After school, Iruka dragged Naruto to his office and delivered a severe lecture.
Watching Naruto fail to apply himself frustrated Iruka deeply. The boy had potential, he was certain of it, but he was wasting it.
Iruka paced around his office after Naruto left, finally deciding to speak with Lord Third about the problem. He knew the Hokage cared about Naruto, just as he'd once cared about Iruka himself.
Naruto emerged from the office and headed toward the school gate.
At that moment, he spotted the Uchiha boy walking out as well, wearing his usual expressionless mask.
Thinking back to Sasuke being praised during the Transformation Jutsu quiz, Naruto felt confident in his choice. Sasuke was now the acknowledged best in class. Number one.
Befriending the top student first seemed like a solid strategy.
[System, based on my current level with the Iron Body Technique, am I qualified to be Sasuke's friend?]
During this time, Naruto had progressed through fifty-six of the eighty-one beginning positions. Just twenty-five more, and he'd reach the entry level. At that point, knife strikes would leave only white marks, spear thrusts would create shallow dents. Blades couldn't harm him. Even a ninja's kunai, shuriken, and senbon would be ineffective.
With Naruto's current physical conditioning, beating up a seven-year-old child was definitely possible.
The System replied: [Yes. You are fully qualified to be Sasuke's friend.]
Hearing that clear confirmation, Naruto's heart soared. Two years. Two full years of brutal training had led to this moment.
Today would be the day he officially made his first friend.
Unable to contain his excitement, Naruto rushed toward Sasuke and said seriously, "Sasuke, be my friend."
"No."
Sasuke's response was cold and immediate. He showed zero interest in Naruto.
After refusing, Sasuke moved to leave.
Rejected already? Naruto had anticipated this result and wasn't discouraged. After all, the process of making friends wasn't complete yet. Once he finished the proper steps, Sasuke might agree.
"I want to compete with you." Naruto blocked Sasuke's path again. To make it clearer, he added, "Sasuke, I'm challenging you."
"Not interested."
Sasuke's face remained unchanging. He uttered those words lightly and walked past Naruto.
Naruto's smile brightened. Then he roared, "Mountain Embrace!"
He spun around suddenly, arms spreading wide, and wrapped them around Sasuke.
A sneak attack? Sasuke's thoughts were scornful. Only a complete idiot like Naruto Uzumaki would try something so obvious. Calmly, he jumped to the side.
The moment his feet left the ground, powerful hands clamped around his waist. The grip was like iron, heavy and unyielding.
Instantly, Sasuke felt his chest and lungs compressed. He couldn't breathe. Blood circulation cut off. His face flushed red.
Successfully capturing Sasuke, Naruto's face split into a triumphant grin. You thought you could escape? After training on countless goats in the back mountain, after being kicked by more hooves than he could count, after eating enough spicy lamb to last a lifetime, Naruto's reaction speed had been honed to perfection.
Sasuke's face turned crimson. Veins bulged on his neck. He grabbed at the arms around his waist with both hands, desperately using the escape techniques he'd learned, trying to break free. But against arms like steel bars, Sasuke couldn't manage it.
In truth, Sasuke was wrong. Naruto wasn't even using ten percent of his strength. At full power, he could snap trees with one embrace. Sasuke would have broken long ago.
So Naruto held back carefully, afraid of actually hurting him.
Feeling Sasuke's resistance, Naruto smiled. He twisted his body, and they both fell to the ground. Naruto straddled Sasuke's torso, and his fist, large as a rice bowl, came down on Sasuke's face.
THWACK. THWACK. THWACK.
After a few moments, Sasuke lay on the ground with a bruised and swollen face. Naruto stood up, stretched his tired wrists, and asked, "Sasuke, can we be friends now?"
Sasuke looked at the triumphant Naruto and felt fury boil in his chest. Beaten by the dead-last of the class. Someday, he'd get revenge. He'd return this humiliation tenfold and beat Naruto until his face was swollen.
Seeing that Sasuke still refused to agree to friendship, Naruto felt a surge of admiration. Someone as stubborn as Sasuke would definitely be unwavering in friendship once he finally accepted it.
With that thought, this failure didn't discourage Naruto at all.
A bright smile crossed his face. He said seriously to Sasuke, "One day we'll be friends. See you tomorrow."
With that, Naruto turned and headed home.
Watching Naruto's figure grow distant, Sasuke pushed himself off the ground. If it wasn't a surprise attack, I still had techniques I didn't use.
Special moves his brother had taught him.
Thinking of Itachi, he pulled out a small mirror and examined his face, swollen like a pig's head. If brother sees me like this, it'll be so embarrassing.
If he finds out I got beaten up by someone who can't even perform a basic Transformation Jutsu...
That would be even worse.
Please don't let brother be home today.
With that hope, Sasuke dusted off his clothes and walked toward the Uchiha compound.
The sun had set westward, burning the clouds red. With his back to the light, Sasuke's small shadow stretched long and narrow across the ground.
As he neared home, Sasuke suddenly stopped. He looked at his own shadow on the pavement.
Next to it was the shadow of a streetlamp. But there was another shadow too...
"Brother, why are you standing on the streetlamp again?" Sasuke felt helpless about Itachi's peculiar hobby.
Looking up, he saw his brother standing atop the lamp post with his arms folded, gazing into the distance.
Hearing his younger brother's voice, Itachi snapped out of his contemplation. He looked down and saw Sasuke's face. His eyes widened, and he nearly fell off the streetlamp.
"Sasuke, what happened to you?" Itachi dropped down from the lamp post.
"A classmate beat me up." Though he didn't want to admit it, Sasuke wouldn't refuse to answer his brother, and he wouldn't lie to him either.
"Beaten by a classmate?" Itachi sounded genuinely disbelieving. He knew Sasuke's talent. Who in his class could possibly beat him? If anything, Sasuke should be the one beating others.
Especially with the extra training Itachi gave him regularly.
"Yes." Sasuke's face reddened with embarrassment.
Itachi was extremely interested now. The idea of Sasuke being beaten by a peer was fascinating. He asked, "Tell me exactly what happened."
"On my way home, a classmate stopped me and said he wanted to be friends..."
"And you rejected him, didn't you?" Itachi knew his brother's personality well. Since childhood, Sasuke had difficulty showing warmth to anyone except family.
"Yes. So after I refused, he beat me up."