Following the words of the blonde girl, Yamanaka Ino, several other girls also turned their attention to the boy standing not far away. Among them was a pink-haired girl with a wide forehead—Haruno Sakura.
Besides the two of them, there was also a red-haired girl who was staring at Uchiha Sasuke, completely captivated. At their age, they didn't truly understand love; they simply thought that Sasuke looked really good.
The commotion between Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto had drawn quite a bit of attention. Some parents of the children present gathered around to ensure their kids didn't get caught in any accidents. Just as a few of them were about to step in and stop the fight, Sasuke and Naruto stood face to face, forming a ninja seal.
Seeing this, the parents who had initially intended to intervene hesitated. Many of them were ninjas themselves and recognized that the two boys were about to engage in a proper spar. Some parents, especially those familiar with Naruto, also noticed the presence of Anbu nearby—wherever a Jinchūriki was, Anbu were never far behind. This reassured them that the match wouldn't get out of hand.
"Karin, what are you looking at?"
At that moment, a red-haired woman slowly walked up to the young girl, crouched beside her, and followed her gaze before asking softly.
"I'm not looking at anything. I just saw two boys over there who seem about to fight."
"Mom, shouldn't you stop them?"
Karin shook her head, turning to look at her mother, Uzumaki Mariko.
"They're ninjas," Mariko replied.
"A single-hand seal means they're about to compete."
"Besides, this is a good opportunity for you to watch. Speaking of which, I don't think I've introduced you to your aunt yet. That blonde boy is her son—his name is Naruto."
"That makes him your older cousin."
Mariko gently patted Karin's head, explaining softly.
While mother and daughter spoke, Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto had already begun their battle.
The fight between the two children wasn't some random street brawl filled with wild punches. On the contrary, their offense and defense were structured, displaying an impressive level of skill for their age.
In the arena, Sasuke blocked Naruto's heavy punch with both arms, then swiftly ducked in and hooked his left foot behind Naruto's heel. With just a little more force, he could push forward, cutting off Naruto's escape route and forcing him to fall into a disadvantageous position.
However, Naruto remained unfazed. Using Sasuke's strength as leverage, he pushed off the ground and jumped into the air, delivering a kick toward Sasuke's chest. This simple yet effective maneuver flipped the offensive and defensive roles instantly.
Sasuke, caught off guard by Naruto's quick reaction, took the kick to the chest and stumbled back two steps. He quickly brushed the dust off his shirt before rushing at Naruto again.
"These two kids are really impressive."
"The children from these families are incredibly skilled at such a young age!"
Among the onlookers, several ninjas murmured in admiration. While Naruto and Sasuke's taijutsu was still raw, anyone with experience could see that their moves were well-practiced, precise, and efficient. Their trainers must have been exceptional.
"It's clear these two must come from prestigious families. Ordinary children couldn't possibly reach this level of skill at their age."
"I don't recognize the black-haired kid, but the blond one is the Hokage's son."
"Ah, that makes sense. As expected of the Hokage's son, he's really talented!"
The admiration of the adults naturally reached the ears of the children. Naruto, who had just gained the upper hand, grinned upon hearing the praise and let his guard down for just a moment.
Meanwhile, Sasuke remained entirely focused, tuning out the background noise and keeping his attention locked on the battle.
Naruto's lapse in concentration did not go unnoticed.
Seizing the opportunity, Sasuke threw a feint punch. The moment Naruto instinctively raised his arms to block, Sasuke grabbed hold of them, turned his back to Naruto, and pressed his body against Naruto's chest.
Naruto, sensing something was wrong, tried to push his hands against Sasuke's waist to break free. But before he could react, Sasuke had already executed a perfect shoulder throw, slamming Naruto hard onto the ground.
"Ah!"
Naruto landed on his back. Since he was still a child and relatively light, the fall didn't cause serious harm, but he was clearly shaken. As he scrambled back to his feet, his disheveled hair and slightly embarrassed expression revealed his frustration.
"You lost."
Sasuke, maintaining his cool demeanor, stated it matter-of-factly. However, the slight arch of his eyebrows betrayed his excitement.
Naruto opened his mouth, wanting to protest, wanting to claim that Sasuke had won by surprise attack.
But he stopped himself.
He remembered what Uzumaki Raiden had said during training:
"A person only has one life. On the battlefield, even the smallest mistake can cost you everything. If you want to become Hokage, you must learn to focus on every detail of the battle."
"Damn it! I lost!"
Naruto clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and admitted defeat.
Sasuke, seeing Naruto's honest reaction, could no longer suppress his satisfaction and finally allowed a triumphant smile to appear on his face. Around them, a few children who had been rooting for Sasuke cheered, while Shikamaru and Choji walked over to Naruto, offering quiet support.
"Sasuke! Let's have another match—this time with shuriken!"
Unwilling to accept his loss, Naruto immediately challenged Sasuke again.
Sasuke frowned slightly but, upon hearing Naruto's proposal, he agreed without hesitation.
"Fine!"
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke took immense pride in his shuriken skills. There was no way he would back down from such a challenge.
Hearing that Naruto and Sasuke were going for another round, the gathered children erupted in cheers. With their friends hyping them up, the two boys moved toward the wooded area of the park.
Some of the more interested parents followed along, as did Ino and the other girls.
"Let's aim for that tree!"
"Kiba, go mark it!"
Naruto pointed to a tree ten meters away, instructing Kiba to set the target.
"So far?"
Many of the children were stunned. They hadn't expected the competition to involve such a long distance.
Normally, in ninja academy entrance exams, the shuriken accuracy test was conducted at a ten-meter range, and even that was considered a wartime standard. During peacetime, the admission standard was only five meters.
Jiraiya, back when he was young and a disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, had made a name for himself with his skill in shuriken throwing, but even he had started around seven or eight years old. Naruto and Sasuke's competition was already at an absurd level for their age.
"You..."
"Fine! That tree it is!"
Sasuke was momentarily surprised by the distance but quickly agreed. If Naruto dared to make the challenge, Sasuke wasn't going to back down.
After confirming the target, Kiba ran over and marked four concentric circles on the tree.
While Kiba was marking the target, both Naruto and Sasuke reached into their ninja pouches, each pulling out five shuriken.
Upon closer inspection, these were fully sharpened weapons—definitely not practice tools.
"Kushina is being way too reckless! How can such young children be using real weapons?!"
Mariko, noticing the dangerously sharp shuriken, couldn't help but frown. She was genuinely concerned that they might end up hurting themselves.
But what she didn't know was that both Naruto and Sasuke's weapons had been personally prepared by Uzumaki Raiden. At first, Itachi had refused to let Sasuke use live weapons, but after persistent arguments and counterpoints from Raiden about not coddling Sasuke, he finally relented.
And so, the shuriken duel began.
(End of this chapter)