Back with Naruto

It was a scenic morning with the birds chirping a beautiful tune. If only a certain loud blonde didn't exist, maybe it would have lasted longer.

"AGH!" At the scene of the outburst, Naruto could be seen sprawled across the floor. He sat up, nursing the growing bump on his head. "When did I fall asleep?"

*Groan* Naruto sat up, rubbing his eyes before getting up. He began stretching before noticing he wasn't in his bedroom. "Oh yeah...I should've just read the dang book and went to bed."

There was a moment of silence...

"CRAP! What time is it?!" Quickly checking the time, which was a wrong move when it agitated the crick in his neck, Naruto noticed he had only 20 minutes before he had to be in class.

"I can make it!" Jumping up like a certain roadrunner, the blonde child ran through his morning routine before stuffing some stale bread in his mouth on his way out.

The kitchen returned to its original peaceful quiet. The book Naruto had read previously began to shake before slamming shut and exhibiting a golden glow.

What does it mean? Only time will tell.

Inside the Academy Class

Inside a classroom, students were still rolling, with many already seated inside. These kids were sitting in their cliques and talking with each other insistently.

"Cha! Guess I'm next to Sasuke today, Ino-Pig!" A lithe pink-haired girl exclaimed in triumph.

"Billboard Brow! Don't make me print my fist on that huge forehead!" An equally lithe platinum blonde-haired girl growled back in contempt.

These two were the infamous love rivals: Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. Sasuke Uchiha, the unfortunate boy of their dreams, was sitting next to them with his regular stoic poise.

Though, on the inside, complaints were roaring in his head. If one looked closely, one could see one of his eyebrows quivering ever so slightly.

'Why are they so loud every damn morning?! Also, how come none of the guys sitting beside me anymore?" If only he knew this was planned. On a bad day for both Sasuke and Naruto, Sasuke made some derisive remarks toward Naruto.

Naruto did not take to well to this and decided to unleash a malicious prank on Sasuke. The blonde was particularly good at determining what pissed a person off.

After class, Naruto began his revenge by somehow getting all the boys to agree to not sit next to Sasuke anymore. Allowing free access to Sasuke's fan club.

Funnily enough, all the girls knew of this arrangement but said nothing.

Poor Sasuke, you should know not to mess with a prankster.

In another area of the classroom, snoring and munching could be heard.

*Crunch**Crunch* "Think Naruto will be late again, Shika?" A big-boned kid with swirls on both cheeks asked the snoring kid next to him. They were Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara, respectively.

His only answer was more snoring.

A trio sat away from them. One was a boy with feral features with red fang tattoos on both cheeks.

The other boy wore dark shades with a high, upturned collar. The one girl had blue hair and lavender eyes.

This trio consisted Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga.

With the introductions out of the way, Iruka chose this time to enter.

"Alright, everyone! To your seats!" Five seconds of chaotic scrambling ensued. Sakura sat next to Sasuke, who made a face at Ino to mock her.

Ino walked away, visibly shaking in anger, to sit next to Choji and Shikamaru. Iruka looked around the class to see everyone settled in.

"Now, let's begin roll-"

"I'M HERE!" Cutting off Iruka, Naruto barges in. Announcing one's presence is to be respectful, right?

Iruka clutched his nose in an attempt to calm his frustration. He reached his desk and pulled out a book.

"Here is the book I promised, Naruto. Now head back to your seat before I make you the new janitor." Said blonde grinned and collected the book before looking for an open seat. Which just so happens to be right next to Sakura.

"Yes!" Naruto gave a fist pump before rushing to the seat. Totally missed the look of disgust on her face.

Iruka cleared his throat before continuing where he left off.

"Okay, back to what I was saying, today we are going to review...." The rest of the day went as usual, with Naruto nodding off. But there was a noticeable amount of effort being shown to stay awake.

With a roll of his eyes, Iruka continued on. Before long, it was time to spar.

Outside the Academy

Iruka gathered everyone outside while another teacher came over as an assistant. This man had shoulder-length silver hair with a forehead protector worn like a bandana. This was Mizuki.

Mizuki got the kids' attention and began calling out the lineup.

"The first spar between boys will be Shino and Choji. Shikamaru and Kiba..."

"... And the last spar: Naruto and Sasuke." This cued squeals from the girls and a groan from Naruto.

