealing dress, was a normal brunette with long hair and red eyes. Total beauty... Long legs, modest B-cup bust nicely accentuated, solid ass that her clothes hid more than showed—but if it's visible anyway, it's all good. Figure on point... Not a supermodel, but close. Despite the training, she kept feminine shoulders and relatively slim forearms and arms. She really clicked with me—drawn, she didn't seem this hot, but live? First time I regretted being "almost" thirteen, with zero shot even if I tried. Especially since in three years, Asuma knocks her up.
"You kids Kakashi's students?" Asuma asked.
"Yeah, we're here to wish him happy birthday, heading to his place." I said.
"Got it..." Asuma pulled out a cigarette. "We just came down from his floor. He's not home, damn it... The old man's calling us all—the Third Hokage, I mean. Figured we'd grab him so he wouldn't be late. Hokage said if Kakashi's late to another jonin meeting one more time, he'll..."
"Ahem..." Kurenai coughed pointedly.
"He'll be in deep shit... That's what I meant." He added, turning to her. "And of course, he's not home."
"Understood..." I sighed sadly. "The meeting isn't about the upcoming Chunin exam, by chance?" Both jonin smiled at my intel and nodded.
"Spot on. Better come back tonight, you three. Meeting'll probably drag." Kurenai added. "Celebrate properly then."
"Well... Not sure... Won't Sensei Kakashi be busy tonight?"
"Busy or not, don't let him weasel out!" Kurenai insisted. "He hasn't celebrated his birthday in ages. It'll do him good if his students congratulate him."
"Got it." I nodded. "We'll push harder then. Thanks."
"Well, we're off... Can't keep the Hokage waiting, or we'll catch hell. Let's go, Kurenai." Asuma said, leaping forward and up in a long bound.
"See you, kids." She waved goodbye and bounded away.
"Mda..." Was all I could say.
"You guys do what you want, but I planned a real workout, so I'm grabbing gear." Sasuke said.
"You free tonight?"
"Well... If you're meeting again, then..." Sasuke pondered. "Fine, but no time to stay for the party. Dinner and early bed tonight."
"Buzzkill." I replied.
"You could use a full-day workout too." His subtle invite.
"Nah... Too lazy. Gotta prep for the exam anyway. Bet Kakashi signs us up blind."
"That confident?" Sasuke asked. "We should train first."
"Refresh theory first. I'm rusty after three months."
"You? The guy who barely snatched first place from Sakura in memorizing shinobi rules?" Sakura's eyebrow twitched.
"Yep, Chunin exam won't be simple... Probably..."
"Probably?" Sasuke echoed. "Heh... Every time you say that, you already know everything ahead. Right, Naruto?" He stated-questioned.
"Huh?" I played dumb. "No idea what you mean..."
"Heh..." He sighed, knowing he wouldn't get the truth. "Fine, I'm off. See you tonight."
"Sasuke, wait..." Sakura called, but too late—he'd bounded away, leaving her bummed. "Always like this... Naruto, what're you up to?"
"Mmm... Hit the market, grab groceries. Maybe a cake from ready stuff. We forgot food, by the way."
"Yeah..." She smiled, scratching her head.
"Wanna come?" I offered. She pretended to hesitate but had nothing better and tagged along as I shrugged and walked off.
As we wandered the village to the market, then the market, then to Sakura's to stash stuff in her fridge—closer to Kakashi's than mine—we were tailed.
Not pro ANBU I'd gotten used to sensing better lately. Sakura, walking with me, had no clue about these tails—very bad. If she can't detect them, the Academy instructors overhyped her; she's no top graduate.
We were tailed by a "living rock." More like a box painted gray stone... Even Sakura spotted them. Leaving the market, turning the corner, I couldn't hold back—made a shadow clone at the turn, waited for them to round it, and the clone kicked the "boulder" hard. The three inside tumbled to my feet, plowing three meters like small carcasses.
"Hey... Isn't your dumb game dragging on? If you kids wanna train stealth, pick better targets."
