Chapter 18: The Common Trait of the Strong
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also secretly watching the scene through his crystal ball.
After hearing Naruto's words to Neji, he felt both relief and worry.
He was relieved that an eight-year-old boy could already see through such truths.
What worried him was whether having a jinchuriki with this kind of mindset was ultimately good or bad for Konoha.
With a deep sigh, he summoned one of his shadow guards.
The shadow guard also wore an Anbu mask, but his skills and loyalty were among the very best in the Anbu.
"What's the situation with Jiraiya? Why hasn't he returned yet?" the Third asked in a low voice.
The shadow guard cupped his hands and replied crisply, "Lord Jiraiya said he still needs to continue searching for the Child of Prophecy and will return in a while."
Hiruzen sighed again.
...
In the following days, Naruto's life returned to a strict routine.
Every day he sent one Shadow Clone to attend school.
He would then create seven more clones, each training a different chakra nature.
Occasionally, he would make time to tutor Hinata, helping her refine her breathing technique and teaching her some combat skills.
This level of training intensity would be extremely high for an ordinary ninja.
But for Naruto, it was nothing more than a light breeze.
When he recalled all the Shadow Clones, he would feel a few minutes of fatigue, but he recovered quickly.
This exhaustion did not affect his physical growth.
Three months later, during a practical combat class at the Ninja Academy.
Naruto's Shadow Clone vs. Sasuke.
Having witnessed Naruto's sword techniques before, Sasuke looked extremely serious, as if facing a great enemy.
The moment Iruka announced the start of the match, both sides formed the confrontation seal.
Under heavy pressure, Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan. A single tomoe slowly spun in his scarlet pupils.
The cool-looking Sharingan drew excited squeals from several fangirl students.
Naruto's Shadow Clone remained calm. Unlike the original Naruto, this clone had no intention of holding back.
The moment the fight began, he went all out.
First Form used as a Body Flicker.
His figure turned into a streak of cyan light. After several lightning-fast flashes, he suddenly appeared behind Sasuke.
Even with the Sharingan active, Sasuke couldn't track Naruto's movements at all. He only saw a flash of cyan light.
The spectators without Sharingan — including Iruka and the other students — could see even less.
Less than a second after activating the First Form, the Shadow Clone appeared behind Sasuke like teleportation.
A seemingly casual chop with the side of his hand struck the back of Sasuke's neck.
By the time the students could see Naruto's figure again, Sasuke had already collapsed limply to the ground.
The scarlet Sharingan in his eyes faded. He stared blankly at the blue sky, his body completely powerless, unable to even stand up.
"I… lost just like that?"
Sasuke muttered to himself, not even fully understanding how he had been defeated.
After seeing Naruto slice a giant wild boar in half with one slash, he had considered the possibility that he might lose.
But he never imagined the gap would be this massive — so large that he couldn't accept it!
The other students fell into stunned silence.
The first to react was Sakura.
She rushed over and knelt beside Sasuke, her eyes full of concern as she grabbed his wrist.
"Sasuke! Are you okay?!"
As she spoke, she shot Naruto a deeply resentful glare.
It was the kind of look that could raise blood pressure — clearly in the wrong, yet acting completely justified.
Naruto's Shadow Clone didn't understand the concept of being gentle with girls. With a cold, almost ruthless tone, he warned:
"If I see that look from you again, you might die."
These calm but chilling words made Sakura realize the danger too late. A thick wave of fear surged in her heart.
Naruto's indifferent tone made her believe every word without doubt.
It felt as if, in his eyes, she was nothing more than an ant he could crush at any time.
After realizing she was afraid, Sakura felt furious inside, but she didn't dare show it on her face. She could only curse him silently in her heart.
[Damn it! It's so unfair! Why does a disgusting guy like him have such talent?! This kind of talent should belong to Sasuke!]
...
Another month later, during another combat training session, Sasuke lost again.
But this time, he didn't lose to Naruto.
He lost to Hinata.
The soft, gentle girl who barely had any presence in class had actually defeated the Sharingan genius Sasuke.
Everyone was utterly shocked.
A Sharingan user losing to a Byakugan user left Sasuke completely questioning his life.
"When will someone like me be able to kill that man and avenge my parents and the entire clan?!"
When Sasuke learned that Hinata's rapid improvement was because Naruto had been teaching her, he made up his mind.
Although it would be humiliating, he decided he would ask Naruto to teach him how to train!
"I am an avenger! The one who beats seven! I'll throw away everything if it means killing you!" Sasuke told himself to comfort his pride.
That weekend, Naruto was teaching Hinata combat techniques as usual.
The main focus was strengthening Hinata's physique and specializing in the First Form as a rapid approach sword style.
Even without a sword, the First Form could still produce powerful charging and attacking effects.
Naruto had tailored it specifically for Hinata: using the First Form for instant approach combined with Gentle Fist. This was the key to how she had defeated Sasuke earlier.
During training, there was inevitably some physical contact.
After several months, Hinata had gone from blushing furiously and overheating at the slightest touch to gradually becoming desensitized.
She still felt a little shy when their bodies touched, but it was much better than before.
While training, Naruto reminded her, "Hinata, do you usually hold back how much you eat? You rarely eat until you're full, right?"
Being asked so directly almost made Hinata lose control of her breathing rhythm. Her face visibly turned red.
Having a big appetite had always been her secret.
Even her father, Hyuga Hiashi, didn't know.
At home she never ate enough, so she would occasionally sneak out for extra meals, but she still rarely felt full.
"Um… Naruto-kun, how did you know?" Hinata asked, clearly embarrassed.
As a girl, having such a large appetite had always troubled her.
She thought Naruto might dislike her for it, but his next words made her heart flutter.
"Hinata, from now on you must eat until you're full, okay? Many strong people share one common trait — they can eat a lot."
"Huh? Is that true?"
"Yes, so it's actually a good point. You don't need to hide it," Naruto said gently.
Not only did Naruto not dislike her for it, he even saw it as a positive trait. Hinata's eyes brightened, and she felt secretly delighted.
"Then… Naruto-kun, can you eat a lot too?"
Naruto smiled and nodded. "Of course. I eat a lot every day, especially meat. I need at least ten or twenty pounds to feel satisfied. You can tell just by looking at how tall I've grown."
As he spoke, Naruto took out two large bento boxes — each several pounds heavy.
He placed one on a big rock beside them and opened it.
The delicious aroma immediately spread through the air.
With the help of Transparent World, the food he made completely surpassed anything from so-called restaurants.
Moreover, the Naruto world's cuisine was still quite primitive, and many people couldn't even eat their fill.
Even though Hinata had always eaten relatively well at home, she still secretly swallowed when she saw Naruto's bento.
After training for so long, she was already starving.
"Let's eat first," Naruto said, handing her a pair of chopsticks.
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