Chapter 28. Sasuke becomes a disciple

After doing housework all night, Naruto finally fell asleep tiredly before dawn.

In a daze, he had a dream.

In the dream, he had his father and mother, Sasuke, and Natsuki-senpai. Then they all turned into big bowls of Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto reached forward and grabbed it.

"Ouch."

Naruto fell completely under the bed.

Naruto rubbed his sleepy eyes and prepared to wash up.

There was a figure standing in his house in his blurred vision.

Wow!

Naruto screamed.

Only then did he realize that the person standing was the Third Hokage.

"Grandpa, why are you here?"

"Naruto, I came to see you. I heard that you made a new friend yesterday?" the third Hokage said with a kind face.

"Hey, hey, we can be considered friends. Grandpa, you are talking about Natsuki-senpai. That is Sasuke's clan."

"He is as good as Grandpa. He took me to eat Ichiraku Ramen and asked Sasuke to buy me a lot of clothes."

Naruto was eager to share the joy with his close grandfather, and the third Hokage also listened patiently.

The Third Hokage smiled kindly: "Then what did your Natsuki-senpai say to you?"

"Oh! Natsuki-senpai asked me to get along well with Sasuke and not to be naughty."

Naruto slapped his head: "Grandpa, come and take a look."

As he said this, he took out the clothes Sasuke picked out yesterday, making poses to show them off.

"Does it look good?"

"Yeah, it looks good."

After the Third Hokage found out that Natsuki had not instilled anything into Naruto, he felt relieved and chatted with Naruto for a while.

Afterward, the Third Hokage took out 5,000 Ryo and gave them to Naruto.

"Naruto, you have grown up. You will go to class tomorrow. You must obey the teacher in school from now on. You can use this 5,000 ryo for daily life."

Naruto took the money with some confusion: "Grandpa, why did you give me so much money?"

The third Hokage smiled gently and said: "When you go to the ninja school, you have to buy all kinds of ninja tools. They all cost money. Don't spend them indiscriminately."

Naruto was deeply moved: "Thank you, Grandpa. When I grow up, I will definitely repay you!"

"Hahaha, remember what you said, report in early tomorrow, I have to go."

"Okay! Hehe!" Life suddenly became happy.

This made Naruto giggle unconsciously.

...

Uchiha clan land.

"Offer tea to your teacher," Fugaku suggested.

Sasuke didn't have a clear idea about apprenticeship, but he didn't dislike Natsuki. So, at Fugaku's urging, Sasuke officially became Natsuki's disciple today.

Originally, Fugaku had planned to invite some friends over, but Natsuki, who disliked formalities, declined the idea.

According to him, sharing a cup of tea was similar to accepting a disciple. The extent of Sasuke's learning would depend on his efforts.

After enjoying tea with Natsuki, Fugaku promptly took his leave. Despite the Uchiha clan being in ruins and security no longer a major concern, Fugaku devoted more time to organizing the clan's reconstruction.

However, most of his efforts were focused on discreetly recruiting individuals with business acumen, aiming to benefit the clan's future development.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for significantly altering Uchiha Sasuke's life.]

Congratulations to the host for acquiring: Space Teleportation X1

Space teleportation? It appeared to be a technique related to Sasuke's rinnegan's abilities. He thought about using it immediately, but the system remained unresponsive to his complaints.

They could only wait until the system advanced to the next stage to see if any new functions would be unlocked.

After Fugaku departed, Sasuke and Natsuki found themselves staring at each other.

"Sensei, what are you going to teach me today?"

Natsuki scratched his head, realizing he hadn't thought much about how to teach Sasuke, lacking specific rules to follow.

However, since Sasuke was starting school soon, Natsuki believed it would be beneficial for him to focus on the basics in a formal setting.

His goal was to give Sasuke a solid foundation and help him grow quickly, shedding any pretense along the way.

Natsuki cleared his throat and addressed Sasuke, "Sasuke, now that you've called me sensei, I'll officially begin teaching you."

"Yes, sensei!" Sasuke replied, sitting up straight.

He interjected, "I don't like formalities, so there's no need to be so rigid. Just treat me like a friend."

"Okay, sensei," Sasuke responded, relaxing his face and adopting a less formal sitting position.

He continued, "Now, let's start with a test."

Sasuke, maintaining a cool expression, remarked, "Sensei, go ahead with the test. I'm ready."

Natsuki led Sasuke to an empty courtyard, instructing him, "Alright, Sasuke, attack me using everything you know—shuriken, kunai, or fire escape. Approach it with the determination to kill."

Anticipating a training session, Sasuke had prepared his ninja kit earlier that day.

"Sensei, I'm ready!" Sasuke lowered his body, retrieved his shuriken, and assumed a balanced fighting stance.

Natsuki waved his hand, signaling him to aid.

Sasuke skillfully threw two shurikens, both hitting their mark accurately. However, Natsuki remained still, tilting his neck to evade the projectiles effortlessly.

Undeterred, Sasuke rushed forward, executing a series of movements resembling radio gymnastics—correction, Uchiha Technique.

Natsuki nonchalantly used one hand to block, easily deflecting Sasuke's attack. The Uchiha Technique, designed to showcase skill, was a testament to the Uchiha clan's exceptional body coordination, enhanced by the Sharingan.

Despite Sasuke's young age, poor physical condition, and unopened eyes, Natsuki found his movements similar to broadcast gymnastics, lacking skill in the eyes of an experienced observer.

Natsuki casually delivered a punch to Sasuke's stomach, sending him stumbling back. Sasuke knelt on the ground, spitting out saliva before regaining composure.

"It's not even close, Sasuke," Natsuki remarked lightly, igniting Sasuke's determination to improve. Sasuke formed a hand seal and exclaimed,

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A burst of fire erupted from Sasuke's chest, creating a blazing red spectacle. However, before Sasuke could finish, Natsuki had already maneuvered around the wall of fire, delivering a swift strike to Sasuke's neck with his sword.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Sasuke, still attempting to blow the fireball, was caught off guard and struggled to recover from the unexpected strike to his neck.

Observing Sasuke with folded hands, Natsuki remained composed.

"Teacher," Sasuke said nervously, uncertain of the teacher's opinion.

After a brief contemplation, Natsuki adopted a stern expression, deciding to be stricter. Under Sasuke's anxious gaze, Natsuki's face turned cold.

"It's a complete mess, Sasuke. Have you ever learned this before? Why is Itachi teaching you and playing ninja games with you?" Natsuki questioned, clearly dissatisfied with Sasuke's performance.

"Who told you to use a fire release like this? Were you trying to set fire to escape and use it as fireworks?" he continued, expressing his disappointment.

"I'm sorry, teacher," Sasuke muttered, lowering his head in frustration.

While he didn't expect to defeat his teacher, he hoped for some acknowledgment of his efforts. Instead, the teacher deemed him worthless.

"Do you know where you lost?" Natsuki asked.

Sasuke hesitated, then opened his mouth but quickly lowered his head again, unable to answer.