24 Sakura's Mission

It was late evening when Sasuke returned to the Uchiha compound and heard the ANBU's warning. Of course, he was expecting something like that, and he didn't really care.

'I have memorized both scrolls, but in reality, I am as clueless as before. I only know that these symbols give direction, transformation, and intent to the chakra. However, I don't have any clue how this feat takes place. I need to isolate the symbols, and this will take time. This will be a long-term project. I also need to check the Uchiha library for information about the Uzumaki clan. Even the tiniest hint can help me.'

After spending three hours in the library, Sasuke only managed to find that the Uzumaki clan had an innate understanding of fūinjutsu.

'Innate is a very specific word. Fūinjutsu is like a new language. How can the understanding of a language be innate? I need to think about this...'

---

At the beginning of the next day, instead of his regular training, Sasuke started practicing the Shadow Clone Technique.

Sasuke went in front of the mirror and began practicing the technique while watching with his Sharingan.

'There is no comparison in complexity between this technique and the academy's basic jutsu. Even with my Sharingan, it will take me a long time to understand this technique. It may only have one hand sign, but the chakra flows through all the chakra points. Maybe that happens because the clone needs to be exactly the same as me, and the chakra points work together to perfectly copy my complete identity. But this is just a theory without any backup. Right now, I don't have the qualifications to understand the mechanics. I can only use my eyes to minimize the chakra and optimize it for my body.'

Sasuke concluded that for optimal use of this jutsu, the chakra reduction should be exactly 50%, a perfect split between the body and the clone. However, right now, due to his misuse of the jutsu, he was using around 65%, with a 15% loss in the process.

A great thing about this technique was that if Sasuke dispelled the clone himself, the original chakra he had spent to cast it would return to him. There was a small loss, about 1%, which dissipated into the environment. However, even if Sasuke could cast it perfectly without the 15% loss, that would not mean he could keep casting it constantly. Having your chakra suddenly reduced by more than half was a huge shock for the body. After four tries, Sasuke couldn't keep it up anymore.

"I have already improved the jutsu a little. I now spend about 62% of my total chakra. I need to practice it for at least one week to master it and try it with more than one clone. However, that's enough for now. I will send my clone to the academy and keep training with my main body."

---

Nobody in the academy realized that Sasuke was just a clone. Neji approached him and asked about his clone technique which he used while watching Danzo, but Sasuke told him that he would answer his questions later during training.

In the meeting place outside the academy, the clone met the girls, Shikamaru, and Neji.

'It seems that Shikaku decided to send his son as a watcher…' Sasuke thought.

After the usual greetings, Sasuke approached Sakura and said, "Sakura, I want to talk to you privately. Can you come for a moment?"

Shikamaru looked at him with suspicion, and the other two girls looked at him with frustration. Of course, Sakura was extremely happy.

After getting away from the others, Sakura asked, "What do you want to talk about, Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura, I have an important mission for you," Sasuke said.

'Sasuke-kun is giving me an important mission. And he chose me instead of Ino and Tenten,' Sakura thought with excitement.

However, as soon as Sakura heard about the mission, she was extremely disappointed.

"Sakura, as I have told you, this is an important mission, and that means that you will be rewarded. You can even ask for a kiss" Sasuke said with confidence while looking directly into her eyes.

Sakura's expression changed to ecstatic shock, and she immediately left to perform her mission.

Shikamaru, who was watching them carefully from a distance, had his interest piqued.

---

When the group reached the training grounds, Sasuke took Neji aside for a personal discussion.

Ino and Tenten were extremely displeased that Sasuke had excluded them from his conversations twice in one day, and Sasuke was ready to give them proper attention later to please them.

"When did you learn the Shadow Clone Technique? Can you teach it to me?" Neji finally asked.

"I didn't learn it from a scroll. I copied it from an ANBU with my Sharingan. I can show you how to perform it and give you a basic explanation, but I have a mission for you in return," Sasuke said.

Neji nodded for him to proceed.

"I want you to graduate from the academy next year. I will help you master the academy's 3 basic jutsu, and I am sure that if you try, you can easily pass all the written exams."

"Why don't you graduate, and you want me to graduate? I know that you are already more than capable," Neji said with curiosity.

"I am not allowed to tell you the reason, and I don't want to lie to you. I want you to graduate earlier to gain access to the library as a genin. After that, you can pass on a lot of useful jutsu and information to me."

Of course, the main reason Sasuke didn't want to graduate was not the nonsense he had told the Hokage about not wanting to follow Itachi's footsteps. The true reason was that Sasuke didn't want to risk his life. Getting into missions without being completely prepared was an extremely foolish move. Sasuke was sure that by the time he became a genin at the age of 11, he would be able to easily defeat most of the common jonins. He was confident that only elite ninjas would be able to match him. Of course, he couldn't reveal the real reason to Neji, and it was better to make it seem like a village secret.

"I see. When you said that I would be your right-hand man, I expected to receive missions without rewards, so I guess that you teaching me the Shadow Clone is more than I expected," Neji said with a little relief on his face.

