Naruto, born from the world of his parents.

Upon hearing Naruto explain the true use of Shadow Clone Jutsu, Sasuke, realizing what was happening, jumped aside and began training almost without hesitation.

Seeing Sasuke's eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, yet he still persisted in training, Naruto smiled and did not stop him.

After all, all progress comes from the limits of the body, and he didn't think he could persuade Sasuke.

Looking at the almost solidified coldness in Sasuke's eyes, Naruto suddenly remembered Sasuke's murmurs the night he took him home.

"Brother, what has Itachi done this time?"

Naruto frowned as he thought of Sasuke's quiet and desolate home.

In his conversation with Hiruzen Sarutobi last night, out of consideration for building trust, Naruto did most of the talking while Hiruzen listened, so Naruto still doesn't have much information about this world.

To this day, Naruto's understanding of the world still stems from an inexplicable first instinct.

If his own world felt sunny, open, and full of life to Naruto, then Konoha felt gloomy, stagnant, and decadent to him.

Although he didn't meet many people in this world, compared to the people in the other world he remembered, the people he met in this world were filled with hatred and pain to varying degrees.

Sasuke was the one who caused Naruto the most pain.

This wasn't because of his almost self-torturing training. To be honest, Sasuke's training intensity was still a bit lower than Naruto's.

After all, Naruto used to treat chakra depletion as a normal occurrence and considered Konoha Hospital his home.

This is why he can be called the strongest genius in Konoha's history.

Even Kakashi and Itachi, who previously held this title, have repeatedly stated that Naruto is already stronger than they were at the same age.

Naruto's training was driven by his desire to live up to the title of Hokage's son, and more so by love. So, although the training was painful, the satisfied looks in his parents' eyes were enough to dispel all his sadness.

Sasuke is good.

Naruto looked at the boy who was fighting against his shadow clone with a very complicated expression.

There was never satisfaction in this boy's eyes, only a thirst for power.

This longing is not out of ambition, not out of expectation, not out of any positive emotions, but simply because of a kind of pain that even others can feel.

Seeing Sasuke nearly collapse after defeating a shadow clone, yet still managing to create another shadow clone to fight, Naruto sighed and strode forward.

"Not enough, not enough!"

Despite blocking the kunai that the shadow clones were attacking, Sasuke's significant improvement in taijutsu skills did not bring him joy; on the contrary, he became increasingly impatient.

With a kick, Sasuke pushed aside the shadow clone and, taking advantage of the clone's inability to gain leverage in mid-air, swiftly ended the battle with several shuriken.

But the moment the shadow clone disappeared, the pain in Sasuke's chest, as if he had truly been pierced by a shuriken, made him somewhat unsteady on his feet.

He shook his head, feeling as if the world in front of him was swaying, and waves of drowsiness kept surging from the depths of his brain.

Sasuke bit his tongue hard, the piercing pain bringing a sliver of clarity back to his muddled mind.

He swallowed hard, his saliva tasting of blood, and raised his hand again. But just as the hand seal was about to be formed, his hand was pulled away by another hand.

"Naruto?"

"Training ends here."

"But!"

Naruto, seeing Sasuke about to argue, didn't try to dissuade him, but simply said softly, "Do you only want to be a taijutsu ninja?"

Naruto's words left Sasuke speechless. He still wanted to show off, but his stomach, which had been consuming too much energy, made an inopportune rumbling sound that made him blush.

Seeing Sasuke turn his head away, avoiding his gaze, Naruto smiled and said, "Oh dear, it's really embarrassing that Sasuke heard this. Let's go eat together?"

These words eased Sasuke's embarrassment considerably. He remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Do I need to carry it again this time?"

Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke shook his head. Looking at his swaying body, Naruto didn't expose him, but just smiled and said, "Then, follow me."

The distance from the training ground to the village is not short. After all, even if ninjas seem harmless, they are the most lethal weapons in the world and must keep their distance from civilians, even in a ninja village.

Sunlight filters through the leaves, scattering evenly across the ground like scattered gold dust, adding a touch of warmth to the oncoming breeze.

Such weather always pulls memories from the deepest recesses of one's mind, subtly blending them with seemingly unrelated realities.

Just like now, Sasuke rarely comes to this training ground, and he has hardly had any interaction with Naruto outside of school.

But as he walked, Sasuke inexplicably drifted into memories.

Many years ago, when he had just refined his chakra, he followed a man in the same way, walking through the woods.

"Brother, brother, wasn't I amazing today?"

"Brother, brother, shuriken fighting is so hard, but I'm sure I can learn it!"

"Brother, brother!"

The sound rang out in the wind, Sasuke's vision gradually blurred, and he stood there stunned.

Naruto, who was walking not far in front of him, seemed to notice Sasuke's strange behavior, stopped, and turned around to look at him.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?"

At this moment, the distance between reality and memory became completely blurred, and Sasuke's previously calm eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

The bloody smell of that night when he was six years old, the blood-red moon rising again in his world, Sasuke's dark pupils turned blood red almost instantly, and several tadpole-like tomoe emerged and spun in his pupils.

Two cold lines ran down his face, but they weren't tears; they were blood.

"Uchiha, Itachi!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, called out that nightmarish name, and charged headlong at the figure in front of him with a kunai.

He watched as the kunai's sharp edge drew closer and closer to the man; he could almost feel the kunai piercing his skin.

Just as the kunai was about to strike, the figure turned slightly, causing him to miss.

He tried to retaliate, but his body, already at its limit, could no longer muster any strength and he fell heavily to the ground.

Just as Sasuke's face was about to hit the ground, a sigh reached his ears, and then a hand grabbed him tightly.

"What happened?"

The voice completely pulled Sasuke back to reality. He opened his eyes and looked at the golden light that was almost blending into the sunlight. The tension that had been building up since that night completely collapsed.

"Waaaaah."

"Wow wow wow."

At first, it was just a soft sob, but it gradually turned into a loud wail with tears streaming down her face, completely disregarding her image.

Sasuke leaned against the tree and cried for the first time in his life in front of a complete stranger of the same age.