"Ow-ow-ow..." They stood, wincing from the flight. "As expected from that shinobi..." Their "leader" muttered—shorts, yellow tee, big blue scarf.
"Which 'that'?" I already knew. Konoha just got the paper headlining the bridge between Land of Fire and Waves named "Great Naruto Bridge." Thanks, old man... Short interview with Tazuna thanking Konoha shinobi, especially Uzumaki Naruto—me—for saving him, his daughter, and grandson. Whole village read it; I'm kinda famous now. Not taboo to serve me or haggle at stalls anymore, though not full respect yet.
Pros end there.
Cons: Konohamaru bugged me from day one. He'd seen me talk one-on-one with his gramps, but wasn't this hyped. Now the kid thinks I'm some prodigy shinobi at 12—true, but he'd be better off with another hobby.
"Listen, enough already?" I started. "What do you want?"
"Fight fair!" He yelled. Took effort not to facepalm. Sakura's eyebrow twitched again... "Beat you, then one step to beating gramps and becoming Hokage!" Fuck...
He actually drew a honed kunai, leaped back professionally, charged full speed yelling. His two buddies parted; I stood put.
As Konohamaru should've slammed me, I Body Flicker Technique'd away, reappearing behind Sakura—who'd stepped aside to the fence.
But I didn't account for two more rounding the next corner. Too focused on fast, clean Flicker with weights—never done before.
Konohamaru tripped on a small rock behind me, full speed into a foreign shinobi—Kankuro.
Kankuro and Temari were surprised; narrow streets weren't for noise, less flying idiot kids.
"Huh?" Kankuro said, seeing the kid rub his forehead on the ground. "What the...? You brats lost it?!" He grabbed Konohamaru's scarf, wound it around his hand, hoisted the kid overhead one-handed. "You lost it, punk?!" Yelled Kankuro, spotting the dropped kunai. "Huh?! What'd you plan, shithead?!" He twisted tighter, choking the nine-year-old. "What if you cut me?!"
"Gah... Sorry..." Konohamaru croaked, tears welling as plans failed.
"Hey!" Sakura stepped forward. "Enough! He'll choke!"
"Huh? What do you want, pinky? Butt out! Gotta teach rude brats manners. Here..."
"Naruto..." She turned to me quietly. "Do something!" I shrugged openly. What do you want? He won't kill him. Kid earned a beating like no other—let him take it once.
Damn, Sakura asked, can't bail completely though I wanted to.
"Justice from this asshole! Me!" Kankuro roared, fist cocked over Konohamaru's face.
My kunai sliced between his scarf-hand and the kid's throat, severing the fabric, freeing him. He flopped on his ass from surprise, but fine...
Kankuro held the scarf remnant on his wrist, stunned.
"What?!" He spun to me. "You all lost it?!"
Temari tensed, stepping back.
She looked damn good too. Ditch the silly ponytails for long hair, I'd steal her from Shikamaru easy. Slight Middle Eastern flair, but mostly European. Smiley blonde with dark-green eyes—even greener than Sakura's. Slim, but couldn't stay as feminine as Kurenai; Temari's in top shape. Shoulders defined, arms pumped for a girl. Fishnet under light-lavender dress. Sand forehead protector necklace, giant fan on back.
I grinned, fist to palm at chest—ready to fight.
"Wanna throw hands? Find someone your size, painted face!" I yelled.
"Looks like cockiness is your national trait?!" Kankuro raged. "I'll—" He yanked a bandage-wrapped human-sized thing off his shoulder.
"Kankuro! Gonna use Crow?!" Temari snapped. "We just arrived, and you wanna start shit?!"
"You saw—they lost it! I'll teach you manners, you little—"
Sasuke interrupted, hurling a small rock from a high branch into Kankuro's arm holding "Crow"'s head.
"Ow!" Crow crashed down. Kankuro spun to Sasuke; Konohamaru hid behind me. "Who're you?!"