"Neji, my right-hand man won't be a slave. I would never ask you to trade one slave position for another," Sasuke said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

After a brief explanation of the Shadow Clone Technique, Neji started training in it, but he couldn't perform it. Without the cheat code called Sharingan or an enormous amount of chakra, the technique was not simple to master.

Shikamaru, of course, asked about the technique, and Sasuke gave him all the answers.

'There's no reason to lie about the technique because I already use it in public. Also, the easiest way to deal with this kid is to answer his questions and not let them develop into curiosity,' Sasuke thought.

---

Sakura was extremely displeased. She had been waiting with patience outside Naruto's home for several hours, but he never returned. However, she couldn't leave and risk losing Sasuke's trust.

'It's already 22:25. My parents will be worried…' Sakura thought.

After five more minutes, Naruto finally returned to his home.

"Where were you all day, Naruto? I was waiting for you since the end of the academy," Sakura said angrily.

"Sakura-chan? Why are you waiting for me? Sorry, I was training with Ebisu-sensei, and then I had a meal at Ichiraku," Naruto said with a little smile.

Sakura immediately disregarded Naruto's reply and said coldly, "I need your help with a scroll. Sasuke told me that you will be able to explain to me what it does."

Naruto was confused. 'I don't know any jutsu, and I don't think that right now I can understand and explain a jutsu better than Sasuke. Ebisu-sensei said it would take months until I can begin learning jutsu. I wonder what the jutsu is.'

However, there was no way to show his insecurities to Sakura-chan. Even though he had overheard Sakura-chan's true opinion about himself, he still couldn't control his feelings.

"So, my rival can't help you and asked for my help. Of course, I would help you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said.

Sakura looked hatefully at his cocky attitude. 'This idiot dares to compare himself with Sasuke-kun... THIS JERK... SAKURA, PLEASE KEEP YOUR FEELINGS IN CHECK... I need to complete the mission and receive Sasuke's kiss!'

After antagonizing her inner voice and suppressing her feelings, Sakura handed the scroll to Naruto and said, "Sasuke believes in you. Can you please explain to me what this scroll does?"

"I will try, Sakura-chan. Please come inside. I can't do it here."

Sakura nodded and went inside. Surprisingly, the house was very clean and tidy.

"Your house is nice. I didn't expect you to have it so clean," Sakura said.

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.

"Ebisu-sensei refuses to train me if my house's condition is bad," Naruto finally said.

"Ebisu-sensei? Naruto, why do you have your own sensei? That's unfair!" Sakura said with frustration.

"The old man said that I need a jonin sensei because Iruka-sensei told him that I am the last in class," Naruto said with guilt.

"JONIN? You say that your sensei is a jonin? And the old man? You mean the Hokage?" Sakura asked, flabbergasted.

"Of course, the old man is the Hokage. Why does everyone ask that?" Naruto said with confusion.

'Why does the Hokage help Naruto? He is the last in class, while I am the best kunoichi. Instead of rewarding me, they are rewarding him. That doesn't make sense. I thought that I knew everything about the idiot, but it seems like I don't know anything. Maybe Sasuke-kun knows, and that's why he wants to ask Naruto about this scroll,' Sakura thought.

"Naruto, please look at the scroll now. It's already late, and I need to return to my house," Sakura finally said.

Naruto opened the scroll and gave it a quick look.

'WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW? I can't tell Sakura-chan that I don't understand it. I need to focus…' Naruto thought with panic.

Naruto kept looking at the scroll with all his attention. At the start, he was panicked, but as the seconds passed, he was having a strange feeling.

'I don't know why, but I feel like this scroll kind of makes sense... I feel like it can store chakra... I believe it will make the chakra flow in this strange pattern... This pattern... I feel like I can understand it, but it tries to escape from me... I need to focus.'

Sakura, in a hurry, watched Naruto's expression change from confusion to curiosity, to focus, and finally to fascination. She decided to wait and not interrupt him. After all, she couldn't risk losing her reward.

After half an hour, Naruto was finally out of his trance-like state.

"Sakura-chan, I get it, I understand now!" he said with complete fascination.

"This scroll can send an object to a place far away. You place the object on this part of the scroll and then you use your chakra. When you use your chakra again, the object returns," Naruto said with a huge smile.

"So, this is just a storage scroll. Don't be so happy, Naruto. This is one of the most basic scrolls," Sakura said with annoyance.

'I can't believe that he took 30 minutes to understand just a storage scroll,' Sakura thought and immediately left without saying thanks or goodbye.

Naruto's excitement immediately disappeared, and tears appeared in his eyes.

'I spent 30 minutes helping her without asking for anything in return, and she didn't even thank me... Why do I even like her?'

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Hello, dear readers!

The next chapter will be a time skip. I think we've had enough of the academy.

Extra chapter goal 60 / 80 soulstones. We have 1 more day! If we reach the goal I will release 2 chapters tomorrow :D

Also Tomorrow's chapter has already double length than normal.