In the No. 3 Wild Survival Training Ground, which was originally deserted and deserted due to its remote location, two thin black shadows shuttled one after the other. With the continuous consumption of chakra in the two people's bodies, this live-action parkour race staged by a misunderstanding born of coincidence is gradually coming to an end.

……

"It's strange, it's only been such a short time, why did that guy run so much that he couldn't see the figure...... Am I going in the wrong direction? ”

After looking around but not seeing any trace of Naruto, Sasuke, who had already consumed most of the chakra in his body, slowly slowed down, gave up his intention to continue the chase, and found a nearby giant tree leaning against the trunk and sat down, his red fluttering little face kept opening his mouth and breathing heavily, calming down the sudden increase in heart rate under the intense exercise.

"Ahh......h

After chasing me for a long time, Sasuke, who had already been a game of chasing among his peers, had long forgotten that the reason why he had followed Naruto all the way to the third training ground in the first place was just because of his own curiosity.

The fleshy little hands clenched into fists and waved unwillingly, but Sasuke's face was full of irrepressible smiles.

Since his brother Uchiha Itachi graduated from the ninja school, he has less and less time to play with Sasuke, and there are almost no friends to play with under the strict requirements of his father Uchiha Fu...... How long has it been since you've had fun like this?

“…… Ah, oh no, I almost forgot to practice the Mighty Fireball technique today, while it's not too late. I need to get back to ...... Huh? ”

Sasuke, who had recovered some strength while talking to himself, slowly stood up, and when he instinctively raised his head and stretched his limbs a little, his eyes unexpectedly saw Naruto, who thought he had run away.

To be precise, it was Naruto who was standing upright on top of a tree branch without the aid of any external object, staring at him with his teeth clenched and staring at him wide-eyed.

"That's amazing...... How is this done...... Wrong! You've been hiding in a tree? It's too cunning! This is a cheat! ”

"Huh? What kind of fool is not cheating, stupid, I don't understand what you're talking about...... Hmph, can't you try to make excuses because you can't outrun me? ”

"You...... Have the ability to come down to you! Let's be honest again! ”

"A little bit, no, you have the ability to come up!"

"You come down!"

"You come up!"

"Get down!"

"Come up!"

Naruto, whose face was twisted and trembling, and the corners of his mouth were constantly twitching as if it was unacceptable, after hearing Sasuke's words, his eyes instantly turned into white beanie eyes, and he raised his hand to point at Sasuke, childishly arguing and provoking each other, but in his heart, he wanted to cry without tears as if he had just been trampled by 10,000 grass and mud horses.

Naruto, who had been chasing him before, took great pains to control the chakra output in order to avoid revealing any flaws that would attract the attention and vigilance of some well-intentioned people, so that his speed would look as close as possible to his peers who were running at full strength...... Even so, as time passed, they unexpectedly found that the other party still failed to effectively close the distance between each other.

"I thought that the previous lack of speed and slowness to follow the rhythm of catching up was that the members of the Root Order were playing a pastime game similar to cat and mouse, and deliberately did so...... I didn't expect the other party to be just an unrelated child? What the hell am I worried about for a long time? ”

Wasting so much time on cultivation to deal with others, I have prepared several sets of self-justification plans that may be useful...... As a result, I only found out now that it was nothing more than Naruto's own vigilance, intriguing with the air and fighting wits and courage!?

"Shame, shame...... It's definitely kidding me! ”

……

"Whew, as Naruto said, maintaining a certain amount of chakra is much more difficult than I imagined......"

In front of the giant tree that Naruto used to practice tree climbing, Sasuke, who had been practicing according to Naruto's teaching method, was slumped in the pile of leaves.

"Too many are easy to step on and break the trunk, too few are not enough adsorption...... In either case, you won't be able to climb very high and you'll fall down. ”

Sweating profusely and gasping slightly, Sasuke looked back at the tree trunks he had climbed before, as he reflected on the lessons he had accumulated from several previous failures...... And the number of traces left by himself is only a drop in the bucket compared to it.

