Once upon a time, he'd had a warm family. A father who was strict but still took pride in him. A mother, gentle and kind, who always came to wake him on time. And... a brother—a genius beyond reach—who would still indulgently carry him home on his back through the rain.
When had his so-called "home" become a place where he couldn't hear a single voice other than his own?
A "home" like this was just as that Hyuga girl had said—not a home at all. Just a house.
Sasuke was already awake, but he didn't want to open his eyes just yet. The only thing that could greet him was that familiar, cold ceiling—so he'd rather let himself linger in the dream a little longer.
Clinging to that thought, Sasuke kept his eyes stubbornly shut. But just then, he heard a soft puff near his pillow, followed by a warm, moist puff of air against his ear—as if someone were blowing directly into it.
?!
Sasuke's eyes flew open on pure instinct. And there, practically nose-to-nose with him, was a face.
"GYAAAH!!!"
A shriek sent the birds scattering from the trees outside the Uchiha compound, while Kakashi—crouched on a branch after keeping watch all night—lifted his head with bleary disinterest. "Hm? What's going on?"
Sasuke was horrified.
Yes, complicated as it sounded, what he felt at that moment was genuine, bone-deep horror.
The reason was simple: the person rubbing his eyes and groggily sitting up beside him was none other than that blond dead-last.
Worse, judging by the bedding on the floor, they had apparently shared the same futon last night. Aside from their shorts, neither of them was wearing a stitch.
"So loud... Sasuke, what are you screaming about?"
Naruto yawned, rubbing his eyes and shooting an irritated look at Sasuke, who had already retreated to the far corner. Face drained of color, Sasuke could barely speak—he just raised a trembling finger and pointed. "Y-you... wh-wh-why... are you here?"
"Huh? What do you mean, why am I—wait, huh?"
Naruto was a beat behind, halfway through his retort when he took in the futon beneath him and Sasuke in front of him. Then he froze. And then—
"AIEEE~!!!"
A second scream shattered the peace above the Uchiha compound, followed by an explosive shout from the room next door.
"SHUT UP, YOU TWO IDIOTS! IT'S WAY TOO EARLY FOR THIS CRAP!"
After a round of pandemonium, the main hall of the Uchiha compound was once again packed with people—everyone in their little crew. The girls' group: Hinata, Sakura, and Ino. The boys' group: Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino.
"Huh? You want to know what happened?"
The girls' hair was an absolute mess, and their collective mood was foul. Last night had, admittedly, been something of a disaster.
Snapping her fingers, Hinata barked impatiently at Shino. "Shino, you tell these two morons what went down last night!"
The sunglasses-wearing boy nodded at once, adjusted his shades with one hand, and launched into his account with the measured cadence of someone born to narrate dry material.
"Last night, we went to the hot-spring banquet. Naruto—being the idiot he is—decided that just eating was boring and wanted to play drinking games like adults do. As it happened, the servers had brought out a plate of liqueur-filled chocolates as an after-dinner treat, so Naruto declared that whoever lost a round had to eat one. The end result: almost everyone ate at least ten. And since Naruto kept targeting Sasuke specifically, you two each consumed roughly twenty. According to my insects' blood analysis, both of you were in a state of moderate intoxication, so memory blackouts are entirely consistent with those findings."
Naruto and Sasuke both looked distinctly green. There was no getting around it—this mess was on them.
"Afterward, since everyone felt somewhat drunk, we decided to stay the night at Sasuke's place. However, because the compound has been uninhabited for so long, usable bedding was limited. In the end, Ino and Sakura shared one set. Hinata got one to herself. Shikamaru and Choji shared one. As for me... apparently nobody wants to sleep next to insects, so I also got my own. That left one final set—which, naturally, was the one Sasuke and Naruto shared. Report concluded."
Shino pushed his sunglasses up again with evident satisfaction. From her seat, Hinata led the applause with a sour expression. Not bad at all. The ability to deliver last night's events in a single unbroken monologue, with each person's role and responsibility crystal clear—it was no wonder this guy ended up teaching at the Ninja Academy in the original story. Talent like that for exposition would have been wasted anywhere else.
"Waah... I feel like... I've lost something precious..."
Naruto pounded the floor with tear-brimming eyes. Beside him, Sasuke had been managing to hold it together until he heard that line—at which point he doubled over and dry-heaved. That cursed blond dead-last and his revolting phrasing!