"Oh, come on! This is like the fifth time. Can't I face someone else?" Mizuki placated the blonde.

"Sorry, Naruto. But since Sasuke is the best in the class, he is the best fit to bring you up to shape. Do better, and then we'll see." Mizuki started calling the first participants, not noticing the frown on Iruka's face before it disappeared.

The spars went as expected with the usual winners since they all had a decent idea of what to expect. They've done this since their second year, after all.

"Finally, Naruto and Sasuke, please come up and perform the seal." As the duo appeared, there were screams of joy from the Sasuke fangirls.

"Go, Sasuke!"

"Kick his butt Sasuke-kun!"

"Beat him, and take me as your girlfriend!" That last comment got some hate but was quickly forgotten.

Naruto and Sasuke walked up and begrudgingly performed the seal.

'What a waste of time.' Sasuke did not put Naruto in his mind at all. All of their spars ended without Naruto being able to put up any resistance, so why should he.

'Hmph, I'll get you this time Sasuke-teme.' After performing the seal, they got into their stances. It was their usual stance, with Sasuke using the Uchiha Clan Taijutsu Stance and Naruto using the Academy Taijutsu Stance.

While everything was the same as before, for Naruto, it was not.

'Why do I feel so uncomfortable?' While there was discomfort before, it was nothing like this where it was to the point he could not ignore it.

'This feels so wrong. Hmm, maybe I can....' Deep in thought, Naruto shifted his stance to make himself comfortable enough to an acceptable level. As he was making himself comfortable, he missed the glance of approval from Iruka.

'What's this? His stance looks like the Academy Stance but different. Not wrong, but different in utility. I wonder how this will go.' This time it was Iruka who missed the frown on Mizuki's face.

'What is this brat doing now? I taught him wrong for a reason!' Yep, it was Mizuki who taught Naruto Taijutsu and obviously, did a lousy job on purpose.

He couldn't say anything now, so he let it slide...for now.

Mizuki looked to both sides and asked if they were ready.

At this time, Naruto had gotten to a point where he was at least comfortable enough in his stance to fight.

"Ready!"

"Hmph." Sasuke gave his calm reply.

"Hajime!" As both heard this, Sasuke did his usual rush for a quick takedown while Naruto rushed. Towards his inevitable defeat as usual.

Naruto threw a punch, and Sasuke noticed how this one wasn't as sloppy as before. Previously, he could maneuver Naruto's punches due to his improper form. Now, he was too stable to do that. On the fly, he ducked down before sliding Naruto's legs from under him.

Falling forward, Naruto saw Sasuke taking advantage of his fall to attack.

'Dang it! I can't lose like this.' And to the surprise of all watching, Naruto could land on his hands and threw himself to the side, making his opponent miss.

'Huh? He must've finally learned from all his past defeats. Well, it won't help him from this point on.' Sasuke ran for Naruto again but threw a high kick at Naruto's head this time.

Naruto reacted well and ducked under the kick but was unprepared for the second one, with him barely bringing up a block. The block was weak and late, so it was no surprise when the kick went through and caught him in his chest.

Naruto gasped in pain as he landed before he could do anything. Sasuke had already gotten on top with his fist just an inch from his face.

Naruto was gasping in exertion while Sasuke barely looked fazed. However, Sasuke's apathy soon turned to confusion.

Naruto has always been known as a sore loser. So, to see the blonde grinning like an idiot threw him through a loop.

"Ha...Ha...I lasted longer." Naruto gasped out in joy. Everyone didn't know that yesterday's training was already showing results.

He had to study the blue clone with great intensity to perform the exercises correctly. This nurtured his ability to observe his opponent. While the effect was minimal with his inability to react, Naruto could only put up a block earlier because of this progress.

As Sasuke got off of him and walked off without even a glance back at him, Naruto got up and was in too good of a mood for him to combat verbally with the emo kid.

Mizuki had called the winner long ago and was now moving on to weapon training.

As they were transitioning, a screen popped up in front of Naruto.

[Fight Record]

Opponent: Sasuke Uchiha

Opponent Level: Beginner Genin

Duration: 0:18s

Result: Defeat – Best Personal Time

Rewards:

Sparring Partner Unlocked: Sasuke Uchiha

Stance Unlocked: Steel Guardian

[New Skill Created]

Observation: (Passive)