Inside the private room, the air still carried a faint trace of the cold gunpowder scent left by Sasuke's departure.
Naruto stood frozen in place, mouth stuffed full of meat, staring at the door that had been slammed shut. For a moment, he even forgot to chew.
"Tch, what a show-off..." he mumbled indistinctly through his food, then—as if venting all his frustration on the meal—grabbed another massive pile of fatty beef.
Karin sat quietly to the side, sipping her soup in small mouthfuls, though her eyes held a hint of worry.
Sora took it all in, the corner of his mouth curling into a barely noticeable smirk.
Pressure alone wasn't enough—he needed to give the dead-last a little cheat code too.
Otherwise, the scales of this competition would tip too far.
He set down his iced plum soup and leaned back lazily in his chair.
"Hey, Naruto."
"Hm?" Naruto lifted his grease-shiny face.
"Want to know a secret that could boost your training speed by hundreds of times?"
Naruto's movements froze instantly.
He blinked, as if he hadn't heard right.
"Hundreds... of times?"
"Heh heh, don't say I'm playing favorites." Sora wagged a finger in front of Naruto, his face bearing a devilish, whispering smile. "I'll teach you one quick-training trick too."
He leaned close to Naruto's ear and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Shadow Clone Technique—the experience returns when they dispel."
Naruto's expression went from dazed, to confused, to sudden realization, and finally exploded into wild joy.
That's right!
When shadow clones dispel, all their experience and fatigue return to the original!
So if I create a hundred shadow clones to train at once, that means...
"Ohhh!!" Naruto shot up from his seat, dancing with excitement. "Sora-sensei! You're a genius!"
"But remember—take it slow. If you make too many at once and dispel them all together, you'll turn into an idiot."
Sora glanced in the direction Sasuke had left, and the fire reignited in his eyes.
Show-off Sasuke! Just you wait! This time, I'm definitely going to surpass you!
"Alright, you know now—so finish eating fast." Sora patted Naruto's shoulder with an encouraging "I believe in you" tone. "Go for it, future Hokage."
"Itadakimasu!"
Naruto, as if injected with a full tank of fuel, devoured the remaining food at triple his previous speed.
Three minutes later, he wiped his mouth, gave Sora and Karin a deep bow.
"I'm full! Thanks for the meal! I'm off to train!"
Before the words finished, he was already gone like a gust of wind.
Sora watched Naruto's retreating figure with satisfaction, then poured himself another cup of iced plum soup.
Perfect. The engines of grinding have both been ignited.
Now, time to sit back and enjoy the show.
...
The next morning.
Before dawn, violent booms and chakra clashes already echoed across Training Ground 3.
Naruto and Sasuke—one on the east side, one on the west—were separated by dozens of meters, each furiously training in their own way.
Dozens of Naruto's shadow clones, each holding a water balloon, made the scene look like the morning rally of some massive pyramid scheme.
On the other side, the lightning at Sasuke's fingertips had evolved from faint arcs into long, razor-sharp chakra blades, carving deep furrows into the ground.
Both had heavy dark circles under their eyes—clearly neither had slept—but the battle intent in their gazes burned brighter than ever.
Just then.
Poof.
A puff of white smoke exploded in the middle of them.
Sora's shadow clone appeared, yawning.
"Yo, you two—starting the grind so early?"
Naruto and Sasuke paused simultaneously, eyeing him warily.
"You know the Chunin Exams require at least eight completed missions to participate, right?" The clone waved a stack of mission scrolls, wearing a formal smile. "Hokage Building—D-rank missions waiting for you."
"What?!" Naruto was the first to shout. "D-rank missions? Weeding? Finding cats? You've got to be kidding! I don't have time for that crap right now!"
Sasuke's face darkened instantly.
Being forced to do boring chores now felt worse than death.
"Not going." Sasuke coldly spat out the words and turned to resume training.
"Hey hey, missions are a hard requirement for the Chunin Exams." The clone spread his hands helplessly.
"Then let clones handle it!" Naruto's eyes lit up. He clapped his hands together. "I'll send a few shadow clones—no problem!"
Sasuke's movements paused.
He glanced at Naruto, then at himself.
That's right.
Shadow clones.
He silently formed seals. Poof—a perfect duplicate of himself appeared beside him, wearing the same cool expression.
"Let him go," Sasuke's original said curtly.
Sora's clone stared at this harmonious scene for a moment, then showed a helpless "you kids really know how to play" smile.
"Alright, alright—since you're both so insistent." He handed over the mission scrolls. "Then leave it to your clones. Don't mess it up for me."
The two clones took the scrolls, exchanged a glance, and dashed off toward the Hokage Building.
Meanwhile, Naruto's and Sasuke's originals dove back into their hellish training, as if the interruption had been nothing more than a minor blip.
...
Atop the Hokage Rock.
Sora's real body lay on the Fourth Hokage's head, a foxtail grass in his mouth, enjoying the morning breeze.
A surge of memory instantly transferred from the training ground clone.
The corner of his mouth curved upward.
Tch.
Look at the students I raised—so outstanding, so adaptable.
They've already learned to use shadow clones to skip class and slack off.
Truly teachable.
He gazed at the rising dust clouds from the distant training ground and the two figures grinding with insane intensity, feeling utterly content.
This is what youth should look like.
He rolled over into a more comfortable position, closed his eyes, and continued savoring this rare moment of leisure.