At the Uchiha clan district.
After dinner, Sasuke hesitated for a moment before heading toward the lake.
By the lakeside, Uchiha Itachi sat there, drenched in sweat, catching his breath.
Hearing footsteps, he slightly turned his head.
"Big brother."
Sasuke stepped forward, hesitated briefly, then handed over a towel.
Itachi accepted it, a faint smile appearing on his usually indifferent face as he shifted slightly to make room.
"I heard your taijutsu teacher has changed?"
"Mm."
Sasuke nodded.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "His taijutsu and Body Flicker Technique are much better than the previous teacher's, and his kunai throwing is also very impressive."
Itachi's gaze softened. "Is he good to you?"
"Mm!"
Sasuke nodded again, a smile forming on his face. "He's not as strong as you, big brother, but he teaches seriously, and… he's very interesting."
Itachi reached out and ruffled his hair, his expression turning slightly complicated. After a long silence, he said, "Then you must get along well with your teacher and classmates from now on."
"I will!"
Sasuke nodded firmly.
After a brief hesitation, he added, "Big brother, can you teach me shuriken techniques?"
Itachi was about to answer when another set of footsteps approached.
Looking up—
Uchiha Shisui landed lightly from a tree.
He remained silent for a moment, his gaze dimming slightly, before poking Sasuke's forehead with his finger. "Sorry, Sasuke. I have something to do tonight. Next time."
"Next time again!"
Sasuke covered his forehead, grumbling in dissatisfaction.
Itachi smiled apologetically and disappeared in a flash using the Body Flicker Technique.
…
Outside Konoha, by a stream, Naruto sat on the grass grilling fish, while Hiruzen Sarutobi sat beside the fire, wearing a gentle smile.
"Naruto, how is your new teacher today?"
"Not good!"
Naruto replied angrily. "He's a really annoying guy. Next time, I'm definitely going to beat him up!"
"Oh? What makes him annoying?"
Hiruzen remained smiling as he casually added a branch to the fire.
"He, he…"
Naruto found himself at a loss for words.
He couldn't exactly say that he got caught during a prank and felt uncomfortable under that man's gaze, so after holding it in for a while, he finally said, "Grandpa Third, he looks down on people!"
"Haha, why don't you tell me what happened from start to finish?"
Hiruzen chuckled.
Naruto lowered his head and briefly explained the whole situation.
Then he said indignantly, "Everyone treats Sasuke well and looks down on me. I'm going to defeat him and make him see me in a new light!"
Hiruzen listened carefully, then sighed. "Naruto, many things and many people cannot be judged just by appearances…"
"Grandpa Third, I saw his true thoughts!"
Naruto puffed his cheeks as he bit into the fish.
Hiruzen frowned slightly and glanced over, then fell silent. "Naruto, the fish isn't cooked yet!"
"Huh? Then… I'll grill it a bit longer?"
"Forget it, I'll handle it. You go train."
…
Early the next morning.
Naruto lay sprawled across his bed in pajamas, snoring lightly.
Suddenly—
Bang bang bang!
The window was knocked loudly. Naruto opened his eyes groggily and muttered in annoyance, "Who is it this time?"
He sat up and smacked the alarm clock.
Six in the morning.
Naruto stared at the time, falling into brief contemplation.
The next second—
Knock knock knock!
The window was knocked again.
Naruto looked up, irritation rising in his eyes.
"Hey! Even for pranks, isn't it too much to start throwing things this early in the morning?!"
He jumped out of bed and strode to the window.
Whoosh!
The window swung open.
Naruto froze for a second, rubbed his eyes, and said in disbelief, "Teacher Masahiko? You…"
"Look at the time. At your age, with your grades, how can you still be sleeping?"
Kanzaki Masahiko sat lazily on the windowsill.
Naruto opened his mouth but couldn't respond for a long time.
Masahiko stood up and dusted off his pants. "In my class, I don't allow someone as useless as you to exist. Get up. Go run and train!"
After saying that, he smiled brightly.
"I only came to wake you up. Doesn't that mean I'm treating you well?"
"You!"
Naruto gritted his teeth, furious. "So what if you're a teacher? Does that mean you can keep targeting me?"
"Sorry, but being a teacher really is that impressive."
Masahiko replied with a grin.
Naruto glared at him, then—
Bang!
With a loud slam, the window shut.
A minute later, it flew open again, and Naruto burst out with a flying kick.
He had intended to ambush Masahiko, but the moment he came out, Masahiko grabbed his leg and lifted him upside down into the air.
"Perfect."
"From now on, every morning, you'll run fifty laps along the route I set. Otherwise, you'll run twenty-five laps on your hands."
Holding the struggling Naruto, Masahiko smiled gently. "If you're unhappy, feel free to report me."
Then he jumped down from the second floor and unceremoniously threw Naruto onto the ground.
"Keep up."
Masahiko started running down the road.
Naruto wailed, "I haven't eaten yet!"
"Eat? Your time is more valuable than normal people's, and you don't deserve food. You only deserve soldier pills!"
Masahiko said as he tossed one over. "Eat it."
Naruto caught the pill, both angry and annoyed.
Masahiko turned back and mocked him, "Don't tell me you're scared? Someone like you still dares to shout about becoming Hokage every day? Maybe in your next life!"
"Who's scared?!"
Naruto swallowed the soldier pill in one gulp, and his face immediately twisted.
Disgusting!
So disgusting!
He gagged repeatedly, taking a long time to recover before asking, "Why does it taste so awful?"
"Tasty food is for humans."
Masahiko replied mercilessly.
Naruto's face turned green. His hand quietly gripped a kunai in his pouch, but in the end, he let it go.
When they reached the outskirts, while Masahiko wasn't looking, Naruto quietly picked up a stone and let out a sneaky chuckle.
It was the transition between winter and spring. At six in the morning, the sky was still dim.
As they ran into the forest, in the moment where light and shadow intertwined, Naruto hurled the stone at Masahiko's back.
But—
Just as it was about to hit, Masahiko sidestepped slightly, blocked it with his palm, and flicked it back—
"Ah!"
The stone struck Naruto in the stomach, making him double over in pain.
Yet Masahiko continued forward, his tone cold. "During lunch break, you'll run another fifty laps. That's the price for your sneak attack."
"Damn it!"
Naruto roared and rushed forward, kicking at Masahiko.
However—
In an instant, Masahiko caught his ankle and flung him ahead.
Bang!
Naruto crashed heavily onto the ground, scrambling up in pain.
"Another fifty laps in the afternoon."
Masahiko smiled as he looked at him.
Naruto gritted his teeth, but he knew this teacher was completely different from the previous ones.
Those teachers had looked at him with the same cold indifference, but most chose to ignore him, treating him as if he didn't exist.
But this Kanzaki Masahiko…
Not only did he not act like a decent person, he didn't treat Naruto like one either. And the punishments he spoke of—he would definitely enforce them.
Naruto finally behaved, running obediently behind him, silently swearing—
Once he grew stronger, he would definitely beat Kanzaki Masahiko senseless!
"The next episode should have a lot more screen time!"
Masahiko's smile was radiant.
As a villain, he couldn't wait for Naruto to come to him like Iruka did. He had to actively seek trouble with Naruto.
Fortunately, he was a teacher, which gave him a legitimate excuse, and—
"Teacher Masahiko, the one behind you…"
"Oh, my student. His taijutsu is poor, so I'm making him run for training."
"You even take someone like him so seriously… you're truly too kind!"
Even the neighbors couldn't help but praise him!