"So noisy—what the hell are you screaming for, Sasuke?!"
Yawning, Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked grumpily at Sasuke, who had shrunk back into the corner of the room, pale-faced and shaking. All he could do was point at Naruto in horror.
"Y-Y-You… why are you here?!"
"Hah? What do you mean 'why am I here'… huh?"
Naruto's brain was clearly a few seconds behind. He opened his mouth to argue but froze when he finally noticed the futon beneath him—and the sight of Sasuke right in front of him.
"YAAAHHHHHHHH—!!!"
The second ear-splitting scream tore through the Uchiha compound again.
Then, a roar erupted from the room next door.
"Damn it! Are you two idiots trying to reincarnate this early in the morning?!"
After the chaos subsided, the main hall of the Uchiha house was once again filled with people.
The full cast of the little drama troupe had assembled: the girls—Hinata, Sakura, and Ino—on one side, and the boys—Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Chōji, and Shino—on the other.
"What, you want an explanation?"
The girls all looked grumpy, with bed hair in full chaos mode. Last night really had been a mess.
Snapping her fingers, Hinata turned to Shino with a scowl. "Shino, you explain to these two idiots what happened last night."
With a push of his sunglasses, Shino nodded and began his deadpan lecture—the perfect candidate for delivering boring facts.
"Last night, we went to the hot spring banquet. Then, because Naruto thought just eating was boring, he wanted to try playing adult-style guessing games. Coincidentally, the servers brought out a tray of liqueur-filled chocolates as dessert. So Naruto suggested that whoever lost a round would eat one."
"In the end, most of us had over ten. Naruto and Sasuke, who kept challenging each other, had about twenty each. According to my insects' analysis of your blood, you two were in a moderate state of drunkenness—so it's understandable that you blacked out."
Naruto and Sasuke both had green faces.
"In the end, everyone decided to crash at Sasuke's house. But since the place is barely lived in, there weren't many futons. Ino and Sakura shared one, Hinata had her own. Shikamaru and Chōji shared one. As for me... no one wanted to sleep with the bug guy, so I got a futon to myself."
"Which left one set for you two. That is all."
He pushed his sunglasses up again, satisfied with his concise summary.
Hinata, who'd been fuming the whole time, was now clapping. Honestly, Shino's ability to clearly break down what happened—assigning responsibilities and context—was impressive. No wonder he eventually became an academy teacher in the original timeline.
"…I feel like I lost something… precious…"
Naruto whimpered, pounding the floor in anguish.
Sasuke looked like he was going to be sick. That dumb blond's wording was disgusting.
"Naruto… I'm going to kill you…"
Tears welling in his eyes, Sasuke finally snapped. His shame and fury boiled over.
"That's MY line, you jerk!!"
Naruto also leapt to his feet, and the two glared at each other—lightning practically sparking between them.
"Alright! This morning's training will now be a sparring match. Uchiha Sasuke versus Uzumaki Naruto. No ninja tools allowed. Taijutsu only."
Smirking, Hinata gave orders like a director.
"Ino, Sakura—get breakfast and tea ready. We're eating here today. Chōji, you're on firewood duty."
"Leave the wood to me!"
"B-But… Sasuke-kun… ah, okay…"
"We'll be quick!"
Despite their differing reactions, all three carried out their assignments without complaint.
Hinata turned back to the remaining three boys.
"Shikamaru, you break them up if things get out of hand. Shino, you observe and decide the winner."
Lazing back on her cushion, Hinata was perfectly in control.
"…Fine, fine. I'll use Shadow Possession if needed," Shikamaru muttered.
"No ninja tools or ninjutsu allowed. Match ends with a surrender or rule violation."
Shino's sunglasses glinted as he raised his right hand. Once the two boys had taken their positions, he brought it down sharply.
"Begin!"
"I'm gonna beat you into next week, Sasuke!!"
Naruto charged forward with a roar.
Hinata frowned.
It was obvious—Naruto's attack was sloppy and untrained. He lunged like a raging bull, throwing a wild punch with no technique.
Sasuke, in contrast, had a refined stance. His punches and footwork were sharp and measured. He easily dodged Naruto's clumsy swing, swept his leg, and sent the blond flying.
But just as he seemed to fall, Naruto grinned wickedly. His hands hit the ground, and his right leg whipped up like a scorpion's tail.
Caught off guard, Sasuke barely blocked the surprise kick. The two of them staggered back.
"Hm?"
Hinata's white eyes flared open.
She could see it.
Around Naruto's body, a faint layer of chakra shimmered—enhancing his agility and helping him recover from imbalanced movement.
Sasuke's chakra, on the other hand, was dense and focused inward—a thin armor under his skin that had helped absorb the impact of Naruto's kick.
So that was it.
Their training was paying off.
Naruto had practiced Wind Burial Fist—a style requiring chakra flow across the entire body to manipulate air currents and boost midair control. His body had remembered that distribution, giving him greater balance and flexibility.
Sasuke's Lightning Coffin Fist, meanwhile, required resisting electrical shocks, so his chakra naturally formed a protective mesh beneath his skin—like a weak but functional internal armor. It even sped up chakra circulation. If it once took him two seconds to cast a Fireball Jutsu, now it'd be about 1.5.
Keep going like this, and one would fly, the other would activate Lightning Armor.
But still…
"This kind of brawling… isn't enough."
The match ended without a clear victor.
Though Sasuke seemed dominant, Naruto's stamina—thanks to being a Jinchūriki—let him keep going like a tank. Sasuke was stronger in ninjutsu and tools, not sheer endurance.
So Hinata eventually called it off when breakfast was ready.
But watching them flail around with sloppy punches made her feel secondhand embarrassment. Without actual techniques, the "Sacred Fist" she'd made up couldn't reach its full potential. If this kept up, their sparring would start looking like amateur wrestling in some shady back alley.
She had no choice.
Since she'd already bullshitted a training method, she'd now need to bullshit up some moves too.
She popped a rice ball in her mouth and began planning her day. Since the rest of the work could be left to Shikamaru and Shino, she'd focus on inventing some flashy techniques.
"Um… Sasuke-kun? How's the rice ball? Does it suit your taste?"
Sakura, blushing, tried to strike up conversation.
Sasuke, cold as always, hesitated. But the scene of everyone eating together stirred something buried inside him.
"…It's good. Though… next time, I'd like a bit more tomato in my miso soup."
"Yes! I'll remember that, Sasuke-kun!"
She beamed like she'd just won the Chūnin Exams.