Konoha:Live Comparison: Naruto

Chapter 7: The Two Opposite People

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[Where the leaves dance, the fire is alive. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and cause new leaves to sprout.]

[Young people are the hope of the future, and the older generation must trust and protect them. The sacrifice of the older generation is not meaningless but inspires the young to become the pillars of tomorrow.]

[The burning flame of fallen leaves symbolizes the heroic sacrifices of the older generation, while the new leaves represent the youth.]

[This was the speech delivered by Konoha Village's Third Hokage to the new students at the opening ceremony.]

[The new students listened with stars in their eyes.]

[Only Naruto seemed slightly surprised. The old man who had eaten his fish turned out to be none other than the Third Hokage of Konoha Village.]

[The old man is Hokage?]

[Uzumaki Naruto finally understood the so-called "Will of Fire" that the man had talked about before.]

[However, this realization only made him feel more disgusted. His own experiences had already shown him that the villagers of Konoha Village didn't embody the Will of Fire at all.]

[Furthermore, the fact that the Third Hokage had introduced himself as just a "passing grandfather" left Naruto feeling uneasy.]

[This old man is dishonest.]

["Everyone must remember the Will of Fire."]

["You are the future hope of Konoha Village."]

[Iruka stood on the podium, delivering his speech with enthusiasm.]

[At his desk, Naruto felt tortured.]

[He hadn't expected Ninja School to focus on such useless things.]

[Every few days, Iruka would passionately repeat the Will of Fire. Naruto wasn't sure if he was there to grow stronger or just to let his ears develop calluses.]

The villagers of Konoha Village watching the screen felt a chill in their hearts.

When Iruka spoke about the Will of Fire, the other students listened attentively, yet the yellow-haired boy looked utterly disgusted.

It was clear that Naruto scoffed at everything Iruka had said.

Onoki:

"Hahaha! The old monkey's routine doesn't seem to work on the Naruto over there."

Fourth Raikage:

"I saw that irritated and disgusted expression on his face. Not only does it not work, but it seems to make him hate these things even more."

Terumi Mei:

"That's no surprise. Every time Iruka brings up the Will of Fire, it likely reminds Naruto of his own painful experiences. It must constantly bring back memories of those bad moments, making him feel more disgusted over time."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting on the high platform, felt a wave of terror.

It seemed that in that world, he had overlooked such an important point.

But what puzzled him even more was why Naruto in their world didn't appear to dislike these things.

Haruno Sakura:

"Naruto, you..."

Just as she was about to speak, Sakura quickly waved her hand.

At the very least, the Naruto standing in front of her would never show such disgust and irritation at Iruka's lectures.

Yamanaka Ino:

"Naruto, did you think the same way back then?"

Temari:

"Yeah, I'm also curious. Is the yellow-haired kid on the screen the same as you?"

Uzumaki Naruto:

"Huh? What?"

Audience:

"..."

What kind of reaction was that?

Uchiha Sasuke:

"Tch! It's useless to ask him. This guy must have been asleep back then. He probably doesn't even know what the Will of Fire is."

Uzumaki Naruto:

"Damn it, Sasuke! What does it matter if I know or don't know? If it's for my companions, I'd go through fire and water!"

Uzumaki Kushina:

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. It's obvious these are two different Narutos, so their views and behaviors toward things must naturally be different."

Orochimaru:

"Heh heh heh, as expected, a mother's words are always so reasonable."

[The lecture ended.]

[Iruka clapped his hands.]

["Now, let's review the shuriken throwing technique I explained a while ago."]

["Everyone, follow me to the playground."]

[Shuriken throwing practice.]

[Finally, something practical.]

Naruto scratched his ear and followed the group to the school playground.

["Alright, let's go in order."]

["When I call your name, step forward and demonstrate for everyone."]

["First..."]

["Aburame Shino."]

["Sorry, teacher. People in our family don't use shurikens. We use bugs."]

[What? Bugs?]

Everyone turned to look at the boy with sunglasses standing quietly in the crowd.

[Who is this guy? Using bugs sounds terrifying!]

["Ah...is that so..."]

["Sorry, sorry."]

Iruka smiled apologetically.

["Next, Inuzuka Kiba."]

["Teacher, our family specializes in working with ninja dogs."]

["Right, Akamaru?"]

["Woof!"]

This scene caught Naruto's attention.

[Family?]

[I don't even know who my parents are—how could I possibly understand what a family is?]

But today, he felt as though he'd learned something new.

["It seems every family has its own unique traits."]

Naruto's gaze lingered on Akamaru, perched on Kiba's head.

[At least this canine-toothed guy is different. He's the only one in class allowed to bring a dog.]

[So their family must have a special connection to dogs.]

Just then, an arrogant voice rang out:

["Are you saying that ninjas from certain families don't need to learn basic skills?"]

[Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...]

The sound of shurikens cutting through the air echoed.

[Bang, bang, bang...]

Soft thuds came from the targets not far away.

