Konoha's sun rose bright and warm over the village, painting everything gold. Markets bustled, ninja leapt across rooftops on missions, and kids ran through the streets on errands.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, Naruto Uzumaki was running too — though way faster than any of them would ever guess.
"Naruto! You're late again!" Iruka roared, forehead vein bulging.
Naruto scratched his head, blinking. "Eh? Really? But I swear I left home on time!"
Which he did… then stopped to race a dragonfly around the entire village. He'd still gotten here before most kids, but had waited outside, counting clouds until it looked like a normal time to walk in. Naruto was many things — dumb about history, clueless about chakra — but he knew to hide his speed. Instinctively. Like if people saw it, they'd get that weird look in their eyes again, the one that made his skin crawl.
He plopped into his seat by the window, grinning wide, ignoring the looks.
Iruka started writing kanji on the board. Something about the Will of Fire. Naruto doodled badly drawn frogs instead. History bored him. So did chakra lectures. Honestly, he didn't get what chakra was. He just ran fast. That was it.
"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba whispered, flicking a crumpled paper ball at his head. "What's the Third Hokage's full name?"
"Uh…" Naruto scratched his cheek. "…Old Man?"
The class erupted in laughter. Even Iruka sighed.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, Naruto. Please try to remember at least something."
"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto muttered, hiding his burning cheeks behind his notes.
A long time ago, he might've cared more. Might've tried harder just so Sakura would smile at him. He used to think she was the prettiest girl ever. But every time he tried to show off, she just put him down — called him annoying, worthless, a clown. Eventually, the crush faded. Now he mostly just found her stuck-up and fun to tease when she opened her big mouth.
Later, out in the dusty yard.
"Line up!" Iruka called, ticking boxes on his clipboard. "Three kunai each. Aim for the center. This is part of your assessment, so do your best!"
Naruto stood at the end of the line, rocking on his heels, stomach twisting with nerves. He watched the others go first.
Sasuke stepped up, calm as ever. He threw three kunai in a single graceful motion.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
All three stuck perfectly in the center ring, clustered tight. The class clapped. Sakura actually squealed, clutching her hands to her chest.
"Sasuke-kun is so cool!" Sakura sighed dreamily.
Ino leaned over, smirking. "Right? No one can beat Sasuke. Especially not Naruto."
"Yeah," Sakura added with a huff, shooting Naruto a quick glare. "Not even close."
Naruto muttered under his breath, "Show off…" but his eyes narrowed, heat rising under his collar.
Then Kiba went — two near center, one just outside. Shino's kunai were neat and controlled. Even lazy Choji managed better than Naruto usually did.
By the time it was his turn, Naruto felt like his insides were made of cold ramen.
He took a deep breath, gripping the three kunai. His hands were sweaty. He forced a grin.
"Whenever you're ready, Naruto," Iruka said, tone only slightly strained.
"Alright! Watch this!" Naruto shouted, mostly to pump himself up.
He pulled back his arm and threw all three kunai in a single messy motion.
They went wild. One veered way left, another dipped too low, and the last was going to overshoot completely.
No way… I'm not gonna be the joke again.
Time stretched. Everything moved like syrup. Iruka's surprised gasp slowed to a deep, echoing Huuuuuuhhh? A leaf drifted lazily by, frozen in the air.
Naruto moved.
He zipped forward to the kunai diving low, nudged its handle up. Then he zipped left, slapped the kunai veering off course so it spun toward the target. Finally, he jumped — almost lazily in his sped-up world — to tap the last one down from overshooting.
Then he zipped back to his spot at the line, standing like he'd never moved, heart hammering, sweat trickling down his temple.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
All three kunai landed dead center, clustered together exactly like Sasuke's.
The entire class went silent. Then someone muttered,
"No way… Naruto did that?"
Iruka squinted at the target, then at Naruto, then back again.
"…Huh. Well… very impressive, Naruto. Marking three direct hits."
Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"Hehe… guess even I get lucky sometimes, right?"
Inside, though, he was grinning for a different reason.
Lucky? Nah. That's all me. Just gotta keep it secret, no matter what.
The training yard buzzed. Kids whispered, stealing glances at Naruto. Even Sakura stopped fawning over Sasuke for a second, eyebrows twitching.
"Hmph, must've been a total fluke," Sakura muttered, crossing her arms.
Ino nodded quickly. "Yeah, he couldn't do that again even if he tried."
Naruto shot them a lazy grin.
"Oh, says the girl who can't even hit the board. Don't worry, Sakura — maybe next time you'll at least scratch the outer ring."
Sakura's face went red. "Wha—! You—! Shut up, Naruto!"
He just snorted. Used to be, her glare would crush him. Now it was almost fun to poke back.