"Naruto... I'm going to kill you!"
A moment later, Sasuke raised his head, eyes blazing red. The young Uchiha heir could no longer contain that searing blend of shame and fury. There was only one outlet.
"That's MY line! You jerk, Sasuke!"
Naruto leaped to his feet with an answering roar. Their gazes collided mid-air, practically throwing sparks.
"Good! Then this morning's training will be a sparring match. Uchiha Sasuke VS Uzumaki Naruto. No ninja tools—taijutsu only."
From the head seat, Hinata let out a sly grin, then turned to Ino and Sakura. "You two, go prepare some breakfast and tea. I think everyone's hungry—we'll eat here. Choji, I'll need you to chop firewood."
"Sure thing! Leave the firewood to me!"
"But—Sasuke... ah, fine, understood."
"Please wait a moment. It'll be ready shortly."
The three departed with varying levels of enthusiasm but no objections. Though they might have found it odd themselves, Hinata's arrangements were impeccably sensible.
"Now then, for the rest of us. Shikamaru, you're on standby to separate them if things get out of hand. Shino, observe their movements and call the match."
Hinata sank lazily onto her cushion. Her instructions drew a glance between the two remaining boys. Shikamaru nodded with obvious reluctance. "Fine. If it comes to it, I'll use Shadow Imitation Technique to stop them."
"Rules: no ninja tools, no ninjutsu. Whoever surrenders or breaks a rule first loses."
Shino's sunglasses caught a flash of light. He raised his right arm high, waited for Sasuke and Naruto to back away and establish distance, then brought it down. "Begin!"
"I'm gonna flatten you, Sasuke!"
The instant Shino's arm fell, Naruto charged forward with a roar—and Hinata's brow furrowed.
She could see it plainly. Naruto's attack had zero technical merit. He was just rushing in and trying to smash his fist into his opponent's face. No form, no technique. It was clear his Academy taijutsu classes had been equally neglected—he wasn't even using basic striking fundamentals.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke's stance, by contrast, was textbook. He lacked flashy techniques as well, but at least his punches and kicks were executed with proper form. He sidestepped Naruto's telegraphed haymaker with ease, then swept a leg out—sending the charging blond tumbling like a raging bull!
But mid-tumble, Naruto flashed an unexpected grin. His body—which should have been off-balance—suddenly planted both hands on the floor. His right leg whipped up and around in a scorpion-tail sweep. The abrupt reversal caught Sasuke off guard; he barely managed a side-block before they collided with a sharp thud, both staggering several steps apart before finding their footing.
"Hm?"
Hinata's eyebrow twitched. The veins around her eyes bulged as the Byakugan activated. With her chakra sight, she immediately noticed something unusual about both boys.
A faint sheath of chakra enveloped Naruto's entire body. It was this chakra cloak that seemed to massively boost his agility, allowing him to launch attacks even after losing his balance.
Sasuke's chakra, by contrast, was drawn inward—wrapping evenly around his frame like a layer of internal armor, shielding his body. That was why Naruto's sweep had clearly connected with Sasuke's shoulder yet dealt no real damage.
So that's it. The fruits of their training.
Hinata thought for a moment and the answer clicked. Naruto's Wind-Sacrifice Fist exercises started by distributing chakra across the entire body to harness air currents and increase hang-time. His body had instinctively memorized this chakra distribution, granting him dramatically improved agility and aerial control. Maintaining attacks even after losing balance was proof of that.
Sasuke's Thunder-Burial Fist training, on the other hand, required enduring powerful electric shocks from the outset. To protect his body and organs, his chakra had naturally assumed a defensive role—forming a secondary armor layer beneath the skin to resist the incoming current. Though still weak, this chakra armor served as soft padding against physical blows and significantly increased his chakra channeling speed. Where it once took him two seconds to mold chakra for a Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, that time had probably dropped to about one and a half seconds now.
At this rate, if they kept training, one of them would eventually be able to fly, while the other would activate a full Lightning Release Armor.
So that's how it was. Their grueling efforts really were paying off. But right now, this fight was frankly embarrassing. They were just scrapping on instinct and a handful of crude combat tricks.
In other words—
"Without proper techniques, it just won't work."