"I didn't expect to draw Sasuke."
Looking down at the paper in his hand, Naruto's expression was conflicted, his feelings a mix of excitement and worry.
The excitement was that he could finally have a proper, official showdown with that guy Sasuke.
The worry was that he probably wouldn't get the chance to give that insufferable Hyuga Neji a good thrashing at the Chunin Finals.
Unless the second-round draw happened to pit them against each other.
But there was another very difficult problem sitting right in front of Naruto.
"I really want to beat Neji, but right now I'm probably not much of a match for Sasuke either."
Naruto muttered to himself, his expression all twisted up.
"Have a little confidence, Naruto."
Noticing Naruto's sour look, Sasuke thought for a moment, then spoke up quietly. "Drop the 'probably' and the 'either.'"
"Sasuke is absolutely right!"
Sakura nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
Aaaargh!
That jerk Sasuke, still as insufferable as ever!
And why does Sakura always take his side!?
Naruto felt like he was losing his mind.
He pointed a finger straight at Sasuke and shouted, "You smug bastard, what are you so proud of! In the match next month, I am going to beat you in front of the whole village and show everyone who the real genius ninja is, hmph!"
These kids are full of spirit.
Kakashi watched the three of them with a quiet warmth rising in his chest. He waited for them to finish talking, then gave a light cough to draw their attention, and spoke.
"To get ready for the Chunin Exam in a month, I've decided to arrange an extended period of special training for each of you."
"First, Naruto. You'll be training with me on taijutsu for this stretch."
"Huh?" Naruto shot Kakashi a look that was not particularly impressed.
"Teacher Kakashi, can you actually teach me taijutsu?"
Over these past few months, Kakashi had taken on a very specific role in Naruto's mind. Slacking off. Dragging his feet. Always late.
Late! Lazy! Never there!
And on top of all that, physically frail!
What kind of serious taijutsu was a guy that frail going to teach him?
"You'll find out when the time comes."
Kakashi cleared his throat, ignored Naruto's skeptical look, and turned to Sakura. "Sakura, same for you. As for Sasuke..."
"I can train on my own, Teacher Kakashi."
Before Kakashi could finish, Sasuke spoke up.
"You've already taught me everything you can, and the things you gave me the other day, I haven't fully worked through yet. This month is a good chance to spend time really digging into it."
"Alright then."
Kakashi went quiet for a moment before finally nodding.
"If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to come to me at any time."
As Sasuke said, what he'd had to give him, he had more or less given over these past two-plus years.
He had nothing left in reserve.
Better to let Sasuke train alone for a while, just as he'd suggested. It might well do him more good that way.
And it meant he could pour more time and energy into Naruto and Sakura this month.
"Then that's settled. Sasuke trains solo. Naruto, Sakura, training ground three, eight o'clock tomorrow morning!"
"Yes!" x3
"Dismissed!"
Evening. The sky had been painted a burning crimson by the setting sun, like a great fire roaring across the heavens. The rose-colored clouds had grown soft and hazy.
By the time they emerged from the central tower in the Forest of Death, it was already evening.
The east street of Konoha.
After parting ways with Sakura and Naruto at the corner, Sasuke walked alone down the village's main east road.
The Uchiha district sat tucked in the eastern edge of Konoha, and this street was the route he walked every day to get there.
Sasuke walked without any particular rush, his mind quietly turning something over as he went.
Suddenly, his steps came to a stop. He looked to his left, toward a flower shop.
The Yamanaka Flower Shop.
Not the one belonging to Ino's family. This was a different Yamanaka clan flower shop.
Just as the Nara clan kept medicinal herbs and raised deer as a side trade, the Yamanaka clan's side business was horticulture and flowers.
He stood there for a moment, quietly looking at the shop, then stepped inside.
"Welcome."
A young man with burnt-orange hair tied back in a ponytail, somewhere around twenty-three or twenty-four, stood behind the counter.
When Sasuke walked in, the young man visibly paused for a moment, but quickly recovered and put on a professional smile.
"Are you here to choose some flowers?"
"Just looking."
Sasuke gave a small nod and answered calmly.
"Do you know the language of flowers, what each one symbolizes?" The orange-haired man asked in a gentle tone. "Buying flowers is something you have to think about carefully. Different occasions, different people, you can't just send anything to anyone. Who are you buying flowers for? A teacher? A friend? A girl you like?"
A faint teasing lilt had crept into his voice toward the end.
But Sasuke could hear that the teasing was performed. Even the gentle tone was an act.
"None of those."
Sasuke shook his head slowly. "It's to pay respects to the dead."
The orange-haired man blinked, but understanding came quickly.
Of course. Today was the sixth of July. In just a few more days, the anniversary of the Uchiha clan massacre would arrive.