"Too noisy in someone else's village." Sasuke said, rising from branch-sit. "Scram before they teach you manners!" He crushed a larger rock in his chakra-fist to dust.
Pa-fos all the way...
"Kankuro." Icy voice beside Sasuke. "Stop now."
Upside-down on next branch: short red-haired kid. Face shadowed, but scar-kanji "Ai (愛)"—love—visible.
Shorter and younger than Temari/Kankuro, but Kankuro paled...
"Lord Gaara..." Kankuro trembled formally with "sama"—lord. "You misunderstand, I just wanted..."
"Shut up." Gaara snapped. "Or die." Calm. Not joking—from what I recall, this-age Gaara's a psycho. Temari paled too but stayed quiet. "You're shaming our village. Sorry for my brother's disgraceful behavior." He bowed routinely to Sasuke—who was shocked at the undetected approach—then us and Sakura. Then mini-sand vortex hid his drop to Kankuro. "Let's go." They turned and walked.
Sasuke jumped down, asked his name.
"Sabaku no Gaara." Half-turn. "You?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"I see..." Gaara muttered, nodding my way—but I ignored.
"Hey, kid-rescuer? Yeah, leather jacket!" Temari asked for him.
"Uzumaki Naruto..." I said. Temari smiled, turned. Gaara frowned, turned too. "You?" I ventured.
"Me?" She grinned wider, blushing slightly. "Temari. Sabaku no Temari."
"I'll remember..." I called, smiling and waving.
***
As planned, we hit Kakashi's that evening, caught him home—but almost missed; he was dressed to leave at sunset.
"Oh..." He scratched his head, staring afar. "Well... Fine. Come in. This can wait..." He opened the door as we explained.
Sakura handled food. I bailed on cooking; I had the priciest gift.
After congrats, Sasuke gave last: elongated quality kunai with two bells on red string—like we'd stolen—best buyable pouch set, leather flask with silver cap. He apologized repeatedly and bolted. Kakashi asked him to stay minutes.
Sasuke last. I'd yielded first to Sakura: "favorite sensei" cups/saucers. Helped cook/set table. No doorstep gifts; we sat, ate, drank tea half-hour when Sasuke gave his after one tea sip—no food.
I next, wishing he control time not vice versa, handed the box pa-fosly. He chuckled at the joke unexpectedly. Wound, wore on left: accepted Sasuke's.
"I'll ask you to stay..." He continued. "Since you're all here, though I'd rather not business... I recommended you three for the Chunin exam." Handed invite-tickets to sign. His sig, Hokage seal, old man's "Approved" visa.
No exam beating around bush—Sasuke signed and bolted. Sakura and I finished, cake. I teased his pervy books obsession.
"Sensei, why no sales till adulthood? What's so bad? Excerpt? Girls? Lend first volume?" Driving Sakura to new shame/red depths. Tried nosebleed Kakashi—got mild fluster till he called my bluff, shut it down.
Sakura left soon; I offered cleanup help. Kendo chance.
"Sensei Kakashi..." I started. "Sorry for the extra words at our first meet. You're no idiot."
"Huh? Oh..." He recalled. "Forgot already. No biggie, I get it, Naruto." He replied.
"I'd like to ask..." Wiping hands post-dishes. "You know I carry the sword from Sensei Iruka. Please! Teach me Kendo..."
"Mmm..." Ten seconds later. Still bowed. "C'mon, straighten up, Naruto." He said. "Sorry, but... I'm decent with sword, but no master—never taught. Most regular swordsmen lose to me on strength/speed alone. But sword masters... Different level. Teacher must be master—with deep sword path insight to pass on. I can show basics, maybe... Anyway, can't teach you Kendo, sorry."
"Shame..." Fists clenched, head down. Might as well toss the sword...
"But I can find you a teacher. Got a solid master in mind with teaching experience. I'll ask and introduce you."
"Thanks, Sensei Kakashi." Bowed again. "Huge thanks."