Everyone looked up to see three shurikens embedded in the bullseye of an empty target.

["Wow, amazing!"]

["As expected of Sasuke."]

["So cool!"]

["Sasuke, Uchiha—isn't Sasuke from the Uchiha clan?"]

["I've heard they're all geniuses. Sasuke proves it—he's incredible!"]

- Hiss!

Sasuke's shuriken-throwing technique shocked everyone.

This kid was only five years old, yet he could throw shuriken with such perfection.

Uchiha Fugaku:

"Well, as expected of my son. He did very well."

Uchiha Obito:

"What's so special about this? I remember that in our Uchiha clan, we can throw shuriken with flowers attached to them."

Hatake Kakashi:

"Obito, you..."

Kakashi trembled.

This was the person he thought about day and night!

Previously, Kakashi had resisted speaking in the group because all the senior figures were present.

Uchiha Obito:

"Kakashi, are you missing me too much?"

Somewhere in a dark cave, Black Zetsu nearly broke out in a cold sweat.

Black Zetsu:

"Obito, you..."

Uchiha Obito:

"Hmph! What do you know?"

"If Kakashi knows me at all, it would be strange if I didn't join in on the fun all the time."

"This is what we call disguise. You understand?"

A red light flashed in the hollow of the spiral mask. Obito's smug tone made Black Zetsu immediately fall silent.

Black Zetsu (to himself):

"Oh boy, you're something else entirely."

Uzumaki Naruto:

"Tch! No matter which world it is, Sasuke's habit of showing off never changes."

Uchiha Sasuke:

"Hmph! You're stupid if you think I'm showing off. This kind of shuriken throwing is basic."

Uzumaki Naruto:

"Damn it, just you wait! I believe that the me in that world is definitely better than you."

Uchiha Sasuke:

"Not a chance. Don't even think about it."

[Sasuke's performance amazed all the students.]

[Even Iruka was stunned for a long moment.]

[When he finally snapped out of it, he couldn't help but think to himself: As expected of the son of Uchiha Fugaku. As the patriarch's son, his skills are beyond the reach of ordinary people.]

["Student Uchiha Sasuke performed exceptionally well."]

[After recovering from his shock, Iruka took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and continued.]

["Next..."]

[Looking at the roster in his hand, Iruka's brows furrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly.]

["Uzumaki..."]

[Uzumaki Naruto.]

[Iruka, whose parents had died during the Nine Tails attack, had instinctively wanted to refuse when he learned he would be teaching Uzumaki Naruto.]

[However, the Third Hokage had disagreed. Left with no choice, Iruka reluctantly accepted.]

[Fortunately, a senior teacher with experience suggested turning a blind eye to Naruto's troublemaking, which helped Iruka muster the resolve to take on this difficult task.]

["Uzumaki Naruto, it's your turn to demonstrate."]

[Iruka's tone was noticeably cooler than before.]

[Originally, he could have skipped over Naruto's name entirely, but as a teacher, the spirit of education in his heart still outweighed his personal emotions.]

[Naruto couldn't hear the subtle changes in Iruka's tone.]

[However, he was used to such things and didn't care much about them.]

Onoki:

"Naruto's shuriken throw?"

Fourth Raikage:

"Even if he hits the bullseye, it just proves that he can do the basics."

Terumi Mei:

"Sasuke's performance was too dazzling. Anyone going after him can only end up embarrassing themselves."

Senju Tobirama:

"You can't say that. There is a talent gap between ninjas, but dismissing the efforts of others just because one person excels is wrong."

Senju Hashirama:

"Well said, Tobirama."

[Ding!]

[The following is a prize-winning quiz session.]

[Question: In this shuriken throwing scene, what will Uzumaki Naruto do?]

[Options:]

[A: Uzumaki Naruto senses Iruka's impatience and refuses to throw the shuriken.]

[B: Uzumaki Naruto throws a shuriken and misses the target.]

[C: Uzumaki Naruto throws several shurikens, all of which miss the target.]

[D: Uzumaki Naruto throws three shurikens, knocking down all of Uchiha Sasuke's shurikens from the target.]

[Hint: If you deliberately answer randomly, you will be punished for a wrong choice.]

Uchiha Sasuke glanced at the last option and immediately dismissed it in his mind.

Didn't the last option mean that Naruto's shuriken throwing technique was better than his own?

No way.

The last time, they were barely on the same level as him.

- What a joke!

Sasuke sneered inwardly.

Although Itachi, the traitor to the clan, was the most hateful and unforgivable person in Sasuke's life, he had to admit that Itachi's mastery of shuriken techniques was unmatched.

Sasuke had learned shuriken throwing from such a person since childhood.

In terms of shuriken skills, it was impossible for anyone of his generation to catch up with him, especially when he used the Body Flicker Technique with such ease.

Uzumaki Naruto:

"I choose D. Since he's different from me, he must have mastered the things I don't know."

Uchiha Sasuke:

"Are you an idiot?"