After a brief silence, the man spoke. "For paying respects to the dead, I'd recommend white chrysanthemums. White chrysanthemums carry the meaning of mourning and longing. They're traditionally used when paying tribute to the deceased, at memorial services, or when visiting graves, as a way to express one's grief and remembrance."
"White chrysanthemums it is then."
Sasuke had no intention of deliberating. He went with the man's suggestion without hesitation.
"And how many would you need?"
The orange-haired man smiled warmly, asking a question he already seemed to know the answer to.
"How many..." Sasuke murmured to himself, not answering right away. He let his gaze drift slowly around the shop, then settled it on the man.
"Whatever you have in here isn't enough. Not nearly enough."
When Sasuke's calm eyes came to rest on him, a sudden, inexplicable unease stirred in the young man's chest.
But as one of the few in the Yamanaka clan with a refined sensing ability, he detected no killing intent from Sasuke.
No malice of any kind.
And besides, why would Uchiha Sasuke have any reason to harbor killing intent toward him?
Unless he knew the truth of what had happened that night. Unless he knew his identity.
That was impossible, of course.
How old had Sasuke even been? And his own identity was classified at the highest level.
On top of that, the one who killed the entire Uchiha clan was Uchiha Itachi.
Their role that night had only been to dispose of the bodies. Clean things up. Not a single Uchiha had fallen by their hands.
He steadied himself. The young man decided he was overthinking it, and smiled as he replied. "If you need a large quantity of white chrysanthemums, that shouldn't be too difficult. The Yamanaka clan has quite a few flower shops around the village. Tell me how many you need and where to deliver them, and we can have them to you first thing the next morning."
"One thousand seven hundred and fifty-four. Please have them delivered to the Uchiha district tomorrow."
The number accounted for the hundreds of Uchiha who had died that night, and beyond them, every clan member who had passed over the sixty years since Konoha's founding, from war, injury, illness, or simply the passage of time.
After working out the details, Sasuke paid a deposit and turned to leave.
The orange-haired man watched him go with a steady smile.
The moment Sasuke had walked far enough away, the smile vanished without a trace, replaced by absolute cold.
He looked up toward the eaves of the shop.
Perched there, having appeared at some point without a sound, was a black-haired man in a full-body protective suit with a visor mask covering the upper half of his face.
The two exchanged a brief nod. In the next instant, the black-haired man was gone, moving off in the direction Sasuke had left.
Yamanaka Fu.
A Root operative under the direct command of Danzo Shimura. One of Danzo's personal guards, his right hand, and one of the two subordinates he trusted most.
Of course, after Root had been forcibly dissolved by the Third Hokage four years ago, Yamanaka Fu's official identity was now that of a retired ninja running a flower shop.
Walking quietly on his way home, Sasuke turned over everything he knew about the flower shop owner in his mind.
Torune Aburame.
The one currently shadowing him in secret, also one of Danzo Shimura's personal guards, his right hand, and one of the two subordinates he trusted most.
Unlike Yamanaka Fu, who had the cover of a retired ninja, Torune Aburame still held an official position within the Hokage's ANBU, while covertly answering only to Danzo's orders.
... If I'm going to kill Danzo, those two will need to be dealt with first. Heh.
A quiet laugh passed through Sasuke's mind, a flicker of killing intent crossing his eyes.
Gradually the sky darkened. By the time Sasuke arrived at the Uchiha district at his unhurried pace, night had fully settled.
Torune Aburame watched from a concealed position on a rooftop, his expression blank, as Sasuke entered the house.
He remained perfectly still for nearly another hour before finally turning and leaving.
A few swift leaps, and his silhouette dissolved into the darkness.
Shortly after Torune departed, a figure slipped out from within the Uchiha district.
It stood quietly in place for a few minutes, then moved like a phantom, slipping through the shadows in pursuit without making a sound.
A few minutes later.
Torune arrived at an unremarkable shop on the west side of Konoha. He scanned his surroundings without expression, then waited as a few nearly invisible rinkaichuu insects returned to his body.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he gave an inconspicuous signal and stepped inside.
"So that's where you're hiding."
In the darkness, Sasuke watched Torune disappear into the shop. The corner of his mouth curved slightly upward.
The next day.
A summer morning. Dawn drew back its curtains slowly. The deep blue sky looked like a sapphire freshly rinsed in clear water, and a mild breeze drifted through, stirring everything it touched with the lightest touch.
At Konoha's third training ground, Kakashi, who was practically famous for his tardiness, showed up on time for what seemed like a rare occasion. Naruto and Sakura were visibly amazed.
"Ahem!" Kakashi cleared his throat, choosing to ignore the two of them.
"Special training begins now!"
With that, Kakashi created a Shadow Clone on the spot and turned to it.