“…… These were all left over from Naruto's own practice...... In this way, he didn't have to run with all his strength before, did he? Well, it's not unjust to lose. ”

After squeezing the little strength left in his sore muscles and sitting up against the trunk, Sasuke's gaze gradually shifted from the tragic marks on the trunk to Naruto, who was carefully carving the wooden block in his hand with his kunai bowing his head, and whispered to himself with a slight increase between his eyebrows.

"Monsters who wish they died early...... is obviously a very easy guy to get along with, why was he given such a vicious name? ”

“…… Well? What's wrong Sasuke? Are you going to give up so soon? ”

As if sensing Sasuke's curious gaze, Naruto looked up at the outline of the nascent trident kunai in his hand, and looked up at it, smiling and quipping with the corners of his mouth raised.

"How...... How can it be! Idiot! I'm the strongest Uchiha clan in Konoha, this kind of pediatric training. How could it be difficult to stop me? ”

For some reason, the gentle smile on Naruto's face gave Sasuke the illusion that his brother was by his side to guide his practice. After being stunned for a while, his face was slightly red as if he had been caught by someone and he turned his head in embarrassment, and while retorting in a sullen voice, the smile in his eyes was a little stronger.

“…… Speaking of which, Naruto, do you know...... What do the villagers say about you? ”

After a momentary pause, Sasuke slowly refocused his gaze on Naruto.

As the heinous and dangerous and terrifying demon fox and monster in the mouth of the villagers, Sasuke witnessed the contact, but thought that Naruto's personality was gentle and approachable, and this discovery made the initial doubts in Sasuke's heart continue to expand, but he also couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked intermittently after all.

"Huh? Oh, what do you say...... Said that I was the demon fox who killed the four generations of Hokage, the monster who should have died sooner...... Something like that, right? ”

Sasuke asked abruptly, but Naruto's movements and expression were not affected in any way as if it were none of his business, and while continuing to carefully carve and perfect the wooden kunai in his hand, he shrugged his shoulders and replied casually.

After all, Naruto, as a traverser, had always known in his heart that his parents, who were desperately protecting him from the Nine-Tails, had indeed died because of him in a sense...... Coupled with the nine lamas sealed in the body, it is not wrong to say anything.

"Hawkers, I've been used to hearing it since I was a child, and I'm not worried about it."

"Huh? But ......"

"Let me ask you a question, Sasuke, are those villagers the irreplaceable family in my life?"

Looking at Naruto's nonchalant appearance, Sasuke felt a tingling sensation in his heart for some reason, and his brows furrowed slightly, and when he wanted to continue to say something, he didn't expect to be interrupted by Naruto's serious rhetorical question.

"This ...... Doesn't it seem? ”

"Isn't that right? At the end of the day, they're just passers-by who have nothing to do with me...... Since it has nothing to do with me, why should I care what they say? ”

“…… Alas? It seems like...... What's going on? ”

Hearing this, Sasuke was slightly stunned, and after thinking about it carefully, the words of the person in front of him seemed to be reasonable, and while subconsciously nodding lightly, a seed was quietly planted in his heart.

"Just because they're pointing fingers behind my back, and if I want to die, I have to die obediently? Hey, I'm not stupid enough to be that bad. ”

Looking at Sasuke in front of him, who was confused and trying to digest the meaning, Naruto's eyes smiled even more, and after a pause, he didn't know whether to explain to others or to give himself an answer, and continued to speak in a low voice.

"No matter what they think of me, whether it's a demon fox or a monster, I'm still me, Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha Ninja Village, and the truth won't change in the slightest because of outsiders' words...... That's why instead of wasting time worrying about the fingers of those who don't matter, it's better to spend your time on cultivation and try to make yourself stronger. ”

"Live with a clear conscience and leave no regrets or regrets in your life...... That's what I'm supposed to care about! ”