Morning came early.
Naruto was already awake by the time the village roofs were still dark with dew. He pulled on his training clothes, stood before the mirror, and grinned at his own reflection.
"Today counts," he muttered.
He stepped outside.
Autumn air brushed his face, cool and clean. Naruto exhaled once, tightened his jacket, and ran.
There was no technique to it. No pacing. Just speed, driven hard and reckless, legs pounding the road as if the ground owed him answers. The streets were empty, most of the village still asleep.
At the corner of the main avenue, a single light flickered on.
Teuchi had just arrived at his stall when the sound reached him. Footsteps, fast and uneven, tearing through the quiet. He glanced up.
"…Naruto?"
"Morning, Teuchi!" Naruto called, slowing but still bouncing in place.
"Training already?" Teuchi asked, smiling.
Naruto nodded, breath quick but steady. "Every day from now on."
Teuchi folded his arms. "Then keep at it. Effort doesn't betray you."
Naruto grinned. "Thanks!"
Teuchi hesitated, then added, "When you're done, come by. Ramen's on me."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Go on," Teuchi said. "I'll be waiting."
Naruto didn't reply. He just ran, faster than before, disappearing down the street.
Teuchi watched him go for a moment, then shook his head with a quiet smile and opened his shop.
Naruto had been running for over an hour when his lungs began to burn.
His shirt clung to his back. Sweat blurred his vision. Each breath scraped. He forced his legs forward anyway, teeth clenched.
Don't slow down.
Sasuke's voice surfaced unbidden.
Shadow clones can help you learn. But your body doesn't get shortcuts. Start with taijutsu.
Naruto had asked why.
Because you recover faster than anyone I've seen, Sasuke had replied. And because this kind of training breaks people who don't mean it.
Naruto stumbled once, caught himself, and kept going.
By the time he reached Training Ground Three, his steps were unsteady. He didn't sit down.
His hands formed the seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Ten figures appeared.
"All right," Naruto said hoarsely. "Let's go."
The clones split off at once. Kunai drills. Tree climbing. Sparring in pairs.
Naruto turned to the track.
"Five hundred laps," he muttered. "No stopping."
When the sun finally crested the trees, he finished the last inverted step and collapsed to his knees. His arms shook violently. His heartbeat drowned out everything else.
A voice whispered at the edge of his hearing.
Enough.You've done more than enough.Lie down.
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut.
"No," he said, barely audible.
He remembered the clenched fists under the moon. The promise.
He pulled his shirt off and dropped to the ground, body straight, palms planted, toes digging into the dirt.
Hold.Breathe.Don't bend.
Elsewhere in the village, Sakura's courtyard echoed with laughter.
The water sphere above her palm wavered, then stabilized, forming limbs, a head, a face far too familiar.
"I did it!" she shouted.
Her mother stepped into the yard, arms crossed. "It's barely morning."
Sakura flushed and released the jutsu at once. "Sorry, Mom."
A pause.
"Teach me a ninjutsu," Sakura said, clinging to her sleeve.
Her mother sighed, then considered her. "What kind?"
"Water Style."
At the Uchiha compound, the air was still.
Sasuke stood alone in the training field, stance low, left hand steady on the scabbard. Chakra flowed through the blade, heat building, compressed, silent.
He waited.
Then moved.
The sword cleared the sheath in a single motion. Red light tore forward, scorching the ground in its wake. The strike split the stone mound cleanly, heat lingering long after the blade passed.
The rock collapsed.
Sasuke exhaled once and returned the sword to its sheath.
Different paths.
Same morning.