"Nothing yet... Naruto. Since we're open... What was in that notebook besides Hokage jabs?" I tensed, eyed him. "Don't wanna—fine, won't affect my promise." He said. "By the way, I checked... You never accessed that archive section, never requested A-rank high jutsu registry. Or any post-grad. Didn't ask shinobi who might know the lightning-cut story. You rarely chat with villagers anyway. Outsiders, I mean..."
Fuck.
Busted on the lie. Who knew Kakashi'd be this sharp?
"You couldn't know Raikiri... But you did—detailed." I closed eyes, rubbed. "Not answering?"
"Sensei Kakashi... I..." Can't say transmigrator from another world? Think, dummy! "I really asked no one." I started. "Raikiri... Overheard in Academy. Listened to shinobi talk lots. Walks/weekends boring; learned your name, figured lightning-cutter Kakashi. Assumed strong unique jutsu. Yours." Lied.
"I see... Piecing fragments?" He asked.
"Pretty much..." Shrugged. "Dunno why notebook freaks you, but... Kid hobby, nonsense in made-up language. Like old Third figured." Lied again. Phew... Bought it.
"Fine, Naruto... Time to go. Late. Extra day off tomorrow. Think hard; day after, see you at exam if you show."
"Count on it, Sensei Kakashi. I'll be there..."
***
Next day lazy. Brief polygon with Sasuke, most in Academy library prepping first exam test. Trained with weights—super lazy, cut short despite Sasuke's jabs about barely beating Haku at my level. Back to library; Sasuke joined soon.
Slept in, strutted to Academy by noon. Second floor noisy. We joined. Two guys—year older max—guarding room 301 entry. I trailed team with backpack, eager for phase one—felt ready.
"Ha... That's all you got." One mocked as Lee flew from his quick uppercut.
"Please... Let us through." He insisted. Teammates—brown-haired girl Tenten, long-haired Byakugan Nedji—aside, likely solved the dumb trap. Either didn't tell Lee or he wanted extra beating—fits Lee...
"Hey, you... Quit the circus." Sasuke intervened. "Second floor. Why waste hypnosis jutsu?!" 301 flipped to 201 for all.
"Clear... Not dumb." One approached. "Think you're smartest, ruining our prank?" He handstand-rushed Sasuke, spinning low kick. Sasuke leg-counter to swat—suddenly...
Both legs caught midair by Lee. Sub-second, Kakashi-level speed between them, grabbing ankles.
"Calm down!" He urged. I stayed low-key. Lee... Descriptions unnecessary. High boots over green rubber body-suit (underwear probably). Belt-headband. Suit hugged every muscle—insanely ripped for 14. Good highlight if not neon. Bandaged to elbows. Greasy bowl-cut, bushy brows, round wide eyes ruined it.
Next killed any greet-urge or hint I knew him.
Straight-backed, drill-step to Sakura's face: thumbs-up grin.
"You're Sakura, right?" She nodded shocked. "Please, date me! I'll protect you with my life!" Cringe...
"Uh, no. Sorry, you're not... No!" She yelled, dragging Sasuke and me away fast.
"Heh... Shot down, Lee?" Tenten asked as crowd dispersed; bullies to 201, Lee sad in hall. Nedji ignored, left.
"No!" He revived. "I won't give up without a fight!" Raced after Sakura-with-us.
"Hey, back-crest!" He called Sasuke from second-floor balcony as Sakura rushed us outside to first floor.
"Me?" Sasuke turned. Lee nodded, pa-fos leaped down. "Who're you and what?"
"How about a duel now?!" I facepalmed at Lee's pa-fos/cringe overload.
"What? Duel?" Sasuke asked. Lee nodded.
"Lee, maybe skip?" I said. "Hey, long time."
"Good day, Naruto. You've changed... Not just looks... Stronger. Wanna fight you too."
"Told you, Lee. Waste now..."
"I stand by my words!" He yelled.
"Naruto, do you know this guy?!" Sasuke asked.
"Heh..." I exhaled. "Allow me to introduce... Sasuke, Sakura... This is Konoha's strongest genin—Rock Lee!"
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan