The morning sun crept over the horizon, casting its warm glow over the Hidden Leaf Village. Birds chirped softly, signaling the start of a new day. Inside the Uchiha compound, Sasuke stirred awake, blinking as he felt something... different. His body, usually sluggish in the morning, felt light, energetic. It was strange—no stiffness, no aches, just raw vitality coursing through him.

  Pushing aside the feeling, he got up, took a quick shower, and ate a simple breakfast. His mind was still on his training—he had been hitting a wall lately, barely making any progress in his strength. That frustration had been eating at him, but today... something felt different. He needed to test it.

  Dressed in his usual training attire, he made his way to Training Ground Three, where he often practiced alone. The morning air was crisp, the training dummies and targets still untouched. Without hesitation, Sasuke grabbed a handful of shuriken and started throwing them at the target board.

  One.

  Two.

  Five.

  Ten.

  Fifty.

  His breathing was steady. Normally, after ten consecutive throws, his arms would begin to ache, his muscles tightening from the exertion. But now? Nothing. His arms weren't sore, and his body wasn't fatigued in the slightest. He walked up to retrieve the shuriken, but what he saw made him stop in his tracks.

  Each shuriken was embedded deep into the target—far deeper than he had ever managed before. Some were nearly piercing through the wooden board itself. His eyes narrowed. Did my strength increase?

  There was only one way to confirm it.

  He took a shuriken, exhaled, and focused. Pouring all of his strength into his throw, he released it with maximum force.

  FWISH!

  Before he even realized it, the shuriken struck the target board—no, obliterated the target board, blasting through it and continuing forward. His eyes followed its path as it tore through multiple trees in its trajectory, only stopping after what seemed like an absurd distance.

  Sasuke stood there, stunned. Damn... He thought, taking another shuriken and repeating the process. Once again, it tore through the trees as if they were made of paper.

  Damn.

  Damn.

  That was three 'damns' in a row. He looked at his hands, flexing them. His strength had grown—no, it had skyrocketed beyond what should be natural. He clenched his fists, his mind racing. He didn't know how or why, but for the first time in a long while, he felt powerful. Is this my Uchiha bloodline awakening? Or... was it something else?

  Deciding to test further, he moved on to ninjutsu. Forming the necessary hand signs, he took a deep breath. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

  He exhaled.

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  A torrent of flames erupted from his mouth, much larger than usual. Instead of a controlled sphere of fire, it was an enormous wave of heat, scorching the earth ahead of him. When the flames finally dissipated, he saw the aftermath—burnt trees, cracked earth, and steam rising from a small lake where the fire had barely touched. Sasuke approached the water, dipping his fingers into it.

  It was hot.

  Boiling hot.

  His heart pounded in his chest. This wasn't normal. His fire jutsu had never been this strong. Whatever was happening to him, it was pushing him past his previous limits.

  For a brief moment, he smirked. His growth had been stagnant since the death of his clan, but now... now, he was getting stronger again. And he wasn't about to question it. Not yet.

  Across the village, Naruto was up to his usual antics—or so he thought.

  He stood atop the Hokage Monument, a mischievous grin on his face. In one hand was a bucket of paint, in the other, a brush. Fifteen minutes later, his 'masterpiece' was complete—a crude but bold drawing over the Third Hokage's face, decorated with bright red whiskers and exaggerated features.

  Naruto burst into laughter.

  "Hahahaha! This is my best one yet!" he declared proudly.

  Unfortunately, his fun didn't last long. He heard the distinct whoosh of movement behind him. Damn, already?! He turned, barely catching sight of three ANBU operatives lunging at him.

  PSHH!

  In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

  Reappearing behind the ANBU, he blinked in confusion.

  Wait... what just happened?

  The ANBU turned, momentarily stunned that he had evaded them so easily.

  "Catch him!" one of them commanded.

  The other two moved in, reaching for him again. Just before they could grab him—

  PSHH!

  He disappeared again, appearing behind them as they crashed into each other. Naruto stood there, eyes wide, trying to process what was happening.

  "Woah," he muttered.

  Just then, the third ANBU reappeared behind him, aiming to subdue him quickly. Naruto, on pure reflex, sidestepped, twisting his body and throwing a counterpunch.

  THWACK!

  The ANBU was sent flying, skidding across the ground before losing consciousness.

  Naruto looked at his own fist in disbelief. What... was that?!

  The remaining two ANBU stared at him, equally stunned.

  "This kid—"

  But before they could react, Naruto had already vanished, disappearing into the village with a grin on his face.

  Once he was safely hidden, he panted slightly. His heart was pounding, not from exhaustion, but from excitement.

  "I dodged them..." he muttered. "I dodged them, twice..."

  He clenched and unclenched his fists. His body felt different—faster, stronger—but he had no idea why. Still, that didn't matter.

  He just knew one thing.

  This is AWESOME!

  By Monday, the atmosphere at the Academy was livelier than usual.

  "Alright, brats, listen up!" Iruka stood before the class, his arms crossed. "We're holding a taijutsu competition today. This is your chance to test your growth. No ninjutsu, no weapons—just pure hand-to-hand combat. The winner gets bragging rights until the next one."

  The students murmured with excitement, some already sizing up their competition.

  "I wonder if Sasuke-kun will win again," one of the girls whispered.

  "Of course he will. Who else could beat him?"

  The matches began, and as expected, Sasuke plowed through his opponents with ease. His movements were sharper, more refined than ever, making it clear he had improved over the weekend. But what shocked everyone was Naruto.

  "That dead last… is winning?"

  Naruto moved like a blur, outmaneuvering opponents with speed and precision that no one had ever seen from him before. He wasn't just lucky—he was dominating. Even Kiba, one of the more physically adept students, had fallen to Naruto's unexpected speed.

  "What the hell, Naruto?! Since when were you this fast?!" Kiba groaned from the ground.

  Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning. "Guess I've been training harder than you, huh?"

  The matches continued until the final round was announced.

  "Final match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Sasuke Uchiha."

  The room fell silent. No one had expected Naruto to make it this far.

  Sasuke stood across from him, eyes narrowing slightly. "You've surprised me, dobe. But this is where it ends."

  Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Tch. We'll see about that, teme."

  The air between them grew heavy with tension, both boys preparing for the match that would define their rivalry.