Iruka cleared his throat. "Alright… since it seems we have two top scorers, let's have a little extra challenge."
He picked up eight kunai from the crate.
"Sasuke, Naruto — step forward. Four kunai each. Let's see who comes out on top."
Sasuke's eyes glinted, a small smirk tugging at his lips. He took four kunai with calm precision.
Naruto gulped. "Heh… sure, why not!" He grabbed his four kunai awkwardly, nearly dropping one. His heart pounded.
Me? Competing with Sasuke?
Sasuke stepped to the line first. He barely took a breath, then whipped his arm forward.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
All four kunai landed clustered tight in the bullseye. Some even pierced the same spot. The class burst into cheers.
"He's amazing…" Ino whispered, stars in her eyes.
Sakura spun toward Naruto with a smug little smirk.
"See, Naruto? That's what a real ninja can do."
Naruto bristled, eyes narrowing.
"Oh yeah? Coming from you? Please. I've seen your kunai throws — they're worse than mine on my worst day!"
Sakura's face flushed red. "As if! At least I don't make everything into some dumb joke!"
Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Better than whining over every little thing Sasuke does."
Naruto stepped up, hands clammy around the kunai. He pulled back and threw them all at once — sloppy, wide. One shot high, another too low, the last two splitting left and right.
Not again…
The world slowed. He moved.
He zipped to the first kunai, nudged it lower. The second he tapped upward, the third he pulled slightly inward, the fourth he caught on the flat of his hand and shoved gently toward the target.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
When time snapped back, all four kunai were buried together in the bullseye, tied perfectly with Sasuke.
The class exploded in shouts. Even Iruka's jaw dropped.
"…It's a tie. Looks like Naruto and Sasuke share the top score."
Naruto felt heat rush to his face.
Haha! Tied with Sasuke! Bet that's burning him up inside.
Sasuke looked away with a small, annoyed "hn," but his eyes had sharpened.
Sakura's mouth fell open. "No way… Naruto tied with Sasuke-kun?"
Ino frowned, trying to recover. "Pfft, probably just another lucky accident."
Naruto felt that buzz again, that reckless spark. He shot a cocky grin at Iruka.
"Hey, sensei! I think I can do even better. I'll really beat Sasuke this time."
Iruka's eyes widened. "Naruto, that's enough for today—"
But Naruto had already snatched up four more kunai. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, mouth tight.
Naruto puffed out his chest, turning to the whole class.
"Watch this, guys! You're gonna see something awesome. I'm gonna make them hit each other and still land dead center!"
Most of them burst out laughing.
"Yeah right!" Kiba snorted. "As if the dead last could ever—"
"Just watch!" Naruto shouted, face glowing with wild excitement.
He threw all four kunai at once, messy and reckless. They flew in a loose, terrible spread. One way too high, another about to hit the dirt.
Perfect, Naruto thought.
The world slowed. Iruka's gasp froze. Sakura's wide eyes stopped blinking. Sasuke's scowl turned to stone.
Naruto moved.
He zipped up to the first kunai, flicked its edge so it veered toward the second. Then raced to the second and tapped it just right so it ricocheted off the first with a sharp clang. Both changed course toward the bullseye.
Then he hit the third midair, redirecting it to smack into the fourth — they clashed with a spark, twisting their flight together in a spiral straight for the target.
Naruto zipped back to the line, legs buzzing, heart racing.
Thunk-thunk-thunk-THUNK.
All four kunai slammed into the bullseye in rapid succession, still spinning from their collisions, biting deep into the wood. Tiny cracks fanned out around them.
Silence.
Then the yard erupted.
"What… what was that?!"
"Did you see how they bounced off each other?!"
Even Iruka stood speechless, staring at the target like it had grown a second head.
Naruto threw his arms behind his head, chest puffed out, biggest grin in the whole village.
He leaned slightly toward Sasuke, eyes glittering.
"Heh… I win this time, Sasuke!"
Sasuke's eye twitched. A muscle jumped in his jaw.
Sakura immediately bristled, shouting, "That doesn't count! Sasuke-kun's throws were way more precise!"
Naruto snorted. "Says the girl who couldn't hit a tree trunk if it was two feet away. Face it, Sakura — today, I'm the real ninja."
Sakura spluttered, face bright red. "Wha—?! You—!"
Naruto turned to the class, thrust up his fist.
"Get used to it, 'cause one day, I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it!"
The other kids just gaped. Some muttered that he was crazy. Others were too shocked to speak.
But Naruto didn't care. His heart thundered in his chest, his legs still tingled from moving faster than the world could follow — and for just a second, he felt like he really could do anything.
He couldn't help the grin stretching across his face.
Man… after all the times Sakura called me annoying, it's kinda fun getting the last laugh.