"Sakura, for now you'll be working with my clone."
Sakura nodded without comment and followed the clone away.
"Do you want to beat Sasuke in the Chunin Finals next month?"
Once Sakura was gone, Kakashi looked at the slightly impatient Naruto and said with an easy smile, "I happen to have a technique that suits you very well."
"What technique, Teacher Kakashi!?"
Naruto was immediately hooked, pressing forward. "This technique can actually help me beat Sasuke?"
"I wouldn't say it's guaranteed. You know better than anyone how strong Sasuke is." Kakashi shook his head. "What I can say is that this technique can significantly increase your strength. Beating Sasuke wouldn't be out of the question."
"Then what are we waiting for!" Naruto urged. "Teacher Kakashi, let's get started right now!"
"Hold on. Let me ask you first. How much do you know about the chakra points in the human body?"
"Not everything, but a fair amount I think."
"Then watch carefully, Naruto!"
Kakashi nodded, unsurprised. His body erupted with a powerful surge of chakra, the air around him swelling and churning.
"That's Bushy Brows's..." Naruto blinked and blurted out. "That's the Eight Inner Gates!?"
"Teacher Kakashi, you know this too?"
"Indeed. For me, this isn't a particularly difficult technique." Kakashi was deeply satisfied watching Naruto's stunned expression, though outwardly he appeared perfectly unbothered.
"This is a technique that removes the body's natural restrictions on chakra, releasing the excess energy stored within. Within the meridian system that chakra flows through, the points that suppress and regulate the chakra inside are, in order: the Gate of Opening, the Gate of Healing..."
"But the technique comes at a cost. The user's body sustains damage in exchange for the power gained. That is why it has been classified as a forbidden technique."
Kakashi moved briskly through the origins and properties of the Eight Inner Gates.
Naruto listened without a word until Kakashi finished, then immediately jumped in. "And then? What else? Teacher Kakashi."
"And then? What else?"
Kakashi paused, confused. Naruto went on. "You're only at the Gate of Healing right now, aren't you, Teacher Kakashi. Come on, show me what the fifth gate looks like. The sixth. Let me see!"
During the taijutsu match with Rock Lee, Naruto had been genuinely disappointed to never witness the power of the fifth gate firsthand. He wanted to satisfy that curiosity now.
Kakashi's cheek twitched. He was quiet for a long moment, then said flatly, "This is more or less my limit."
"Really?" Naruto's brow furrowed, his face the picture of disbelief. "Bushy Brows can open five gates and he's a Genin. Teacher Kakashi, you're a Jonin. How are you not even halfway to his level?"
"Well, it's like that thing you're always saying. People's constitutions can't all be measured the same way. Lee is a Genin, yes, but his body is exceptionally suited for this forbidden technique. Mine is not."
Kakashi offered the explanation calmly, then shifted course. "That said, even though I can only open two gates myself, I've thoroughly studied the training method of the Eight Inner Gates. Teaching you won't be a problem at all."
"Teacher Chen told me once that when a person's constitution is poor, it usually comes down to one of three things. Weak from birth, insufficient training, or not eating well."
Naruto seemed to have entirely missed Kakashi's explanation.
He was rubbing his chin with the look of someone deep in analysis. "Kakashi was the greatest genius of his generation, so being weak from birth is out. Teacher Kakashi might slack off a lot day-to-day, but he made it to Jonin, so training couldn't have been an issue either. That only leaves one thing."
"Teacher Kakashi, do you eat poorly?"
Kakashi's eyebrow lifted. "No. I eat quite well."
"No, Teacher Kakashi, judging by your constitution, you definitely don't eat well!"
Naruto concluded this firmly, then seemed to remember something. "Teacher Chen also said that for people like Teacher Kakashi with a weak body, aside from daily dietary supplements, you should also be taking medicines that tonify the foundation and strengthen the kidney. Yam, wolfberry, deer antler velvet, and also, hmm..."
At that, Kakashi's ears perked up. He pressed forward immediately. "Also what?"
"You're interested, Teacher Kakashi?" Naruto looked at him sideways. He had honestly just been rambling, and he couldn't figure out why Kakashi seemed so urgent about it.
"Well..." Kakashi cleared his throat with great dignity. "Asking for a friend."
"Seriously?"
Naruto studied Kakashi with a mildly suspicious look, but eventually nodded. "Fine. I can't remember the rest right now though. Let me go ask when I get back."
"Good. Make sure you get the full details. My friend, he really can't wait."
"Alright, setting that aside for now." Kakashi clapped his hands together, steering the conversation back on track.
"Now then. I'll be teaching you the training method for the Eight Inner Gates!"
___
This Sasuke Is Strange 315 advanced chapters: (5 ch updates everyday)
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